Sosua Reports

CH & Oakie.

Guys, thanks for the great reads.

CH, your story and observations are the same time & again. I know a guy on the Mexicali board that told me about a 6+ year relationship that ending in arrest and major $$$$$ being taken from him. This was his second time, as he didn't learn from the first foreign "LOVE of his Life" experience.

Oakie, I hope it works out for you, and in the end you don't lose more than you can afford.

Oakie, maybe you could "slide" Coolie her phone number and see if she bites (no pun intended). LOL.

Have fun,

CL.

[QUOTE=Coolie High; 1115498]Oakie,

LMFAO! Now that's funny! Hey all is fair in love in war. Better tell her to stay away from Sosua Cus if she's fine I'll crush it like a coke can. LOL! But with all seriousness that's good shit that things are working out with you and the honey bun. Tired of hearing sad endings or why it didn't work, blah, blah, blah! Keep doing your thing.

Now speaking of honeys here's an update on my girl Sade. Soo all last year she goes from regular talking to ooh can I send her money. I told her I'll give her money once I'm actually in DR. So you know what happens next. The emails became short, no more calling me her man / husband *blah, blah, blah.

Now mind you gents when it comes to the ladies I'm the Magic Johnson of pussy. I'll pass off a female so my boy can smash in a heart beat. Especially with broads in Sosua. Now a few months back a certain senior monger that's on here ask for the digits and I slid the number to him. Just told him don't let her know that I gave it to him.

And wouldn't you know it gents my boy called and she was ready to give him the panties faster then a fatman falling out of a chair. The fellow monger bluff on Sade or so he says but the important thing gents is to not get so attach that you can't see the relationship for what it is.

It's easy to fall for a women in DR and to be honest even after passing off Sade like musical chairs I still have a soft spot for her. You know why cus I know as soon as I touchdown in DR she's going to treat ol' Coolie like a king, fluff my pillows, massage my bunions, the whole nine for the duration of my trip, all for the price of paying her rent. Which comes to $300 dollars BTW.

God bless Sosua! Hell Walmart can't beat that price and service. I can't wait to get back to the promise land[/QUOTE]

I'm in casa marina feburary 13 until the 16. Hitting Sosua for the first time. Anybody in the area. Want to get a beer?

[QUOTE=Mr Gogo;1115493]ROTFLMAO. I'm with you on that one. I don't ever want to develope a comfort zone where having naked dudes with hard dicks around me is acceptable. Plus I'm to selfish to share pussy.[/QUOTE]That about sums it up, LOL! I'll share just about anything with you: alcohol, ganja, food, info, etc. But when it comes to pussy, I'm muthafuckin Uncle Scrooge!

the dr trip

sosua and boca chica for mlk weekend.

since delta is going to discontinue the pop flight, me and a friend decided to fly down to sosua, make the drive to boca chica and leave from sdq. this being my 48th trip to the dr it seems it was full of rookie mistakes and pitfalls that made it mentally draining.

sosua.

the flight.

arriving from atlanta we land around 2:30pm and since it was a big push we were parked at the pad and had to deplane on the tarmac and escorted to customs. at that point we realized we had no cash on hand to pay the jack tax when you enter the dr. spoke to the passport officer for him to escort us to the change place in baggage claim to make a withdrawal. that place raped me 5 dollar fee to withdrawal 20 dollars. i felt like it was a bonehead move to show up without no cash. was walked back to jack tax booth paid the 10 dollars and went thru passport control and customs. i assumed it was the worse that could happened but i was wrong.

the transportation.

