Bogota Reports

[Turgid]

.............In Spanish, victims of this drug are described as Burundan guiado................

Is this the reason for Venezuela's problems right now? BTW, when I was in Chang Ping, China some years ago a Chinese girl told me about criminals who were using a drug that had the same effects as what you have described.

[Routard]

The only problem is I'm starting my stay at a hotel downtown near Santa Fe, so if I want my first experience of the City to be in the north, I'll have to take the transmilenio or taxi there for the first few days.

We all have different backgrounds, personal experiences and personalities. Some people on the board might have suggested you to go to a hotel close to Santa Fe because it is OK for them. It s OK for them because they are used to travel in third world countries, speak spanish, are adventurous and so on. But as far as I can see from your previous posts, a hotel close to sante Fe is not for you. I would suggest you to cancel your reservation and get a hotel in the Northern Area. Your travel experience will be much better. I have lived and travelled in more than 80 countries in the 5 continents, including each country of the top ten most dagerous countries of the world, I live in Colombia for five year, I have been in any corner of the country, but I would never stay in a hotel close to Sante Fe just to save a couple of bucks.

[Kib123]

You can't go around living life in fear... You have to go outside. And with going outside, shit is subject to happen. Such is life.

Well said sir!

[Kib123]

So I'm glad I've done a lot of research and asked a lot! If not, I wouldn't know that if I want to visit private apartments there I'll have to use a taxi app, apparently hailing taxis isn't safe, the TransMilenio isn't safe (especially at night), checking your phone map outside while trying to find a chicas apartment isn't safe, dressing slightly differently isn't safe, as is wearing a watch etc, you have to watch your drinks being spiked, and according to you, there's more chance of being mugged in the best areas than the crappy ones. Where does it end?? Doesn't help to be suddenly getting all this info from either in the last 4 days before my flight!! Anyway, I asked you a couple of times politely to not bother trying to 'help me', but you just carry on regardless !

Dude, Dig yourself a bunker in your home and lock yourself in there permanently if you are this paranoid. Seems pointless venturing into this forum with such 'bubble life' mentality.

[BKKguru]

<snip> you have to watch your drinks being spiked, and according to you, there's more chance of being mugged in the best areas than the crappy ones.

You have been given good tips and information on this board. It appears you are a "details" guy. So, I will do an information dump. Probably more than you ever wanted to know.

Criminals use Burundanga (pronounced boor-oon-DAN-ga) in food or drink to hundreds of unwitting victims each month.
Burundanga is odorless, colorless and soluble. So it is very easy to mix with food or drink.

In Spanish, victims of this drug are described as Burundanguiado. In one common scenario, a person will be offered a soda or drink laced with the substance.
The next thing the person remembers is waking up miles away, extremely groggy and with NO memory of what happened.
People soon discover that they have handed over jewelry, money, car keys and sometimes have even made multiple bank withdrawals for the benefit of their assailants.
Because Burundanga is often given at seedy bars or sex clubs, many victims are reluctant to come forward.

Not all cases of Burundanga involve theft or robbery. Sometimes victims have been used as mules to carry cocaine. The following incident happened 10+ years ago:
A well known Colombian diplomat disappeared shortly after leaving a function in Bogota, only to reappear in Chile under arrest for cocaine smuggling. Medical tests showed he had been under the influence of Burundanga, and no criminal charges were filed.
It is like a chemical hypnotism. The victim cannot say no; he has no will and becomes very open to suggestion.

Your next question will be - What the hell is Burundanga??

Burundanga is a kind of Colombian voodoo powder obtained from a common local plant, a shrub called borrachera or "drunken binge".
When refined, the powder yields scopolamine, a well known drug with legitimate use as a sedative and to combat motion sickness.
However, in Colombia, the drug's most avid fans are criminals. Street thugs mix the powder with sedatives and feed the Burundanga cocktail to unsuspecting victims whom they proceed to rob or even worse.

You can read this article dated April 2013. All the tips in this article have been shared by other members in this forum. Forwarned is forearmed:
https://thecitypaperbogota.com/livin...-medicine/3129

If the URL is cut off, Google Burundanga: bad medicine

Good Luck,
~BKKguru.

