coriolis888

I just returned to Sao Paulo today. Ubering from GRU, I noticed less traffic because today is a holiday in Brazil. I agree, there is a lot of important new Brazil information in this thread. It would be a shame to have it removed because of a few posters that keeping interjecting politics and unrelated issues in this BRAZIL thread. The Uber driver was nice and said he did not have much business today because of the holiday. I asked him if he wanted to make additional money by driving past areas that were not included in my initial request from GRU to my hotel. The driver agreed. My Portuguese is good enough to know what the driver was saying and for understanding the contrast of how Sao Paulo has changed over the past couple of years since the pandemic.. The driver noted the deterioration of Centro greater than it was because of the coronavirus. He also commented on more homeless people on the streets and he drove me past areas that now have tents with homeless people that were not there prior to the pandemic. We eventually reached my area were I am staying. I will be less likely to be involved with a mugger, therefore, the extra cost I pay to stay where I stay is certainly worth it to me (these hotels are only about one hundred dollars higher than less safe hotels. There are some great hotels not far from Lagoa, including where I am staying. I am Talking about Rua Alameda Santos where you will find Intercontinental Hotel, Marriott and other good quality named hotels that are in a safe neighborhood where you are not likely to meet a mugger. This street is one block from Avenida Paulista which is the fanciest and safest street in Sao Paulo. Surprisingly, even though you will stay in a fancy neighborhood, you will avoid most danger and you will see the better parts of Sao Paulo. Try it, you might like it.

I agree with you about the drugs and; all good things come to an end. I used to visit the Village a couple of times each month for several years. Then the drug trade came to the village, clubs and also to the streets. I believe the drugs started strong just across the street, in plain sight, from the park that could be seen from the former Gouverneur Hotel. From the Gouverneur Hotel, you could watch from your window or from the front entrance of the hotel and see drug sales take place. Over a short period of time, fun places in the Village began to change and/or close. I stopped visiting Montreal for other places. Like you said, all good things come to an end. Restaurant owner says she and her husband were attacked on their terrace in Montreal's Village MONTREAL.CTVNEWS.CA The owner of a dumpling restaurant in Montreal’s Village neighbourhood says she and her husband were attacked on their terrace earlier this week...

One thing that has not been mentioned in this thread with regard to the reduction of safety in downtown Sao Paulo (Centro) is the influence the coronavirus had on the increase in crime and further deterioration of the area. The Praca da Republica was once a park that was fairly safe (a few years back). That park had been completely remodeled by the city about twelve years ago or so. I used to spend time in that park (Praca). Over the years, I met some fabulous garotos there. Near the park, within a block distance of the Praca, were two cines where usually there were numerous handsome garotos available (Cine Aurora and Cine Paris). Earlier this year, in a different thread, I reported on the many changes I observed to downtown Sao Paulo after Brazil was reopened to tourists after the virus restrictions were lifted. In that previous thread, I reported how countless stores and places had gone out of business (or were nearly empty) including the cines. The coronavirus closure caused many mainstream stores and restaurants to close due to the lack of customers going to the Centro area. As a result of the closures, the sidewalks in front of businesses became filled with homeless people living in tents on the sidewalks. For sentimental reasons, a few months ago I took a short visit to Centro. I went to the Cine Aurora and Cine Paris and the Praca. The cines were open to collect entrance money but, once inside the facility, there were no garotos inside. That was a clever way for the proprietor to at least make some entrance money by not warning paying customers of the cine, that it was empty of garotos. Those who remember those cines and Praca would recall how easy it was to meet garotos. Now, those cines and the park are no longer safe and are just a memory of a by-gone era. I think it is unlikely the area will be restored to what it was prior to the closing caused by the coronavirus. So, those visiting Sao Paulo, avoid Centro unless you are in a large group and only want to see the remnants of what used to be.

