Rio de Janeiro Reports

This board is a great resource and while I may not be able to contribute any reports until later. I do want to contribute *something* so I don't get roasted for asking questions with no prior contribution.

So this has helped me save literally hundreds if not over a thousand dollars in the past few years.

Many of you may be familiar with BrazilCupid, DominicanCupid, ColombianCupid, FilipinoCupid, etc.

I've had great success over the years using the Cupid sites (for both freebies and pros) but often the cost is prohibitive. Why pay $150 USD when that can pay for 2-3 girls, right?

Well here is my method. Use a VPN and route your sign-up through Argentina. Steps and costs detailed below.

1. Open your VPN. Select Buenos Aires or another city in Argentina if possible.

2. Open an Incognito window in Chrome so your location data registers as in Argentina.

3. Go to the Cupid site you want to sign-up for. It must be a new account as they store prior location data.

4. Create an account and go to update. You will see two options: Gold and Platinum. Gold is 3000 ARS / year and Platinum is 4000 ARS / year. Select the one you want and begin messaging!

Benefits:

1. Subscription renews at to the 3000 or 4000 ARS price each year. This is $30 USD for Gold and $40 USD for Platinum and by next year, the ARS prices will probably be around $15 and $20 with Argentina's currency devaluation.

2. Definitely can get freebies if you put in limited effort 1 or 2 weeks before your trip. I can't say that definitively for *every* cupid country but it has worked in every one I have tried.

3. The current price for these sites is $150 USD each year if you register from the US. And it would renew at $150. That is insane if you travel to different countries and want to maintain multiple Cupid accounts.

If you don't have or know what a VPN is, there are hundreds of Youtube videos that can help. You can get a one-month VPN subscription for $5 (much cheaper if you buy longer subscriptions), sign up for all the Cupid countries you might ever want to visit and then cancel the VPN (if you don't have use for it). I would still recommend using a VPN in general.

Even if you continue logging in from the US after the initial sign-up, it will renew your contract at the ARS price.

Cheers!

[QUOTE=SinfullyKorean;2572796]How much was it to session at 4 x4? I went, but didn't session.[/QUOTE]I think it is 270 R for 30 minutes and 390 R for an hour for the simple cabins. The prices for the bigger suites are higher.

[QUOTE=ExecTalent;2572799]Best concise common sense advice for a first timer we have had in awhile.

To summarize:

Stay in Copacabana at a hotel, visit termas and private apartments during the week and Mabs on the weekend.

The Cane has also given excellent advice. Don't go cheap. You are only going to be in Rio a short time, live it up. If you cannot afford to at a 5:1 exchange rate, maybe you should just stay home. Guys who are in Brazil for months at a time, rightly need to consider their daily spend. That is not you. When I am there I buy my staples and canned goods at one supermarket and meats and fresh vegetables either at the farmer market or an upscale supermarket. Again, that is not you. Your time is way more important than the few dollars you might save. As for tipping, recognize people who have treated you right. Give a high five to the others with their hands out. I have been known to bring gifts to street vendors I have gotten to know and hand out money to those who clean up the beach. I support the artists and am patient and helpful to the disabled and elderly.

After you have picked through the low-hanging fruit, check out Zebra's reports. Put together a plan, take a day and have at it. Don't forget to take in some of the sites. For these you probably want to consult traditional tourist resources. If you want to visit a slum (favela) go to any major US city, don't waste your time gawking at poor people in Brazil living their lives. Enjoy your time, take good memories with you and leave good feelings towards you behind.[/QUOTE]Totally agree, except even a newbie can do well with an Airbnb, especially those on a more limited budget. The short-term rental market is developed exceptionally well in Rio, so I wouldn't hesitate. But that's a matter of preferences of course.

As to visiting favelas, I too can't understand the appeal. Seriously, these are the places were poor people live. If I were living in Rio or staying for a few months, even then I can't see myself getting bored to the point of "touring" a slum. Some folks claim they want to "immerse" in the experience, but going on a tour when you're protected by organizers or their contracts with local bandits doesn't immerse you in anything. I guess, those curious souls should actually stay at one of the safer favelas to scratch that itch.

[QUOTE=Vagabundo1;2572830]Location 4 x4.

