Medellin Reports

[QUOTE=Dickhead;1736999]I have used taxis in every Latin American country except El Salvador and rate costa rican taxistas the highest and panamanian taxistas the lowest, with colombian taxistas ranking well below average. Mxican and guatemalan taxistas get an above average rating as well. Chilean taxistas are efficient but not too friendly. I am a light consumer of taxis and a heavy consumer of public transit.[/QUOTE]While in Colombia, the best taxitas are MDE IMO. Baranquilla is so so so as well and on par with Santa Marta. However, Bogota is a complete BS. These guys try to rip you off in any direction so practicing to have exact fare and asking before getting into the cab is a good practice. I had one taxi driver dish out some BS while I was going to the airport in Bogota and quoted me $15 even though it was 10 minutes away. Yes, USD. Didn't have time to argue because I was running late for a plane. Its also good practice to point out how much you are giving them making sure they and you see the markings on the bill as they will switch bills to say you gave them the wrong bill. Happened to a buddy. Another scam was to say I gave them a fake bill, told that was bull as I just got those from a bank and we can call the police if they want to argue. I would take photos of the bills if they are large ones before handing them to anyone, in case if there are any questions. This shows the time and date I took these show it to the officers and guess what, I don't pay the fare. LOL. Yeah I agree there are those who try and rip you off. Now back to MDE, in my experience of living there for 3 months and using the taxistas there, not once have any tried to rip me off. Yes, they think there is a better route even if having GPS on but I show them and they just tell me to pay them a certain amount below what the fare says. At some times they get lost and the driver tells me sorry and says to only pay 5000 pesos even when the meter says 12000. Another example is when I pay them say the fare was 8000 pesos and I hand the a 10000 pesos, most expect the 8000 pesos as most latin countries don't tip. Guys says to me too much and I told him it was ok, it was a tip. Not once have I been I ripped off, keep in mind that I take the cab 4 x a day for those 90 days and use a different taxi each time. On Mexico, yes, in general it has been a good experience, from Porta Vallarta, Leon, Cancun, Mexico City, Hermosillo has been good. But the Border towns like Tijuana, you can forget about it, these guys try and rip you off any way possible. I try to make sure I aways tell them 50 pesos if not and you get in a cab, they want 100 or $8-$9 even though you can walk to the border (I don't' suggest that at night). As for CR, Panama, can't' say too much as I've only taken these to and from airport to hotel. Chili is on my list so can't give my opinion or observation till then.

Yeah, well, in MDE I had a cab driver switch out a fake bill [B]and then call the cops[/B]. I had another one give me counterfeit change that I discovered the next day. And that is out of about ten total cab rides!

[QUOTE=Dickhead;1737051]Yeah, well, in MDE I had a cab driver switch out a fake bill [B]and then call the cops[/B]. I had another one give me counterfeit change that I discovered the next day. And that is out of about ten total cab rides![/QUOTE]One time in Mayorista I gave the waiter a 20 K note, and he came back with the bill torn in half. He said it was counterfeit, and that he is supposed to do that. I was very pissed off. I told him if the bill was counterfeit or not he should have returned it to me intact. I was so steamed up that the two amigos with me had to calm me down as I was getting loud.

The only good thing about being in my home town is I don't have to be on guard for all the different scams that are in Latin America while mongering. Of course no beautiful women will look at me at home so I'll pay the price to be on guard.

Have to wonder if some of these taxi experiences are just bad luck. Or something else to it (like one's attitude, on occasion). I have been going to Colombia for year. Bogota, Medellin, Cartagena primarily. I was married to a Colombiana for 9 years, so went to Bogota at least twice a year (and much more often before we got married).

I can count the number of taxi issues on one hand. I had a real bad experience with some taxi guys my first time (ever) in Colombia. Cartagena. Got ripped off, but partially my fault for being naive at the time and not wanting to cause a scene. The only other time was in Bogota when the guy turned the meter off before we could look at it. And we over-payed by a few thousand pesos. Worse thing was that my Colombian wife was with me, so it's not just us gringos who have to be careful. She was livid.

