Trip 3 - 17 Strains. 1 Whitey. 1 Rash. 3 Cuts & An Epic Time

[Babbalonian]

Trip 3 - Back In The Saddle Again - 17 Strains.. One whitey, A Rash, Three Cuts & An Epic Time.... Eventually! 13th-17th March.

The grades I've given the strain relates to what I get at home. Currently I have some Northern Lights & its my favourite strain. To give room for 'improvement' whilst rating in The Dam I'll call it an 8.
So anything 7.5 or over is a top top smoke for me...


Friday 13th
-----------------

Third trip in a year for me and just glad the visit has come around without picking up any man flu etc. It was an all consuming fear the last 2 weeks before my trip. At least 2 bottles of hand sanitiser used in those 14 days. Paranoia started early!

After a gentle morning trip up to Gatwick the fuckers from Easyjet left us strapped in our seats on the runway for an hour with no explanation... British Airways next time as it also took 30 minutes to attach the stairs on the return journey as well.

Anyway, hotel as always is perfect for the solo traveller....




CitizenM


As a first note I will get an earlier flight next time. It was about 6pm by the time I reached the Centrum & holy hell it was c-c-c-cold! No gloves or scarf and I naively assumed a leather jacket with wolly hat would be enough. Even power walking round town didn't do much to warm me up.

After purchasing my toiletries & munching some frites and it being close by I chose Green Place as a first visit. Small shop & although I rolled here on the Sunday it has a buy n fly vibe to me.

Shoreline (Green Place - 2g) - Recommended on this site and I can see why. It had quite a fruity aroma and gave a nice contented, spacey high. I could walk around town on it without getting heavy legs as well. Would definitely buy it again... 8


Onto Utopia next. I'd never visited here before (always stopped at Homegrown Fantasy when on this side of town normally). It has an English cafe kind of style and some seriously dodgy music but the female budtender was very welcoming and helpful.

Tangelo Kush (Utopia - 2g) - Not as heavy hitting an indica as I was after to be honest. I slept pretty good after having a joint back at the hotel so it did the job but I just didn't feel it in the body like I expected. Originally scored it a 7.5 but marked it down as I didn't feel much effect as a raise n blaze on the Saturday... 6

Two margaritas in the hotel & it was off to bed for an early wake up and start to the weekend.


Saturday
-------------


Typical cheap razors! Two cuts from shaving and it was at least 90 minutes before they had bled out. To make matters worse I got the wrong train and was off to the Hague Centraal rather than Centraal Station. Duh!!! Just didn't look at the display hard enough... Was stood on a freezing cold platform in the middle of nowhere (well actually a bunch of poppy fields by the look of it) waiting for the train back.

Still once in Dam Centraal I got the tram (first time user & it's an easy & pleasant way to see the sights) down to the De Pijp area & the Albert Cuyp Market. Straight in a little convenience store for a Pro Glide! Never again with the cheap shit blades!

First coffeeshop of the day was Katsu. Really liked the place (has just the right design and vibe for me - check out their website) & the black budtender girl was sweet & helpful. Absolutely gutted they didn't have the Champagne Haze on the menu so asked for the strongest/best sativa...

Mango Haze (Katsu - 2g) - Wow!!! I rarely get many sativas back home and this was absolutely perfect for me. The buds had a nice fruity smell and the high was very energetic and clear headed and made the Incubus playlist I had rotating on my tablet rock hard! Would buy again & would be a strain I'd like to grow one day... 9


Probably spent an hour in Katsu (I know I had a good hot chocolate there) but moved on as I wanted to check out the market as well as a few other places. Next stop was Club Media. Oh dear! Just not my kind of vibe. Some waaaay over the top entrance system to get in a coffeeshop playing football on tv with a vibe that felt like a 'greasy spoon' cafe...

Champagne Haze (Club Media -1g) - On the positive side I got a nice big bud and the weed ground up easy with a sweet and fruity aroma. Probably the nicest smelling weed of the trip for me. Someone else on the forum said Wham Bars?? That's spot on! A shame it was a tad disappointing to smoke. The buzz was ok but kind of flat for me and utterly paled in comparison to the Mango from Katsu. Possibly the Mango was so strong the Champagne didn't give me much but everybody is different... 6




Champagne Haze - Club Media


Next stop was De Graal. I'd heard it was a more old school kind of place so was looking forward to seeing what goodies they had on the menu. Nice place. Well hidden. Walked past it at least twice. Embarrassingly had to ask one of the Red Light girls in the small RLD there which place I was looking for. Embarrassed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!




