After my London all-nighter and trip between England and Holland's capitals that felt much longer than its modest four hours, I half-staggered from Amsterdam's central train station to my downtown hotel in a mid-morning drizzle ready for a mid-day siesta.
When I checked in, my tri-lingual concierge was quick to get me on my way, asking with a grin if I was going to explore the festivities later in the day. "Of course," I replied, with a slightly devious grin myself. Though I didn't understand it at the time, I would quickly figure out the true meaning of her smile.
Stepping out of the hotel a couple hours later, it didn't take long to figure out. Without a real plan and three days to tour the city, I decided to follow the crowds and see where they'd take me. After a short stroll around the city's royal palace, over a couple canals and down a cobblestone shopping alley, they took me straight to the city's annual gay pride festival.
If you're a fan of "Arrested Development" and remember the first episode, you may recall the scene towards the end where Michael Bluth's father gets arrested during a party held aboard the yacht, "Queen Mary." As the arrest plays out, Michael's brother-in-law, Tobias Funke (dressed in a pirate's costume), gets on the wrong "Queen Mary" and obliviously takes part in a gay pride rally.
His skiff was small and full of drag queens dancing to funky music. It's Tobias' boat that I saw more than twenty times within my first hour in Amsterdam, only the music was a bit louder, the participation a little rowdier and costumes (or lack there of) somehow racier.
Keeping a healthy distance from the festival's main route as it was mixing between The Village People and Lady Gaga, I continued my stroll. After a couple kilometers, I was struck by three things: the city's layout, its canals and bikes. Amsterdam's downtown layout is easy to navigate and essentially a half-circle made of concentric rings of canals and roads. Travelling by foot along one of the semi-circular canal rings is often longer than seeking a more direct route but also quicker.
Likened by some to Venice's canals, Amsterdam's system is much larger than I imagined. Dozens of drawbridges and bicycle-laned roads crossed over and ran parallel to the water in front of neatly-lined apartment buildings that could easily fit on the front of any postcard, while the city's primary means of transportation (bicycles) could fill many others.
I heard about the bicycles before my arrival, so it wasn't surprising to see the bike lanes and hear riders ringing their bells behind unsuspecting pedestrians. But, the sheer number was more than I imagined. This is a the largest "biker" town I've seen! Though these unique aspects were interesting enough, just as intriguing was the lack of anything resembling the liberal city's renowned Red Light District.
After three or four hours of walking, I hadn't passed by anything indicating the morally-loose part of town that makes Amsterdam infamous. Not that I was particularly looking for it, but I figured that I'd see women proudly flaunting their stuff through windows around every corner. Well, that just wasn't the case. The city's district is now contained to a small area that measures about eight or ten city blocks after a major reform effort eliminated a large number of venues within the past ten years. Intrigued, I later found my way to Amsterdam's largest tourist destinations.
What I found met my expectations. Straddling one of the city's canals, two files of red-lit buildings stretched as far as the eye could see in the moonless night; side alleys branched off the strip like red-striped tentacles. Windows displayed women of all nationalities, and I couldn't help but get to know some of them!
Before I go any further, I didn't enter any establishments or partake in any of their services. However, travelling alone - though not ideal - does have its benefits. One of them is that I can take my time and meet some interesting people. As I continued my stroll, windows opened and provided plenty of opportunities!
The first to do so was a Thai emigrant named Dada. Having arrived in Amsterdam four years ago, she claimed to be relatively new to the district. After a quick minute, I asked what made her move to Amsterdam. Work, school and money were her responses. Apparently, none of them were available in Bangkok, so she took a risk and moved to Holland. When the topic of money popped up, she seized the opportunity to proposition herself and, after I politely declined, she quickly lost interest and I continued on to Tanya.
Tanya was a few buildings down and introduced herself by way of grabbing my arm. It felt like one of those reasons why you don't walk down the jailhouse floor too close to the cells - I shouldn't have walked so close to that building! Regardless, her encounter was well-received as she quickly identified herself as Tunisian, and we chatted in Arabic for about three minutes afterwards. Having been in the "business" for about eight years, she apparently liked her line of work.
When I asked why she started and if she saw herself stopping, she responded similarly to Dada: needed money, and Tunis provided no opportunity. One day, she may stop, but she was doing too well to consider it now. Her answers had me walking the morality line. Do I judge and dwell on the morality issue or view her move a smart business decision? Regardless of my personal views, there was no visible shame in either of the women I briefly met, so I tried to remember that societal differences exist and left it at that.
By the end of my short tour of the district, I was ready to get back to the hotel and catch up on some sleep: the next day, I'd actually enter some buildings and see a little Dutch history!