Overall, I've found the taxi guys to be quite polite, often talkative (although my Spanish is not good enough to understand all they say). I like the MDE taxis because you can see the amount in COP on the meters. In Bogota, you take the number off the meter and use a chart to convert into COP.

Given that I know Medellin and Bogota pretty well, I don't recall ever getting the run-around (being driven out of the way to increase the fare); in fact, when a taxi driver has taken a different way, he usually explains why first (such as traffic jam on the autopista).

As far as I know, I've never gotten any fake bills. And I haven't been accused of giving any fake bills.

Only complaint I have is that some drivers drive like maniacs. And some taxis need new shocks! I'm tall, so my head is already close to the ceiling (even when I scrunch down), so hitting pot holes with bad shocks is a problem for me.

[QUOTE=ColombiaLover;1737085]Have to wonder if some of these taxi experiences are just bad luck. Or something else to it (like one's attitude, on occasion). I [/QUOTE]In Medellíand I find the most cordial and professional Taxis from Colombia. Bogotá is the worst. It's the paisa culture of representing the best of themselves before others.

That being said, always check the meter before you start your journey and SPEAK UP if something is unusual: starting meter is higher than it should be or is turned off.

[QUOTE=StudPlayer;1736907]For those more adventurous and intending to follow Surfer500 into el centro, which is not a bad idea at all, when you are leaving airport MDE you can choose a bus that will take you to el centro or a bus that will take you to san diego. You just need to ask where the bus is going.[/QUOTE]I actually on my last trip had two other Tijuana street dogs with me so we each forked out 20,000 Pesos each or $ 8 each to take a taxi into El Centro. One of the drawbacks of the bus is that it's easy to get sick with all the turns going down the mountain from the airport.

[QUOTE=BrasilSoccer0;1737155]In Medelland I find the most cordial and professional Taxis from Colombia. Bogot is the worst. It's the paisa culture of representing the best of themselves before others.

That being said, always check the meter before you start your journey and SPEAK UP if something is unusual: starting meter is higher than it should be or is turned off.[/QUOTE]As a footnote, the starting fare is 2,700 Pesos for all taxis in Medellin unless your going to the airport which is set at 60,000 Pesos.

[QUOTE=Dickhead;1737051]Yeah, well, in MDE I had a cab driver switch out a fake bill [B]and then call the cops[/B]. I had another one give me counterfeit change that I discovered the next day. And that is out of about ten total cab rides![/QUOTE]I always try to carry enough small bills, etc. So that I can give the driver exact change or something close so I only end up with coins. Also, sometimes a driver may say they don't have change or at least say they don't, hence another reason to carry lots of small bills with you to avoid that situation.

[QUOTE=Dickhead;1737051]Yeah, well, in MDE I had a cab driver switch out a fake bill [B]and then call the cops[/B]. I had another one give me counterfeit change that I discovered the next day. And that is out of about ten total cab rides![/QUOTE]I try to always carry exact change and my fares are fairly light to and from. I've been lucky I guess but that does not stop me from dropping my guard. Like I said, on large bills, I always take a photo copy before handing it over to the cab driver and I make sure they see the denomination. Now if it was bogus, you can compare what he has and what picture you took on your phone. If he did switch, you can use that against him and show the officer and he will have to explain to them what is going on. Like I said before, Medellin is in a new era and in general the people are trying to show their best forward. I know there are a few bad apples so I can't hold it against an entire city. Going forward, try to give as close as possible the exact fare, this will help minimize any counterfeits. Best of luck.

[QUOTE=SBeach25;1737181]I try to always carry exact change and my fares are fairly light to and from. I've been lucky I guess but that does not stop me from dropping my guard. Like I said, on large bills, I always take a photo copy before handing it over to the cab driver and I make sure they see the denomination. Now if it was bogus, you can compare what he has and what picture you took on your phone. If he did switch, you can use that against him and show the officer and he will have to explain to them what is going on. Like I said before, Medellin is in a new era and in general the people are trying to show their best forward. I know there are a few bad apples so I can't hold it against an entire city. Going forward, try to give as close as possible the exact fare, this will help minimize any counterfeits. Best of luck.[/QUOTE]Well, this was in 2008 so we really did not have the same technology that you refer to. It's true I should have had closer to exact change but it was one of those things where it was a sperm of the moment trip in the first place and I dashed out to meet a buddy without having time to fully prepare. No cab was required in the initial plan but then my wing man got really drunk so things did not work out as originally planned.