[BKKguru]

<snip>
Last week I went to Roatan, Honduras. I read a few posts on ISG before going. I read a few posts on tripadvisor to see where to stay. I asked ZERO fucking questions. I took my ass down there, did some scuba diving, hunted for chicks, and left. It was that simple. It was not something that took months of strategic planning and 1000 questions as if I was venturing out to space or something. THAT IS EXACTLY WHY I AM LAUGHING. And I think Honduras is supposed to be one of the most dangerous places on the planet.

"Honduras Travel Advisory. Bureau of Consular Affairs. US Department of State.
Reconsider travel to Honduras due to crime. Some areas have increased risk. Read the entire Travel Advisory. "

You are 100% correct. On a scale of 1 to 10, Honduras would be 9 or 10. Honduras makes Bogota look like Zurich.
Sir - you are brave. I would not go to Honduras unless I have 2 bodyguards in front and 2 behind me.

I know Honduras has potential. I am curious about your experience. Do you plan to post a report in the Honduras forum?

Thanks,
BKKguru.

[Mr Enternational]

It's a good job I've done a lot of research and asked a lot of questions, but it's only in the last couple of days that I've learned the scarier things, it's like you guys don't even see the irony of how you say 'Yes it's cool here, but hey, you might get kidnapped!'

You can't go around living life in fear. You said that you are from a wealthy European city, as if living life does not have risks anywhere. I know a guy that was in The Hague, which is probably one of the safest places on earth. He was riding a bike and got hit by that little train that they have. It cut him in half and he died. So much for the place being considered safe. You can't live in a bubble dude. You have to go outside. And with going outside, shit is subject to happen. Such is life.

And you have emphasised in a subtle way that you think being a black guy from the ghetto has helped keep you safe, just look back at your posts.

How do you emphasize something in a subtle way? That is an oxymoron. I only say that because the majority of guys on ISG are White and they say how scary and dangerous Santa Fe and downtown Medellin are. I am bringing another perspective as a Black guy that grew up around those kind of places that I do not find it intimidating or dangerous. My buddy that I posted the conversation is Black too, but I guess you saw how well that kept him safe.

[Coupe66]

Despite what you say here, you're often contradicting yourself, you say 'just chill out and come on down' when it suits you, but then you jump on the bandwagon just for the sake of it to back up somebody else's post, ie about kidnapping, just to be entertaining? That's not being helpful, especially to somebody who is coming there for the first time in a few days! Maybe you don't even notice you do it, or you're doing it now just to antagonise me?

Yes, if I could plan my trip again I don't think I would start it in Bogota. It's a good job I've done a lot of research and asked a lot of questions, but it's only in the last couple of days that I've learned the scarier things, it's like you don't even see the irony of how you say 'Yes it's cool here, but hey, you might get kidnapped!' Anyway I only booked my flight 2 weeks ago, before that I couldn't come and wasn't doing serious planning. And you have emphasised in a subtle way that you think being a black guy from the ghetto has helped keep you safe, just look back at your posts. And you said yourself that going into Santa Fe the first time wearing diamond earrings was dumb !

So I'm glad I've done a lot of research and asked a lot! If not, I wouldn't know that if I want to visit private apartments there I'll have to use a taxi app, apparently hailing taxis isn't safe, the TransMilenio isn't safe (especially at night), checking your phone map outside while trying to find a chicas apartment isn't safe, dressing slightly differently isn't safe, as is wearing a watch etc, you have to watch your drinks being spiked, and according to you, there's more chance of being mugged in the best areas than the crappy ones. Where does it end?? Doesn't help to be suddenly getting all this info from either in the last 4 days before my flight!! Anyway, I asked you a couple of times politely to not bother trying to 'help me', but you just carry on regardless !

Well you just attributed two things to me that I have NEVER said. On the contrary I have always said that we as foreigners are NOT blending into shit no matter how much we think wearing khaki pants and a button down shirt is making us look like everyone else. I have also never said that nobody ever notices me. That would be a dumb thing to say. Of course people notice me. I am made of flesh; of matter. How could people with eyes not notice me?