It is halfway between bolsa valores / Praca XV barcas to Niteroi and Rio Branco where the investment firms are.

The target customer is the investor class, who take the late boat back to Niteroi. Not just the main port in Niteroi, but the minor ports like Inga, etc, where they have their armored, walled compounds within walking distance. Vagabundo knows these patrol routes. If you can manage it, one would prefer a twice daily boat ride, like the boss class in any port city, be I Copenhagen, Hamburg, Amsterdam, Sydney, san Francisco, san Diego, New York, Boston, Porto Allegre, Florianopolis, Salvador. Vikings always prefer boats as a venue to ride between making killings.[/QUOTE]Taking a ferry to Niteroi is quick and pleasant. Not even mentioning the Flying Saucer Niemeyer Museum and cheap Niteroi prives.

[QUOTE=Xpartan;2573024]Seriously, these are the places were poor people live.[/QUOTE]In general yes, but also middle-class and even rich people with mansions. I'm not speaking about rich narcos, but doctors, lawyers etc. Usually living in mansions built when the favelas were newborn.

Any word on when nightlife will reopen in Brazil? What is now the trendiest nightclub to party and see local girls (not "prostitutes" I'd like to take my friend to a good nightclub of some kind.

[QUOTE=Indecentpro;2572931]

I've had great success over the years using the Cupid sites (for both freebies and pros) but often the cost is prohibitive. Why pay $150 USD when that can pay for 2-3 girls, right?

Well here is my method. [/QUOTE]Great info. Thanks!

[QUOTE=ZebraStripes81;2572925]I enter the Mosaico nightclub address into my uber and wait for the ride. Tonight's mission: an exploration of the notorious Vila Mimosa, a monger site often discussed in these pages and famous across the world. A decision to travel to Colombia next week for the month of July has put a premium on my time here in Rio, and so all boxes must be checked with more haste than anticipated.

An uneventful ride leaves me deposited outside a shabby club, door cracked open and dimly lit red stairs. I decide to skip the club and drift across the street to the infamous are. Sotero dos Reis. I am drawn forth by some kind of magnetic pull, my mouth dry and pulse raised. The Zebra, adept at camouflage, is often mistaken for a native Brazilian, or sometimes even an Italian or Russian, so I am confident in my abilities to blend in and remain unobtrusive as long as I am not required to speak. A wingman could not be procured for this sortie, and so I must take extra precaution and remain vigilant. Nevertheless, my heart is beating fast as the street pulls me forward. I am like Willard silently floating towards Kurtz deep in the dark heart of the Cambodian jungle, I am entering a Heart of Darkness.
[/QUOTE]So now that you've experienced the VM's sensory perversions kkkk, put it in the been-there-done-that column and move on. Mosaico, on the other hand, is a cool place. I had a very nice session with a lovely morena there once, who later visited me in my Airbnb a few days later. Don't remember the price, which tells me it wasn't outrageous. It's somewhat of an institution, too. I read on GParena they hired a porn star to strip and fuck everyone who were present at the moment.

Mosaico had a really big party on wed evening, the place was loaded with people. Unfrtunately, there were so many people that the cabins were full all night and I didn't have time to grab my favorita!

Crazy thing that happened to me on the way to Mosaico. I took an UBER to VM, as soon as we made the right off the highway to enter VM, a police car with 2 officers were partially blocking the road. They stopped my uber, walked up and started shining lights into the car. One officer them motioned for me to get out of the car. (I had on a mask, so he couldn't see my entire face) . I guess he could read from my forehead wrinkle and eye brow raise that I was confused as to why he anted me to step out of the car. I hesitated about 3 seconds as I looked at him, his partnet and then my uber driver before I reached for the handle and stepped out.

I thought the uber would drive away but he stayed where he was. The cop who motioned for me to get out was pissed nd yelled at me "When I tell you to get out of the car, you get out!" Again, I think from my facial expression he could tell that I was confused as to why I had to get out of the car. He berated me for about 10 seconds about following his commands and then I pulled the Ace out of my back pocket. In a calm voice I said "I don't speak Portuguese". Having brown skin and being dressed down, he probably thought I was Brazilian.

