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Off2Golf,
Nice report. I am headin g to Manaus in July and I have some querstions for you if you don't mind :
- first if you feel like sharing informations regarding your daytrips and agencies which booked them, I woul appreciate. You can contact me at christobald59@hotmail.com
- I have been told there are several Tarzan like tree hotel around Manaus. Which one have you been if it was the case ?
- would a week there be enough to get a good overview of the rain forest ?
- any possibilities to go and visit native indian tribes ?
- did you keep the contact number of Orlando your driver ?
- did you have to pay for his extras too ?
- what your full service massage was including ? I understood the concierge of the Novotel made the booking for you ?
- as far as the other girls were concerned, what type of service did you get ? bbbj ? anything fancy ?
- where they clean ?
- how did you manage to communicate ? do you speak Portuguese ? do they speak English ?
- which of the clubs you've been would you quote the best ?
Thanks and regards
Wolf
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Wolf,
Hotel – We (buddy and I) did not stay in a hotel in the jungle. Both of us are city boys and even though we love to explore the jungle but would like to stay at a civilized place for hot shower, air-conditioned room for good night sleep and decent food. We stayed at Novotel which Orlando told me that it is one of the best in Manaus.
Length of stay – I think one week is sufficient to see jungles and rivers and in between. It is solely up to you how deeply you want to do Amazon expedition.
Driver – Orlando is a local taxi driver. We agreed to pay him R$200.00 for three full days plus a tank of gas (R$60.00). He has a small car so it can take only so much of gas. He worked hard for us as a driver and a guide for nature and night scenes. We picked up his tab for dinner and drinks. Even though the cost of dinner, cover charges, drinks might be stiff for local folks including Orlando, it really was not big deal for neither me nor my buddy (Brazilian from Sao Paulo). We paid him R$300.00 at the end of trip. He asked a bit more as he worked hard and we reluctantly agreed to do so. I’ll email Orlando’s mobile number.
Full service massage – It includes everything – massage, bbbj, sex and more massage. It cost me R$80.00 (less than US$30!). What a bargain!
I asked a guy at the front desk a few questions. He was very friendly and accommodating. His name is Neto and he works in the evenings. He knows a few places and brought one for me. The massage girl was in great shape and very friendly and did just about anything I asked her to do.
Girls – Most of girls appear to be clean and everyone I had took shower before they did anything. Quality (look and shape) and quantity are no way near those of Rio or Sao Paulo but what they offer was good enough for me to relax me in the evening. Personality, attitude and approach towards man and sex were very commendable.
Communications – I don’t speak Portuguese, I wish though. My buddy is native Brazilian so he handled all communications and interpretation. I had distinct advantage. Most of hotel employees (at least in Novotel) can converse with you in English.
Travel booking – There was a travel agency office in the hotel lobby so we used them for booking day trips. We booked the river trip at R$70.00 per person. It covers transportation from/to hotel to/from the pier, lunch and the trip. The trip was two parts – fair size boat trip to where two rivers meet, lunch and then switch to smaller boat to travel through the jungle water ways, and then back home.
Nightclubs – I’m used to nice clubs in Sao Paulo and availability in Manaus did not matter much to me. I was happy to see some actions nightly. If you like to dance to live music, you can go to a few clubs as posted on this board by a few comrades. There were a couple of clubs where I did not try that you may want to try – Gild’s and Kiss. I’m sure all taxi drivers know where they are.
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hi fellow brasilera seekers,
i will be in manaus in the spring (november, 2003) and wanted to extent an invitation to all fellow brasilera seekers to pool resources and information on manaus. i will floating down the river from iquitos to manaus, and perhaps from manaus to the atlantic coast. if anyone has any information or experience with river travel, please post it for all to see. i will also be spending time in iquitos, peru (please see my previous wsg forum posts on the hot charapitas of iquitos).
i have been working hard to master portuguese. in my experience, talking the native language is the real key to "penetrating" the local women and society. i have been using pimsleur and highly recommend it. you can get is using a peer-to peer connection program such as emule or from newgroup posts (e.g. alt.binaries.sounds.mp3.spoken-word).
i am much more into girl friend action than over-priced hookers. my general understanding of brazil is that sex is more or less free and only stupid gringos pay. however, i do believe in helping out non-pros. it's always nice to be generous, but if i wanted spoiled bitches, i'd stay in california and i wouldn't be going to south america.
any information on amazon river travel and river towns on the way, will be greatly appreciated. i will be posting all my adventures in the peru and brazil forums. if i can help anyone out, please contact me at dandaman93906@yahoo.com.
obrigado,
dandaman
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Manaus Report...2003
The Airport...