[QUOTE=Dickhead;1736999]I have used taxis in every Latin American country except El Salvador and rate costa rican taxistas the highest and panamanian taxistas the lowest, with colombian taxistas ranking well below average. Mxican and guatemalan taxistas get an above average rating as well. Chilean taxistas are efficient but not too friendly. I am a light consumer of taxis and a heavy consumer of public transit.[/QUOTE]I respect your opinion (no sarcasm). You are as well travelled as I am or may be more. I represent the other end of the spectrum though. I exclusively use taxis in all countries and I have never used public transport in north or South America.

Interesting thing about fake bills. I asked a friendly middle aged taxista about it once. He said (I am paraphrasing him), " taxis deal almost exclusively with cash. We don't print those bills and we end up with them ourselves. We can't take them to a bank because we have to deal with police and legal system and we can't afford the hassle for a 10 or 20,000 peso bill. I am sure some taxi drivers try to pass them off to tourists since they are less likely to recognize".

Use Easy taxi app and you can even have your CC info in there. Works like a charm. Just tip the guy in cash. Don't have to worry about fake bills or having exact change. He he.

[QUOTE=JohnGault;1737061]One time in Mayorista I gave the waiter a 20 K note, and he came back with the bill torn in half. He said it was counterfeit, and that he is supposed to do that. I was very pissed off. I told him if the bill was counterfeit or not he should have returned it to me intact. I was so steamed up that the two amigos with me had to calm me down as I was getting loud.

The only good thing about being in my home town is I don't have to be on guard for all the different scams that are in Latin America while mongering. Of course no beautiful women will look at me at home so I'll pay the price to be on guard.[/QUOTE]Here is a subject we all use but don't discuss much. The currency in MDE has a large percentage counterfeit bills floating around. This subject came up in my spanish class from my instructor who touched on this. Based on his estimates, there are about 1/3 of all bills you get will be bogus. To help minimize this, he advises to withdraw money from a ATM at a bank. Reason for this is you have a copy of the receipt slip and the money there. Go inside and asks the bank teller that you just withdrew this amount and it came out of the ATM. Now the question is, How do you spot a fake? From what I was informed, if the money "bleeds", I mean the ink stains a white sheet of paper, than this is real. Not sure if I got that backwards. He says to normally check the higher denominations as these are what is most replicated. The other question is, what about the lower denominations? I'm sure we all are using cash for our fun times while in MDE so what can we do help each other avoid this? I know there are plenty of scams that can be used on us visitors as we do not know what the difference is unless someone shows us. Other tricks I have used while in Bogota was to take pics of my money and making sure the person your handing it to and you both see the denomination so there is no switch a roo. As for they stating its a fake, I make sure the serial numbers match my pic.

Go to a shopping mall or something and make sure to start collecting bills in all denominations. I just used a 50 k note at a grocery store in Poblado and the cashier lifted it to check it (the bill obviously was fine because I took it out from an ATM).

Essentially, there is no point to carry 50 k notes other than for convenience, of which there is little other than saving you from carrying a lot of bills. Try to accumulate as many 1 k, 5 k, 10 k notes as you can. Simple common sense.

Estimate the costs of the various things you are going to do when you head out and make sure you have the necessary bills to not have to deal with changing.

The best notes are 5 k notes, because even if the taxi "doesn't have change" (cough, cough) for a 8 k fare, or 13 k fare, you're still only losing 2 k, which is less than $1.

Plus, after rounding up, minimum cab fares are about 5k, so makes sense to have lots of those in your wallet.

Good day Gentlemen.

Posting for the first time on Medellin thread.

About Me. Mongering worldwide since the early 90's and live full time in South America. However, this is my first visit to Medellin and my first report ever here. If this matters, I have posted before on Cali and Barranquilla threads.

Today, I did a survey of 5 famed casas of Medellin. Here are my views:

Casa 1 - Newlife. Location - Calle 56 , No. 43-39 - Blue colored gate.

