So, yesterday I decided to do something completely different and I went to an Erotic Lifestyle event known as the KamaSutrA, together with 
bander and maartje. After having fun (NOT) with finding the right parkinggarage we arrived at the venue in Utrecht: the 'Jaarbeurshallen'. One hour later and 17 Euro's poorer each, we came out again. What a disappointment. Maybe my expectations were too high, but to me the whole thing was nothing more than an erotic market with a few shows. Dildo's, DVD's and skimpy outfits everywhere, but also 'naughty' chocolates, erotic photographers and paintbrushers. A section of the market was off limits to me, being only for couples. The shows were interesting, but nothing special. You had to pay 7 Euro's extra for the erotic theatre (which I didn't visit), the so-called Champagnebar didn't serve real champagne but rather 'Methode Traditionelle' and the so-called Cocktailbar only sold premix bottles like Bacardi Breezers. As Maartje said, there wasn't anything there that you couldn't get in your 'normal' erotic store.
After that, we quickly peeked inside the Casino in Utrecht, since it was right next door. Nothing thrilling going on, so we were outside again in less than half an hour. Next stop was Rotterdam. Ate at Pizza Hut (yay for Coke light pitchers), then said goodbye to Bander and Maartje since they were going to catch a movie with friends. I couldn't resist the temptation and had a look inside the Rotterdam casino, also not having been there before. This one was much nicer than the one in Utrecht; it looked like an old shoppingstreet with nooks and crannies everywhere (filled with slotmachines of course). Tried my luck briefly at the Black Jack table and walked out with 50 Euro profit, enough to cover my costs of the day :)
Went home, saw bed, went zzz.
Now, more work.
bander and maartje. After having fun (NOT) with finding the right parkinggarage we arrived at the venue in Utrecht: the 'Jaarbeurshallen'. One hour later and 17 Euro's poorer each, we came out again. What a disappointment. Maybe my expectations were too high, but to me the whole thing was nothing more than an erotic market with a few shows. Dildo's, DVD's and skimpy outfits everywhere, but also 'naughty' chocolates, erotic photographers and paintbrushers. A section of the market was off limits to me, being only for couples. The shows were interesting, but nothing special. You had to pay 7 Euro's extra for the erotic theatre (which I didn't visit), the so-called Champagnebar didn't serve real champagne but rather 'Methode Traditionelle' and the so-called Cocktailbar only sold premix bottles like Bacardi Breezers. As Maartje said, there wasn't anything there that you couldn't get in your 'normal' erotic store.After that, we quickly peeked inside the Casino in Utrecht, since it was right next door. Nothing thrilling going on, so we were outside again in less than half an hour. Next stop was Rotterdam. Ate at Pizza Hut (yay for Coke light pitchers), then said goodbye to Bander and Maartje since they were going to catch a movie with friends. I couldn't resist the temptation and had a look inside the Rotterdam casino, also not having been there before. This one was much nicer than the one in Utrecht; it looked like an old shoppingstreet with nooks and crannies everywhere (filled with slotmachines of course). Tried my luck briefly at the Black Jack table and walked out with 50 Euro profit, enough to cover my costs of the day :)
Went home, saw bed, went zzz.
Now, more work.
Comments
It's not like they isn't other stuff to be sold. Things I came up with to sell there which I didn't see include:
-custom-made collars/erotic bijoux (I can make those, all I need is some bijou-chain in various sizes that I can buy at the market, a few beads and maybe some fabric and leather strings in various colours).
-erotic books (informative or with erotic fiction).
-corsets (Graywolf might have made some profit there).
-other fetish stuff than shoes and whips
-stripper-supplies: nipple pasties ("aww shucks, no-one sells those here?"), themed costumes, pants with velcro in the back to ensure easy and hot-looking removal.
-other erotic food than candy/chocolate (except the unintentionally funny sausage-stands)
And so forth and so on. It was all dreadfully run o' the mill, even the BDSM stands had mostly stuff that isn't that hard to come by. At least, that's what I saw of it; most shops had 3-people thick crowds in front of them, which in the country with the tallest people on earth isn't good news for someone under 5 feet tall.
They really should have done more of a selection on how many shops of a certain nature to allow. The male stripper who did a James Bond act was very cheesy (more dancing, less fiddling with the underpants you're not even going to take off! Why are male strippers excluded from having to strip to full frontal nudity while female strippers aren't? And why did he shave his chest for a James Bond impersonation anyway?). The shows were on stages I could hardly see (too low), and whenever I did get a good spot, someone tall would manoeuver in front of me.
They had paddling pools, but you couldn't get a towel there: I see why bathing suits are optional, but in this climate, waiting to dry isn't an option. Maybe it was just for the wet-t-shirt-contest (I didn't bring a wet t-shirt ;) ), but then why was it pointed out on the signs?
And I am not going to comment on having an open tattoo-parlour at an event where dozens of people will want to watch it being made.
A waste of time and money, really, but then, it fits in with the whole "erotica" business - they all just seem to try to make you cough up ridiculous amounts for low-quality products.
Hehehehe...