Rocinha Until recently, Rocinha was one of Rio’s safest favela and was host to many favela tours. However, a recent power struggle between drug lords and police has caused a series of spontaneous shoot-outs and army intervention as the authorities attempt to regain control over Rio’s largest favela. The worst of this incident took place over the course of a weekend and the police were able to restore some calm to the area. However, the future remains unpredictable and the army remain within the favela. Until the peace has been totally restored, it is best to completely avoid Rocinha at the moment.

Sorry, but for safety reasons of forum members who will visit Rio, I must make corrections to the above: The street leading to the favela is NOT PAST sauna 202, walking from the beach to the sauna. That uphill street leading to the favela is BEFORE you reach sauna 202 traveling from the beach area toward sauna 202. I make this correction because I do not want to read about a forum member(s) accidentally taking the wrong street that leads to an unfavorable event after entering a favela. Again, the described street that leads to a highly dangerous favela is before you reach sauna 202, not past that sauna (walking from Copacabana beach or area). Another correction I want to make is that the uphill street in question (that leads to the favela) is NOT near the downtown beach area of Copacabana. Sauna 202 and that uphill street (that leads to the favela) is about five or six blocks from the Copacabana beach but less than half a block from sauna 202. Safety is critical to having a great vacation in Brazil.

I agree about the "maybe try the Metro" in the above post. However, do not use most Metro buses in Brazil. If you can read Portugese, check the internet news for reported robberies aboard buses. You will see several reports of incidents of robberies on buses daily. A metro speeds along fast and many metro cars have local police riding along for safety. However, the buses do not have that added protection of police on board. For most vacationers to Brazil, do not chance taking a bus while Ubers are so much faster and safer and cheap.

Knowing Junior, (the owner of Sauna 202) do you really think the cameras work? Or, (most likely) the cameras are there just to hopefully scare off muggers and give a false sense of security to those using Uber and cars.

This type of provider is as rare as a hen's tooth.

I strongly recommend that you not visit that favela. Even though @José Soplanucas mentioned that he had inadvertently gone to the favela and found the people friendly, do not count on the same friendly experience if you go there.

New Meio Mundo reviews, photos - Centro - Rio de Janeiro - GayCities Rio de Janeiro RIO.GAYCITIES.COM Standard sauna for the guys. Reviews, photos and a map of New Meio Mundo in Centro in Rio de Janeiro

I confused you. The favela is up a street about one-half block before you reach Sauna 202. As you walk down Rua Siqueira Campus on the way towards sauna 202, you pass a street with a steep hill going up. It is that street that leads to the favela. I do not remember the name of the street but it is the only street you pass.

Your decision will be based on how much you want to see Rio. You recently got to know Sao Paulo. As you know, there are direct flights into Rio or Sao Paulo from the U.S. I personally prefer to spend more time in Sao Paulo than in Rio because there is so much more to do in Sao Paulo and the city is safer than Rio. Rio has a large beach and two popular saunas and a higher crime rate than does Sao Paulo. Sauna wise, in Rio, you have: Clube 117 which is a fun place and never disappointed me in the many years and times I visited there. Clube 202 can be a fun and busy place and easy to meet garotos. However, the owner, Junior, likes LOUD music which, when he is there, turns up the music loud which makes it difficult to have a conversation with the garotos or anyone else while in the sauna. His sauna is located in Copacabana, right near a favela which makes it easier for street crime to come down the hill and bother people on the street near the sauna then quickly escape back up the hill. There is also one smaller sauna in Rio that I never saw but supposedly has very young thin garotos. I do not recall the name of the sauna. So, given the above and if it were I and the first time in Brazil, I would book Rio for a few days then proceed to Sao Paulo for the remainder of my vacation. Of course, this is what I would do. When you travel between Rio and SP, while in Brazil, there is no need to go to the far out international airports. There is a smaller downtown airport in both Rio and SP. - Congonas and Santos Dumont airports. It is only about an hour flight between the downtown two city airports.

