Useful Report for Newbies and Positive Story about Taxi Driver
On my way to centro today, cab fare was 9500. Gave the guy 10000, intending for him to keep the change. Tells me not to get out until he hands me a 500 peso coin. This was a cab my building called for me. Take from that what you will.
Did my first casa run solo today. Had a date in centro, chose to checkout some casas before my date. Happened to pass by the casa next door to Hotel Premium Plaza. Only had time for a 30 minute session but only 3 chicas presented themselves, all fat and ugly. Passed on that. I had no time so walked from there to where my date was. Shame, because I was intending on hitting Zandaly's where I had been before. From what I remember, on Saturday the lineup at the casa by Hotel Premium Plaza was also subpar too.
After the date, got lost a bit, wandered around, passed through a really shitty part of centro where people were destitute lying on the ground, drug addicts walking around. Got the hell out of there, asked some cops for directions, and wound up at Botero plaza.
Checked out Bar Conejitas. Went inside (was about 3:30). Colombians drinking beer. Probably the only gringo. A couple of girls came over to sit by me and rub my leg and get me to go with them. Wasn't interested. I guess it is super obvious that I am a gringo because there first question is "de donde vienes" LOL. Finished my beer and left.
Bar Conejitas is essentially across the street from Botero Plaza, as reported. Very easy to get to and very safe as another poster mentioned. But I dislike bad lighting and loud music when I just want to relax and select a chica. Because I did not select at Conejitas I did not inquire into prices.
Got lost again. Asked more cops for directions. Finally found my way back to Oriental. Touts were handing out business cards for casas. Walked by Kamasutra first so I decided to enter. About 5 girls presented themselves, all terrible besides for one which I really liked. Selected her.
Kamasutra options are 38 k for 30 minutes or 60 k for hour. Chose the 60 k option as I was tired, liked the girl and just wanted to go home afterwards. Finished and got the bus. You have to walk a little bit down Oriental from Kamasutras to get the bus to Poblado. Bus is basically as fast as a taxi and cheaper. Got help finding the bus from a cute Colombiana going to Poblado too but was too tired by then to do anything. I was lucky at Kamasutra that I liked one of the chicas because there is a 3 k viewing fee. Most likely I will not repeat there.
[B]TIP FOR NEWBIES:[/B] use avenida Oriental to [I]orient[/I] yourself (pardon the pun). I think during the daytime it is perfectly safe to be anywhere along Avenida Oriental. Also, no need to take a cab if you are staying in Poblado close to Avenida Poblado. Avenida Poblado turns into Avenida Oriental by the time you reach centro. A bus will be 1800 peso versus approximately 10 k peso. Also the bus will drop you off right by Kamasutras.
Keep in mind where Avenida Oriental is as you wander into the smaller streets of Centro. If you feel anything suspicious or scared you can always walk quickly back to Oriental and restart. There are like 5-6 casas that are only about 1-2 blocks off of Oriente. Again, consult the map.
Just using Google Maps and Map of Casas in Centro is not enough. You have to get a feel personally for the Carrera / Calle system. Also, if you need a little help finding a place I think you can safely trust a tout handing out casa business cards to direct you there. But someone can correct me if I am wrong on that.
In general, the more time I spend in centro the more I find that it is not particularly dangerous. The dangerous area on the wrong side of the tracks of Berrio is quite bad with druggies and destitute people and overall filth and third-worldliness. But if you walk quickly through it there shouldn't be much to worry about during the daytime. At night it is probably a different issue.
Parque Lleras Observations
[QUOTE=Britisher;1737509]Good day Gentlemen.
Posting for the first time on Medellin thread.
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.[/QUOTE]Well I find your report a little bit odd about your Casa experience but who knows maybe it was just a very bad day for you.
I am curious though about your experience in Parque LLeras. I was there about three weeks ago on a Saturday night around midnight and noticed some doable girls with their friends some of which came up to me and asked me if I was interested in having sex with them, while others in pairs and groups who where looking at me and waiting to be approached. I was also approached by vendors asking if I needed anything from drugs to girls as well. There is mixture of pros, semi-pros, and girls looking for affluent gringos / others to buy them drinks, etc in Parque Lleras and I plan to explore it more next weekend. If I don't have any luck I'll be in El Centro with my 20,000 peso girls!
Information on counterfeit bills.
Gentlemen, I found some information that I was looking for. Here is the link and article. . [URL]http://www.medellinliving.com/colomb...hanging-money/[/URL].
Avoiding Counterfeits.
Don't ever change your money on the street in Colombia, as counterfeit money is common. The best way to get the local currency is through an ATM.
I have received three counterfeit bills over the eight years I have been traveling to Colombia, including living over three years in Medellíand.
Two of the counterfeits I received were 20,000 peso notes given in change, which I luckily caught both times, as the counterfeits weren't that good. So I exchanged the fakes for real bills. This happened once in a bar in Cartagena and once in a small shop in Medellíand.
The other was a counterfeit 50,000-peso note that I received from either an ATM or money exchange place in Medellíand. I used both one day so I am not sure from which I received the counterfeit. I normally don't check the bills received from an ATM machine or money exchange place, so I didn't catch this until later.
The most common counterfeit notes in Colombia are the 20,000 peso and 50,000 peso notes. There have also been some counterfeit 1,000 peso coins – the new version of the coins. A guide to the new Colombian coins (in Spanish) is found here.
One of the easiest ways to check to see if a Colombian bill is real is to rub it against a piece of paper. If some ink rubs off, it likely isn't a counterfeit. I see clerks in stores do this frequently.
You can also tell by the feel of the bills. Genuine bills have some texture to them and the three counterfeits I encountered didn't have texture.
On a genuine 50,000 peso note, if you look at the large 50 on the front of the bill at angles it changes color. On the counterfeit I received it didn't change color.
On a genuine 20,000 peso note, if you look at the hexagon on the front of the bill at angles it changes color. On the two counterfeits I received the hexagon didn't change color.
On a genuine 50,000 peso note there is a "50 MIL" watermark under "Colombia" on the front of the bill. On the counterfeit I received there was an attempt to copy the watermark but it didn't look the same.
Colombian bills use a number of security features. A complete list of the security features of Colombian bills in circulation can be found on the Banco de la República website (in Spanish).
Until recently, Colombia was the top producer of counterfeit USA Bills but that distinction now reportedly goes to Peru. So also be sure to check any USA Bills you receive while in Colombia.