And what dumb things do I do? All I do is walk around like everyone else on the street. That is why I can not understand what the big deal is. I am not trying to invent ways for people not to notice me that would make them notice me more! I have constantly said to just walk around and act like a normal person instead of creeping around like you are some secret super spy or something.

You are really trying to make traveling out to be a headache that it is not. Imagine if every person in each thread took the board through the shit that you are taking this one through each time they went to a new place. Nobody would ever get to discussing the whole idea of this forum, which is mongering!

Last week I went to Roatan, Honduras. I read a few posts on ISG before going. I read a few posts on tripadvisor to see where to stay. I asked ZERO fucking questions. I took my ass down there, did some scuba diving, hunted for chicks, and left. It was that simple. It was not something that took months of strategic planning and 1000 questions as if I was venturing out to space or something. THAT IS EXACTLY WHY I AM LAUGHING. And I think Honduras is supposed to be one of the most dangerous places on the planet.

"Honduras Travel Advisory. Bureau of Consular Affairs. US Department of State.

US Department of State (. Gov) travel .

Reconsider travel to Honduras due to crime. Some areas have increased risk. Read the entire Travel Advisory. "

Hell. I think at first you had said you were going to travel to Bogota like Feb 12 or whatever and I even offered to show you around at the time in order to put this shit to rest! I was there like I said I would be. I took taxis, I took Ubers, I walked, I did not get kidnapped, I am still living. Come on man. Time to put on your big boy pants.

[Mr Enternational]

But then at the same time you qualified the reason why yourself, saying it's because you're a black guy from the ghetto so you just blend in and nobody notices you. And therefore not because you behave in a way that doesn't make you a target! So are your posts helping anybody? You do dumb things, but it doesn't mater because nobody notices you anyway ?

Well you just attributed two things to me that I have NEVER said. On the contrary I have always said that we as foreigners are NOT blending into shit no matter how much we think wearing khaki pants and a button down shirt is making us look like everyone else. I have also never said that nobody ever notices me. That would be a dumb thing to say. Of course people notice me. I am made of flesh; of matter. How could people with eyes not notice me?

And what dumb things do I do? All I do is walk around like everyone else on the street. That is why I can not understand what the big deal is. I am not trying to invent ways for people not to notice me that would make them notice me more! I have constantly said to just walk around and act like a normal person instead of creeping around like you are some secret super spy or something.

You are really trying to make traveling out to be a headache that it is not. Imagine if every person in each thread took the board through the shit that you are taking this one through each time they went to a new place. Nobody would ever get to discussing the whole idea of this forum, which is mongering!

Last week I went to Roatan, Honduras. I read a few posts on ISG before going. I read a few posts on tripadvisor to see where to stay. I asked ZERO fucking questions. I took my ass down there, did some scuba diving, hunted for chicks, and left. It was that simple. It was not something that took months of strategic planning and 1000 questions as if I was venturing out to space or something. THAT IS EXACTLY WHY I AM LAUGHING. And I think Honduras is supposed to be one of the most dangerous places on the planet.

"Honduras Travel Advisory. Bureau of Consular Affairs. US Department of State.

US Department of State (. Gov) travel .

Reconsider travel to Honduras due to crime. Some areas have increased risk. Read the entire Travel Advisory. "

Hell. I think at first you had said you were going to travel to Bogota like Feb 12 or whatever and I even offered to show you around at the time in order to put this shit to rest! I was there like I said I would be. I took taxis, I took Ubers, I walked, I did not get kidnapped, I am still living. Come on man. Time to put on your big boy pants.

[Parkinsons]

Thanks guys for your advice! The only problem is I'm starting my stay at a hotel downtown near Santa Fe, so if I want my first experience of the City to be in the north, I'll have to take the transmilenio or taxi there for the first few days. Parkinsons, that's a great suggestion re. the biking tour, as I'm into cycling anyway. Have already checked it out, I won't let this worry get me down. Anyway, if I don't like Bogota I can go elsewhere. I'm planning on staying a month in Colombia after all. Actually, will be staying in an Airbnb after my hotel, won't want to bring a chica back there. That's why I asked where the daytime motels (with hourly rates) etc are in Chapinero, but nobody answered me on that. Any ideas? By Mezzanine, you mean the chica joint that has been mentioned earlier?