Upon exiting arrivals you will be accosted by all sorts of people trying to sell your tours/jungle trips etc. The price of the taxi's is prohibitive, currently 42R$ for a 7 min trip to Ponta Negra.
The Food...
Manaus hasn't got one decent restaurant it seems. There isn't even a Bobs/MacDonalds in the center of town as a backup. Eating seems to be like playing Russian Roulette with various bugs/bacteria.
Security...
Down near the port during the day, a guy attempted to pick pocket my friend. I spotted him in the act and he backed off. The port is full of garbage. During the night trannies hawk various street corners and need to be avoided due to pickpocketing etc. You also get a few crazies hanging out, usually drunk and ready for a fight. It seems the locals are not very good at holding their beer.
Hotels...
The best hotel is out at Ponta Negra, Tropical Manaus. It starts at 409R$ per night, but usually you can bid them down to around 200R$. Apart from that you will need to go downtown. best bet is to pick up a copy of the Lonely Planet for a list.
Transport...
Buses not too bad, some get absolutely jam packed and its near to impossible to get off at your stop. Taxis are expensive and may take detours on the meter. Better to ask them a price, then offer them 2/3's of that. I got downtown to Ponta Negra for 30R$ at all hours of the morning.
The Locals...
People are polite, but its not uncommon to see girls spit on the floor. I actually also witnessed this in a Forro club and they weren't drunk. The population tend to be short. This can be a problem for tall guys as many stalls/bus shelters have very low metal roofs are you are likely to scalp yourself if you are not careful.
Clubs...
The place with the strip/pool tables is a bit spooky, many grinogs will do a 180 once they see the scene inside. One the nights I went there, guys out numbered the chicks, some guys got into a fight over a girl(the guy with her was chatting too long and the other guy didn't want to wait). Generally the girls want to bail out after your first cum. Some also work while on their period(this happened to me).
Also in town are Forro clubs, the dance is difficult for us to master and maybe a bit old fashioned as well.
Changing Money...
The Tropical Manaus gives a really shitty rate, maybe 10% or more down on the cambio. Also they give an even worst rate on the pound or euro.
ATM's
Didn't find a Maestro/Cirrus ATM, only those that accept visa.
River Transport..
Its 3 days on the boat down to Belem, food on the boats sucks. Its also extremely boring as the boats go down the middle of the river(its 1-2miles wide!), so you only see a green strip on either side. Going upstream I saw boats to Tabatinga, takes 3 days maybe. Security is also a big problem as in the hammocks there is nowhere to store your gear.
Busing it Out....
Buses go daily upto Boa Vista and Santa Elena.
Jungle Tours...
A lot of the jungle close to Manaus is secondary forest as it was cut down 20years ago and replanted for the tourist industry. You need to go a long way to get to rain forest properly. Typically tours will charge 50-100USD per day. Do a google search for websites/check the LP.
In RIO and WANT to taste the Manaus Experience??
OK, catch a bus to Castello, change for a bus to Caxias. Get off in the center and wander around, it has a similar appearance/atmosphere. If you like it then take the trip upto Manaus.
tchau
Cutting Edge
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Cutting Edge,
with all the info you have given I guess I am not very anxious to get to Mannaus!!
For me is important good food and savety.
Seems that both things are under the line in mannaus.
Also I never met a hooker who was on the job whilst having her period....YIEKS!!:-(
The prices you mention for the hotel are outrageously expensive!!
I even think for a good hotel you shouldn't pay more then 100-120 Reals a night!
Also the fact that atm's don't handle normal cards except visa pisses me off. (don't have visa).
In Fortaleza also cambios cheated with the rate of the euro....:-( Best thing to do is getting your reals out of a atm! Worked for me being in Peru,DR,and also in Brasil.
The river travels are always a hazard for savety. I would never travel alone on a ship like that:-(
Did you bring enough bug repelant?????;-)
Johan.
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To answer your queries Johan..
Firstly the food, there aren't the churrascarias or comida de kilo restaurants you get in other areas of Brasil. Finding something decent to eat was a chore. The Tropical has a restaurant, its about 32R$ per head, buffet style and focuses on fish. They make a big deal about ""Amazonian Fish"", however its taste isn't too good(not like Salmon or Trout for instance). Its rough at times in Manaus, but I've been to Calcutta so can survive in the most basic environments if required.
