Dignita: The Store with A Story

In the streets of the Red Light District, where hope shatters for most women who were being trafficked and forced into prostitution for a living, lies a cafe called "Dignita", a former brothel transformed into the store with a story....

100% of profits gained from the store and cafe goes towards supporting the work of Not For Sale (NFS).

And every Tuesday and Thursday night, volunteers will come and distribute food to the prostitutes working along the Red Light District.

Curious about how the organization works, I asked them a few questions...

How does this organization helps in tackling human trafficking?

They provide food and comfort in any way they can to the women working in the Red Light District. Policemen do investigate if the women there are being trafficked or are there voluntarily. And if the police finds people who are being trafficked there, we provide training for the victims to be able to sustain themselves in the future, having to leave their old life of prostitution behind the window or glass doors.

Does it matter if the women chose to be there willingly? And how would you be able to find out who is there voluntarily rather than being trafficked there? 

It doesn't matter if the women chose to be in the Red Light District willingly or not because most of them do not choose to be here. 

The store sells pretty cool items for you to buy in support of the organization and has a small seating area for a group of 3-4 to fit and watch videos on human trafficking that often occurs behind the Red Light District

They even sell quite affordable tea & coffee ! There was no reason not to support their cause especially after watching the video again and again, which really got to me....

The soup kitchen is also part of the cafe....

And they also store their supply of basic clothes, footwear and drinks for the ladies in the store...

It was literally the light at the end of a dark tunnel,

You could even come on Tuesdays, or Thursdays-Sundays at 6PM to get free information about the Red Light District. The informative talk will give an inside look into the history of the Red Light District, The Culture and Realities of the Red Light District, Legalization of Prostitution and Life Behind the Windows which will only take 30 minutes of your time

I've even attached a link of a very interesting yet viral short clip tackling the issue of human trafficking in the Red Light District down here, 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uta5xdGJcqI

You can find the location on Google Map as 'Dignita Retail' but nevertheless, here's the address,

Oudezijds Achterburgwal 82A,

1012 Dr Amsterdam

Please do visit and support their cause :)

Also, please do share this post to inspire others !

Brussels, Belgium

WAFFLES !!!! 

The waffles here are so good ! Especially from this shop called "Le Funambule". Its really near the Grand Place and they sell heavenly waffles from as low as 1 Euro ! So good that I insisted mum to take a picture of me both of the times I was eating there.

Anyways, since me and mum came during the post-attack, most of the places were closed and so were the metro stations so we couldn't do as much, but it was still alright though :)

Day 1 

We chose to stay at an Air BnB near Churchill which was pretty cool since they sell halal chicken at the nearest Carrefour ! Which is such a blessing cause mum decided to cook Asam Pedas Ayam for Lunch hehehe, Anyways, the first thing we did when we arrived, was to try the "OMG SO SEDAP" Waffles ! 

Told mum I wanted to go to Grand Place since it was one of the top places to go Brussels, but only to find out it was where people were mourning for the deaths and victims of the bombings...
(more pictures available in my previous post on that)

Then, everything else was within a walking distance ! 

And for those of you know me pretty well, you would know how randomly I love chocolates and elephants so I couldn't resist taking a picture with a combination of both !! 

Or even eating it....with that double chin though.....

And after burning all the calories I got from the waffles through our hours of walking around the central, we tried the "Los Churros" Belgian Chocolate Churros and it was heavenly !! It was so good !! It was 7 Euros though which was totally worth it :))))

And last but not least, we went to check out the famous Mannekin Pis... which I had to cover my nose since the boy has been peeing since the 1600s, so you know... *Just kidding*

Day 2

We checked out the famous Atomium ! Which took us almost an hour to get there so as usual, I fell asleep in the Metro all the way..... Also, we bungkus sandwiches so we ate on our way back hehe (saved a lot from eating at restaurants which would cost so much with my current appetite) 

Then, we checked out the European Commission and European Parliament buildings in Brussels ! There were armed military men at each entrance and the buildings were closed so I could only take pictures from outside. Hmmm, its okay, another reason to come and visit Brussels again (rather than just for the waffles) hehehe

Then me and mum went back to the City Centre and chilled there, buying waffles again from my favourite place! Went to Lush to get my facial wash stuff and they gave us 2 free fresh face mask which totally made my day even more !! 

But yeah, that's pretty much it :) 

Next stop, Antwerp ! 

Brussels: #PrayForBrussels

Hey guys, so a lot of my friends have planned their trips to Brussels but due to the recent incident, I've been asked if it is safe for them to travel so I decided that writing a blog post would help (at least as much as I can) so here you go,

It is pretty much safe so far, to me personally. People were standing together rather than against each other, despite the different believes and faiths everyone has. 

