Amsterdam for a newbie

[+ deej]

A friend asked me to post this...

 

He's going to take a vacation in Amsterdam but he's never been there. What are the fun things to do? I know I've seen websites posted here before but of course can't find them when I need them.

 

Also, as a working boy, he'd like to make himself available while there. Are there any good places to advertise (besides here, of course)?

[Michael]

Take a look at:

 

http://www.gayamsterdam.com

http://www.simplyamsterdam.nl/gay.htm

http://www.amsterdamhotspots.nl/gay.html

 

When is he going to be there? (Amsterdam Pride is 1st - 4th August)

 

There are, broadly speaking, three main areas that have a lot of gay bars / clubs etc.

 

Warmoesstraat, near the central station and just on one edge of the red light district is traditionally the home of the leather bars, but also has the Cockring - a very busy and popular dance bar.

 

Reguliersdwarsstraat is more "trendy" and home to, among others, the Exit disco / bar.

 

Kerkstraat has yet more bars, and also the Night Sauna which is definitely worth a visit.

 

Other places:

 

The iT on Amstelstraat is the place to be on Saturday nights if you like queing up to get into a crowded disco.

 

Both of the remaining "boy bars" in Amsterdam are on Spuistraat, quite close to the central station - Blue Boy and Boy's Club 21 - probably worth a quick look just to see how they operate but, alas, they are now just a shadow of their former selves ...

 

Avoid the hustler bars on Pardenstraat.

[ad rian]

Try http://www.boy4male.com. It is run by Ryan, an Amsterdam-based escort who has great reviews (with which I concur) from his stint in NYC earlier this year.

[+ Charlie]

I believe I heard or read somewhere that there was a new regulation that the "boys" working in the clubs had to be Dutch citizens, which had a dampening effect on the clubs, since their workforce was mostly foreign. That would also have an effect on your friend, though it wouldn't stop him from working independently. Although some of the ads in print media are in English, a lot of them are in Dutch. Also, Amsterdam is one of those places where the agencies seem to dominate the escort market for tourists. I'm not sure if the Dutch-only regulation applies to the escorts who work for the agencies, but all the escorts I have hired from Michael's, People, etc. have been Dutch.

 

By the way, the bars in the sleazy Warmoestraat area all have "back rooms," good for turning a $20 trick but not for finding a john for something more sophisticated. The Kerkstraat bars are a bit more genteel.

[Michael]

> I believe I heard or read somewhere that there was a new

> regulation that the "boys" working in the clubs had to be

> Dutch citizens, which had a dampening effect on the clubs,

> since their workforce was mostly foreign.

 

That's not quite accurate - it has always been the case (in theory at least) that in order to be able to work in one of the bars (or anywhere else for that matter) you had to be "legal" - for all practical purposes that means that you have to be a citizen of one of the EU countries.

 

A couple of years ago, amid general concerns about illegal immigration and the number of non-EU citizens who were working in the Netherlands, the authorities started cracking down across the board - of course, this included the boys clubs, and all of the boys from Eastern European countries such as the Czech Republic and Hungary had to stop working there. That was quite a setback for the bars since the Eastern European guys tended to be much hotter than the average Dutch boy.

[+ deej]

Thanks guys!

[Guest Ant415]

Amsterdam is a great city, and an excellent introduction to Europe. While conversative, the Dutch are very tolerant folk. Anywhere you go in A'dam you will have fun. It is also a beautiful city. Last time I was there I stayed on a boat in the Joordan section of town. Most all the locals speak English, great food, and the gayest city in the world.