Amsterdam: The High Life

I recently visited Amsterdam for the first time, it was also the first holiday I've been on in four years. To tell you the truth, I went there broke as fuck, and by "broke" I mean that I took €25.00 with me for the three days that I was there. You're probably wondering how I survived out there. So am I. I ate two meals during my entire stay and drank nothing but tap water. I also had to spend €10.80 on train fares to get me to and from Schiphol Airport. Talk about a budget holiday. Anyway, let's get to the good part: the weed and the coffeeshops.

420

This place was perfect. We were seated in front a huge window and purchased our first four grams. I don't know about anyone else reading this, but originally I was expecting to ask for a "ten bag"; that's not the case in Dam. We started with 'White Widow'. I took a couple of hits from the bong and shared the joint. I'm convinced it was that strong, that it paralysed me for a good forty seconds. But that soon turned out to be the least of my problems, one of our friends actually pulled a whitey outside 420 and we had to leave within 15 minutes of being there.

420

BABYLON

Babylon was a small coffeeshop located next door to our hostel, Travel Hotel. It was ideal for late-night needs and a perfect meet-up point. Babylon doesn't sell alcohol and to access the smoking area, you must purchase a soft drink. It was in here where I spotted a group of men, all gathered around one small table with an unusual looking machine.

It turned out that they were paid to pre-roll blunts for Babylon, using the contraption to make the task easier. We bought a couple of pre-rolled blunts from here and they were huge! I've honestly never seen a blunt so big in my life, it was exactly like the joints you'd see in a Bob Marley cartoon drawing. However, despite the size, I was surprised to find that the high wasn't all that.

Babylon

AMNESIA

Amnesia is a very popular coffeeshop located at the side of the canal. It's a modern space, filled with barstools, sofas, booths and it plays nothing but hip-hop and reggae. To begin with, we smoked more 'White Widow' however we soon located the volcanoes. The volcanoes were electric devices that absorbed the fumes of the weed into a see-through bag. You would then inhale the smoke from the bag, barely noticing the taste of the weed.

At first, I felt nothing from the volcanoes, but then it hit me like a tonne of bricks and I was as high as a kite! It was amazing! We then helped ourselves to our first space-cake, which again sent me through the stratosphere. Long live Amnesia!

Amnesia

COFFEESHOP SMOKEY

Coffeeshop Smokey was by far, my favourite. Its located further into the centre, two doors down from Smokey's Club. This place has the best aesthetic of all the coffeeshops I've seen; it is filled with neon signs and lights. In Smokey's, we smoked an apple flavoured hash, 'White Widow' and had also purchased strawberry papers. The setting was perfect; the higher you were, the brighter the lights became - but the atmosphere wasn't crazy despite how busy it was. Everybody was relaxed and drinking soft drinks, despite having the choice of alcohol. The only downside to Smokey's was the soft drinks, a coke was €4.00 and was served in what can only be described as a bottle for The Borrowers. But other than that, it was paradise.

Coffeeshop Smokey

Having noticed that the number 'four' has featured in my article a lot, and because it's my lucky number, I've decided to keep my recommendations as a list of four coffeeshops. Please note that there are many more places to discover in Amsterdam and a part of the fun is stumbling across them for yourselves. Happy herb hunting!