two days earlier i made my car reservation thru orbitz and found a good deal with sixt rental car. it was 107 dollars for 2 days and the drop fee. they finally moved the rental car booth back inside. i went straight to sixt rental booth and there was nobody. i called the office number and nobody answered and called the cell phone number written on the counter and no answer. the hertz booth told me there is nobody working there that day. the only person there is sick and is at the doctor. i was like wtf i have a reservation and need to pick up a car. they said call santo domingo and see what they could do. i called the santo domingo office and was told tough shit buddy. i was pissed beyond my limits. i started to talk to other companies to see if they could match the price. they all started with the drop fee alone is 120 to 150 dollars. i said hell no and called my hotel. luckily the hotel i was staying at offered free airport pick up and drop off. while i was waiting the payless rental car told me he can rent me a car for 70 dollars a day including drop fee. i told him i will take his card and call him back the next day. went to atm machine by the bank and took out money. ban resevas doesn't charge atm convenience fee.

the hotel

the hotel i stay at is villa chessa it's near the playa chiquita casino. i recommend this place if you want to be away from the noise and bullshit that is around the main drag. for 50 dollars a night you get free airport pickup and drop off, free breakfast, free wi-fi, and they will drop you off in sosua during daytime hours. they are currently remodeling the rooms and installing flat screens tv's. the place has a bar, pool table, swimming pool and a bbq pit if you want to have your own bbq. the manager's name is shannon white cat from indiana and the owner is mario. they can arrange car rentals there for 40 dollars a day which you pick up at the hotel. the hotel number is 809-571-3412. tell them i sent you and they will try to accommodate most requests. they can even call the hoes to come over if you don't feel like going out. since i was still carless i called orbitz to complain and it was a moot point talking to india. i made another reservation with alamo for 107 dollars and went to the airport the next day to pick up the car.

the restaurants.

asked mario from the hotel to drop us off at bailey's to eat. the restaurant has a bar with some of the finest chicas working. the place also has free wi-fi. it's next to the banco popular and a stone throw away from new garden and hotel sea breezes. another spot to get some good food to eat is susana's. it near hotel europa. this restaurant is most of the hoes go to eat since its only dominican food they serve and they are reasonably priced. if you go get the fried fish it's like eating butter on how good it is. you can also try the chicken place about 30 feet down from susana's. the hotel has three options for the free breakfast. fried eggs with bacon and potatoes, omelet plate, and pancake plate.

the watering holes.

so walking down we noticed a new place called cmp (caribbean men's paradise). the place is supposed to be a passion's competition. walked in and saw two girls that use to work from passion's working there. got a beer chatted her up and noticed the place also had free wi-fi. there were 15 girls working and the girl i was chatting up introduced me to her sister. they wanted me to do a threesome. even though i never have done sisters at once i decided to pass. i had to go passion's after all the rage. when i got there i was blown away. i couldn't believe it. the place has been expanded to the point i almost didn't recognize it. the place has over 30 girls working and the prices are still the same from my last visit of 14 months ago. fish tank bar counters. second floor with a plexiglass floor so you can look up the girls skirts. the pool was enclosed and now indoors with a vip seats by the pool. the place has 3 stripper poles. to many fine hoes there i honestly could not make up my mind. damn is all i can say. i picked a qt from santiago and just did the massage. i always have a rule to test drive the girl with the massage to see if she is really motivated. if she isn't all i have lost is 1300 pesos. if she is motivated i get her number and check her out later or call here after she gets off work. by this time it already 10 pm and went to the chicken place to eat. contacted rafael since he was there to meet us at latinos around 11 pm. once we got to latinos there were a lot of girls there and ran into kenny from rio. if you have been to rio you know who kenny is. he did the boat thing in rio. i was drinking my beer and this little 23 year old from santo domingo came by and caught my eye. my wing man was commenting how pretty she was. rafael finally came by and we decided to go to classico's. this place was packed. i mean i had to wait over 15 minutes in line to buy a ticket. went up there and it was standing room only. the place reminds me of help somewhat. rafael found himself a future ex-wife and was laughing when i asked him when is the wedding. the crazy part about it was i was just asking her for her name and homegirl got mad at me because she said i already boned her and kicked her out of the room. i was like i did? i didn't remember her so it must have been a bad fuck. by this time it getting late and i need to bone.

