Red Light District

Yes, I finally managed to touch down in the Netherlands. With the amount of travelling I do, a lot of people were shocked that I hadn’t caught the 1-hour flight over to ‘Dam.

The Netherlands is known for its weed and prostitution. Two things, I am actually not interested in, unfortunately. I know I am half Jamaican but I actually don’t smoke. I’ll get on to the prostitution part later in the blog.

Obviously, that’s not the only thing they’re known for, Amsterdam is famous for its canals, beautiful houses, so-called coffee shops but there’s plenty more to this liberal city than most visitors realize. I actually didn’t know that until I got out there.

Nevertheless, my main purpose for the trip was to go and watch football. I got offered a ticket to go and watch Ajax vs Roda FC at the Amsterdam Arena, so I jumped at the chance. I had already seen Ajax play this year when they faced my team, Man Utd in Stockholm in May. But with me never been to Netherlands, I thought what the heck!

The game was on at 12:30pm on Sunday 26th November.

The game finished 5-1 to Ajax. I wanted and got loads of goals and got to see the Justin Kluvient, up close and personal as he picked up Man of the match after scoring 3 amazing goals.

I stayed at the DoubleTree Hilton but I had to get a ferry there from Amsterdam Central.

After waking up at 4am, I had to catch some z’s, before the evening activities. Did that for a couple of hours and then woke up hungry, went to grab some fish and chips from the hotel restaurant and it was actually pretty good!

I can’t lie, when I told the very few people that I was going Holland, they ALL said, to make sure I visit the RLD (Red Light District) because I won’t be disappointed. I was going solo, so I was a bit hesitant to be surrounded by that type of life but I am a grown-ass man, so I kinda told myself to ‘MTFU’ (Man the f up) and make the journey.

The atmosphere in the Amsterdam Red Light District is much more laid back than I’d have imagined. It’s actually the oldest part of town with beautiful architecture and a popular place to live. (I wonder why?)

During the day, you’ll find a collection of tourists with cameras, locals taking the shortest route to the supermarket, police officers on their mopeds, not giving an f about hitting pedestrians,  young women of religious organizations trying to save souls, a few junkies, weirdos and actually, some people looking for paid ‘love’. (If that is even a thing).

However, I got there about 10.30pm, so the night was alive and kicking with men being pervy and men like myself just taking a look at the ‘options’. I saw a bunch of British teenagers acting up a little but they got soon shut-down by the local police. The RLD isn’t any more unsafe than many other parts of town – but do stick to some simple rules.

• Don’t take pictures of the prostitutes. If the workers see a camera pointing in their direction, you will receive some verbal abuse at the minimum and apparently, they even might throw your camera in the canal (which is extreme but I don’t blame them) But I had to lol

• While the Amsterdam Red Light District is generally safe to visit, pickpockets are active, so keep an eye on your valuables. Luckily, I am quite street smart so I picked up on a lot of things certain man was doing.
• Occasionally, certain dons may whisper “Psst! Cocaine? Ecstasy?” (I am so used to this nowadays) in your direction. Just ignore them or politely decline, and they’ll leave you alone. (Bear in mind, I was there with my hood up, I am not sure if they were looking to buy or sell) lol

Walking past these ‘Red light windows’ and women knocking on their window and inviting you to come inside (pause) is a bit mad tbh. Looking past them and seeing condoms, lubrication, and other items on beds. (Yes, I saw all of that in a split second). But it’s a job at the end of the day and they’re providing a service to feed themselves and possibly families.

All in and all, RLD is pretty sleazy tbh as men look at these women as objects but if you’re selling your body for as little as $50 then what can really be said? A lot of these women are actually beautiful with h’mazing figures and can easily be models, so it’s so sad to see them doing what they’re doing. But I won’t judge. It could be the only thing, they think they’re good at. When I do go back, I’d like to actually go to some of the live shows as I didn’t get to experience that.

While most attention usually goes to the adult stuff. Amsterdam is one of the oldest parts of town with some terrific architecture, excellent museums, and fine restaurants.

Visitors of all types will have plenty to do while they’re here. The city’s cultural agenda is packed with world-class exhibitions, theatre performances, other unique events, and its charming neighborhoods are full of unique shops and cafes. What a beautiful city, catch me there in the summer as it’ll be warm enough to hop on a bike, wander the canals and admire the city at it’s best similar to what I did from my hotel bed.