Travel around is also a pain, the buses stop around 10-11pm(when the streets are deserted anyway) so taxis are needed. Everything is spread out so you need to commute about a lot.
The girl on the period, when we started to get the act on she started to squirm and said I was too big(I'm not!). I knew something was wrong, when I pulled out there was blood all over the end of the condom. I told her how dangerous it was, she said sorry and said she didn't know. We went back downstairs. About 20 minutes later I saw her go up with another guy......:-(
As to the river travel, boredom would be the main danger.
I found 3 sets of ATMs that would take visa, 1 on Ponta Negra, another in the lobby area of the Tropical Manaus and a final one in the basement/car park area of the shopping center north of the city(another bus ride away!!!). They only took Visa, no other networks. I was also surprised to not find a branch of Banco do Brasil!! or HSBC downtown!! So if you have Visa, you need to have your PIN. However, there MUST be a branch somewhere!! But definately NO Citibank.
Nobody speaks English except for staff in the few large hotel lobbies and the guides that run the varios tours.
Any more questions, no problem.
Cutting Edge
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Cutting Edge, somehow I believe your report is a little biased and unrealistic. I can't believe that you have to pay 200 - 409R$ for a hotel (you didn't mention any other prices) and that there isn't a good restaurant in the whole city. You even lambast the fish there! Personally, I like tilapia and I look forward to eating some tropical crops (even yucca) when I am there. In Iquitos, I frequently enjoyed fish from the Amazon and even some tropical delicacies such as crocodile.
With repect to useful information such as changing money, the best you could do is mention that your hotel gave a bad rate and that you had a hard time finding ATMs.
It would have helped if you had given us some useful guides on sex such as specific clubs, girls, prices, etc. After all, this is the World Sex Guide Forum. The best you could do is tell us that "...many grinogs will do a 180 once they see the scene inside" and that the girls like to spit and have sex on their periods.
By the way, what the hell is a "grinog?" Seems like Manaus isn't a good place for spoiled "grinogs" to visit.
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I posted my article / report in order to help people. I invited questions and replied promptly to Johan. I didn't come here to be flamed / insulted, therefore I'm signing out now. Your on your own Dudaman. (Dudaman, please reread and notice that I recommended a copy of the LP for a hotel list).
tchau
Cutting Edge
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[b]DanDaMan[/b]
I have to agree with you on some points regarding [b]Cuttings Edge’s[/b] report, it was a little biased although the one thing I did agree with is that the Tropical Hotel does cost around R$200-450; I stayed there back in April. However, I would not recommend it and found it overpriced for what it is and very ungirl-friendly.
Manuas is a large city and does have many decent restaurants, [u]but you do have to find them. [/u] True you do have to rely on taxis but you could also rent a car, but try to avoid the buses at nights. I am surprised what he said about not finding ATMs as the Tropical Hotel has three in the main lobby, although the Banco 24 Hours shuts down at around 10.30pm. The two main shopping malls also have plenty of ATMs but there seemed to be a problem with machines in this location as my cards wouldn’t work here but worked well in every other city.
[b]Nobody speak English,[/b] this is true but this is also true for most Brazilians cities but if you go to one of the upmarket clubs you will find many girls who [b] do[/b] speak English, many from other cities attracted by the many multi-national companies located there. [b]But come on this is Brazil, all the women I want to meet, do not speak English and some of your best experiences will be with women who do not speak English,[/b] so make an effort and try and learn some Portuguese, you will not regret it, no matter what city your in.
Peace
Juniour
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Junior if you read my report you will note that I mention that there are ATM's in the lobby of the Tropical. None took Plus, Cirrus or Maestro. You also found your cards wouldn't work, so you get my point of informing people of this?? Dandyman thinks that its unimportant, however I know that most guys live off their card/s and rarely roam around Brasil with wads of 100dollar bills stuffed into their underpants.
Conclusion:
Before heading out to Manaus make sure you have some cash in US dollars with you as an emergency and a Visa card with PIN.
I had also thought of hiring a car, but you then have the problems of finding a spot to park in town etc. They also drive like crazy, is the added stress worth it?
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Fellows,
I was in Manaus for a short vacation in May - first for Amazon and any mongering opportunity was gravy. And I got both with reasonable satisfaction.
