Cheap night out or budget running low? Trippist found these cheap beer hang outs:

Café Krater (part of the University of Amsterdam)
Where: Roetersstraat 13

Eurocafe Menschen - all day beer for €1!!
Where: Amstel 202

Café de Gieter
Where: Korte Leidsedwarsstraat 179

The Pirates
Where: Korte Leidsedwarsstraat 129

Clubbing in Amsterdam is great fun when you know where the right parties are being held. As some (more exclusive) clubs can be kind of picky about who they let in and who not, I think Sinners in Heaven is quite a safe place to go to. This does not mean that it’s not a "hotspot" though, because the club is popular among students as well as hardcore clubbers. Every last Saturday of the month the club hosts the Soixante-Neuf & Friends party which is a great mix of all kinds of up tempo music guaranteeing a night full of dancing and fun. The DJ’s play all kinds of styles and really know how to mix and have it blend into one continuous flow. Last time I was there I heard one guy mixing Snoop Dogg's Drop It Like It’s Hot" with "Eye Of the Tiger" and mixing that with Nirvana’s "Smells Like Teen Spirit". The crowd went wild (duhh, who wouldn’t love to hear Snoop, Rocky and Kurt rockin' the house, right!?! ) and the atmosphere was really cool. Besides that, for the guys there were a sh*tload of hot girls and I guess the girls weren’t bored either. I give this party the good old "two thumbs up"!
Wagenstraat 3-7

On the Rembrandt Square (or Rembrandtplein) there are several bars and clubs that have a high density of students coming to party. Escape is one of the most popular destinations among students, especially on Thursdays (student night) when the club hosts Franchise. This party hosts some of the best DJ’s in Holland who make the crowd loose their minds. Being the broke student that I am I found out that if you show your student ID card you only pay 5 euros instead of the regular 10, a real bargain considering the fact that you get to enjoy good DJ’s and great tunes.. Drinks are average priced and the dress code is very casual. I saw people who dressed up, but also lots of folks with jeans and sneakers (I was one of them). Basically, you can wear whatever you feel like wearing and won’t have to worry about getting in. Thursdays at Escape: good stuff!
Rembrandtplein 11

Amsterdam tolerates the use of soft drugs in small quantities, but selling drugs is illegal in Holland. Soft drugs, however, are allowed in certain controlled areas. CityRag visited Amsterdam. Check out their story Like a kid in a candy store!

A few other interesting sites are:
Coffeeshops info - info for first time visitors to Amsterdam
Cannabis College – they have a garden!
Coffeeshop Guide - site with coffeeshop rating system
Smokersguide

(Photos: Cityrag)

There is something tempting about visiting a Maccie D’s… You know what you’re going to get (and you can read the menu!) and you’ll know you’ll like it. But being adventurous can be exciting and Amsterdam is not a bad place for taking a risk. I really enjoyed trying out some of the “local” cuisine…

Where: Bojo (Lange Leidsedwarsstraat 51)
Why: reasonably priced Indonesian restaurant with huge servings and late opening hours.

Where: Pannekoekhuis Upstairs (Grimburgwal 2)
Why: pancakes are part of the Dutch experience, the restaurant itself is located on the second floor of a very cute, old house

Where: Van Dobben (Korte Reguliersdwarsstraat 5)
Why: serving Amsterdam “kroketten” (deep-fried snack filled with beef ragout with a crispy outside) since 1945

Where: Nieuw Albina (Albert Cuypstraat 47-9)
Why: yummy Surinamese food, try the Moksi Meti

Where: Moeder’s Pot Eethuisje (Vinkenstraat 119)
Why: Dutch home cooking at bargain prices

Some friends told me to try out the deep-fried stuff at the FEBO. After practicing the pronunciation I asked a few locals and was pointed in the direction of a greasy smelling fast food outlet that serves deep-fried snacks for about one Euro. You can retrieve your choice of snack, like croquettes, French fries or cheese soufflé from small vending machine style compartments. I discovered these outlets all over the city. Verdict? Not your every day source of nutrition but it’s cheap and tasty and I love the Dutch mayonnaise…

After having had my fair share of Maccie D’s and FEBO (a Dutch low budget fast-food joint) I was looking for some quality food for a non-quality food price (living the student life to its fullest :p) so after a tip from this guy we met on Dam Square we headed out to this place called Bazar located on the Albert Cuyp market. It’s pretty cool when you enter the place. It’s a former mosque turned into a restaurant. The food is good and is mainly from Morocco and other North African countries. The prices range, but overall it’s inexpensive. For those of you who will go and check the place out, I’d recommend you try Bizar Bazar Vis. It’s an awesome seafood dish that will have you leaving the place with a smile, especially if you finish it off with the Oase-desert. Trust me on this one!
Albert Cuypstraat 182

Yesterday I found this awesome sneaker spot in the heart of Amsterdam where you can find the coolest sneakers out there. This place called PATTA kind of reminded me of Flight Club in New York where they have the most outrageous and original sneakers you can possibly think of. As one of the store owners told me “patta” is the Surinam word for shoe and it is now used as a slang-term among Amsterdam’s youth. Anyway, I figured it’s definitely worth mentioning for those of you who love to feast your eyes on a few good kicks and the latest in cool footwear.
Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal 142

Since I’m on the subject I might as well go on and mention another cool sneaker spot on the other side of the city centre. The area known as De Pijp (which literally means The Pipe) has a lot of cool shops and the infamous Albert Cuyp market which is held daily, and offers a wide range of clothing, fabrics and food. Getting back on topic, at the end of the Albert Cuyp market I found a sneaker store called Seventyfive where they do not only sell awesome sneakers, but also have a small collection of cool t-shirts and bags and stuff. Definitely worth checking out if you are in the area.
Van Woustraat 14
Also: Nieuwe Hoogstraat 24 & Haarlemmerdijk 55c

Always wondered if something is going on on those islands across from Central Station. So when curiosity got the best of me I boarded the free ‘Java Ferry’ to discover the Java Island. Java Island is one of the 'new' islands in the Eastern Docklands/Harbor area. The modern architecture here is surprising and the ‘locals’ told me that in a short period of time the once unknown island is now becoming a must-see attraction for people who like design and architecture. The ferry takes you to the north of Java Island in approximately 10 minutes from Jetty 8. From here you can also go to KNSM Island, Sporenburg and Borneo Island.
There is also a free ferry ride across the IJ. The IJ separates downtown Amsterdam and Amsterdam-North. This is the oldest part of the Amsterdam harbor. It is a cove of the former Zuyderzee, now the IJsselmeer lake.