De Graal & their chess boards


Anywhere that has chess tables laid out is fine by me. Shop was empty so had no-one to play with... Awwwwwww!

Girl Scout Cookies (De Graal - 2g) - Rolled well. Smoked well and left me with a contented relaxed feeling... 7


Until............... I started noticing a rash coming up on both hands. Paranoia must have kicked in because I was itching and scratching away and thinking it was due to the dusty antique shop feel of the place. Managed to get outside for some air but had a whitey on a bench round the corner sipping some water. Never done this before but I even threw away the rest of the GSC in the bin!!

Food (in the broadest possible sense) was what I needed. A burger & frites rallied the troops so to speak. Feeling a little better I hopped back on the tram to Centraal to pop into Voyagers. Third time visiting the shop and always thought its weed slightly overrated...

Tangie (Voyagers - 1 or 2g?) - Wow! Great head buzz. This strain smelt soooo citrusy. Oranges!! Smoked great & tasted real good. Along with the buzz it provided a warm feel good glow. Great for your outlook as I was literally up for anything after smoking this. Easily the best flower I've had from Voyagers in 3 trips... 8.5




Tangie - Voyagers



Shower, shave and back out there by 8pm. As I'd never been in Barney's before I decided to try the Cannabis Cup winning entry from there. Pricey herb and as commercial a 'bar' feel as I expected.

Cookies Kush (Barney's - 1g) - I actually quite enjoyed this strain. Not strong enough to win any awards in my opinion but was a nice full heavy smoke without much flavour. Quite stoned on it & it's a decent indica but I wouldn't rush to buy it again... 7



Evidence! Forgot to take the pic of the actual weed! Duh!


Just to show it's not only classy Brit tourists that can act a trifle chav.... On the train back to the hotel I sat by the doors (only a 15 minute journey) and some drunk local girl staggered out of the bathroom belching and sniffing - rather too loudly. She handed something to her dad(?) and he went straight in the toilet as well. Hmmmmmm thinks I. It was confirmed when he came out rather red faced and the wife(?) took his place inside with a credit card in her hand. The train wasn't so loud that I couldn't hear her chopping up her lines!! Keep it in the family! Classy!


Mojito & a Cookies Kush joint before bed at 2am(ish) after showering to clean my foot. Did I mention I'd somehow managed to scrape half the flesh off my left heel on Friday evening wandering around & had to buy a deluxe pack of monster plasters so I could hop around town? That was cut number 3!



Sunday, Monday & Tuesday will come later. Lunch breaks allowing over the next few days!!

[Spaldwickapeface]

Best name for a travel log ever. If flying easy jet is not your thing pay the extra money and fly kLM out of city airport, well worth the extra money

[Babbalonian]

Best name for a travel log ever. If flying easy jet is not your thing pay the extra money and fly kLM out of city airport, well worth the extra money

Thankee sir. I will check their website out as I'm hoping for a summer visit at the end of June

[Smith2]

That chessboard bothers me.

[gapie]

coolz

[Willjay]

Thanks for sharing, if you grew a beard you would save time and blood did you ever find out what cause the rash or was that a delayed reaction to the mass amounts of hand sanitizer used,

[theginjaninja]

It was caused by his hands going cold turkey, without any sanitizer.

[Babbalonian]

Sunday
-------

Fell out of bed at 11. Tried to cleanse myself by a half hour of yoga & stretching. It helped but not as much as the rain shower for 45 minutes. My hands were still red but felt ok and the colouring had completely gone by the evening.

Was 2pm by the time I managed to get down to Katsu again. Was going to buy more of their Mango Haze but decided to try a couple of other sativas on their menu as where I'm from in England its mainly indicas. Rolled my herb on the big table, had a S.S.H joint and a great chat with an older local who couldn't believe I get my weed back home for a 'friend' price of £160 an ounce.


