Sensation White

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Overview

The destination was Amsterdam, and the visit centred around an electronic show called Sensation. Sensation indoor dance-event which originated in the Netherlands and organized by IDT. The original event, which ran exclusively in the Amsterdam ArenA for a period of five years until 2005, is now located throughout Poland, Spain, Chile, Germany, Belgium, Hungary, Czech Republic, Latvia, Russia, Denmark, Lithuania, Portugal and Brazil. Sensation (White) is mostly a trance and house event. All the attendees are required to wear white and the Amsterdam ArenA itself is elaborately decorated to match.

This event was mentioned to me a few months back by a friend of mine, and after some brief research, I decided that this would be a concert well worth attending. I asked my brother, Jackson, if he wanted to fly back over to visit and go to the show, and I received a resounding YES. So we purchased flights, hotel and tickets and Amsterdam 2010 was a go.

Day 1

We departed London Stansted on a perfect Friday afternoon just as the Netherlands / Brazil World Cup match was kicking off, and as soon as we arrived, the eruption of outstretched arms and piecing yells through cabin signalled the Dutch victory over the Samba nation. We made our way through the airport in a sea of orange and once we arrived at Central Station, the drone of the ubiquitous vuvuzelas seemed to engulf the entire city. We knew we had arrived at precisely the right time.

It had been about 6 years since I’d visited Amsterdam as a foreign exchange student, and this time the city felt so much more friendly and appealing, especially since the other visits were during February and March. This time of year the city’s inhabitants were out in abundance - riding bikes on the massive network of bike lanes throughout the city, cruising the canals on boats, enjoying the plentiful outdoor cafés, and the atmosphere around the World Cup win made the scene that much more enticing. Everyone was donned in orange shirts, orange body paint, orange hats, orange hair, and beer was drunk in copious amounts, and the police seemed to be enjoying themselves as much as the revellers parading down the canals (there were even boats with DJs set up blasting music out into the frenzied crowd).

After dropping off our baggage at the hotel, which was located south of Central Station in a popular area called the Leidesplien, we headed out into the melee. The Leidesplein is one of the busiest centres for nightlife in the city, and the square and the surrounding streets are full of bars, restaurants, outdoor cafes, theatres, dance clubs etc. So we grabbed some dinner, downed a few beers while watching the Ghana vs. Uruguay match (oh so painful for poor Ghana!) and took off to into the night.

We decided to make a pass through the overflowing pubs in Leidesplien and then over to the more racy areas of Amsterdam to have a peak at one of the more fascinating districts in Europe (although overrun by unscrupulous, unsavoury disciples of human excesses). When you arrive in the Red Light District, you know immediately where you are...think Bourbon Street’s morality level taken down about 20 notches and mix drug use and openly accepted prostitution to the cocktail and you have Amsterdam’s most famous attraction. Walking through the Red Light district, you'll find short girls, tall girls, fat girls, skinny girls, school girls, naughty nurses, black, white, Asian....pretty much whatever your fancy...it’s there. It can be an awkward place to roam the street perusing the narrow passages showered in red and neon lights advertising what in most places occurs in clandestine, hidden crevices far from the public's eye, and it's all available for the right price. But nonetheless, it is a fascinating place regardless of the moral compromises.

Following the sensory overload...we decided to call it a night. Out.

Day 2

Today was the day we had come for. Jackson and I had been anxiously awaiting the show for about 2 months now, and the 10:45 p.m. start could not come soon enough. However, we had a full day to kill and also the Germany vs. Argentina match at 4 p.m.

In an effort to eradicate the effects of the previous night, I went for a run through a large forest / park in south Amsterdam called Amsterdamse Bos, which is Dutch for Amsterdam Forest. The approach took me through Vondelpark, which is right behind the hotel, down Amstelveenseweg and into the large park. An absolutely beautiful trail run, over small draw bridges, around lakes, by small creeks and clearings. There were rowing competitions in the Bosbaan and the spectators would ride their bikes along the lake cheering on their athlete of choice....quite a sight!

After the run, we grabbed some lunch and watched the Argentina vs. Germany match in which Germany decimated Maradona's Argentina 4 - nil. Before we knew it, it was time to return to the hotel to change into the all white garb and head to the Amsterdam ArenA for Sensation.

In place of replaying the entire event, I’m going to sum it up and say it was one of the most incredible productions I’ve ever seen. The DJs were fantastic, the beer went down far too easy, and it’ll be hard to come across another spectacle that matches the sheer largesse of the night. Needless to say, by 5 a.m. we were exhausted, so we proceeded to float back to the hotel to try and sleep off the impending hangover.


Day 3

12:30 headache....
wake up....
shower....
lunch and several bottles of water...
Dutch train(s)...
Schiphol....
Airplane....
Nap...
Heathrow...
English Train...
English Taxi...
Flat...
Phew!

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