Arrived around 12 noon on Monday afternoon - 22 June. Sat on the sofa. About 10-12 girls were presented. I tried very hard to like at least one of them. But did not like even one of them. I saw the presentations at least three times. And each time, I did not feel attraction to any of the girls. None of them were above 6/10. One or two did have sexy bodies but the expression on their faces was unwelcoming that I shuddered to think, with how much disdain they will treat me, once inside the room.

However, the presenter, a old man was friendly. He never pressurized me to buy a drink or take a chica or hassled me. Full marks to him for that. While I was there, I saw a group of mongers (possibly from here) and take chicas immediately, as they were presented. Apparently, not everyone has same idea of beauty or attraction (Beauty does indeed lie in the eyes of the beholder).

Casa 2 - Zandaly. Location - Carrera 47, No 57 A 34.

Arrived around 1245 or 1 pm on Monday afternoon. Around 6 or 7 chicas were presented. The selection here was worse than New life. Like 5/10's. The girls again looked totally disinterested and with sullen faces. I chose to split from here as well.

To credit of this casa, no pressure was put on me to buy a drink or pay for presentation or take a chica. I was out in 15 minutes.

Casa 3 - Hotel Balcones de Cuba. Location- Carrera 47, No 59-14 - Go to reception and then go to 3 Road floor.

Arrived around 1330 on Monday afternoon. About 5-6 girls were presented. (each girl already had her own room- and popped out of their rooms to say Hi and popped in back and slammed shut the door on my face). As compared to the two casas as described above, the girls here, looked the most sullen and disinterested in their work. No smiles. No trying to entice the client. No "Welcome" body language. The presenter here was not too friendly. Some body builder type hulky Colombian. I politely told him I am not interested and he told me then I can leave.

No pressure put on me to take a girl or pay any money for a drink etc. I was out of here in 6-7 minutes.

Note. I did not take down notes on prices. But it was approximately 3 o or 35 k for 30 minutes and 60-70 K for 1 hour.

Casa 4 - Masajes de Sexi. Carrera 45 the 57-67.

I tried very hard to search for this place but I could not find any house number with 57-67 on this street. There was a 57-77. Maybe I got the address wrong? I asked a street urchin and he smiled at me and he said lot of foreigners come looking for the very same address and all seem to be lost like me!

By now, I was like. This is not getting me anywhere. I need to fuck soon. So I headed for:

Thai Massage. Location - Carrera 81 A No 30 AA-30 - Near Moulin Commercial.

I arrived here around 2.15 pm. First met the pretty looking manager. I would have liked to do her. But I guess she was not avbl.

Anyway. This place is one BIG sham.

Prices - 120 K. Covered Blowjob (time not specified) ; 130 K- Half hour massage / BJ. No sex or sex (not sure) ; 160 k (sex, BJ, Massage 1 hour) ; Use of Jacuzzi - 50 K more.

Sex with anal for 1 HR - 300 K. There were some other upsells which I forgot.

Girls - 5 girls were presented to me (total of 6 work here). Frankly speaking and I know you will find it hard to digest or believe me but I did not find the quality of looks any better than what I had seen at Newlife earlier in the day. Of course, the presentation was unique. The girls were fully clothed. The girls had individual numbers pinned on their shirts. The girls come and remove their clothes and show their body in bra and panty. The girls come in individually and also in a group so you can compare. Amongst the 5 girls shown, 2 looked better than the other three. Amongst the two, I chose, the more friendly one, who was smiling and looked very sweet. She wore very nice / smart clothes and with clothes on. She looked 7. 5/10. (when I saw her naked she looked 6/10).

The flaw. And why I will not recommend this place to any other monger.

The girls attitude changed as soon as I was disrobed and finished my shower (the shower is compulsory. Even if water is cold). She said absolutely zero kissing. She said our lips can not touch, no matter what. Its a policy of the place. And even if I offered a propina. Even then- No kissing. That really turned me off. The so called Thai massage was just she touching my body with her hands. There was zero pressure applied. The so called 'Sex massage' was her lying on my back and touching her breasts to my back for 2-3 minutes. The so called blow job. Very mechanical with condom. She tried very hard to give me a hand job and make me cum ASAP. But I am too experienced for that. She gave me a 2 minute blowjob and soon was tired. I asked her if she can blow me without condom? She asked me for a propina of 150 k! (So after paying 160 K- I needed to add another 150 K to get a BBBJ). I declined. The sex was very poor as she was acting as if she was really turned on by me. It actually turned me off even more.