Amnesia Haze (Katsu - 1g) - Never had this strain before! Oddly a sherbet aroma, smoked good and gave a clear head high. Helped make the music in 1e Hulp very good! 7

Super Silver Haze (Katsu - 1g) - Uber disappointed by this strain. Earthy smell but I got almost nothing from it and I'd only had a little Cookies Kush as a wake n bake back at the hotel... 5




Amnesia Haze - Katsu




S.S.H - Katsu


After a hot chocolate it was back to it and a swift power walk up to 1e Hulp. Its nice that you can walk distances in Amsterdam that on the map look a long way but are actually no great hike. Similar to Prague methinks. Anyway I couldn't wait to check this shop out. By recommendation, reputation and the Twitter strain pics I'd seen... Yum! Excellent shop with a vast selection. Good prices too. Would return here in June.


Somari (1e Hulp - 1g) - Smelt spicy. Minty even. Top 3 for aroma. Enjoyable smoke & not even a tickle of a cough. I felt real good when I smoked it on Monday... 8

Strawberry Diesel (1e Hulp - 1g) - Plain smell. Generous gram as I managed to make a big cone. Disappointing smoke. I could feel it but was nothing that stood out... 6




Strolling past the palace




Somari - 1e Hulp




Strawberry Diesel - 1e Hulp (I think)


Stopped off at Koh-I-Noor for some much deserved nosh. Lovely Chicken Saag and off to bed after a Sunday Night Special.... The last of the Tangie & Mango Haze together.



Monday
------

Even though I didn't wake till 10:30 I easily could've stayed in bed all day! Soooo glad I didn't though... First things first and I had to check out from the hotel. I'd originally only booked the room till Monday but ended up making 2 bookings as I'd scheduled my flight back home for Tuesday. Duh! Was hardly anymore expensive to stay an extra day rather than change fights so with Monday night being a 'second stay' I got a free mojito. Nice!

All the Somari went pronto as a wake n bake. Why? The sun was out!! Glorious day. The first proper sunny day in 3 trips to The Dam and what a difference it makes. Stopped off at Hunters to buy n fly and had a lovely Ben & Jerry's shake. Next was some gift buying & a wander to the Jordaan & The Pancake Bakery on Prinsengracht for more munching!




Spring? The big yellow thingy is up there somewhere!




The Pancake Bakery


One of the main places I wanted to check out on this stay was Electric Ladyland 'Museum'. It was shut & had 1-6 opening times even though it was 3pm. Gutted, but when I checked out their website writing this report they only open Tue-Sat so its a good enough excuse/reason to come back in June!


I always like to pay a visit to De Dampkring when I come here. Just a nice place to sit and chill if you can get a stool/seat. Great milkshakes and whilst waiting for a second one the waitress cheekily asked me if I wanted something with some fruit in it. Huge handfull of strawberries in the vanilla shake please miss! Anyway, met an English stoner girl at the bar who wanted to do a tour of town without her 2 Asian buddies (both sat at a table looking comatose!). We sat with them till they decided to go catch a movie(??) and ended up in La Pampa (steakhouse). She had salmon. I had the filet steak. Took her to Green Place and bought a gram in there as well. A great night it ended up being!!


L.A Kush (Hunters - 1g) - Surprise package of the trip for me. Asked the budtender which strain she preferred of their indicas and she said she smoked this. Such a creeper of a smoke. Didn't feel that strong smoking it but was still too blazed to smoke anything more in De Dampkring. Could only roll what I bought in there. Purchased it again on Tuesday as it had such a loooong lasting pleasant stone... 8.5

Enemy Of The State (De Dampkring - 1g) - Not going to go into detail why but I bloody love this strain!!! 8

O.G Reek'n (Green Place - 1g) - Not quite as nice as their Shoreline but a top indica this one. Despite how much I'd smoked I could definitely 'feel' the stone on this one. Indicas 'making a move' is what I texted myself... 8



Tuesday
-------


Last day. Gutted!! Another glorious day weather wise, checked out and left my bag in the safe area as my flight back to Blighty wasn't till 7:45. I was at Centraal for 11 & hit Hunters first for another shake & 1g of L.A Kush (a new favourite strain). As it was close by I popped back to Green Place to try something else (greedy bastard!). I chose the Rollex O.G this time & smoked that wandering around town enjoying the fresh air and sights...