the girl.

so we agreed on set price and thought home girl was cool. we rode motoconchos to the hotel. since i didn't have change the dude told the other dude that i need to pay 100 pesos a person. i am like wtf. i told him he was crazy and i am no regular tourist and that he needed to give the other bike 50 pesos change. he said no and that he took a risk by driving me at night. i told him he was crazy. i was making such a big scene that the hotel watch man came out asking what was going on. the motoconchos didn't want to budge. the watch man had to point the gun to their heads before realizing they couldn't rip me off. the accepted the offer and speed off. i was livid. home girl realized i wasn't one to mess around with. we get to the room and both take showers. we get on the bed and get busy. the broad was a lazy fuck and i had to destroy her since she wasn't motivated. well once i nutted she jumped up and went in the shower. then she said she had to go. i told her she agreed to be with me for 2 hours and not 30 minutes. she said she was on the clock since she met me. at that point i threw the money at her and pushed her out the door. i wasn't going to argue with her since she was being a damn trick.

last day in sosua.

woke up the next day and went down to the bar area at the hotel to eat breakfast. had the scrambled eggs with bacon wasn't to shabby by my standards. i called payless rental car to confirm with them the rental car for 70 dollars. well homeboy changed his story with its 70 dollars plus a 200 dollar drop fee. i just hung up i wasn't going to argue with them. luckily i had made another reservation with alamo for 90 dollars including the drop fee. shannon gave me a ride to the airport so i could pick up the car. thank god i had the reservation printed out because they couldn't find the reservation in the system. what i found amazing was this was the same company that quoted me $150 drop fee and i was able to book it online for only $50 dollars. well my luck was changing because they were out of economy and compact cars. they upgraded me to a bigger car. did the final walk around and signed the papers on the car. i headed back to the hotel to pick up my wing man. we went by passion for one final pass over but found the place to be dead and bolted out of sosua.

the trip to boca chica.

so we headed on the freeway 5 east towards nagua. there is plenty of scenic views when taking this road. we drove by the nudist resort called caliente club resorts. i have always heard of a nudist resort but never knew where it really was. as soon as we on the outskirts there was police check point stopping cars. well the police asked if transporting firearms or drugs, i responded no. i told him we are tourists driving to santo domingo. then he asked if we had money to give him. i told him that i only use my card and didn't have change. he let us go and continued our drive to nagua. once we got to nagua the city was kinda crazy with traffic. didn't know where to go but kept going towards the center. we stopped to get gas. from the gas station we found the signs that pointed to santo domingo. well it was somewhat crazy following the sign because it was going west like i was heading back to sosua. once we left the city found the new hi-way to santo domingo. once we got on the road it was easy sailing from there. very scenic of the countryside and mountains. the toll total for this road is around 300 pesos. it shaves around an hour off the drive going the other way to santo domingo. it also puts you by the airport outside the city. we finally get into las americas and head over towards boca chica.

the hotel boca chica.

well my wingman wanted to stay at mozart hotel because its, suppose to be an after hours spot. also it's next to the yellow house in which you can find some nice 8's and 9's working. the price of the hotel was 750 pesos. all i can say the room was pitiful. one door from the closet was missing. no tv, no shower curtains, ceiling fan made hella noise and only one towel. i had to call down to complain about the shower curtain and extra towel. i told my wingman never again to stay there. since we were staying for one day i said fuck it. at least the bed was comfortable. took a shower and headed to the casa's.

the casa's boca chica.

started by going to yellow house next door. they had over 18 girls working but i wasn't impressed by the selection. since i knew the manager there i asked her if she had any more girls and she said no. we left and went to the pink house. the selection there was only 6 girls and it wasn't to my taste. we walked over to the playboy club and when we walked in the place smelled like a porno theatre and musty sweat shop. even though there was some nice girls there i couldn't take the smell and we left.

