Day 3 & 4 - "Chino! Coca Coca!"
Those were among the first words we heard when we arrived in Amsterdam. We stayed in two different hostels over two nights...
...at the Hotel Kabul...
...and the stairwell of the Youth Hostel Meeting Point
Amsterdam was highly fascinating to me, as a place that manages to thrive through a very divided culture. We stayed two minutes from the train station, and two minutes from the red-light district. Everywhere we walked in our neighbourhood, there were shops selling porn(which is abt the most normal thing abt the street, besides the food places)...
...shops selling Magic Mushrooms (natural LSD) and other substances (spanish fly, ephedra) which would be banned in any other normal country...
...and the so-called Baba Coffee shops which serves Space-Cakes (cakes with hash in them), marijuana joints, marijuana tea among other things. 
I was a bit dismayed to see that the cashier was a pregnant lady. the situation seems a bit sad that way but with this city, i learnt not to be surprised at a lot of things.
With such a seedy area being the focal point of the city, there's also an amazing array of art that flourished in Amsterdam, with artists such as Van Gogh, Carraviaggo, Rembrandt among others. We couldn't take pictures inside the museums so there's nothing here to show. =) That said, the museums here were sheer impressive as they had english descriptions, taking us through the journey of the artists' and the periods.
This was a sculpture that I really liked. It's of Cupid. Read the description that I took a picture of and you might understand why I think it's cool...
Just some pictures of the great scenery, both at the canals and just on the outskirts of the Centrum...
These were taken at the beautiful Vondel Park, which we stumbled upon, but were at that point unaware that it's actually one of the most famous in all of Europe...
...and then at the Flower market, which sells loads of tulips. For those interested, go read up on the history of Tulips in Holland and how it resembled bursting of the tech bubble in recent years...
Anne Frank's House was an experience in itself. The atmosphere was very sombre and it just harkens your senses to how it was, not just on a macro level, but to the individual. For those who know the story, I must say I felt most for the dad, who was not only put in the concentration camp, but upon emerging alive, he had to deal with the loss of his wife and then news of both daughters dying of typhus. I bet numerous people have diaries and stories to tell as well, but as one of the quotes expressed, if all of them did so, none of us might be able to live normally with so much sadness around. 
The following picture was a landmark that helped us find our way back before we went out. We kinda got bummed by this beggar who first told us how to get back and then proceeded to ask us for money... bah. I guess the most interesting thing abt this memorial was how phallic it was. In fact, the beggar chap called it the 'big white dick'. wth...
On the first night, we walked ard the red-light district. We can't take pictures in the area so apologies for the lack of pictures there. Went drinking too, and I think i drank a bit too much on the first night so I totally detoxxed the second day....
...at the Hotel Kabul...
...and the stairwell of the Youth Hostel Meeting Point
Amsterdam was highly fascinating to me, as a place that manages to thrive through a very divided culture. We stayed two minutes from the train station, and two minutes from the red-light district. Everywhere we walked in our neighbourhood, there were shops selling porn(which is abt the most normal thing abt the street, besides the food places)...
...shops selling Magic Mushrooms (natural LSD) and other substances (spanish fly, ephedra) which would be banned in any other normal country...
...and the so-called Baba Coffee shops which serves Space-Cakes (cakes with hash in them), marijuana joints, marijuana tea among other things. 
I was a bit dismayed to see that the cashier was a pregnant lady. the situation seems a bit sad that way but with this city, i learnt not to be surprised at a lot of things.With such a seedy area being the focal point of the city, there's also an amazing array of art that flourished in Amsterdam, with artists such as Van Gogh, Carraviaggo, Rembrandt among others. We couldn't take pictures inside the museums so there's nothing here to show. =) That said, the museums here were sheer impressive as they had english descriptions, taking us through the journey of the artists' and the periods.
This was a sculpture that I really liked. It's of Cupid. Read the description that I took a picture of and you might understand why I think it's cool...
Just some pictures of the great scenery, both at the canals and just on the outskirts of the Centrum...
These were taken at the beautiful Vondel Park, which we stumbled upon, but were at that point unaware that it's actually one of the most famous in all of Europe...
...and then at the Flower market, which sells loads of tulips. For those interested, go read up on the history of Tulips in Holland and how it resembled bursting of the tech bubble in recent years...
Anne Frank's House was an experience in itself. The atmosphere was very sombre and it just harkens your senses to how it was, not just on a macro level, but to the individual. For those who know the story, I must say I felt most for the dad, who was not only put in the concentration camp, but upon emerging alive, he had to deal with the loss of his wife and then news of both daughters dying of typhus. I bet numerous people have diaries and stories to tell as well, but as one of the quotes expressed, if all of them did so, none of us might be able to live normally with so much sadness around. 
The following picture was a landmark that helped us find our way back before we went out. We kinda got bummed by this beggar who first told us how to get back and then proceeded to ask us for money... bah. I guess the most interesting thing abt this memorial was how phallic it was. In fact, the beggar chap called it the 'big white dick'. wth...
On the first night, we walked ard the red-light district. We can't take pictures in the area so apologies for the lack of pictures there. Went drinking too, and I think i drank a bit too much on the first night so I totally detoxxed the second day....
posted by azrael at 1:14 AM
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