Kansas sucks, I wanna go back to Oz!

[CTSwazi]

Fuck em Gapie They were prob a bit paranoid.. It happens.

Great thread btw FriendlyEdgar! Getting me all worked up for my trip in March

[FriendlyEdgar]

dont give a fuck about that
i offered them a coffeeshop crawl they were amsterdam virgins
but yeh i had the acd map with me they didnt hahahaha losers and i know all coffeeshop etc. i am a local and they are english first time stoners whahahaaa and i offered them nicely

You did offer nicely, no question... you just didn't pick up on the fact that they were not really stoners, at least as a group. 2 of em were waiting to get the hell out of the coffee shop to go drink, and another wanted to get out of there to go get laid... I guess that is the one thing you did do that might have bothered them- you did kind of yell at the guy who asked were the best RLD girls were.

For me, this group of guys highlighted the pros of going to 'dam alone! No mixing of priorities among the group! They needed one more guy whose priority was sex... then they could have split into 3 pairs and each group could focus on their particular vice of choice and nobody would be stuck alone!

[FriendlyEdgar]

FWIW, the way I think about it is this: why would you want to have sex with someone who doesn't want to have sex with you? How on earth could this be enjoyable.

This is definitely one of the questions in my moral dilemna... though the big questions center around health risks and especially questions of victimization vs. free will- did these women choose this as their best option out of unfortunate circumstances? Or have they been kidnapped, shipped around the world and forced into this?

To the first question you ask- well, this is a deeply complex personal and psychological question that anyone considering a red light purchase has to answer for themselves. I had actually written a detailed sidebar to the Dec 19 post attempting to answer this question in an attempt to justify the fact that I was, in fact, considering this. Fortunately, I read it before hitting submit and realized that posting that much personal insight was a baaaaaaaaaaaad idea. I also came to the conclusion that if a woman I thought was incredibly beautiful (and make no mistake, there were several!) was willing to offer me sex for something as trivial as money, I don't need to justify the fact that I considered it. I have no wife or girlfriend that I would be cheating on, and it is legal.

As for the second question, here are two ways to look at it:

I have a job that I don't like and makes me feel like shit about myself for the statement it makes about my life. However, I need money to eat, so I need a job. When I was unemployed, this was the only job I was offered in 6 months, and my prospects aren't any better today. For this reason, I make sure I do my job well and earn my paycheck.

And as the saying goes, bad sex is like bad pizza- even when it's bad, it's still pretty good.

[verticalSquare]

FWIW, the way I think about it is this: why would you want to have sex with someone who doesn't want to have sex with you? How on earth could this be enjoyable.

This is definitely one of the questions in my moral dilemna... though the big questions center around health risks and especially questions of victimization vs. free will- did these women choose this as their best option out of unfortunate circumstances? Or have they been kidnapped, shipped around the world and forced into this?

To the first question you ask- well, this is a deeply complex personal and psychological question that anyone considering a red light purchase has to answer for themselves. I had actually written a detailed sidebar to the Dec 19 post attempting to answer this question in an attempt to justify the fact that I was, in fact, considering this. Fortunately, I read it before hitting submit and realized that posting that much personal insight was a baaaaaaaaaaaad idea. I also came to the conclusion that if a woman I thought was incredibly beautiful (and make no mistake, there were several!) was willing to offer me sex for something as trivial as money, I don't need to justify the fact that I considered it. I have no wife or girlfriend that I would be cheating on, and it is legal.

As for the second question, here are two ways to look at it:

I have a job that I don't like and makes me feel like shit about myself for the statement it makes about my life. However, I need money to eat, so I need a job. When I was unemployed, this was the only job I was offered in 6 months, and my prospects aren't any better today. For this reason, I make sure I do my job well and earn my paycheck.

And as the saying goes, bad sex is like bad pizza- even when it's bad, it's still pretty good.