But most of the Metro stations were closed for today so it was quite a struggle to get from one place to another. We didn't have any issues with crossing from France to Belgium though, our passports weren't even checked. 

Also, mum got a bit worried if the immigration won't let us through so she wore a cap to cover her head rather than the usual hijab.... but only to find out that there were so many women in Brussels who were still out with hijab on and they didn't seem to be discriminated or mistreated. Infact, they were even there in the crowd standing with the others, mourning together. 

People were chanting and cheering each other up in the midst of the crowd mourning. No words could explain how I felt being there. Oh, and the goosebumps though.

There were military men everywhere. Most of the pictures were taken at the Grand Plaza, one of the most famous place to visit in Brussels and the building was closed, as so were there many other buildings so me and mum couldn't do much but walked around the city and had our little food hunting.

TV stations from around the world were there...and policemen were even guarding certain streets/corners

Upon arriving at Garu de Nord for our bus ride from Paris, I was investigated by the policemen who was checking my rugsack, and we had quite a conversation...

Policeman: Have you got anything dangerous in your bag?

Me: Nope

Policeman: Have you got any bad intentions with you today?

Me: Yeahhh, probably just eating lots of chocolates here in Belgium

Policeman: That's alright ;)

It was quite an amusing conversation though, hope that made him feel better with what his country has gone through... 

There were armed military man checking our bags and clothes at every station and shopping mall we entered. Most of the shops were not even opened. But this is as for today, shops and metro stations might be opened and will work like normal possibly in a couple of days I reckon. 

Since most of the train stations didn't work, the Central Station's entrance had a long queue that the queue extended till outside of the station ! People were all taking their public transports from there and all of them had their bags checked, so yeahhhh. 

Personally, I would say, it is alright to travel since they have really tight security now, which would mean that for anything to happen, would be pretty difficult. But you could tell, that the city was quite quiet and dead. I wouldn't wanna be completely liable if anything happens while any of you are travelling there, but my personal opinion would be is that, it should be safe. 

I was so moved by the spirit at the Palace though. Muslims were even standing next to other citizens/victims for Brussels, supporting their movement. It doesn't matter who you are or what faith you have or where you come from, no one, no country, deserves this. 

Paris: Day 4

Checked out the UNESCO World Heritage Site, Chateau de Versailles ! With my cousins; Ewanina & Ellysa, and my aunt, Aunty Khadijah 

We arrived at about 11.30 AM and bought tickets at the information centre rather than near the palace as we saw the queue. It was free entrance though ! For anyone studying in the UK with a student visa and anyone below 18y'old. 

We thought we jumped the queue since  we bought tickets earlier.... but we didn't ! There was another long queue upon entering the palace ! Which took us almost an hour ! So bear in mind, when you wanna plan your journey here, do consider that it might take more than half of your day. But it was beyond beautiful.......and so worth it 

Since me and mum were leaving for Brussels the next day at 5AM, we decided to stay in for the night again. Had really good Indian food for dinner with my aunt though :)))) 

Day 3: Paris

Since me and mum had so many days in Paris, we took our time visiting places which was pretty nice :) 

We didn't really do much on Day 3 really, just checked out the Louvre and Opera.

And the Opera was so beautiful ! Beyond words !! 

Also, we managed to grab our halal Indian food at a really cheap place, Cafe Bangla.

We decided to go back early and rest since we were out for the whole day, the past few days so yeah. 

InsyaAllah will be writing a post on the hacks and tips on how to get around Paris soon :)

Drunken Hostel Mate

Okay, here's the thing.

I really need to use the toilet but my drunken hostel mate fell asleep on the toilet bowl.... I honestly wouldn't mind assisting her and helping her to her bed (which I always end up doing for my uni mates or friends whenever they get too drunk) but she can't even speak English so I couldn't even be bothered.

And the worst part is,
She left the toilet door open with the lights on and her music blasting in her earphones loudly. Also, with her 'drunk people food' left on the table, opened, leaving the whole room to smell like some weird burger. Omg, can't imagine how my mum would react when she wakes up cause before we fell asleep, mum asked me, "Where is that source of music coming from? And why is the toilet door left open? Where is our hostel mate?" which I ended up telling my mum to drunk hostel mates since we will be staying in backpackers for quite awhile.

So anyways, I had to go all the way down to the lobby just to use the toilet at 1AM ! Now, I gotta control the amount of water I drink before I have to make another journey just to go to the toilet. Sheesh.

I'll just try to sleep so I wouldn't feel the urge to go to toilet anymore, hopefully. Nights.