I WAS LAST IN AMSTERDAM 5 OR 6 YEARS AGO HAVING BEEN A COUPLE OF TIMES PRIOR TO THIS. I WAS DISAPPOINTED BY THE AMOUNT OF SCAM ARTISTS AND LOW LIFE IMMIGRANTS THAT APPEAR TO BE SURFACING OVER THERE TRYING TO RIP YOU OFF. I WAS ALSO SHOCKED TO SEE MASSIVE BANNERS OVER THE STREETS WARNING OF PICK-POCKETS. THIS LAST VISIT WAS FAR LESS INVITING THAN PREVIOUS VISITS. I ALSO FOUND THE GIRLS IN THE MAIN RLD WERE LESS ACCOMODATING, ALL IN ALL I DID NOT HAVE A VERY PLEASANT EXPERIENCE. I HAVE NOW BOOKED A 9 DAY VISIT AT THE END OF AUGUST RUNNING INTO SEPTEMBER 2005, CAN ANYONE TELL ME IF THINGS HAVE IMPROVED AND IS IT SAFE WHEN YOU VISIT ALONE ? I HAVE ALWAYS VISITED AMSTERDAM ON MY OWN AND LAST TIME WAS THE LEAST PLEASANT. ANY AND ALL ADVICE WOULD BE WELCOME ALSO ADVICE ON LOCATIONS & PRICES OF ANY WOMEN PLUS I WANT TO EXPERIENCE AT LEAST ONE HOTEL VISITING ESCORT SO ANY INFO ON THAT SCORE WOULD BE WELCOME.

Apart from shouting, it sounds to me like you are moaning about nothing.

A few banners and the odd cold attitude from a prostitute.

Hell, if you are unhappy in amsterdam then you are probably unhappy everywhere. So no, its not improved, its exactly the same, but dearer.

I would cancel your trip if I were you.

Frank,
Go there by yourself, you'll enjoy yourself.
I've gone by myself, and you're worrying about
nothing. It's safe, fun. I always have a good
time. Don't worry about anything. Just use
some good ole common sense, and you'll
be ok.

MikeDeHavilland

Don't you sound like the happy one

Constructive advice would be appreciated from further replies

Thank You

Glad to see you turned the caps off.

It was constructive. I told you to cancel because the city hasn't changed. How more constructive than that can you get?

If that's not enough, I told you to stop moaning about inconsequential things. That’s constructive too..

There is nothing wrong with Amsterdam and you insult the city and people we all love. Remember that!

MikeDeHavilland

ARE YOU FOR REAL?

CAPS ON, CAPS OFF...............YOU TIT

ALL THAT STUPIDITY IS FOR CHILDREN SO DO US ALL A FAVOUR AND GROW UP

INCIDENTLY I VISITED HOLLAND AT A TIME WHEN THE LOW LIFE SCUM THERE DIDN'T EXIST. AND DON'T TRY TO GAIN FRIENDS WITH TOSSER COMMENTS LIKE " WE LOVE AMSTERDAM & THE PEOPLE WE LOVE " IT'S A BIT LAME AND GUESS WHAT IT'S NOT CONSTRUCTIVE.

NO DOUBT YOU'VE GAINED SOME FRIENDS DEFENDING THE PEOPLE YOU LOVE BUT IT'S STILL LAME IF YOU WERE A DOG I'D PUT YOU OUT OF YOUR MISERY.

I ALSO HAVE TO ASK MYSELF WITH A SIGNATURE LIKE YOURS WHO REALLY IS THE BIGOT HERE YOU OR ME. I HAVE A PROBLEM WITH PICKPOCKETS AND BEGGARS AND SCAM ARTISTS YOU SEEM TO HAVE A PROBLEM WITH EVERYONE AND FOR SOME REASON GAYS, MY MY AREN'T YOU THE TOLERANT ONE. IN YOUR NEXT RANT COULD YOU POSSIBLY PUNCTUATE AND SPELL CORRECTLY, I PREFER MY DETRACTORS TO AT LEAST HAVE A SMALL GRASP OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. BY THE WAY IF YOU ARE IN HOLLAND AT THE END OF AUGUST MAYBE WE COULD GO BOWLING....YOU CAN BE THE BALL.

Wow..........

Don't be a meany.

Also, if you are worried about pickpockets/scammers/shady people maybe you should not go to Amsterdam. I always thought that those things were part of the "Amsterdam charm", hmmmmm maybe I was wrong.