Hey. Sorry. I wrote that post too quickly. Just to be clear, the question wasn't aimed at you directly, it should more have read:

why would one want to have sex with someone who doesn't want to have sex with you?
(its actually rather hard to write this sentence in general terms but you get the point)

And in case you thought I was taking the moral highground, I wasn't, actually I was speaking from personal experience. As a young, foolish man, many years ago, I slept with a prostitute while on holiday in Prague. I had always been rather fascinated with the idea, after reading perhaps too many novels set in 1920's Paris, so it was enormously exciting walking beside this young woman in Prague at night, wondering where this experience would take me. Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, I found the experience both deeply unsatisfying and extremely sad and never ever considered repeating it again. But this is how it was for me - obviously for other people it must be very different.

You're right that the moral problems involved are very complex and simply cannot be expressed in a few paragraphs on an internet forum. I would imagine that there are a certain percentage of women who do this work who do genuinely enjoy it, but I suspect this percentage is small. Most women, I believe, have been forced into this kind of work due to unfortunate circumstances and must find it very difficult to get out once they're earning a lot of money from it.

Anyway, sorry for derailing your thread, which should be about the joys of weed smoking, rather than the sadness of prostitution. And apologies for writing that post too quickly - it wasn't meant as a personal attack at all, rather an observation on something I learned myself through an unfortunate experience many years ago.

And to repeat my earlier post: your report is great! Thoroughly enjoyed it. Was over there in November and felt like I was walking those streets once again. Have to get over again this year - maybe April / May.

Hows the post-Amsterdam Blues going? Found it very hard for a few weeks when I came back.

[FriendlyEdgar]

Friday, Dec 23

I start the heading out to Leidesplein to do what I should have done in the first two days- buy my Museumkaart! This is probably my single biggest regret of the trip- that I wasn't smart enough to get this taken care of immediately so I could just randomly pop into museums as I stumbled upon them during my lost ramblings. However, it is a very nice day and I decide not to spend it inside a museum.

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I decide to head to voyagers, since I haven't been back since my first day! As I am about to get to the door it opens and out comes this beautiful woman with one of the most incredible smiles I have ever seen! After a few seconds I snap out of my trance and see Gapie coming out right behind her, and I am introduced to LadyJane!

**I am insecure and awkward around beautiful women if I don't know their significant other. Generally when I try to give even a completely innocent compliment it comes across as a clumsy come-on, so I never say anything. It is only now, seperated by the world and a computer screen that I can say, LadyJane, you are breathtakingly beautiful and your smile is absolutely radiant!

I am invited to join Gapie and LadyJane on their crawl... they don't have to twist my arm!

**There is, however, a downside to this... I don't actually go inside Voyagers, and so I miss the announcement that they will have Kosher Kush the next day!

First we head to Anyday. As usual, I get Champagne Haze and head upstairs where Gapie is cleaning a Verdamper for us. I sit between LJ and the guy at the next table in a yoga/meditation type position. Shortly after we are joined by Bleak and his lovely girlfriend *** (I don't know if she wants her real name posted here, so I won't...but yes, I do remember it!)

We have a lengthy Verdamper TnT. I am looking inward, focusing on the group I am with, so I never notice that yoga-guy is apparently putting on quite a show behind me. After a while LJ makes a comment about feeling sketchy... I am completely unaware of what is going on behind me, so this makes me feel awful- I really felt like I was doing a good job of not being awkward or sketchy! As we leave for our next stop, t'nes, everything is explained to me- about LJ telling me her middle name rather than her first name because she was freaked out, about the crazy display yoga guy is putting on- EVERYBODY but me sees this, as I am basically sitting back-to-back with the guy, and really, why would I be turning around- and I feel much better! I realize LJ is probably in fact thrilled that I sit next to her, forming a barrier between her and yoga-guy, and not sketched out as I feared after her earlier comment!

**Just because I'm paranoid doesn't mean they aren't out to get me!

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We walk into Nes like a movie scene. *Cut to a bar. A few people play pool in the back. The stools at the bar are all empty. In walks a group of 5 people. In synchronized movements, jackets are removed, hung up, and seats are taken. The bar is now full. *

As everybody is ordering at nes, mostly hot chocolates, the bottle of Bailey's is staring me in the face and I get a brilliant idea- "Can I get a hot chocolate with Baileys?" It is AWESOME! It is also the last drop of alcohol I have! 16 days, 2.5 beers and 1 shot of Bailey's. I don't know who provides the herb or what it is, but for the next couple of hours DC keeps filling vape bags and passing them down the bar- it is an epic session!

