This post is the second part of an article that discusses prostitution in Amsterdam and about how to buy marijuana at coffee shops in the Red Light District. It originally appeared as a column written by columnist Dondi Joseph for Travelife Magazine. Click here to read the first section.

Prostitution is one of the oldest trades in history. In Amsterdam it began in the 1200s when it was just a bustling fishing port. And wherever there is a bustling port, there are plenty of ships and buckets of seamen (no pun intended) in need of wellness therapy, waiting to spill onto the docks in search of beer, song, and women of character.

Interestingly, there are three surviving former Catholic churches built within the Red Light District. The the oldest of these churches dates back to the 1200s. This is about the same time prostitution began there.

SAILORS IN AMSTERDAM

But there were many more churches and monasteries in and around the area. Locals say that the proliferation of churches in this one hectare corner of the globe is due to the fact that sailors needed churches for spiritual succor after sexual succor, guaranteeing that if the worse happens, the hopeful sailors still went to heaven. The chances of a sailor surviving his next voyage were about 50%, after all.

THE CYCLE OF SIN

The symbiotic relationship created the opportunity for the Church to introduce a new business model in the 1500s. This was called the sin tax.

In the old days, the Church granted “indulgences” for the forgiveness of sins in return for monetary donations. Seamen paid sin tax to priests who manned the churches 24/7 in return for indulgences for sins about to be committed (in the District) before sailing. Or for sins already committed (in the District) before sailing.

DAYS OF SIN

So sinning happily continued. Meanwhile, the churches flourished and the sinners marched happily, if not steadily, onto their ships for sea voyages that were sometimes eternal.

The business model apparently worked well for all stakeholders. This establishing a sacred cycle of sin, forgiveness, and wealth generation for over four centuries. But these same indulgences eventually led to the Protestant Reformation. This then led to numerous bloody religious wars and pogroms by everyone’s followers.

But when it came to the practice of vice, including prostitution, the two sects and their numerous subgroups distinguished themselves equally.

SFW (SAFE FOR WORK)

The average time a customer spends with a professional sex worker is all of six minutes, and the wet dream fulfilled will cost between 80 to 200 euros.

In the District and in the Netherlands, everyone’s preferences are accepted and even encouraged. I assume this continues on the assumption that these add to the National Happiness Index and no one is hurt.

LEGALIZED PROSTITUTION

Prostitution in the Netherlands is a strictly regulated industry. The country is very strict about women’s rights, exploitation of women, and white slavery. A few years back, the government considered a move to re-criminalize prostitution. However, they concluded that this would just force prostitution underground and back into the hands of pimps and criminal syndicates.

Prostitution was legalized in 2000 to end human trafficking and to protect women in the profession. The average sex worker assists society 16 times during every 10-hour shift.

So you are looking at gross revenues of around 1,000 to 2,000 euros a day. The current record is 120 “wellness interventions” in one day. Again, this makes me think that I may really be in the wrong business.

BUYING MARIJUANA AT COFFEE SHOPS IN AMSTERDAM

On a lighter note, marijuana is another main feature of the Red Light District. You can find these in coffee shops. Please note that the coffee shops in this area do not serve coffee or alcohol. That privilege is reserved for the lowly cafes and bars.

The coffee shops and cafes in the District serve one thing only – cannabis, also known as marijuana. And of course, they serve it in all the possible varieties from around the world. You go to coffee shops to smoke weed. And to giggle.

Ironically, the Dutch government prohibits the production or distribution of cannabis. However, it is tolerated for personal use. Everyone can grow up to four marijuana plants at home and carry five grams for personal use. Meanwhile, coffee shops can serve clients who are keen on buying marijuana for personal use. It’s a confusing set of laws but it works – at a price.

Click here to read more about the Red Light District of Amsterdam

TAXES ON COFFEE SHOPS IN AMSTERDAM

The coffee shops cater to clients who wish to buy marijuana and they pay high taxes in exchange. They pay 58% versus 21% for ordinary bars. The government then uses part of the tax proceeds for the country’s anti-drug efforts. And the Netherlands, one of the few countries in the world that is tolerant of cannabis, ranks only 20th globally in the use of marijuana.

According to my sources, Bulldog is the oldest coffee shop in the Red Light District, but Feels Good wins top honors for its diverse selection for clients buying marijuana and ambiance.

SMART SHOPS GO ONE STEP FURTHER THAN MARIJUANA

Smart Shops are even more interesting. 18 Smart Shops in the District sell and serve over 2,000 natural and organic drugs. They sell drugs made from mescaline, peyote, and magic mushrooms, among others.

Most of these drugs are hallucinogenic. The shops do not sell to drunks, and some provide comfortable lounging rooms with “psychedelic trip guides” to lead you into and through a pleasant hallucinatory experience. It’s all so civilized.

Read more about the Red Light District of Amsterdam in Travelife Magazine.

The post Prostitution in Amsterdam, and how to buy marijuana appeared first on TRAVELIFE Magazine.

The Red Light District of Amsterdam, the largest city in the Netherlands, is busy, colorful, and completely entertaining. It’s probably the only place in the world where you will find a kindergarten school beside a brothel, a church, a coffee shop, a bar, or a cafe.

I love the culture of inclusion and tolerance in the Netherlands. It’s a culture that believes that repressing sexuality is unhealthy. So the National Health Service of the Netherlands provides sex workers to qualified citizens in need of “wellness” therapy.