When I spoke english, he had a surprised look on his face and motioned for me to get back in the uber. Once I closed the door he gave me 2 thumbs up and a big smile like " Hey, we are good right?" and then I gave him a thumbs up back. I will admit I was nervous when I stepped out of the car into that dark street, I wasnt sure if they were going to rob me or beat me up. I am 100% positive that I did the right thing by acting like I couldn't speak or understand Portuguese!

[QUOTE=ZebraStripes81;2572925]Emerging back on into the street I feel as if I am reborn. My pulse slows and I begin to relax. I explore a bit further down, there are two other alleyways but they are not as enticing as this first axis, and so I stroll leisurely back up the street, still undiscovered and unnoticed by the locals. If on some rare lark one were to session here, your Portuguese would need to be on point, as there is no margin for error. Personally I would not feel comfortable enough to relax and enjoy myself. As I saunter slowly back to Mosaico to catch another uber I feel like I have seen enough to understand there is indeed a limit to my own fetish for the danger and excitement provided by sketchy surroundings. For me, Terma 502 is about as low as I want to go, although I'm not ruling out 116 entirely.[/QUOTE]Prose, prose! Pure prose! Great report! Lived that totally vicariously through you! Well-done! Bravo! Was as if I was there walking along that street myself! Wish you had gone into Mosaico to give me a full picture of that place as well. Looking forward to more from you!

[QUOTE=Bravo;2573067]Mosaico had a really big party on wed evening, the place was loaded with people. Unfrtunately, there were so many people that the cabins were full all night and I didn't have time to grab my favorita![/QUOTE]If the cabins at Mosaico are full it only takes less than 1 minute to go to Hotel Canario.

Good acting with the cops!

[QUOTE=Bravo;2573067] ... He berated me for about 10 seconds about following his commands and then I pulled the Ace out of my back pocket. In a calm voice I said "I don't speak Portuguese". Having brown skin and being dressed down, he probably thought I was Brazilian.

When I spoke english, he had a surprised look on his face and motioned for me to get back in the uber ...[/QUOTE]Don't know if this has been discussed already, but what's with the Police and the reason behind all the reports of stoppages, lately? Is it just Uber rides or Taxis as well?

[QUOTE=Bravo;2573067]....I wasnt sure if they were going to rob me or beat me up. I am 100% positive that I did the right thing by acting like I couldn't speak or understand Portuguese![/QUOTE] [b]Or just shoot you. [/b]

Did you get the impression they were trying to perhaps, supplement their poultry income, by fleecing motorists? (especially, now that all the drug dealers are dead...just kidding).

We are in the heart of darkness.

We have gone native.

[QUOTE=Xpartan;2573057]So now that you've experienced the VM's sensory perversions kkkk, [/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=Spidy;2573095]... supplement their poultry income ...[/QUOTE]That might be correct under some circumstances...kkkk, but I meant "paltry income".

[QUOTE=Indecentpro;2572931]1. Open your VPN. Select Buenos Aires or another city in Argentina if possible.

2. Open an Incognito window in Chrome so your location data registers as in Argentina.

3. Go to the Cupid site you want to sign-up for. It must be a new account as they store prior location data.

4. Create an account and go to update. You will see two options: Gold and Platinum. Gold is 3000 ARS / year [/QUOTE]Thanks you mf genius. I have been on the cupid sites 16 years and have never thought of doing that. You are a moneysaver dude. Thanks for telling me how to spend my money.

So the Cupid sites price discriminate just like the chicks do. Charge one price one place and another price another place, all for the same site. Maybe some people will think the USA or European signup is higher quality because it costs more.

[QUOTE=Bravo;2573067]He berated me for about 10 seconds about following his commands and then I pulled the Ace out of my back pocket. In a calm voice I said "I don't speak Portuguese". Having brown skin and being dressed down, he probably thought I was Brazilian.

When I spoke english, he had a surprised look on his face and motioned for me to get back in the uber. Once I closed the door he gave me 2 thumbs up and a big smile like " Hey, we are good right?" and then I gave him a thumbs up back. I am 100% positive that I did the right thing by acting like I couldn't speak or understand Portuguese![/QUOTE]That was textbook. You have to know when to turn it on and off. Just because you can speak and understand does not mean you go blabbing off. If you happen to be in some real trouble then the only word you know in the local language is for embassy.