Hey man I think I remember you from the Santo Domingo board. It's safer in the DR but the chicas are trickier. In Colombia you'll find it's the other way around. I don't think you'll have any problems, stop worrying!

Yes by mezzanine I mean the office building in the north with the multiple massage parlors. There I sessioned with a cute university student whom I later brought back to my hotel.

The bike tour that I joined took us through Santa Fe. The guide explained the place to us, told us to look just don't take any photos. You can get a feel that way. But be warned: during the day the ones standing on the streets are mainly trannies or fatties. No way do they represent the talent working at night inside the clubs. Your jaw will drop when you see the chicas inside Club Paisas at night.

I would advise against preparagos. Most ad photos are bait and switches. And their prices are high.

During the day in Chapinero guys will hand out flyers (business cards) advertising for casas. They're legit. You'll learn a lot of places that way. Since you are there for a month, trust me by week 2 you'll be teaching us new places.

There are also quite many swinger clubs in Bogota - - I haven't tried those. They promote themselves on Instagram and some allow for single male visitors. Try them out too!

Finally, worst case scenario -- since you're there for a month - - if Bogota doesn't work for you, heck for $50 you can get roundtrip tickets to Medelln or Cali or Cartagena!

[Coupe66]

Man you have me in stitches over here. Kidnap you? If they kidnap you they will have to feed you. Just tell them you eat too much to be kidnapped.

You are going to look like a moron walking up and down the same street. I will bet pesos to peanuts that you wonder about the other streets and go take a look. Why do you guys imagine Santa Fe and downtown Medelland to be war zones?

Here's the post I'm talking about that you made, so make your mind up! On this one you're totally laughing at the possibility of him being kidnapped, but on my post you're agreeing with BlueCar and looking for other examples.

[Coupe66]

Well what do you call taking someone against their will? It is called kidnapping. Happened to a buddy of mine that goes to Colombia all the time. (Not sure if it was day or night. Don't know what difference it would make.) Somehow he was drugged. The police found him lying in the street with no clothes on. He called some people that he is very close to in Barranquilla and they called someone they knew in Bogota to help him out. He did not have any money left or anything. It did not put him off. He still goes to Colombia all the time, but mostly stays in Barranquilla.

I guess the moral is that you can't live life being scared. I have been to Colombia over 100 times and nothing has ever happened to me and I have never seen anything happened to anybody. Maybe that is because I stay in what is considered the worst areas!

Buddy, your posts are so contradictory and all over the place, I just don't know what to think of you anymore. A few pages back you were laughing when somebody said they were worried about being kidnapped in Santa Fe, but now you're trying to rub it in that this kind of things happens. Plus, you're always going on that nothing has ever happened to you (even though you admit to doing really dumb things like going into Santa Fe wearing diamond earrings!) But then at the same time you qualified the reason why yourself, saying it's because you're a black guy from the ghetto so you just blend in and nobody notices you. And therefore not because you behave in a way that doesn't make you a target! So are your posts helping anybody? You do dumb things, but it doesn't mater because nobody notices you anyway ?

[JjBee62]

Thanks for the info, but you still didn't say where this was or what time of the day or night? It would be pretty hard to march you from cashpoint to cashpoint in broad daylight in Chapinero I reckon with other people around. I seem to get the feeling you find this story somewhat amusing ? How old is your friend, are you guys very young? Anyway, I'm not going to let it put me off. And you shouldn't use the term kidnapping if that's not what you meant, otherwise it's just scaremongering. Can you give me a news link to any westerner that's actually been kidnapped in Bogota in recent years?