Walking the town on Tuesday










Great memories of De Dampkring this trip so I popped back in for a chocolate shake & a gram of Cheese Dawg. 2 hours later and I was sat outside Cafe Van Beeren (near 420 Cafe) with an Amstel feeling the pace somewhat! A bit more super slow relaxed ambling around town took me to Rockland and my first gram of O.G Kush. Nice smoke!




De Dampkring - Last Day




Outside Cafe Van Beeren


Rollex O.G (Green Place - 1g) - Hard to grade (due to my intake) but I enjoyed smoking it & wandering around town stoned (had already had LA Kush that morning as well)... 7.5

Cheese Dawg (De Dampkring - 1g) - All I can remember of this is that I didn't want to move!! 7

O.G Kush (Rockland - 1g) - Felt tasty right on the first hit. Spicy. Good smoke. Had it before the flight home. Great stone as I fell asleep most of the flight back... 8


Time to fly!! Had one last margarita at the hotel which I couldn't finish and the O.G Kush joint walking the 5 minutes to Schipol and needless to say I slept most of the flight back to Gatwick!!




The Trusty Trip Lighter left behind at the hotel for someone else to get some quality use from...............

[Babbalonian]

Thanks for sharing, if you grew a beard you would save time and blood did you ever find out what cause the rash or was that a delayed reaction to the mass amounts of hand sanitizer used,

My hands are rather dry now!!

Still not sure what really happened on the Saturday in De Graal. Felt awful in there and sat outside. Just one of those things? Maybe overdoing it??

Hands seemed fine by Monday and no reaction since..... Though I am back on the hand sanitiser as by office is populated by coughing, sneezing animals!!

[Babbalonian]

Summary
-----------

Top 4 Strains:

Mango Haze - Katsu
L.A Kush - Hunters
Shoreline - Green Place
Enemy Of The State - De Dampkring



Top Coffeeshop:

Katsu - Probably sold my top strain of the trip. Nice and spacious. Great staff and I liked the laid back vibe. Going to come back!


Honourable Mentions:

De Dampkring - Always a favourite. Same again this time!

Hunters - Surprise weed of the trip - L.A Kush - and lovely milkshakes.

1e Hulp and Green Place - Great menus. The most important thing for most people after all!



Had a super trip (left a fair bit out as well!) after a rocky start and cannot wait to go back in June. Some great smokes. Really good variety in strains & coffeeshops. If you research a little then there surely is something for everyone here. The only downside is the prices in some shops but when you consider that the Government take about 7E in tax per gram it's understandable...

And remember....
If weed is a plant and plants are life then smoking weed is getting high on life!!

[Babbalonian]

That chessboard bothers me.

There were loads of the things in the back room... Virtually all with the wrong pieces on the wrong squares as well!!

Not that I was so anal I was going to put them right

[jiffa]

Nice read sounds like a fun trip was had

[kingbee]

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[kingbee]

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[Babbalonian]

A good report, thanks for posting it up

It sounds like you enjoyed the smoke, and nice one about the girl in De Dampkring

When you say the coffeeshops pay 7E in tax, I think someone's been telling you porkies (a coffeeshop owner, or BT, no doubt?!), unless you're talking about some very expensive hash?? (I assume not though)

Bearing in mind that coffeeshops pay 7000-8000 *maximum* on the kilo for the Best herb (which sells for 14-17E a gram), and so where is the profit for them if they're paying the 7E a gram to the government in tax?

Coffeeshops are not charities or non-profits like they are (supposed to be) in Spain, but instead they are primarily money-making ventures, and some of them sell A LOT of cannabis!

Bearing in mind that they can only stock half a kilo in the shop at a time, on busy days some of them have to re-up several times a day. Selling that amount of product generates serious profits, and for that reason I say that they are profiteers, and not doing it (all) for the love of stoners!

Very interesting stuff regarding the costs.. Makes me really appreciate 'friend' prices of £160 an ounce!!

It was a BT that told me the 7e tax line. Hunters maybe? I did think something was a bit weird just because the average price at home is £240 an ounce. 11.65e a gram. So the shops would be (as you say) getting some VERY cheap herb from suppliers after paying tax to make a profit!

I'll try & be a bit more discerning next trip.... Probably


Yeah, if it didn't before De Dampkring will have special memories now!