While we are here, I am chatting with Bleak and his lady, and I ask her name again. She tells me, and gives me the clue that makes it stick- the "th," and I've got it!

Bleak and his lady leave at some point. As we are saying our goodbyes, I say her name, pronounced correctly, and her jaw drops. "There are people I've been going to school with for a year that can't say my name!" As soon as she gave me the tip about the spelling I could visualize the name, and now I'll never forget it!

Eventually, LJ is ready to call it a night, as her friend is arriving the next day. We walk with her back to Warmoestraat, where we make a quick stop at Greenhouse for a final smoke. After, we say our goodbyes and Gapie and I head back to Central.

And so ends the best day of my trip so far! Don't get me wrong, every day has been a treat... but there is something about a diverse group of people from all over the world coming together for common purpose that is incredible!

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[FriendlyEdgar]

Hey Vertical, no apology necessary! I knew you meant it exactly as you have clarified! As it happens, you did pose one of the specific questions I was wrestling with, so I chose to comment on it, both to engage my intellectual curiosity as a student (I am a 30-something who has gone back to school, and this is a topic that connects to my history, sociology and psychology classes), and because as much as I want to believe I don't need to justify myself to anybody for even considering such a thing, as a person with repressed puritanical roots I still feel like I need to justify myself to somebody. Or everybody.

The post Amsterdam blues were actually not too bad, once I got over the "flight cancelled/just kidding" incident! It could have been bad, the way the middle portion of the trip went, but I recovered nicely and made each of the last 6 days epic on it's own, and EPIC as a group, so my regrets are few and minor! Fortunately I did not get fired when I got home, so I am already in preliminary discussions for a return trip, this time with my best friend and his gf... and no, I have no worries about mixed priorities with this group!

[verticalSquare]

Cool, Edgar, good to know. As an Irish man I know all about repressed puritanical roots so I found this expression pretty funny. Even though both of my parents are agnostic, and I wasn't raised religiously at all, obviously, its as if there's something in the air over here and you spend your life trying to not feeling guilty over taking pleasure from anything. Which is odd as half the country is drunk at any one time. Truth always seems to lie within paradoxes...

If you want to see what a place is like which doesn't have repressed puritanical roots, spend some time in Scandinavia (I spent a bit of time in Denmark) - they don't seem repressed about anything over there, as far as I can tell, which I found extraordinarily refreshing.

Were you aware that there is a word which describes specifically the fear of beautiful women? (RE your encounter with the lovely LadyJane): caligynephobia. Always a good word to drop at a party to make you seem smarter than you actually are

[Trad]

I wrestled with those same moral and health questions; I also fought those puritanical demons.
Moral and health both tapped out early and, puritanical demons are known to have bad knees so he was down rather easily and I got in with the welly…..the result of all this conflict was a wonderful 60th birthday present to myself....
I shall add that this was the first time I have won the above battles.
When in Rome???

I posted a picture of my ‘present’ in “Trads April Visit”

[FriendlyEdgar]

I was not aware of that, vertical. However, I'd say you have to be very careful how you use that term in front of other people! If you say you suffer from caligynephobia and someone knows what it means, smarter is not what it makes you sound like!

Trad- I do remember reading that report and the picture!

Saturday, Dec 24

I wake up on Xmas eve and start the day with a stoner's mimosa: Champagne Haze and OJ for breakfast! I then set out for the Rijksmuseum. Still under renovation, the open wing as billed as "a great way to see the highlights in about an hour." I am there for over three! I take a picture of almost every item in the museum, as well as the signs identifying them.

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After the Rijksmuseum, I head to Basjoe- I need to restock the heaven haze! Sitting in the booth right next to the door, I have to take a picture of

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I asked James the other night if there was anything new I could see, and he said to check back in a day or two. I follow-up today and his eyes go wiiiide! He shows me the new arrival, Cheese (I feel like he said something about Gouda, but I'm not positive)! It is staaaaaanky!