Around 5 years ago this was a thing in Bogota. How it worked was there would be 2 or more guys working together. 1 was a taxi driver. The taxi driver would pick a good spot to pick up tourists. Once they got a likely victim in the taxi, they would drive to a location where their accomplices were waiting. The guys would jump in the taxi, with a knife or gun and rob the passenger. If the guy had credit cards with him, they would drive around to different ATMs and force him to withdraw cash. They would do this until all the cards were blocked.

I haven't heard of this happening recently.

At the time it was recommended to either have someone call a taxi, or to use a taxi app. That way there's a record of the taxi number.

There are other things that are recommended. Don't carry a wallet. I only carry an ID, my room or apartment key and the cash I need for the day. I typically only carry my ATM card when I'm going to make a withdrawal. The only other thing is my phone. If I'm carrying more than 300 k, I'll split it between 2 pockets.

Learn where the busy streets are. When possible, stay to the busy streets. If someone doesn't look right, avoid them. Even if it means turning around.

[Mr Enternational]

And you shouldn't use the term kidnapping if that's not what you meant, otherwise it's just scaremongering. Can you give me a news link to any westerner that's actually been kidnapped in Bogota in recent years?

Well what do you call taking someone against their will? It is called kidnapping. Happened to a buddy of mine that goes to Colombia all the time. (Not sure if it was day or night. Don't know what difference it would make.) Somehow he was drugged. The police found him lying in the street with no clothes on. He called some people that he is very close to in Barranquilla and they called someone they knew in Bogota to help him out. He did not have any money left or anything. It did not put him off. He still goes to Colombia all the time, but mostly stays in Barranquilla.

I guess the moral is that you can't live life being scared. I have been to Colombia over 100 times and nothing has ever happened to me and I have never seen anything happen to anybody. Maybe that is because I stay in what is considered the worst areas!

I decided to just hit my buddy up and ask. LOL. I guess me and Bango were right. They go to where the money is. No sense in going through all that trouble with poor people.

Me: hey man. when that shit happened to you in bogota was it in the day or night?

Him: At night in a estata 6 neighborhood (Usaquen), a regular restaurant/bar called Luna Bar off calle 116 and cra 18. This was back in 2008

Me: ok

Him: Only had 2 beers, wasnt trolling for chicks, just checking out the scene on the way to Barranquilla for La Guacherna, which happens the wkd prior to carnaval there.

Him: Happened on a Thurs night layover in BOG....couldnt trust Delta to arrive on time, nor immigration to process us in time to catch the last flight to BAQ, so I had to stay in BOG that night. My downfall was going out to what I thought was a safer area than Santa Fe

Me: lol. i always stay downtown next to santa fe.

Him: At the time, I was staying in a cheap hotel near El Campin, since I had an early flight to BAQ

Him: Now I alternate hotels between Chapinero (Abitare 56) and Parque 93 (GHL or Doubletree)

P.S. You are not going to find something like that in the news unless the person wound up dead. Check out the one lately in the Medellin thread about the Turkish university professor that was in town for a conference.

[Coupe66]

Yes, that's exactly what those guys do LOL Look up the movie "Pickpockets" on Netflix. The main casa areas is from calle 63 to calle 71 in Chapinero. I guess what I meant by kidnapping is they take you to an ATM then to another ATM until they drain your bank account. If you're worried about getting mugged then go to the northern casas instead. The trick that those guys played on my friend is that when the 3 guys were walking towards my friend on the same side of the sidewalk, they were spread out to make it look like they weren't together but once they got really close, they all piled up on him. That was a tough situation to avoid because it's not like if you see some suspicious guys walking on your opposite direction, it will be odd to just suddenly turn around and walk back to the direction you were coming from.

Thanks for the info, but you still didn't say where this was or what time of the day or night? It would be pretty hard to march you from cashpoint to cashpoint in broad daylight in Chapinero I reckon with other people around. I seem to get the feeling you find this story somewhat amusing ? How old is your friend, are you guys very young? Anyway, I'm not going to let it put me off. And you shouldn't use the term kidnapping if that's not what you meant, otherwise it's just scaremongering. Can you give me a news link to any westerner that's actually been kidnapped in Bogota in recent years?