watering holes.

at that point we walked to avenida duarte and found a drum chicken spot on the street and grabbed half a chicken to eat. after eating we went to the piano bar to hang out and see what strolled thru there. there were at least 4 chicks i would hit but was all about business and wanted like 2000 pesos for one hour. i am like bump that. after 11:30 we went to the club across the street and it was dead. we went back the piano bar and stayed until they kicked us out. ran into a chick another wingman hit and she told me about a new club that opened up. batey club it across the street from the boathouse. we went there and the place was packed. the bouncers were holding people back from going up. had to wait for 10 minutes before they let us in. now don't get me wrong the place was nice but it was full of locals and the ratio was off. like 3 dudes for like 1 chick. i guess the hookers didn't make in there. we left and called it a night. after that 3 and half hour drive i wasn't in the mood to bone.

the next day woke up ate breakfast at tucantu bakery and went to the boathouse to drink a beer and see what was on the beach. by that time it was noon and had to check out and go to the airport.

all in all this trip was less then ideal and its going to be a while before i think about doing dr again.

Long time traveler, new member to site. Been to DR about 12 times over 6 years. Most of my travelling for work or fun is in South America or Asia. Wanted to provide a quick update on Sosua for all those who might be thinking of travelling there. I had read some mixed reviews, but I like the sun, the sand, and the food, so I figured I would check it out myself. Went down from Jan 15-19. Flew Continental with no problems. Stayed at Casa Valeria. $55 a night, good location, good restaurant, no major problems. Didn't like the bed, and the rooms were dark. I'm a simple traveler, I don't need much, but a soft bed goes a long way.

Overall impression of the place was that all services had gone down in quality, while the price of almost everything had gone up. There are very few girls in town, and those that are in town are hard core pros. The days of fresh faced latinas in booty shorts strolling the streets at dusk while guys sipped beers under palm trees are over. The street scene is dead. Passions expanded, and a similar club opened up, but being the only sources of women, guys barfine the girls quick, and most girls are mediocre looking at best and act bored. Got one massage, it was terrible from start to finish, and didn't get another. Go in after 10, and see how many girls are there (guys looking at each other while a few ugly girls dance around). Some people say whats the difference between 50 girls or 200. But economics will say if there is 50 girls instead of 200, they get to charge more and work less because they know there is less competition.

The evening scene doesn't get going till after midnight. Went to classicos for three nights. Gets busy after midnight, but very little to no talent. One or two girls with cute faces, but the bodies just arent tight. Took one girl home, and instantly regretted it, sent her packing ASAP and didn't take home another girl. If you like girls with big breasts, and 20 extra pounds, then you might enjoy this spot, but thats not my style. To be blunt I only travel for absolute talent. 9-10's, nothing else. Rio used to be a big destination of mine, till the Mayor / Gov cracked down there too. I saw what happened in Rio, and for those that didn't you can see it now in Sosua. 5 years ago, you could get model level girls at the beach for $100 reals, last time I went in 2009, there were girls inside Help asking for $400, and believe me, they were no models. A combination of economics (our falling dollar, and their rising economy) , put an end to what had been before one of the greatest arbitrage dating opportunities the world had ever seen.

Police are also on the scene in Sosua. Don't know about you, but when I am on vacation, I don't want trucks filled with guys and automatic weapons tearing around the streets. Kind of ruins the whole caribbean tranquility thing. Also saw a lot of regular tourists on the beach in Sosua. Didn't used to see a lot of that in the heyday. There were lots of college kids from the US who dared to venture "off the resort".

I took the trip out of nostalgia and as something to get me through a tough period of work, as many of my friends swore off DR long ago, and I'm afraid I have now joined their growing ranks. If your not discerning about the women, and are happy with a point and click environment like blackbeards or New Garden, then there still might be a year or two left for you. For those that travel in search of the best parties, hottest women, and unbelievable scenery, then its time to move on. There are still some spots in Asia which offer unbelievable opportunity, and after seeing what's happened on this side of globe, I'm going to enjoy every last minute of it, because as things are going, the hot sun will soon leave the puddle dry.

