Amsterdam Day One

Hello Everyone,

So it was day 23 and the Contiki tour was in Amsterdam. Everyone had been so excited about this part of the trip as we had heard so many things from other travellers about this crazy city. As we entered the Netherlands Mia gave us our usual briefing and informative talk on the Netherlands. Amsterdam is the capital of the Netherlands (Holland) and is most known for it's drugs, prostitutes and brothels. The Netherlands is a very flat  and windy country and is also known for it's windmills, clogs and cheeses such as Gouda and Edam. Big manufacturers such as Lipton and Flora are also from the Netherlands and the Dutch consider orange to be their colour and is worn in the thosuands to celebrate Queens Day. In Amsterdam it is legal to watch live sex shows, buy prostitutes and smoke weed. There are 'Coffee Shops' all over Amsterdam where marijuana is legally sold over the counter in joints and cakes. People are legally allowed to smoke weed in these coffee shops and certain areas of bars and clubs in Amsterdam and the scent of weed is very prominent in this city.

The Netherlands is also famous for other things besides sex and drugs such as it's tulip festival where over 800, 000 people attend annually. Amsterdam has beautiful architecture and beautiful gable rooves. It is one of Europe's most beautiful and historic cities and is right up there with Paris and Venice. The city is full of canals and the streets are full of people riding bikes as this is their main form of transport. The Netherlands also has an annual Cannabis Cup where the winner is awarded a prize for the best cannabis in the country. Famous foods include eel, herring, potato and meat stew and famous desserts include stroopwafle. Heineken is a famous beer which is produced in the Netherlands and they also have vending machines where you can purchase cheese burgers and other weird fast foods. 

We arrived at our final Contiki stop the 'Neiuw Slotania Hotel' in Amsterdam. It was a huge hotel and this time Jess, Tamara, Rachael and I decided to bunk together as we wanted to party hard in this well known city. We all skipped dinner and started getting ready whilst drinking our 5 Euro vodka we bought in Germany lol The room already looked like a bomb hit it as we threw clothes and cosmetics all over the place. The room didn't have windows that could be opened and with about three straighteners going the room felt like a sauna! I borrowed Tamara's dress that night and although it was a little tight I felt dressed up for the occasion for a change (thanks babe). After the Contiki group got ready we met downstairs and headed into central Amsterdam on the coach.

I remember as soon as we stepped off the bus the smell of weed hit us straight away. People were smoking it outdoors in front of coffee shops and everyone seemed to walking around like extremely stoned zombies! I hate marijuana and the smell bought back bad memories as I walked through the crowded streets. There were bikes and bike car parks everywhere and they even have their own bike lanes and traffic lights in Amsterdam. There was rubbish everywhere along with trams and canals as we headed into the infamous Red Light District. The Red Light District was like Kings Cross in Australia but times 1000! I saw prostitutes who were for sale standing in windows under red lights. Some of the women really quite stunning and wore swimmers and lingerie with loads of make up. The neon lights made their clothes glow in the windows which was quite cool and the majority of them were very young.  Lots of the prostitutes actually have really high paying and well respected jobs so they get really angry when tourists take photos of them. Simone was taking a picture of the canals and two prostitutes thought she was taking a photograph of them. After seeing her they covered their bodies up in their curtains and stuck their rude fingers up at her!Mia told us that when their curtains are shut they are busy. Every time I saw a curtain shut I remember thinking how did the lives of these girls end up so messed up that this was their chosen profession? We walked along the smallest street in Amsterdam which made me a little claustrophobic as we were so squished in together. We also saw the first statue recognising prostitution in the streets of Amsterdam that night.

An example of a Coffee Shop

Steven lol

Mia had given us the option, which wasn't included in the optional extras print out sheet, to go and see a live sex show. 49 out of 50 people said that it was definitely something they didn't want to miss! I was freaking out about going to see the show as I usually cringe at this sort of thing even when it's on a movie let alone live. The place looked so seedy with the neon lights and the creepy old bouncer at the door but wasn't too bad once we got in. We all sat in our sunken in velvet seats as the lights went down and the MC welcomed us on the microphone and told us we were forbidden to take photos. We had waiters taking our drink orders and I felt like I needed about 50 before the show begun. It started with an old seedy lady that reminded me of the time Sally and I went to the Ping Pong show in Thailand lol The MC called Jackie's name (a guy in our group) and he had to get up on stage while the lady wrote bad boy on his chest with her #*#*. We watched various couples have sex on stage on a revolving bed and some of them really just treated it like a job. Mia had told us that all of the people in the show were actual couples and performe the exact same routines 3 to 4 times a night.

Rachael and Tamara got called up on stage along with another lady on her Hen's night to dance and eat a banana from one of the performers #*#*#. It wasn't so funny for Tamara after the girl closed her legs on her face when it was her turn ha ha We also watched a girl strip and then smoke a cigar out of her #*#*#. Bec and Dani had to get up on stage and dance with a hot black stripper who took all of his clothes off with the help of the girls. Bec got a suprise when the guy turkey slapped her in the face right at the end of his performance. One of the girl strippers was actually really hot and so attractive, she didn't make it seem tarty at all but rather like a craft. We stayed at the show for around an hour until the MC called out to our group and said to have a great night in Amsterdam and that the show was over. The live sex show would have to have been the most awkward yet interesting shows I have ever been to. I actually found it funny but was relieved when the show was over.

After the sex show we went to a bar which had cheap drinks and Mia shouted us all free shots at the bar. Lots of the people in the bar were smoking weed and quite a few unexpected people from Contiki were as well. The girls and I had loads of drinks and had such a good time at the first bar. I remember stacking it down a huge spiral stair case where I'm sure the whole section under them saw my undies which wasn't too fun lol Jess, Tamara, Tara, Rach, Sharni and I all went next door to this club that was meant to be really good but they ended up playing fully heavy rock music which we hated but were still dancing around like idiots and having fun!Tara has beautiful long hair and I remember her cutting sick and swinging her hair around for so long while she was dancing. She said her neck was so sore the next day from dancing like a crazy women that night ha

Partying in Amsterdam

baahaaa Me and Rach

Partying with Taylor and Jess in Amsterdam

Crazy night with our favourite gay on the trip lol

Me and Rach

Us in Amsterdam

Me getting loose in Amsterdam

Taylor, Hamed, Me and Rachael

Loving Amsterdam

Me and Tamara

Me and Rach in Amsterdam

Me and Jess

Hamed had meet a guy from another bar called Michael and we ended up getting a personal tour around to all of the coolest clubs in Amsterdam with him that night. I had the best party night clubbing out of the whole tour as I love house music and the clubs were going off! I meet some really fun gay men and was dancing on podiums in one of the nightclubs with them which was fun. Hamed really looked after me that night and we both really had so much fun partying with just each other for a change. We got home at around 6am and I was so exhausted after partying hard on my first night in Amsterdam, it definitely lived up to my expectations! 

Me and Michael

Me, Hamed and Michael partying in Amsterdam :)

 Love The Club Hopping Backpacker
x