I go out for lunch and make my way to Anyday for some Verdamping! The previous day, Bleak had gotten some OD Silver, which was like 7e! As each of us took a hit off the Verdamper, we were all floored by the taste, the high and the price! I pick up 2g and have an epic solo session. I load the Verdamper 3 times, S5 Haze, Heaven Haze, and OD Silver. I have no idea how I make it down the stairs! On the way out I ask if they will be open for Xmas... THEY WILL!!!!!

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I head home for a break, go grocery shopping (not sure if they're open on Xmas here), and cook myself dinner. I head back out, determined to try some new shops n strains! First stop, BettyBoop. The Green Butter looks awesome, but the smallest they'll do is 1/2g, and I still have a good amount of all 3 terminator purchases, so I have to pass. I get the Chocolate Kush. I don't remember if it is Gapie or Bleak, I think Bleak, but one of them will really enjoy this strain in the next couple of days!

Next I stop at Grasshopper, and look at the 20e Kali Mist. Everything about it seems incredible, but the price is just brutal... However, I promise myself that if I stay on budget I will get 1g for my last full day!

For my final stop of the night, I go next door to Homegrown Fantasy. The lovely and charming Dublin lass working cheerfully shows me almost the whole menu, with descriptions and recommendations. I notice this is a trend, the female budtenders are much better salespeople! There are several things I want to try, so I ask if I have to buy g's, or if they'll do 1/2's. She has no problem doing 1/2's! I choose SnowDog, Cheese Psychosis, and her favorite, Amazing Haze! I hang out here for a good hour- I am about to leave after 15mins, but then the music takes a sharp turn and for the next 45 minutes we are listening to the Beatles! The other budtender working is English, and watching the two of them interact I wonder why we can't just put these two in charge? Clearly the English and Irish can get along brilliantly, if they want to! After a while, they debate what song they will play next, and I request something from Revolver... the next song is Eleanor Rigby!

I head home for the night, and come on the forum to post an Xmas 420 TnT at Anyday!

[Sue Narmy]

Fantastic report.

[TwoCanucks]

More greatness!

[geekymonkey]

Edgar, let me add to the much deserved praise- I've really enjoyed your report!

I think we're around the same age, my mr is a social-scientist, and I was once accused by a student of being a yankee ("The people who are from the north, drive too fast, talk funny, and are catholic," he helpfully elaborated.) So I feel a great deal of kinship with you Although I have wantonly embraced hedonism at this point

So, many thanks!

[Roobarb]

This has been a very good read so far. Looking forward to the next instalment

[bleak]

We have a lengthy Verdamper TnT. I am looking inward, focusing on the group I am with, so I never notice that yoga-guy is apparently putting on quite a show behind me. After a while LJ makes a comment about feeling sketchy... I am completely unaware of what is going on behind me, so this makes me feel awful- I really felt like I was doing a good job of not being awkward or sketchy! As we leave for our next stop, t'nes, everything is explained to me- about LJ telling me her middle name rather than her first name because she was freaked out, about the crazy display yoga guy is putting on- EVERYBODY but me sees this, as I am basically sitting back-to-back with the guy, and really, why would I be turning around- and I feel much better! I realize LJ is probably in fact thrilled that I sit next to her, forming a barrier between her and yoga-guy, and not sketched out as I feared after her earlier comment!

I didn't see the yoga guy either!! He was at the side of my vision, but I was too busy hitting the verdamper to notice what he was doing. Crazy dude.

Amazing trip report, really well done!! I'm looking forward to reading the next instalments.

[FriendlyEdgar]

Geeky and Canucks, thank you both, that means a lot as you both write amazing reports!!
Bleak, thank you as well, I had an incredible time hanging out with you! As you haven't posted any of the pics you took of our smorgasboard I'm going to post one with my Dec 26 installment later today.
Vertical, I'm going to read your report this weekend, I'm looking forward to it!
Everyone else who has commented, thank you all! As I said earlier, it feels great to be completing the circle from complete newbie 'dam virgin reading trip reports like they're homework to coming to the end of my debut!

This semester is going to be a busy one, so I will be knocking out the last few days of my report this weekend, probably 2 today and 2 tomorrow! Stay tuned!



For the record, I will definitely be back this summer, maybe multiple times between May and June if I do a big Europe trip... or I might just come to Amsterdam for the month of June (17 is my Bday!)!!