Manaus is no SP or Rio but we had great time for both purposes becasue we kinda knew where we were visiting. Please review my posting about my venture in Manaus.
We hired a taxi driver for entire period being in Manaus. The taxi driver was a great compensating controls for possible inconveniences as pointed out our fellows here.
We stayed at Novotel at R$167.00 which was clean, decent restaurant for food and bar for drinks and the room was clean and adequately decorated and furnished. Hotel was very girl friendly at R$31.00 additional charge.
Girls were very nice and less contaminated (attitude wise) than those in Rio or SP. It was kind of nice even though sounds funny. Is there grade we can apply to professionals?
Eco trip during the day and body trip in the night - even a round of golf is hard to beat this.
As long as you know what you are getting into and be prepared for it, you will enjoy it.
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Hey guys, where your sense of adventure?
I know I'll be back in mid November/December. I wouldn't miss that GFE action for Super Bowl tickets!! Hah!
Ciao
Spidy
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Cutting Edge,
Don't be so thin-skinned. Where's your sense of humor? (and sense of adventure as Spidy points out). It's not like I called you derogatory names like you did to me (but I must admit I kind of like Dandyman).
Contrary to what you say about me, I think knowing how to change money is of the utmost importance and has not been addressed adequately in this forum. I do shy-away from ATM machines after being charged for cash I never received from one in the Dominican Republic. Moreover, if you are lucky enough to get cash out of one in the DR, they give you the official government rate of exchange which can be 10 - 20% less than the real rate of exchange. In addition, visa charges 1% and I found out that my bank (Citibank) charges an additional 2% (for good luck, I guess). After all the banks stealing your money, its a wonder there is anything left for the moças.
Is it possible to go to a bank and get a cash advance on your bank card and get dollars, and then exchange the dollars for reals, thus getting the best exchange rate? I was also thinking of bringing traveller's checks, but how easy are they to exchange without being charged fees? In Peru, they typically charge you 3% to exchange traveller's checks, but in the DR they gave me more pesos for traveller's check than for dollars. Go figure.
Spidy, I too will be in Manaus in November/December and I believe Johnny Wadd will also be there. Maybe we could all get together, check out Manaus and let everyone know if Manaus really "sucks" (in the oral sense) like Cutting Edge indicated.
I still don't entirely understand why Cutting Edge had such a difficult time in Manaus. Perhaps it was his lack of humor/adventure or his inability to speak portuguese.
Life in the tropics is much different than in Yankeeland. My friend Richard from the DR use to say that life is very basic there without many intellectual persuits, and that there is not much more to do than eat, drink, and have sex. So why fight it "Cutting Edge." When in the tropics, lighten-up and do as the locals do - eat and drink well, and enjoy the pleasures of some beautiful morenas.
Cheers,
DanDaMan
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Dandaman, you asked about getting from Iquitos to Manaus by boat?
Iquitos - Leticia/Tabatinga - 10hrs by fast boat.
Tabatinga - Tefe - 2 days
Tefe - Manaus - 2 days
Seems on the Brasilian side there are departures 2 days per week.
You clear Peruvian customs at a small outpost near Leticia, called Santa Rosa.
Tefe maybe worth a stop, a big Indian reserve there with genuine forest(not the replanted stuff around Manaus). When flying to Manaus, weather permitting you can see large squares cut out of the middle of the jungle. Apparently one Mahogany(sic) tree is worth 100,000 USD.
Manaus does have cheap hotels, very basic backpacker type accomodation. Hotels are overpriced in Manaus when compared with Rio, the Holiday Inn looks like its fallen out of the early 80's.
Another source told me Iquitos is an expensive city by Peruvian standards? T or F?
TC's, Amex exchange commision free but only have offices in major cities SP/RJ. You'll always get a worse rate at cambio's. Better to preload your visa and have a PIN. Doing over the counter cash advances usually means queuing a while in Brasil, they will/may hit you with a charge of X reals. The LP notes a Banco do Brasil in the center of town, when I went to the address it was no longer there.
CE
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I'm game for a November rendez-vous. Fucky sucky! We'll leave that city burned to the ground.
Thing is, I've been to most of the cities along that Amazon-strip. Low rent cities always mean one thing (or they have so far): Great freelance/SW action.
The rookie 9 SW is my favorite possible chick. I realize that they're rare, but that's o.k. because the 7-8 range SW is my second favorite chick -- a type in which Brasil abounds (outside of Rio and SP).
JW