The flying pig downtown 29/4-1/5

[Bifton]

IF its your first time and wanna be shown around by a local ,, Gapie is that person, he will never ask for a for anything,, its up to you if you want to smoke with him or not,, he is very energenic so be ready for that,, but other wise no big deal

enjoy
Peace Matty TSA

100% agree with this statement. I spent a fair few hours in Gapie's company over 420 and was as generous with his time as his stash. There have been many occasions when I have been glad of his help.

[agathacc]

Hey
Thanks everyone for the tips about Gapie!

So...as Jw21 wrote...just name a time and place!

[Jw21]

How about 11.30 on Wednesday at prix d ami? I'm thinking about to visit 1e hulp that day also. Where u from by the way?

[agathacc]

AM??

Brazil!

[Jw21]

Cool! Yeah is that to early for you? Name a better time in stead? I don't have a schedule

[Stonedisland]

If you really want an unbiased honest view of the situation, Gapie will take you to the most touristy places in the center of the city. You will undoubtedly receive the worst value for your money in these shops. If that's what visiting Amsterdam is about for you, go for it. But I guarantee you that you will have a much better trip if you explore the city for yourself and venture a bit further from the center to Jordaan and De Pijp for example.

[Padge247]

Worst value for money is a little unfair. The shops Gapie (and alot of other members of the forum for that matter) tends to frequent I would say are Utopia (not an especially busy shop, certainly not known for it's terrible value for money), Voyagers (a firm favourite amongst many members, not the cheapest, but known for having good shit, even if it's been a little more criticised recently) and Grey Area (ok this is the only shop you could argue about bad value, but that is only due to it having some of the highest prices, in my experience quality has usually been fairly high).

Also the first time I met Gapie, he came to meet me at De Graal, (much, much, much closer to my flat than his), brought his own weed, asked if I wanted to go to Central with him after a few hours, and said a friendly goodbye when I declined (no 'hissy fit'). Also he showed myself and another member of this forum around De Pijp (De Graal, Katsu, Club Media) for an afternoon, so I think it is unfair to say that by spending time with Gapie you wont get the opportunity to see these shops. And if he doesn't want to go to De Pijp one afternoon, there is nothing to stop you going off and doing that if it is what you want to do (and I highly recommend you do make the short trip south !).

[Stonedisland]

Padge I think your experience reflects that you live in Amsterdam so he views you as someone he wouldn't want to break off ties with by doing something stupid like taking advantage of the situation in any way. I've never met him so these are all speculations based upon others' experiences with him. It does seem like he will do what he can get away with to tourists who he comes into contact with only once or seldom.

By worst value for money I mean comparatively. In my opinion, Voyagers, Utopia and Grey Area all have worse value for money compared to De Graal if you include the entire ambience of the coffeeshop as well.

[jiffa]

Don't usually fling in my tupance but here goes.

In all my years of visiting the fine city of Amsterdam I've learned that most shops can sometimes be hit or miss, each to there own and all that I've travelled solo and with friends and family everyone has there favourites for one reason or another(Old Church back in the day ).

Use the maps and read up on the reviews on this site and you wont go far wrong be respectful and treat people the way you expect to be treated and majority will react in a positive way

As for Gapie I've only met him the once in Utopia(In my top 3 shops service and weed plus they sell Bru cant ask for much more in my opinion) havin a smoke up and he seemed like a fairly solid kinda guy

Anyhoo stoned info upload over back to the Red Cherry Berry

Brainfart moment also meant to say enjoy the city it is after all a gem of a place

[Padge247]

@Stonedisland; I do love De Graal (I must say it is probably still my favourite shop to chill in), and I have had some great bud from there, but I think I have had more consistently good bud from Voyagers. I think I get, and completely agree with, what you are getting at, that you can buy good (even great) bud outside of central for less money, but I still think there is a place for high quality shops that are a bit more central.

I can think of plenty of shops I would consider to have far inferior value for money than Voyagers, Utopia and probably even Grey Area. Prix d'ami (I know some like this place, I don't really, for product or ambience), Grasshopper, Bulldog, Jolly Joker (nice place, but bud isn't good value at all in my experience), Abraxis, Greenhouse (smoked some expensive and not very good haze here), Barneys (I enjoyed everything I smoked to be fair, but it is expensive), Kadinsky (just based on cost), BluesBrothers (my worst purchase was from here) are all examples. So for you to suggest that Gapie would take you to the shops were you would get the 'worst value for money' I think is just wrong, regardless of you opinions of the guy.

I would perhaps agree with the fact you can get better value for money than these places (I do nearly all my buying in De Pijp, or at least outside of the central rings), but that normally (for me) involves a strain being reasonably cheaper and not quite as good. so for people who don't want to compromise on quality, I would still think there is a definite demand for those shops in central. Oh, and to judge a CS's value based on more than just bud (which I agree with), I think Utopia's customer service quality needs to be taken into account. I have read a few negative experiences, but in my own and the vast majority of people on here the customer service here is one of the best. While I don't think (to be fair I haven't smoked here for quite a while now) their bud quality is the BEST, I think it is still good, and ultimately it is the consistently excellent customer service (and maybe also my memory is jaded by the fact I have always had an awesome time here) which I think really makes this shop good value.

Final gripe (honestly!), you suggest your opinion of Gapie is unbiased, but as you have never met the guy, and must therefore base your opinions on second hand accounts, I don't see how you opinion can be anything but biased. End of the day we are all adults (or at least should be), so if you don't want to pass a joint you don't have to. But enough of that, I am tired of these Gapie based arguments, and don't want to further contribute either way towards one.