Mack Dad, you sure know how to make like difficult for yourself. Not my idea of a holiday. Don't blame the DR for that.

Mack Dad good report thanks for posting. But you need to do a little more"advanced thinking". No money at the airport after 48 visits, no motoconcho change etc. And I read some of your previous reports (which were good) and you always have problems with what ATMs charge. Don't sweat the small stuff.

And don't worry about Sir Charles. He was recently admitted to the retirement home but has a habit of walking off and finding a computer to say some silly shit. When I get thru typing I will call the retirement center and let them know he is loose.

Thanks for your report Wallstreet. Yes, it seems our mongering options (at least in the Western Hemisphere) are shrinking. Rio is just too expensive. Sosua is enduring a crackdown. Colombia is starting to be overrun with gringos with the resulting price rises and decline in service.

Where do you go in Asia that still meets your stardards? I've only mongered in Thailand, which is certainly fantastic. But with the long plane ride, one needs at least two weeks to make it worth it.

Thanks for the reports Mack Dad and Wallstreet.

I was getting ready to try the Dr / Sosua because my last trip to Cartagena was somewhat like your reports.

Maybe its time to make a long trip to Thailand.

Cheers

1) Raincoats. I like the crowns!

2) La Pela, goes in contingency with the Crowns, LOL.

3) I'd lube for some of those dry chochas and some good pounding! (goes together with the crowns and la pelas)

4) Some left over pesos and small USA bills for skycap, visa and $20 taxi rideo to sosua.

5) and Finally a fucking PEN for all of those fucking papers and slips you need to fill out. LOL Believe me this will cut down 20 minutes waiting for a pen or space at the immigration counters.

I will be arriving in Sosua at the end of the month and was planning on staying for at least a week. But I must say my expectations have gone down somewhat after reading so many negative posts about there being less chicas around, the police crackdown / corruption and hassling tourists etc. A place where you can't even get the chance to run into a nice chica just walking along, without her getting arrested for being alone, that sounds strange!

If things are getting so bad there in Sosua for the Chica's, apart from the deported Haitians, where have all the freelancers gone? They must have gone somewhere, Cabarate, Puerta Plata, Boca Chica, Santo Domingo? Have there been police crackdowns in other areas as well?

Regarding Mack Dad's recent posting, did the security guy really point a gun at the head of the motoconcho guys, what am I getting myself into? Are the police also becoming more corrupt than they used to be? I have only been to the DR once before for a week in 2000, and was in the whole area along the coast from Santa Domingo to Punta Cana. I rode the local buses, I walked at night alone in Santo Domingo a few times. I never had any problems. Have things got a lot more dangerous in the DR in the last 10 years, or is the north coast, and Sosua in particular another animal all together, a more dodgy place? I am generally the kind of guy who can avoid trouble, but I must say that years of travelling and mongering in Spain and Latin America have given me a confidence which I think could get me into trouble in Sosua and the DR in general. For example if somebody tries it on with me my instinct would be one of the following; to ignore them, give them a dirty look, say 'what is your problem? ' or tell them where to go, which has always worked. But maybe such a reaction in Sosua could get you beaten up or worse? I am certainly no hard man, no pun intended, it is all a front.

On another issue, it seems to me the car rental prices in the DR are a rip off and the logistics can be a pain. In Spain I can rent a good small car for around 130 Euro for a week, everything included, that is about the price for 2 or 3 days in the DR! Obviously the insurance premiums are ridiculous in the DR because of the state of the roads / amounts of accidents etc. Plus these drop fees are also a bad joke.

