One thing I can say about Malaysia that we are not open when it comes to anything related to sex. We didn't have proper, if even ANY sex education, sex shops is not something common and some even operating underground, brothels, prostitution and LGBT bars are illegal (again they're around but operating underground). So imagine going to walk into a whole street focus entirely on sexual endeavors excites me, and not to mention our hotel located literally behind the Amsterdam famous red-light district De Wallen.
De Wallen is the largest and best known red-light district in Amsterdam. It consists of a network of alleys containing approximately three hundred one-room cabins rented by prostitutes who offer their sexual services from behind a window or glass door, typically illuminated with red lights and blacklight. Window prostitution is the most visible and typical kind of red-light district sex work in Amsterdam.
The view of empty windows in the early morning before the sex workers working hours begin. I didn't take any photos or videos of them due to the law and rights they have here.
The area also has a number of sex shops, sex theatres, peep shows, a sex museum, a cannabis museum, and a number of coffee shops that sell cannabis (in other words most of these "coffee shops" are not selling the actual coffees).
Sexmusuem
Located just three minutes from our hotel, we of course need to visit this place! My friend Zabeda had been hyping me by telling her own (mis)adventures visiting this place in 2014.
The Sexmuseum or the Temple of Venus (Dutch: Venustempel) is a sex museum located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The museum opened in 1985. It had 675,000 visitors in 2015, making it one of the most visited museums in the Netherlands.
The museum features an extensive collection of pictures, recordings, photos, paintings and artifacts which allow visitors to explore the evolution of human sexuality throughout the ages. Exhibits present the history of sex and how it has evolved over the centuries. From Cleopatra's regiment of men, to the Romans’ insatiable appetite for sex, to the repressive Middle Ages, visitors are presented with how sex was viewed throughout historical civilizations.
I must say this museum visit is a whole new (and interesting) experience. Little did I know I'm going to get deeper with the next museum!
Red Light Secrets: Museum of Prostitution
The next museum close to our hotel is the Red Light Secrets which located along the street of De Wallen. To be honest I never imagine there would be museum dedicated solely on prostitution and to be honest this museum really educate you the history of prostitution and give insight into the job. Yes, prostitution is considered a job, especially in The Netherlands where prostitutes needs to pay tax under self-employed section.
Claimed to be the world’s first and only prostitution museum: Red Light Secrets offers an intriguing A-cup museum that takes you inside a world that most of us have only dreamed of; visit a brothel in its original state in one of the oldest monuments of Amsterdam, a famous brothel where the infamous prostitute, Chinese Annie, was murdered. A crime that remains unsolved to this day, visit the rooms, read the personal stories of Prostitutes, and learn all about the secrets of the world’s oldest profession.
Step into an intriguing world that remains hidden for most and discover the secrets of the Red Light District, one of the world’s most unique and infamous neighborhoods. Take a look behind the scenes of the oldest profession and experience what it feels like to sit behind one of the famous windows. Discover the secrets of the prostitutes, visit the rooms they work in and read the hidden erotic confessions of other visitors.
The behind window "experiences". Just imagine being a sex worker and this is the view and interactions you have everyday during your line of work.
The Hash, Marihuana & Hemp Museum
Along the Der Wallen is also a marijuana museum which almost immediately caught my attention. Malaysia is very strict when it comes to drugs and cannabis; apart of jail time, you also have the chance to face death penalty *shivers* - so to see cannabis being use openly and freely in Amsterdam really gave me a whole new experience.
According to the museum, more than two million visitors have visited the exhibition since it opened in 1985. Dedicated to cannabis and its many uses, the museum offers visitors information about the historical and modern uses of cannabis for medicinal, spiritual and cultural purposes. The museum also focuses on how hemp can be used for agricultural and industrial purposes, even including clothing accessories and cosmetic products made from hemp fiber.
Divided into two buildings, the main museum includes a live cannabis garden in various stages of growth, pipe and roach clip collections, an 1836 Dutch Bible made of hemp, and many other accessories made from the industrial crop. The museum also contains artwork, including David Teniers the Younger's painting, Hemp-Smoking Peasants in a Smoke House (1660), and one of the fake I.D's of the famous cannabis smuggler Howard Marks.
The second building, which is just three shops away covering hemp properties in daily used to make a variety of commercial and industrial products, including rope, textiles, clothing, shoes, food, paper, bioplastics, insulation, and biofuel, as well as some interactive media.
As with the Red Light Secrets experiences, the Hash, Marihuana & Hemp Museum educate you the history of cannabis and its usefulness. I can see why many countries want it to be legal and I admit I do begin to think why not?
Latexs, Leathers, Costumes, LGBT, Sex Toys, Gifts Shops -EVERYWHERE-
I had been to several sex shops in Malaysia, specifically in the capital Kuala Lumpur (KL) but they usually quite hidden, at silent, dim-lighted corners in some malls with limited items, they either over-priced sex toys or cheap materials, over-commercialized lingeries.
Imagine to my delight to see many, openly sex shops on the street nearby our hotel and along De Wallen offering sex-related items ranging from clothing, costumes, condoms, toys and gifts. What excited me the most are the latex and leather clothing shops as they don't have any physical shops in Malaysia (nor being open, here they operate underground).
Majority of shops offering roughly same items with little price differences. However some shops may offer one of a kind items, or carry only certain brands. And interestingly throughout my visit to all sex shops I can find, only one shop selling physical porn DVD.
Another interesting shops around Amsterdam is LGBT-friendly shops that specializing gay BDSM clothing and toys. You can easily find these establishments, just look for rainbow or any LGBT flags hanging outside the shops.
And finally let's talk about the gift shops. I had seen many funny, or downright outrageous sex-related gifts in Malaysia but the varieties are nothing what Amsterdam can offer.
In my opinion, "I ❤️ Amsterdam" gift shops offered best sex-related gifts. So if you're in Amsterdam, make sure to find I ❤️ Amsterdam shop before checking other gift shops!
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