I just got up and said, I am leaving as I can not take this anymore. I decided not to cum just for heck and practice 'sperm management'. So she gave a lecture on 'safe sex' and that I am crazy to ask for BBBJ and I am a irresponsible and who wants to spread AIDS to innocent people. And I need to be ashamed of myself. Then she said. No working girl will give a kiss in Colombia and I should understand that kissing is only between true lovers and not between a prostitute and a client! As I was dressing, she banged the door of the room and left.

I went down and as I was leaving the manager (a guy wearing a smart suit and looking more European than Colombian) claimed to be the manager. He did give me a hearing but offered no excuses and said that you should have asked them or the chica if kissing was on the menu or not. He again said to me that no working girl sucks without a condom in Colombia or kisses a client. (I thought to myself. KISS my ass). And left.

Most Importantly. If one does not take a girl, they charge 20000 pesos just for sighting girls. And you get a free beer for that 20000 pesos.

Final Verdict. This place is for those who want to imagine that they are getting to fuck some really hot clean girl in a superior surroundings. When in reality its the same old thing in a better package and offering zero pleasure. I suggest to avoid this place.

I guess. I will try internet girls and maybe go to some more different casas. But overall disappointed with the casa scene. I was at Parque Lleras on Saturday night. Midnight and saw at least 15 doable non pro girls with their friends. So its not that I am oblivious to the beauty of Paisas but I did not see that beauty in any of the casas I visited. I remember sighting some wonderful looking Paisas (working girls) in my time at Cartagena and thought to myself that in Medellin there will be a plethora of them in every nook and corner avbl. But that is not the case. As one monger said, the hot looking girls won't be working for 60 k a hour in the casas. No way! You were right, mate.

Apologies in advance, if my personal opinion, based on my personal experiences today, about the famed casas of Medellin, offends anyone.

Good day Gentlemen,

Here is my review of hotel basis 48 hours spent here.

Address. Hotel Nutibara, Calle 53, Medellín, Antioquia* Its very famous. Every taxi driver knows it. No problem. Just tell them the name of this hotel*. Another advantage. The bus starting from the airport (cost 9000 pesos) and terminates (last stop) at Hotel Nutibara!

Price per night - 37 usd / night.

Quality of sleep. Very good.

Hot water. Available in abundance.

Internet. S0 / so. Half the time seems to be down. I purchased a Tigo sim card with data for 18000 pesos (for 600 MB data) and then used my phone as a hot spot. This worked better than the hotel's WiFi.

Gadgets. The room has a fridge, a safe, chairs etc.

Missing. No writing desk, no plug points to charge gadgets. One has to plug in underneath bed to one of spots where the bed lamp is plugged.

Noise. Only of the passing metro. None from the street. And in the morning from the cleaning staff who seem to be impatient to enter the room to clean.

Security inside the room. Very good.

Breakfast. Very poor. Stops at 0830 and the guy serving is hostile.

Security outside the hotel. I walked outside my hotel twice or thrice in day and night. I seemed to do OK. But when in taxi I passed some dodgy looking streets very close to my hotel. When walking, maybe I just avoided dodgy streets.

Eating options - 2-3 restaurants, plus ATM machine available within the building premises. On Sunday, these restaurants are closed and one is at a disadvantage as their are no restaurants nearby within walking distance.

Taxis. I went to Parque lleras and Santa fe mall from my (this) hotel. It cost around 10000 pesos one way (4 usd). Not expensive at all.

Metro. Yet to use.

Guest Policy. I asked the manager. He never refused me but I talked to couple of internet chicas. They refused to come here as they said that this hotel is a problem for guests (mainly working girls). Not real guests. I did not test the hotel on this as yet as I did not want my mood to be spoiled.

Overall, its a good option for a budget hotel in El centro. No cockroaches. Hot water. Clean bed. Clean room. Bad internet. Bringing girls is a problem.

Hope this helps.