I am the kind of guy who cannot be bothered with con men, taxi's and motoconcho's ripping you off etc, and prefer to walk 2 miles than bother with the taxi if it is too much hassle. But I am not sure if it is possible to enjoy yourself in Sosua without going through all this endless hassle?

Now that my trip to the DR is impending, I am getting more nervous about some practical things. I was wondering if anybody knows if you can use European bank cards with MAESTRO or CIRRUS signs in the DR, as withdrawing cash from Credit cards is too expensive. I'm going to bring some cash, but I'm not the type of guy to walk around with loads of cash on me. As regards health, what is the incidence of food poisoning like? What kind of precautions should I take except from he obvious ones, like not drinking the water.

[QUOTE=Mr Gogo; 1116251]Mack Dad good report thanks for posting. But you need to do a little more"advanced thinking". No money at the airport after 48 visits, no motoconcho change etc. And I read some of your previous reports (which were good) and you always have problems with what ATMs charge. Don't sweat the small stuff.

And don't worry about Sir Charles. He was recently admitted to the retirement home but has a habit of walking off and finding a computer to say some silly shit. When I get thru typing I will call the retirement center and let them know he is loose. [/QUOTE]I don't have the luxury of planning my trips weeks or months in advance. We do things on the fly and It was a last minute trip that was decided on Friday and Saturday we were on the plane. Like all things it really slipped the mind. God knows how many ATMs I walked by in the US before boarding the plane.

The issue I have with the ATMs in DR now is some limit 2000 pesos per transaction and then tack on a 150 peso atm fee. If had to withdrawal 10, 000 pesos I would have to do it in 5 transactions I would have given the bank 750 pesos. I would say is bump the limit up so I can make one withdrawal and not get nickel and dime.

[QUOTE=Mack Dad; 1116386]I don't have the luxury of planning my trips weeks or months in advance. We do things on the fly and It was a last minute trip that was decided on Friday and Saturday we were on the plane. Like all things it really slipped the mind. God knows how many ATMs I walked by in the US before boarding the plane.

The issue I have with the ATMs in DR now is some limit 2000 pesos per transaction and then tack on a 150 peso atm fee. If had to withdrawal 10, 000 pesos I would have to do it in 5 transactions I would have given the bank 750 pesos. I would say is bump the limit up so I can make one withdrawal and not get nickel and dime.[/QUOTE]The Banco Leon machines only gave me 2000 pesos at a time. For me and other guys, we have to choose Spanish as the transaction language to get the ATM machines to give us money in DR. Usually with Spanish chosen as the language, banco popular machines will give 5000 pesos per transaction (or more). ATM fees for me are about 5-6 US dollars per transaction.

The two thousand peso limit is a total rip off, because they know you will need to make several transactions and they will charge a fee on each transaction.

[QUOTE=Mack Dad;1116386]The issue I have with the ATMs in DR now is some limit 2000 pesos per transaction and then tack on a 150 peso atm fee. If had to withdrawal 10, 000 pesos I would have to do it in 5 transactions I would have given the bank 750 pesos.[/QUOTE]I noticed this my last trip also and it really pissed me off because I used to also do 10, 000RD per day. The only thing that saved me was that I took a good amount of cash and just exchanged it in the cambio's.

I know some people that also go into Banco Popular (next to Bailey's) with their passport and stand in line to do transfers from their checking accounts, but every time I've ever went inside the line was too damn long so I would just leave.

[quote=coupe66; 1116360]i will be arriving in sosua at the end of the month and was planning on staying for at least a week. but i must say my expectations have gone down somewhat after reading so many negative posts about there being less chicas around, the police crackdown / corruption and hassling tourists etc. a place where you can't even get the chance to run into a nice chica just walking along, without her getting arrested for being alone, that sounds strange!

if things are getting so bad there in sosua for the chica's, apart from the deported haitians, where have all the freelancers gone? they must have gone somewhere, cabarate, puerta plata, boca chica, santo domingo? have there been police crackdowns in other areas as well?

