Eurotrip v2.0, vol IV - Red Light District
We've reached the end of our journey. We fly to Chicago in six hours, then back in Jacksonville at 10. Tonight we walked through the Red Light District on our journey to meeting some roommates at a discothèque. It was unreal - a living, breathing and infected open wound in one of the most beautiful cities in the world. There, for all the world to see and gawk at, were women in glass cages like animals in a zoo. I don't know what kept them in their hells. Perhaps it was dept, perhaps they were escaping from something and fell into an even deeper pit along the way.
The red-lit alleys were narrow and full of horny men. Testosterone clung to the humidity like a pheromone smog. Most were just staring, wondering what to make of it. Some of the browsers were doing it for the sheer fun of mocking those of lower social standing. Others were shopping for women like you would clothes in a mall. The tables were turned, now it was the men who were being hunted down and were declining and ignoring every third step. Around some church there were particularly aggressive black women scratching the glass and opening their doors as you walked by, beckoning for men and their euro's.
Why would women volunteer to destroy themselves? How could anyone sell their very dignity to escape? How do you get out? I don't know. I don't ever want to go back. But it was over quickly. Ten blocks by three blocks and that was all. It was back to regular Amsterdam, bicycles and Dutchmen with light pouring from falafel stands and closed coffee shops.
I sit now sipping coke in the basement bar of the Flying Pig to stay awake until plane ride out. I wake Abe up in a little while. The hours have been harsh. We were up for 22 hours on Wednesday, got a couple hours of sleep on the plane over here, then spent another 7 hours walking around the city before crashing out for 12 hours today. I look forward to a beers with Izak on my roof, lunch at Angies, and a relaxing walk on the mid-day beach on Sunday. Warm dry clothes are a luxury I'll soon savor. I''ll alas be away from the horrible American 80's pop blaring in every restaurant, but also from the parks and the alien tongues that fill the ether like some sweet incense.
Thanks for following my journey with me. I''m sure I'll have some closing reflections upon arrival.
- Trey Menefee
Pictures (soon) and Eurotrip v2.0 Archives at http://www.treyopia.tk
Tags: Treyopia Europe Travel Amsterdam