When I checked in, my tri-lingual concierge was quick to get me on my way, asking with a grin if I was going to explore the festivities later in the day. "Of course," I replied, with a slightly devious grin myself. Though I didn't understand it at the time, I would quickly figure out the true meaning of her smile.
Stepping out of the hotel a couple hours later, it didn't take long to figure out. Without a real plan and three days to tour the city, I decided to follow the crowds and see where they'd take me. After a short stroll around the city's royal palace, over a couple canals and down a cobblestone shopping alley, they took me straight to the city's annual gay pride festival.
If the boat's a rockin'...
If you're a fan of "Arrested Development" and remember the first episode, you may recall the scene towards the end where Michael Bluth's father gets arrested during a party held aboard the yacht, "Queen Mary." As the arrest plays out, Michael's brother-in-law, Tobias Funke (dressed in a pirate's costume), gets on the wrong "Queen Mary" and obliviously takes part in a gay pride rally.
Dancing in the canals...
His skiff was small and full of drag queens dancing to funky music. It's Tobias' boat that I saw more than twenty times within my first hour in Amsterdam, only the music was a bit louder, the participation a little rowdier and costumes (or lack there of) somehow racier.
...celebrating a little pride.
Keeping a healthy distance from the festival's main route as it was mixing between The Village People and Lady Gaga, I continued my stroll. After a couple kilometers, I was struck by three things: the city's layout, its canals and bikes. Amsterdam's downtown layout is easy to navigate and essentially a half-circle made of concentric rings of canals and roads. Travelling by foot along one of the semi-circular canal rings is often longer than seeking a more direct route but also quicker.
More than one hundred kilometers of canals, about 90 islands and 1,500 bridges are found in Amsterdam - "Venice of the North."
One of the greener canals.
Even the draw bridges were "proud."
A postcard on every canal.
I heard about the bicycles before my arrival, so it wasn't surprising to see the bike lanes and hear riders ringing their bells behind unsuspecting pedestrians. But, the sheer number was more than I imagined. This is a the largest "biker" town I've seen! Though these unique aspects were interesting enough, just as intriguing was the lack of anything resembling the liberal city's renowned Red Light District.
Bikes everywhere - each road seemed to have at least one bike lane along its side.
While rain poured on the parade, cyclists still made their way around the city.
After three or four hours of walking, I hadn't passed by anything indicating the morally-loose part of town that makes Amsterdam infamous. Not that I was particularly looking for it, but I figured that I'd see women proudly flaunting their stuff through windows around every corner. Well, that just wasn't the case. The city's district is now contained to a small area that measures about eight or ten city blocks after a major reform effort eliminated a large number of venues within the past ten years. Intrigued, I later found my way to Amsterdam's largest tourist destinations.
What I found met my expectations. Straddling one of the city's canals, two files of red-lit buildings stretched as far as the eye could see in the moonless night; side alleys branched off the strip like red-striped tentacles. Windows displayed women of all nationalities, and I couldn't help but get to know some of them!
Casa Rosso, one of the district's thriving performance theaters.
Before I go any further, I didn't enter any establishments or partake in any of their services. However, travelling alone - though not ideal - does have its benefits. One of them is that I can take my time and meet some interesting people. As I continued my stroll, windows opened and provided plenty of opportunities!
The first to do so was a Thai emigrant named Dada. Having arrived in Amsterdam four years ago, she claimed to be relatively new to the district. After a quick minute, I asked what made her move to Amsterdam. Work, school and money were her responses. Apparently, none of them were available in Bangkok, so she took a risk and moved to Holland. When the topic of money popped up, she seized the opportunity to proposition herself and, after I politely declined, she quickly lost interest and I continued on to Tanya.
Tanya was a few buildings down and introduced herself by way of grabbing my arm. It felt like one of those reasons why you don't walk down the jailhouse floor too close to the cells - I shouldn't have walked so close to that building! Regardless, her encounter was well-received as she quickly identified herself as Tunisian, and we chatted in Arabic for about three minutes afterwards. Having been in the "business" for about eight years, she apparently liked her line of work.
When I asked why she started and if she saw herself stopping, she responded similarly to Dada: needed money, and Tunis provided no opportunity. One day, she may stop, but she was doing too well to consider it now. Her answers had me walking the morality line. Do I judge and dwell on the morality issue or view her move a smart business decision? Regardless of my personal views, there was no visible shame in either of the women I briefly met, so I tried to remember that societal differences exist and left it at that.
By the end of my short tour of the district, I was ready to get back to the hotel and catch up on some sleep: the next day, I'd actually enter some buildings and see a little Dutch history!
It's nice that you had a chance to practice your Arabic...I think.
ReplyDeleteNo worries, BB. Our conversation was strictly cordial!
ReplyDelete