I asked reception and got the response that there is someone currently on the phone with the other hotel trying to sort out the situation. I asked if the restaurant was open so I could get some breakfast and the receptionist pointed me in the direction of the buffet breakfast. "Awesome", I thought, my original booking didn't have breakfast included, so I will take advantage of this. I went in and had my fill of bacon, eggs, sausage and tomato, smoked a cigarette in the smoking lounge at the hotel, then headed back to the room.
I had been upgraded from the original hotel (3 stars) to a 4 star hotel. I even had my own courtyard. The best part is none of the staff treated me like a refugee. The truth is this hotel is catered to businessmen and those who choose to tie cardigans around their neck, then somebody with a hoodie and untied shoes. The staff treated me like any other full paying guest.
I wrote the train ride story and chatted with my mum and Miss C, by the time I finished it was about 10:00 AM. I thought as I don't know what the situation with the hotels is, I better start packing. I packed and at 11:00 AM, I went to reception to find out if there were further developments on the accommodation front.
The receptionist told me that the damage to the first hotel was too extensive and I was not able to return. The billing would be sorted out between the hotels. I got to stay in this hotel, so I went back to the room and set myself up again.
I wanted to do a tour of the Red Light District. The Red Light District in Amsterdam is world famous. Sex workers show themselves in windows on the main street to lure men. It started at 7:00 PM, so I booked my ticket online.
I researched some travel and accommodation prices for what I had planned beyond Liverpool and at 2:00 PM went down to get some food from the hotel restaurant as there was nowhere else to eat nearby. It was very expensive. I ordered an Apollo Burger. It was just a hamburger with bacon and it cost me 21,00 Euro. I was trying to save money otherwise I would have ordered the roast for 30,00 Euro. The only salad on the menu was a Ceaser Salad for 16,00 Euro. It was a good burger , but very expensive.
After eating I went back up to the room and researched some stuff online and went to sleep at about 3:30 PM. I woke about 5:30 PM.
I got ready for the tour. I only had 15,00 Euro and went in search of an ATM. The guy at reception gave me some directions. I don't know if it's me with directions or the Dutch giving directions, but I never found the ATM. I walked around for half an hour in both directions of the hotel and didn't find it.
I walked back to the hotel and got a taxi, they are usually waiting outside. It was about 6:10 PM I headed into the meeting point at the National Monument in the centre of Amsterdam. I took some pictures while I waited. I sat by the monument and waited. About 15 minutes, the guides showed up but it was a little disorganised. One of them told me to see the other one, who told me to wait until the other one came over. "It's complicated", I was told. "I think you're making it more complicated" is what I thought.
Eventually I got my ticket and waited with the others who had received their tickets. The tour began. There was about 15 people on the tour, our tour guide was an Irishman named Mark. He introduced himself and the tour and then we walked about about 500 metres to the "Condomerie". The condomerie is the first specialist condomn shop in the world. There are some pretty crazy condomns on display in the shop window. There was one in the shape of a windmill and one that looked like the medieval weapon the 'Mace'.
Then we just walked around the Red Light District in Amsterdam and looked at various clubs and the 'Sex Workers' working in the window. Some people had told me that the girls working in these windows were beautiful, but I was definitely not prepared for what I saw. The very first set of windows we passed confirmed everything that I had heard. The girls in these 3 windows were amongst the most beautiful I had ever seen.
I joked with 2 girls that "I would have to remember where these windows were". Obviously, these girls would prefer to maintain their anonymity and therefore pictures are not allowed. That is just common sense. I took a few photo's of various sites, but I have decided to only post one photo for this story because for me it was the most important thing we saw on the tour.
Mark informed us of how the windows worked. The girls hire the windows for about 150 Euro for an 8 hour shift, then they will dance or try to attract customers however they decide to behind the window. If a customer is interested he will open the door, have a short conversation with the girl about the service/s they would like and the price. If all is agreed then the blind is drawn and the service is provided. If either party doesn't accept the proposal, the customer leaves and the girl continues to work.
Each of the booths is fitted with a panic alarm. If a customer does anything untoward or the girls does not feel safe, she hits the button and a security office nearby is notified and arrive almost instantaneously. These security officers are basically not the police and do not treat the 'customer' as civilly as the police might. Then the police arrive and take care of whatever is left.
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This is Belle. Belle is a monument to all women who work in the sex industry around the world. You are entitled to your own opinion about women who work in this industry, but these Sex Workers are strong independent women who may not have any choice but to do what they do to earn money, or maybe they made the choice because they enjoy what they do. Either way, these women are people with families, friends and feelings just like everybody else and they deserve respect. This was especially significant given that it was International Women's day.
For me the statue of Belle really summed up what the Red Light District is about. It's not about giving horny perverts a place to satisfy their urges, it's about providing a safe environment for women to be able to earn a living. It also reconfirms the philosophy of the city that you can be and do whatever you want as long as you as don't prevent anyone else from that same freedom.
We saw many other clubs, theaters, and sites and learned more about the history and future of the Red Light District. Unfortunately, the downside of the sex industry is that there are people who see an opportunity to exploit women and make money for themselves. While the girls in the windows are all legal and work independently, there is an element of human trafficing in the Red Light District. The Dutch government is looking to close down a big portion of the Red Light District over the next 6 months in order to reduce the amount of women being exploited or working for pimps.
There is nowhere else on I am aware of that is like this district and perhaps by closing down a large part of this district, it may have a negative effect where these women are actually forced to work in unsafe environments or fall victim to exploitation.
After the tour we went to the bar at the St Christopher's Hostel, I had a beer then got a taxi back to the hotel. When I got back to the hotel, I sat in the bar and drank a few beers. I talked to the girl behind the bar for awhile and then an Irish guy came and sat next to me and started talking. No matter how I changed the topic, his conversation seemed to always revert to the situation in Ireland and the IRA.
I spoke to him for awhile and then ordered 3 Heinekkens to take to the room and I wrote the 2 previous stories before going to bed. I intended to do the walking tour of Amsterdam the next day at 11:00 AM. As it was after 3:00 AM when I went to bed, this was probably not likely.
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