After my ordeal with the international race for the plane, the flight delays and an afternoon in Amsterdam visiting some top notch coffeeshops, I opted to spend a day recovering by sleeping in at Els' Place in Almere Haven. Sunday turned out to be a beautiful day and I decided to walk over to the Chilli Kiki coffeeshop and pick up a gram of herb.
Walking from De Meenten to De Werven to the Chillie Kiki coffeeshop took only about 15 minutes. I got there a little early as they don't open until 2pm on Saturday and Sunday. When I arrived, I was quite surprised to find a carnival with American-themed rides and games in progress. I walked around and shot video of the carnival and some shots of the exterior of the shop as it seems to be a buy and fly type of place. I was impressed and amused to see that they have some educational literature available that explains the effects of cannabis, along with some tips on how to properly and responsibly enjoy cannabis products.
I bought a gram of Amnesia Haze for €12 and took it back to Els' Place where I smoked it in the garden while enjoying the warm sunshine and pleasant breeze. For me, it was a very nice Amnesia Haze, beautiful colors and perfectly cured. Possibly the best Amnesia Haze I have had up to that point.
The coffeeshop experience in Almere is quite different than in Amsterdam. The first thing you will notice before entering the coffeeshop is the security person stationed at the entrance. He will check your ID to make sure you are of legal age to enter a coffeeshop. I have experienced this at both Chilli Kiki and de Blowboot in Almere-stad.
Here is what to expect if you ever visit coffeeshop Chilli Kiki: The dealer's booth is only a few steps inside the entrance. You will place your order at a window where you are separated from the dealer by a glass partition with a speaker hole and a pass-through tray. You will be asked to show your ID once again and the dealer will make some notation on a slip of paper and then you can place your order. For easy viewing, the menu is posted against the glass inside the dealer's booth. Chilli Kiki sells pre-weighed bags. You do not have an opportunity to see and/or smell the product so you are really just trusting that you're getting what you're ordering. This, of course, is quite different than the experience at the finer shops in Amsterdam where the culture tends to cater more to the experienced smoker, the connoisseur, where seeing the product and smelling it before ordering is expected and encouraged.
According to their website, they have a lounge area where customers can sit to relax and smoke as well as order drinks and snacks. I was not sure about this aspect of the shop when I was there since the door that opens into the lounge was closed and posted as Private and I did not ask if I could go inside. I would have liked to have spent a few minutes inside where I could shoot some video of the interior. Maybe I will be able to do that on my next visit.
This video was edited with Vegas 11. The credits were created with Windows XP Movie Maker.
The original music is performed by Kevin MacLeod and it is provided royalty free from http://www.incompetech.com/
I have enjoyed this quiet day here in Almere Haven. It has been great to get a little rest and recovery as a way to recharge my batteries for the remainder of the trip now that I have my sleep schedule sorted out.
Earlier today I walked over to the Chillie Kiki coffeeshop and I purchased their Amnesia. It's a fine smoke, as expected. Let me explain again, that business at coffeeshops in Almere is different than business at coffeeshops in Amsterdam. First, no coffeeshop can open until 4pm on the weekdays and 2pm on weekends, after the kids are out of school. I guess that's a good thing, that way the kids can try to get into a coffeeshop after school rather than trying to do so during school. And trying is all they would do since there is someone at the entrance of the shop to check your ID before entering to assure that you are of legal age, 18 or older. Then you place your order at a window where you are given a pre-weighed bag of what you had requested.
Today at Chillie Kiki, I asked if I could go into the lounge and I was told I could go in and smoke a joint and then I had to be buzzed in. The lounge area is very nice, it's a relatively small space but it feels much bigger, there are only a couple of tables but there's a built-in nook area that is cushioned and comfortable and there is seating at the bar as well.
There were people in the lounge when I entered, they were all local folks as far as I could tell and they were all speaking Dutch. I took a seat at a table under the frosted front window and also ordered a Coca-Cola since I was thirsty from the walk. I sat and smoked my joint and drank my cola and then when the female bud tender was not busy I asked her if I could shoot some video inside the shop and I was told to ask the Turkish gentleman who was sitting in the nook. He asked me if I was going to post it on YouTube and I said yes and he said it was Ok, he even posed for the camera and then we sat and had a long conversation about many things but I learned that the Chillie Kiki coffeeshop is planning to remodel and expand a bit. Also, I was shown the results of some kind of online poll that ranked Chillie Kiki in the Top 10 coffeeshops in Netherlands.
I recommend a visit to the Chillie Kiki coffeeshop if you ever find yourself in Almere Haven. You will not regret it.