You should go to Den Haag, there is a nice RLD and coffees shops. The only shady, scandalous people you might meet are from the int'l organizations (just like me). Oh, by the way we too have a bowling alley....... I'll be the ball if you'll be a pin.

Regards,

Bluntero

NICE ONE

I APPRECIATE YOUR COMMENTS, I AM CONFUSED BY THE HOSTILE CHARM OF MIKE WHATEVER HIS NAME IS. THE REASON FOR MY CONCERN IS I HAD VISITED AMSTERDAM SOME 20 YEARS AGO AND WAS SHOCKED BY THE CHANGE OVER THIS PERIOD OF TIME. WHEN I FIRST VISITED I WAS AMAZED BY HOW SAFE THE PLACE WAS AT ANYTIME OF THE DAY OR NIGHT. I ENJOYED THE FRIENDLINESS OF THE PEOPLE WHOM WERE WELCOMING AND CHARMING. THE LAST TIME I WENT I WAS ACCOSTED BETWEEN THE CENTRAL STATION AND MY HOTEL ABOUT 5 TIMES AND HAD ONE ATTEMPT TO RELIEVE ME OF MY WALLET IN MY BACK POCKET ( HAD A ZIP ON IT ). ONCE I GOT SETTLED IN MY HOTEL, I WENT FOR A WALK ONLY TO BE APPROACHED NUMEROUS OCCASIONS FOR DIFFERENT REASONS WITH DIFFERENT EXCUSES, AND THIS WAS PRETTY MUCH THE ROUTINE THROUGHOUT MY WHOLE VISIT. I HAD TO ADAPT A ATTITUDE OF COMPLETE RUDENESS WHICH IS SOMETHING I PREFER TO SAVE FOR PEOPLE I DON'T LIKE AND OF COURSE MIKE ON HERE. SO IN DEFENCE OF MY ENQUIRIES I BELIEVE I HAD GOOD REASON TO ASK ABOUT THE SITUATION OVER THERE AS I ORIGINALLY WENT AT TIME WHEN EVERYTHING WAS FINE.

Well that was a nice little pissing match with both of you scoring points
Mike is correct nothing has changed much and is not likely to.
It's not like it use to be but still the best gig going if your doper/punter.
( there are better places to find women )
You might want to try a trip to the Alkamar it is great deal more relaxed then the RD in the Dam.
It is shame that there are so many unpleasant distraction but it's all part of the free spirt of this unique city.
The message board and " The Device" can help you sort through the ladies.
And seriously you may want to try other areas that are not plaqued by the scum.

Above all enjoy yourself don't let the scum win!

No, things haven't improved one bit and now there is construction everywhere. Favorite RLD girls have gone unseen for weeks. No changes in the weed scene. It's terrible. Stay home.

Please send me your tickets.

Wow!

While I hate to see tempers flair here, I think Mike is right. The original post was insulting, not only for those of us who love the city from afar, but to the many denizens of this spot who live in Amsterdam or the Netherlands. It reminded me of the nonsense I hear from my suburban relatives who react with wonder and shock that I've raised my kids in the city. "We'd love the city, but with small children, you know" "Your kids take the subway to school?, Isn't that awfully dangerous". I'm always tempted to reply,"Sure its dangerous. We're hoping we loose one of them because two kids is just such a burden". Since my mother gets pissed when I speak ill of my relatives I'll use this opportunity to reinforce what others have said to the original poster. I've been going to Amsterdam 2 or 3 times a year since 1974 and it hasn't changed one iota. If you were scared that pathetic half dead bridge trolls were going to cause havoc with you last time, you're sure to be scared now. Amsterdam is every bit as scary as it's been since I started going there.

Frank

I kind of know what you're getting at. My trip before last brought me a few hairy moments which kinda put me off it a bit. Last time I was on it, the 'Channels' web site had some constructive advice regarding what areas to avoid (ie where the smack heads and that congregate) and other general tips. Perhaps you may get better info on there?

Anyways, you cannot pretend it is all friendly out there. A well regarded member of this site - despite being very well built and a former bouncer - had a particularly nasty incident out there.

All I would say is to choose your hotel in a convenient location for walking back to late at night - like The Victoria or something like that. If it was the gear giving you the negative vibes then choose a milder strain and save the top stuff for the hotel. As for the junkies/scammers that may come on to you, you really have just got to be firm with them. Take no shit and they'll give you none. I think if you're walking around with a little lack in confidence or whatever then it would show to them. One good thing to remember is that there is actually a cop shop on Warmoestraat and on my last trip (end of last year) I noticed an increased police presence. If you're out and about on the weekend nights, then there are still the large crowds of tourists and gangs of stag parties that you shouldn't really feel 'unsafe'.