Ultimately value means different things to different people. I highly recommend anyone who visits Amsterdam for any length of time (aka 3 days or more) visits areas outside of Central as Stonedisland suggests, as well as exploring some of the well respected central shops. Jiffa hits the nail on the head, every shop can be hit or miss, everyone has their favourites. The fun bit is getting out there and finding which is yours =D

[Not_the_monk]

That's a great post Padge, agree with every bit of it

[Stonedisland]

Padge I think we are on the same page here in principle. That was pretty much what I was getting at. Also I have to agree that there are far worse shops in the center than Utopia for example.

The last point you made is perhaps the most compelling and the root of the argument I was trying to present in the first place. I simply do not like to see tourists giving up their own ability to explore and formulate their own opinions of shops in this manner for the guidance of another individual, whether that be Gapie or anyone else. I just chose Gapie because he seems to be prominent for this, especially because he seems to choose certain shops based on benefits he receives or simply how he's feeling. If he were to give the tourist a concise, accurate, unbiased view of a variety of shops which he has no vested interest in visiting himself and let them choose which one they will go to together, I would say fair play.

If you have already visited a lot of shops and have made plenty of your own experiences that is a different story. What I am trying to encourage, as you are as well I presume, is for first timers to let go of their craving for familiarity, comfort, and guidance and just go and explore all areas of the city for themselves. This way they will be less likely to be influenced by other people's preformed opinions. It is also very easy for people new to the city to find themselves less likely to go and explore for themselves after the first j, which is why I think it is essential to have this mentality from the start. As Padge says, the fun bit is getting out there and finding which is yours =D

[Papi]

@Stonedisland; I do love De Graal (I must say it is probably still my favourite shop to chill in), and I have had some great bud from there, but I think I have had more consistently good bud from Voyagers. I think I get, and completely agree with, what you are getting at, that you can buy good (even great) bud outside of central for less money, but I still think there is a place for high quality shops that are a bit more central.

I can think of plenty of shops I would consider to have far inferior value for money than Voyagers, Utopia and probably even Grey Area. Prix d'ami (I know some like this place, I don't really, for product or ambience), Grasshopper, Bulldog, Jolly Joker (nice place, but bud isn't good value at all in my experience), Abraxis, Greenhouse (smoked some expensive and not very good haze here), Barneys (I enjoyed everything I smoked to be fair, but it is expensive), Kadinsky (just based on cost), BluesBrothers (my worst purchase was from here) are all examples. So for you to suggest that Gapie would take you to the shops were you would get the 'worst value for money' I think is just wrong, regardless of you opinions of the guy.

I would perhaps agree with the fact you can get better value for money than these places (I do nearly all my buying in De Pijp, or at least outside of the central rings), but that normally (for me) involves a strain being reasonably cheaper and not quite as good. so for people who don't want to compromise on quality, I would still think there is a definite demand for those shops in central. Oh, and to judge a CS's value based on more than just bud (which I agree with), I think Utopia's customer service quality needs to be taken into account. I have read a few negative experiences, but in my own and the vast majority of people on here the customer service here is one of the best. While I don't think (to be fair I haven't smoked here for quite a while now) their bud quality is the BEST, I think it is still good, and ultimately it is the consistently excellent customer service (and maybe also my memory is jaded by the fact I have always had an awesome time here) which I think really makes this shop good value.

Final gripe (honestly!), you suggest your opinion of Gapie is unbiased, but as you have never met the guy, and must therefore base your opinions on second hand accounts, I don't see how you opinion can be anything but biased. End of the day we are all adults (or at least should be), so if you don't want to pass a joint you don't have to. But enough of that, I am tired of these Gapie based arguments, and don't want to further contribute either way towards one.

Ultimately value means different things to different people. I highly recommend anyone who visits Amsterdam for any length of time (aka 3 days or more) visits areas outside of Central as Stonedisland suggests, as well as exploring some of the well respected central shops. Jiffa hits the nail on the head, every shop can be hit or miss, everyone has their favourites. The fun bit is getting out there and finding which is yours =D

Nothing else to add Pagde, having an opinion on somebody based only on things others have said about this person is kind of gossipping behaviour i dislike the most. If you believe gossips, then it's cool, but as for me, what I think is the most important, not what somebody told me. I met Gapie during my last stay, at Utopia(which is definitely NOT a cs with bad value for money), didn't want to be biased towards him so i didn't give much shit 'bout what others think. And well, before i even ordered something and took out my stash, he shared some killer joints with me, didn't demand anything. We shared some smoke the following days also. So let the guy be, and let everyone decide for themselves rather than scaring some people off:)
Have a good day:D

[matty223]

Hey i got a new person to bash ,, The stiff American,, lets start bashing him
peace matty tsa

[Stonedisland]

Nothing else to add Pagde, having an opinion on somebody based only on things others have said about this person is kind of gossipping behaviour i dislike the most. If you believe gossips, then it's cool, but as for me, what I think is the most important, not what somebody told me. I met Gapie during my last stay, at Utopia(which is definitely NOT a cs with bad value for money), didn't want to be biased towards him so i didn't give much shit 'bout what others think. And well, before i even ordered something and took out my stash, he shared some killer joints with me, didn't demand anything. We shared some smoke the following days also. So let the guy be, and let everyone decide for themselves rather than scaring some people off:)
Have a good day:D

Did you read the last post I wrote? Obviously you aren't seeing the message I was trying to get across, or you like being a blind follower which directly contradicts your statement about what you think being the most important.