I had everything prepared to go - my bag was packed, my £'s turned to €'s, my passport and travel insurance, phone and charger (with little bluetooth GPS thingy) all tucked away nice and safe... and after checking in online for the very first time and getting a window seat on the second row! (Nice!) I thought, right - all I gotta do is get there!
So.... here we are on the first day.
I've had a quick check of the weather forecast(s) both sides of the sea, and looked on the airport's websites to see if there are any problems reported - nothing. I decided to forego breakfast as I was due to meet up with my mate for an all-you-can-eat chinese buffet at midday, before catching the bus to the airport, and so spent the morning sorting everything else out, then relaxed with what was going to be my last toke before the 'Dam. I caught the bus into town and stood around outside the buffet waiting for my mate to show up. Half an hour later and with no reply to my calls I finally got a text saying he couldn't make it, but have a good time!
Now it was here I made my first mistake;
I should have gone inside and filled my belly with all the heart-attack inducing food I could stuff down my throat - on my own... But no, I thought, by the time I get to Amsterdam I'll have built up a fair appetite anyway, and if I don't waste more time here I can be sure of getting to the flight in time.
So off I trod, back to the bus-stop and on to the airport. I breezed through to the BMIBaby desk and showed them the printout of my boarding card to see if it was all-right (my printer wouldn't print all the colours properly, so I did it in black and white!) The lady said it was fine and I toddled off to the security gates. No problems there and I ended up in the departure lounge with about an hour and a half to kill and a growing rumble in my stomach.
Eventually, the time came to board the flight, and the buses came to ferry us across the airfield to our stand. There was a young woman on the bus with a young child, a rucksack and two (heavy) carry-on cases, obviously struggling under the load, so I helped her onto the plane with her belongings and settled down in my seat after struggling back through all the people to get to my seat at the front of the plane. Ouch, I thought as I sat down, I think I overdid it with those bags - my back's not getting any younger!!
Anyhow, I thought, I'll be getting my medicine in about an hour and a bit!
The plane was due to leave at 15.10, and taxied off to the runway well on time... Then the plane stopped and the pilot came on the intercom, telling us that a warning light had come on on one of the engines, so they were calling an engineer to come and have a look. 40 minutes passed while they fiddled and probed, then the captain tells us over the intercom that they're taxiing back to the stand to sort it out. "If all else fails, we can put you on another plane..."
Back in the departure lounge, I thought about that chinese...
Eventually, after what seemed an age, the flight was reposted on the boards and we trotted back to the gate, back on the buses, and back to the plane... and yes, I helped the young woman again as it seemed no-one else wanted to lift a finger. My back really seemed unhappy with this behaviour when I sat down, but again, I dismissed the pain as best I could and thought dreamily of those beautiful canals, the clouds of ganja rolling around my soon-to-be-baked head....
We taxied. We'd reached the runway this time. Nothing could stop us!
The engines powered up, the plane shook as it started to roll... all around the cabin, the smiles of happy people... Then both engines throttled down and we came to a stop.
"Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain again - I'm really not happy with this engine, folks, so we're going to taxi back to the stand and swap you over to another plane. There's one due in from Rome landing at about 18.10..."
This time they wouldn't even let us back into the departure lounge, where we could have at least found some solace at the Burger King - instead we waited in the gate area, until eventually the buses arrived yet again to ferry us across to our new chariot. Needless to say, I wasn't going to abandon the poor woman with the baggage this time either, so eventually I sat down in my seat, and fastened my seatbelt for the last time.
After getting onto the runway this time, we did not want to leave by any means other than flight. A round of applause went up as the plane tilted back and took to the air!
I checked my watch - I should have been sat in De Kuil by now - roasting what little brain-cells I had left, but no...
I had managed to successfully coax a marsbar out of the only vending machine at the gate during the wait, but I was getting seriously peckish by now - I forked out for a bacon baguette at £3.50 and washed it down with the free soft drink the airline had given everyone by way of apology...
Anyway, the rest of the first day went pretty smooth after all that! The plane touched down fine at Schipol, and without a glance backwards, I was off as fast as my poor back would let me go! I got through passport control and customs with barely a second look, whizzed through the baggage hall and out to the station. I was a man on a mission.
Ticket in hand I rushed down to the platform and straight onto the train for Centraal. I don't recall any stops this time round, so about 20 mins later I was coming out of the station and heading for my hotel, a quick 10 minute walk away. I looked at my watch when I checked in to my room - 10.30pm. I've missed a lot of smoking time! 4 hours, by my reckoning... Quick shower, changed and I'm heading for De Kuil, and my first Super Silver Haze of the trip.
I was greeted by the lovely girl behind the counter and we had a little chat while I got my drink and my SSH - oh, it was good to be back!
My fumbling fingers managed to roll a big pure SSH spliff (I only smoke neat) and as I let the plume of sweet hazey smoke escape, I allowed myself a smile. Home again!
Sounds like an excellent first joint, but you got 4 hours to make up. 
I had visions of sitting in the airport, watching plane after plane leave...