regarding mack dad's recent posting, did the security guy really point a gun at the head of the motoconcho guys, what am i getting myself into? are the police also becoming more corrupt than they used to be? i have only been to the dr once before for a week in 2000, and was in the whole area along the coast from santa domingo to punta cana. i rode the local buses, i walked at night alone in santo domingo a few times. i never had any problems. have things got a lot more dangerous in the dr in the last 10 years, or is the north coast, and sosua in particular another animal all together, a more dodgy place? i am generally the kind of guy who can avoid trouble, but i must say that years of travelling and mongering in spain and latin america have given me a confidence which i think could get me into trouble in sosua and the dr in general. for example if somebody tries it on with me my instinct would be one of the following; to ignore them, give them a dirty look, say 'what is your problem? ' or tell them where to go, which has always worked. but maybe such a reaction in sosua could get you beaten up or worse? i am certainly no hard man, no pun intended, it is all a front.

on another issue, it seems to me the car rental prices in the dr are a rip off and the logistics can be a pain. in spain i can rent a good small car for around 130 euro for a week, everything included, that is about the price for 2 or 3 days in the dr! obviously the insurance premiums are ridiculous in the dr because of the state of the roads / amounts of accidents etc. plus these drop fees are also a bad joke.

i am the kind of guy who cannot be bothered with con men, taxi's and motoconcho's ripping you off etc, and prefer to walk 2 miles than bother with the taxi if it is too much hassle. but i am not sure if it is possible to enjoy yourself in sosua without going through all this endless hassle?

now that my trip to the dr is impending, i am getting more nervous about some practical things. i was wondering if anybody knows if you can use european bank cards with maestro or cirrus signs in the dr, as withdrawing cash from credit cards is too expensive. i'm going to bring some cash, but i'm not the type of guy to walk around with loads of cash on me. as regards health, what is the incidence of food poisoning like? what kind of precautions should i take except from he obvious ones, like not drinking the water. [/quote]you will be fine in dr.

rental car prices with a company like alamo, about $40 per day which includes all insurance. my mastercard provides insurance in case the car is stolen and i pay about $8 dollars per day for third party liability insurance (in case someone gets injured in an accident with the car). i have rented over 20 times with alamo in the dr (at puerto plata airport and santo domingo airport) and never had a problem. i like having the freedom that a car gives me in dr. i can go and drive and see some chica or visit some tourist site or drive to the other side of the country. most highways are in good shape with not much traffic. it is almost therapeutic driving on a nice road in the sun, you can listen to music that you burned on compact discs and think about things.

at night the police in santo domingo have stopped me while i was driving, sometimes i will give them a few dollars and be on my way, other times i give them nothing.

the motoconcho guy who expected 100 pesos for a short ride is a thief. a short ride on a motorcycle taxi (motoconcho) is 20-25 pesos (50 pesos if you want to be generous). the driver of that moto was being a total ass trying to charge 100 pesos and the watchieman (security guard) was right to protect the hotel guest.

dr is a little like the wild west, you will see firearms. plenty of europeans live in sosua and other areas of the north coast and love it there. 90% or more of the people are not looking for trouble. everywhere there are a few knuckleheads. if you are lucky, your trip will be free of knuckleheads.

if you are an average tourist minding your business, no one will bother you (if you are worried about the police, stop and buy a bottle of water for 5 pesos and give it to a police officer in the street, more than likely that police officer will remember you and be friendly with you). i really don't believe the police will bother you if you are just walking around. guys driving cars or guys on motos, the police may stop; if you don't have a seat belt on, talking on a cell and driving, no helmet while operating a motorcycle are reasons they might stop a person.

if you use a moto driver and the guy is honest with you, you can use him throughout your trip. sosua is small, you can walk everywhere in sosua, day or night.

you have to be firm, so people don't try to take advantage. you can be nice when you are around people who are also nice. when you have tigers or sharks around, you have to be tough.