TRAVEL
Going Dutch
With more stereotypes than most cities,
: AMSTERDAM will satisfy
every kind of tourist and
traveller. Words: Simone Baird
Amsterdam gets more popular every year. As hundreds of thousands of tourists pour through
the city, seeking Rembrandt and the
Red Light District, canals and coffee shops, it is becoming harder to get a feel for what one of the most beautiful cities in the world is actually like. Your best bet is to
deliberately wander off the beaten
track and discover the youthful, vibrant, international and downright sensible city that is
Amsterdam.
Just south of Centraal Station lies the Red Light District, an infamous part of the city since the 14th century. While this is undoubtedly one of the most popular ’sights' in
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Cafe culture: Amsterdam
Amsterdam, it is far more interesting to simply ’people- watch'. Drug users and dealers, entire families, boisterous
stag parties, wannabe pimps and people of every
nationality wander the streets here throughout the day and night gawking at the women behind the glass. Amsterdam's liberal attitudes to soft drugs means that there are coffee houses aplenty which sell marijuana. The famous ones include the Grasshopper, Bulldog and Bulldog Palace which are found immediately outside of Centraal Station, but these are very commercial, touristy and quite impersonal. The better shops are smaller, a
little out of the way but well worth the effort. Noon, run by two pleasant Americans, has a great ambient atmosphere and tables outside, while Kandinsky has some of the most comfortable couches in all Amsterdam.
Make sure that you wander west of the city centre to The .Iordaan. This old working-class neighbourhood is now a bohemian retreat full of students, artists and exceptionally trendy types. The maze of narrow streets and even narrower canals has become a much sought-
after residential area and is full of cafes and pubs.
STA Travel's top ten bargains around the world
Hong Kong — Star Ferry — one way from Hong Kong to Kowloon — 7p. Malaysia - Entrance fee to Taman Nagara National Partk — one of the world’s best and Asia’s largest tropical rain forest — 15p.
Prague — pint of draught
pilsner — 20p.
India — unlimited vegetarian thali
at the Sri Krishna villa,
Madras — 23p.
Peru — Cuzco: re-stitcjing a pair of Dr Marten’s boots — 80p.
Istanbul — let off steam and relax
with a full massage in a Turkish bath — £1.
Hawaii — unlimited breakfast including steaks, full English fry-up and fruit salad at Perry’s Smorgy in
Honalulu — £2.45.
Bolivia — Soranta: a room in a former rubber Baron’s colonial mansion — £2.80.
~ Africa — scenic train from
Mombassa to Nairobi, 3 course meal and sleeper carriage — £4.20. Thailand — flight on Thai Airways from Chaing Mai to Mae Hong Son
i—£10.
Stating the obvious
Rijksmuseum Holland's national museum which houses over 200 rooms of work by the Dutch masters.
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Self Portrait With Grey Hat by Vincent Van Gogh
Van Gogh Museum An extensive collection of all periods of the one- eared fella's work, including 'The
Anne Frank's House The famous
rooms where Anne and her family hid throughout the Nazi occupation. The Vondelpark South west of the city centre lies this extremely beautiful and popular park, attracting flocks of people all year round.
The markets There are markets everywhere, selling everything from flowers to paintings, clothes to food.
The List alternative
Magna Plaza A converted cathedral full of boutiques, coffee shops and trendy young things.
Friday Night Skate Hundreds of skaters converge outside the Filmmuseum at 8pm for the 15km route, skating their way through the city.
Melkweg A multi-media club, coffee house and more at Lijnbaansgracht 234a.
New Deli Eat In/Take Out A new minimal, relaxed Japanese influenced deli at Haarlemmerstraat 73. Homo-monument On the corner of Keizersgracht and Westermarkt, a series of pink granite triangles commemorate homosexuals who died in Nazi concentration camps.
Getting there
STA Travel offer return fares from Glasgow and Edinburgh to Amsterdam from £128 inc tax.
The List has five copies of the Lonely Planet Guide To Amsterdam to give away. To enter send your name and address to: Lonely Planet, 10a Spring Place, London NW5 38H.
wwwlonelyplanetcom
STA Travel are at 184 Byres Road and The University of Strathclyde, 90 John Street Glasgow. Tel: 0141 338 6000
27 Forrest Road, Edinburgh. Tel 0131 226 7747 o 30 Upperkirkgate, Aberdeen. Tel 0122 465 8222 0 www.5tatravel.co.uk
118 THE “ST 24 Jun—8 Jul 1999
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