A final point to mention is to post your dates on here when you are going and ask to meet up with fellow Ignatzis so that you have company during some of your trip. Many members of this board have done such in the past, some members are even luckier and call it home.

Hope it works out for you fella. Let us know how you get on.

Regards
G~

Frank,
A-Dam is what it is. I happen to love it, while others might find it to be seedy in some areas (especially Central Station). But I wouldn't catagorize the whole city by what you find outside the train station. Train stations throughout Europe (and the rest of the world) are notoriously shady, full of pickpockets and opportunists. There's plenty to Amsterdam outside of the RLD and Central Station and you would probably be best suited to look for accomodation outside of these areas.

On a different note, I would respectfully like to add that it IS bad form to post messages in all CAPS. This isn't some stupid rule that this board has come up with, its pretty standard message board ettiquite that caps represent "shouting" and people reading your post could easily misconstrue a simple question as hostile. I really don't give a shit if you think its silly or childish - its the way it is in cyberspace. Would you refuse to take your shoes off in a Japanese home because you felt that it was a silly custom? I doubt it, so please respect the culture of internet message boards only use caps when appropriate.

Stash

I'D LIKE TO THANK YOU ALL FOR THE MORE HELPFUL REPLIES AND ADVICE GIVEN. I AM MORE THAN CAPABLE OF PROTECTING MYSELF BUT I AM NOT A BIG SUPPORTER OF BEING RUDE TO PEOPLE BUT I WAS LEFT WITH NO CHOICE LAST TIME I WAS OUT THERE AND IT DID SPOIL SOME ASPECTS OF THE VISIT.

FOR ALL PEOPLE READING THIS IF YOU READ AGAIN MY INITIAL POST I DID NOT AND WOULD NOT INSULT HOLLAND OR IT'S PEOPLE AS I AM A BIG ADMIRER OF THE COUNTRY AND THE PEOPLE HAVING READ MANY OF THE STORIES AND HARDSHIPS THE DUTCH PEOPLE SUFFERED DURING OCCUPATION AND YET THEY ARE STILL A VERY TOLERANT AND WELCOMING PEOPLE TO ALL NATIONALITIES. MY VERY FIRST VISIT MANY YEARS AGO WAS PURELY A FACT FINDING MISSION TO LEARN ABOUT THE COUNTRY AND IT'S PEOPLE, OBVIOUSLY BEING A SINGLE MALE THE OPEN ATTITUDE TO SEX & DRUGS BOTH SURPRISED ME AND CHANGED MY OWN THINKING ON DRUG & SEX REGULATION. SO I WOULD BE GRATEFUL IF PEOPLE WOULDN'T MISQUOTE ME OR PROFESS TO KNOW ME OR MY BELIEFS. I'LL CONTINUE TO USE CAPS BECAUSE I CAN SEE WHAT I AM WRITING BETTER TOUGH IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT. ALSO THANK YOU FOR THE CHANNELS LINK VERY MUCH APPRECIATED.

THANK YOU AGAIN FOR ANY AND ALL SUPPORT & INFORMATION

P.S. HUGS & KISSES TO MIKE

I guess you still can't find that caps lock button. It's located on the left side of your keyboard above the shift button.

turn it off frank, your doing my head in......

hopefully you can read this:

ENJOY CHANNELS! ;)

-paniked

I guess by now enough people have told you that posting in capitals is bad manners. Stiil if the cap fits.....

You really are setting yourself up to be knocked down if you start to question another poster's punctuation and grammer: yours is pretty abysmal. You've missed full stops at the end of sentances, posed questions without question marks and started a sentance with 'and'. Mike's English is considerably better than yours, so I suggest you don't bring that subject up again. Correct use of English and punctuation is not normally something we bother to beat each other with on this board as for many members English is not their first language. However, for you we'll make an exception.

When you have a moment read Mike's sig again and then look up the word 'ironic'. I'm guessing you're a septic aren't you?

WOW PANIKED THISISGREAT I WISH I CULD WRITE LIKEFRUNK,

PLEASE CAN YOU MAKE THIS A STICKY CUZ ITS THE BEST MOSTEST EXCITING THREAD I HAVE RED IN AGES