Glad you had a fabulous time. Did you know that Tuesday nights include "free room nights" to entertain garotos? This means that sauna 117 is a lot more busy because clients can hire a garoto and not pay for a room to entertain the garoto. Clube 202 also has a free night but I do not recall which night it is (it is not Tuesday). You can ask around. On "free night rooms" you will find usually 30 to 40 percent more garotos and clients in the sauna.

It just shows you how unreliable that escort sites is. To block a person totally unknown by the blocker means the site needs a lot of technical work.

Never been to HotHouse or Danger Club. Maybe something for me to check out on my upcoming trip to Sao Paulo. Your schedule is impressive. I could not keep going as you have and you have been there only a couple of days. Yikes! When do you sleep?

Actually, the people at rentmen are clever business men because, even though the ad is bogus, rentmen still makes money from bogus ads. It is only after the stolen photos are reported that the photos are removed but the money paid to post the photos stays in the cash register of rentmen.

Getting the police involved and having them learn where and how you met (rentmen or similar), do not expect much sympathy from the police. The nonsensical defense of "paying for time only" will not fly except with a moron. The ads on rentmen are quite specific, especially ads with photos to contradict the paying for time allegation. It is unfortuneate that this happened to you but the situation could have been worse if violence had been involved. Were it I, I would drop the matter and consider myself lucky that the situation did not involved violence or worse.

If you were charged with any type of prostitution charge in Texas before 2021, you most likely would be facing a misdemeanor charge at best. However, that has now all been changed. This harsh new legislation, put into Texas law in 2021, now makes it a state jail felony offense that usually will carry jail time. If you, or any person, solicits another for paid sexual conduct, you will now face a state jail felony instead of a class B misdemeanor! Texas became the first state in the union to make solicitation of prostitution a felony offense. Traditionally, Texas police focused on the sellers of prostitution, but now these new laws and penalties are designed to target you as a buyer of sexual favors equally. Historically, the buying of sex was never legal in Texas. Under both the old and new laws, it is the act of knowingly offering or agreeing to pay a fee to another person to engage in sexual conduct. Sexual conduct in Texas is legally defined as “deviate sexual intercourse, sexual contact, and sexual intercourse.”

Theft by providers happens more than most would realize or admit. Having lunch with a provider offers some form of comfort for the client but it does not offer any guarantee of safety. Embarrassment (family and friends) is usually the reason the theft goes unreported. Sad but true.

Most of us realize that it costs extra money paid to rentmen for providers to advertise as "rentmen of the day" However, today, there is an add on rentmen titled "rentmen of the day" but in the add, it states "Currently unavailable and not seeing new folks at the moment. " RentMan Of The Day Last on: Private Palm Springs, CAV_MUSCLE V_MUSCN1LECurrently unavailable and not seeing new folks at the moment. "I take great care of myself by care...

? ? ? ? ? ? ? Not trying to be difficult but I am puzzled by your post. Isn't making a deposit (money paid in advance of a meeting) equal to paying upfront? In both cases, the provider has your money prior to the two of you getting together.

Continuing to receive positive reviews has many factors attached to it. The rentmen sites are there to make money. If a paying provider threatens to cancel his ad, often the site will remove a negative review in order to keep the paying provider. If a provider is new and has basic service, the negative review will stay a while. Do not rely heavily on reviews when chosing a provider. There are exceptions where a provider has many positive reviews but one bad review slips through. After a while, the one bad reviews will magically disappear. Reviews are nice but only offer guidance in deciding which provider to contact. From there, it is luck.

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Copy of actual review in the provider's rentmen ad: "We chatted on the messenger and then I texted. We met at my hotel and this was not the person in the photos. Time Spent: 1 hour" ______________________________ How can you trust a provider that pulls a stunt like this?

An explanation? Reason is that lots of guys on meeting apps have many problems and some are quite goofy. When I encounter a difficult "provider", I simply stop responding to their messages.