WELLNESS THERAPY IN THE NETHERLANDS

The standards for qualification are actually subject to strict criteria which will obviously not apply to an over testosterone man in need of free pipe cleaning.

I totally enjoy Amsterdam’s world famous Red Light District, surprisingly described to me recently by a friend as “a chill place to spend two days with my wife.” While I haven’t met his wife, I always thought of the District as a place where you would be better off bringing other people’s wives.

ANONYMITY IN THE RED LIGHT DISTRICT OF AMSTERDAM

You may have guessed by now that with its kindergartens and day care centers, the Red Light District is in a residential area of Amsterdam. It’s a residential area with 250 prostitute display windows, fetish shops, sex toy shops, live sex shows and cannabis seed shops.

It’s also got smart shops that sell quasi legal organic and natural recreational drugs, clothes stores, and restaurants. And it’s safe, prowled by the undercover police of Amsterdam and watched over by 300 CCTV cameras.

IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD

The idea of police and cameras is kind of kinky, but it could be kinkier if they wore their uniforms Yes, the District is alive and heaving with humanity and entertainment, manufactured or otherwise.

WHERE TO GO IN THE RED LIGHT DISTRICT

Sex Palace, the last peep show establishment in the District, attracts just as many visitors as the Anne Frank Museum. That’s one million people paying 45 euros each for a peep.

And then there is the Banana Bar (you can guess what goes on inside this reputable establishment) where, according to the Forbes List, the owner is one of the 250 wealthiest persons in the world. Doesn’t this make you feel like you are in the wrong business?

Meanwhile the Condomerie features a thousand condom choices in all shapes, forms, colors, tastes, and in all sizes. Some were way too small for me and too many were way too large.

For something saner, there is the oldest gay café named tMadje. Everyone is welcome but asked to be respectful. Its original owner hid Jews from the Nazis throughout World War II. It was known as the “little house of resistance.” In 2008, her niece took over and continued her legacy of excellent coffee and resistance to intolerance

PSYCHEDELIC PARTIES

Pre-marital stag parties abound in the District, and for that matter so do “hen” parties. Every time I visited the District to conduct sociological surveys, there were any number of both types of parties populated by costumed celebrants, carousing till they could carouse no longer.

In fact, drunken tourists falling into Amsterdam’s celebrated canals are the biggest cause of death in the Netherlands. The only things that fall into the canal more than tourists are bicycles, and 15,000 are fished out every year. The canals are three meters deep: one meter of mud, one meter of water, and one meter of bicycles.

Click here to continue.

Read more about the the Red Light District of Amsterdam in Travelife Magazine.

The post Where to go in the Red Light District of Amsterdam appeared first on TRAVELIFE Magazine.

This world trip included some favorite places and also a handful of exotic new ones.

It was to be the last word in passionate travel — this amazing 60 day journey that circumnavigated the globe by air, land and sea.

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January 17 – 19, 2014

for some fantastic travel bargains

We had stays in several lovely hotels and apartments.

We also took a river cruise down the Rhine from Basel to Amsterdam, and made a hundred new friends in the course of the trip; and we managed to squeeze in some memorable plays and concerts in London and New York.

Of course, there was also a bit of shopping indulgence in Strasbourg. 


Then, just to make things more complicated on a trip around the world, we hosted parties in five different cities including Paris and London, just so we would be able to see most of our friends in one go.

Yes, I hosted parties in five different cities, and I cooked for each one of these.

A GREAT PARTY IN LONDON

THAT LASTED ALL NIGHT

In London, we had a party for 30 to 40 people in a beautiful apartment meters away from St. James Palace.

I organized cocktails in the state-of-the-art kitchen and on the rooftop with a view, and dinner in the living room on a separate floor.

A CARNIVAL. AND IT’S ALL FOR US.

That night, this served as the backdrop for a private Indian cultural show featuring songs and dances from every region for ten guests.

After the show, we were led to an adjoining garden the size of a football field, where the mogul and his friends waited and makeshift booths were set up as in a carnival, this time with chefs showcasing the delicious foods of different regions.

It was quite an extravagant spectacle for ten visitors.

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Next morning, this same mogul trotted out two private jets to fly our group to the state of Bihar, the poorest state in India, for a quick visit to the ruins of Nalanda University (5th century B.C.), one of the oldest universities in the world.

The local government had arranged a welcoming committee of hundreds of villagers, who swarmed around each foreign visitor with overwhelming friendliness like followers of a demi-god.

This experience, along with a stay in one of the great historical suites of the famous Taj Hotel in Mumbai, as one of the highlights of this trip.

In Mumbai, we were fortunate to meet one of India’s famous movie directors at a dinner one evening, and he introduced us to his Bollywood world.

Almost every evening in Mumbai after that fateful meeting involved a late night dinner and drinks session at some trendy Mumbai hangout with this famous director and his coterie of (incredibly beautiful) actresses and models.

As you can imagine, the nine guys in our group of ten were all eyes and quite happy about this.

For some reason, I was always the one who wanted to go home early, and go home to my beautiful suite at the Taj Hotel, and enjoy my never-ending, and never-endingly eventful Travelife.

The post Around the World in 60 Days, Part 1: Tokyo to Delhi and Mumbai appeared first on TRAVELIFE Magazine.