Bogota Reports

I'm open to hear any theories of why the music in Troya is so freaking loud! LOL.

[QUOTE=VW1936;2958251]I'm open to hear any theories of why the music in Troya is so freaking loud! LOL.[/QUOTE]Because it is not a romantic night club where to whisper love words.

[QUOTE=MiamiBoy1;2957639]You got to decline the conversion rate that is offered to you by the bank / ATM. Even if you decline, you will still be able to pull the money out. At a much better rate (usually previous day's spot rate).[/QUOTE]I really cannot understand why this topic comes out every now and then. It should be very well known by everyone travelling outside his / her own country, that withdrawing money from an ATM usually offers the options:

1) CREDIT. Advance cash from credit card. Never choose this. It has 4% advance cash fee, on top of any conversion fees and bank fees.

2) DEBIT. This is the option to select. Money is taken immediately from the bank account. No 4% fee, but there are conversion fees and bank fees depending on the bank (it could be local bank fee PLUS your bank fee).

CONVERSION OFFERED to your home currency.

NEVER accept. The conversion fee is some 10% higher than the regular rate. Some people takes this option, for ignorance or because they like to see immediately how much money they are withdrawing from the account. I understand that the rates reported by Gauntman are these ones.

Without this option selected, the amount is converted to the currency of your home bank account based on standard inter-bank rates of the time of the day you withdraw. The rate is the one given by the MasterCard or VISA circuits, in most cases, and it is some 1%-2% higher than the average mid-point rate you see on [URL]xe.com[/URL] or [URL]yahoo.com[/URL].

The difference between the option "conversion/no conversion" is striking! It could be some 10% overall. Please note that the same conversion option is also offered often when you pay by credit card in a shop, restaurant, hotel. "Sir, you want to be charged in EUR or COP?". If you do not mind, your expense on your credit card statement will be up to 10% higher than without conversion... Beware.

[QUOTE=PhisherMan2;2958248]I'm wrapping up a 3 night stay and was very happy with the trip. I stayed at the NH Pavilion near Parque 93. Inexpensive and didn't charge extra for a guest. My plan was to hit a casa or visit a spinner on the escort sites but things changed after meeting a seeking girl for dinner on the first night. I really like the area around the hotel. It's upscale and I felt safe.

I chatted with many women on seeking and tinder. In general, there's a wide selection but they ask for $150 and up for a couple of hours. I am OK with the amounts but I am looking for more of a connection. Someone I can return to or take a trip with. I gave up on those sites but I did keep one conversation alive with a 23 year old spinner. We agreed to meet for dinner with no mention of $$.

She shows up on time looking hot. She has decent English and tells me she cleared out her weekend for me. Doesn't want money and says she makes a good living. I need to mention that in mid 60's in good shape but not a chick magnet. My past experiences with international arrangements and dating has been good but nobody that I wanted to repeat with.

Long story short is I insist on paying her something for lost work and we head back to the hotel. She's well under 5 feet tall and thin. Just amazing to look at and complete GFE, doesn't say no to anything and stays until I call her an Uber. I slip her $150 for 4 hrs.

We meet again Sunday. 12 hrs together and another amazing time screwing, napping and good restaurants. It turns out she's a web cam personality with a loyal following. I can't explain how she ends up with me. She can't travel outside Colombia and at best I can return 3 x a year. The best I can figure is that we were honest before meeting and I treated her gently. I put $200 in COP in her purse. I am going to do my best to see her again. Apologies for not sharing her contact info.

I should mention that I found reviews of casas and independent escorts on two Colombian websites. [URL]Catadorcolombia.com[/URL] is mostly active in Medellin but does cover Bogota. Even better was [URL]foroprepagoscolombia.com[/URL] for recent info on spas, casas and independents. Overall, I am very happy with everything I did in Bogota and will return after following up with some unfinished business in Medellin. Colombia is pretty amazing.[/QUOTE]Got her ID number or link to SA?

[QUOTE=AddictedToWomen;2957378]A guy I know was attacked by a group of trans whilst walking on Caracas in the same area, blocked the knife to the chest by taking it in the arm. Fucked up his arm but he lived.[/QUOTE]I was a frequent traveler to Peru and Brazil for a lot of years, I moved my tack to Colombia in 2008. I have been visiting Colombia, mostly Bogota many many times per year. Colombia is inherently dangerous, Bogota more so since Covid and an influx of Venezuelan gangs. Went to SF twice in 10 year of travel but its not my thing. Woodman showed me around the first time and he can help newbies hit the ground running if that's your thing but by no means believe SF is safe. Always Always stay alert everywhere you go more so the further south you go the more dangerous it gets. Nothing ruins a trip like getting mugged, hurt or killed. . a note for the members who say I walk everywhere and nothing has happened, that maybe so but it's just a matter of time if you do. Stay Safe.

I am always late when it comes to writing these reports. This one is from Monday September 16. I must have walked down to Santa Fe from my Airbnb about 9:30 pm. I went looking for the barbecue guy down at Troya, but I think he is closed on Mondays. There was plenty of action out.

Walking down one of the side streets I passed by a chick that was about 7 feet tall (okay, really about 6'3 or so) and super skinny. She looked like a tall ass skeleton. I walked up and stood on the corner for a while, but kept looking back at her. I like tall chicks. I do not like really skinny chicks. But this chick was in fetish territory. Plus she was really cute. I thought to myself that I need to put her on my checklist.

Soon, I went back to talk to her. 40,000 pesos plus 10,000 pesos for the room. Deal. She was really sweet. 23 years old from Venezuela of course. Her body was really cold from standing out there with shorts on. Do those chicks really need to dress like hookers in order for guys to want to pick them up? Not from my perspective. Actually the ones that I do not want are the ones standing out there with some lingerie or whatever on looking like a plum fool.

Anyway the deed was done and I gave her the 40. No need for any of that tip bullshit. I would definitely repeat. If you are in Santa Fe, you can not miss this girl. She will literally be the tallest AND thinnest human in the neighborhood.

So I walked around a bit more and noticed the tall skinny chick was not at her perch. Maybe she took the money and ran. Nope. I soon saw her buying a bag of dinner from one of the vendors on the sidewalk. I was hungry my damn self, so I went by the chicken spot Tenedores. They stay busy and the food is always fresh out the grease, too hot to eat.

When I finished eating, I hit the streets again. Saw a scantily clad chick on the same out of the way street that I found the first chick. I told her Hello, but kept walking. I soon came back to her and asked her how much she wanted. She said 50,000 and she will pay for the room. I said let's go. She started walking in one direction, but double back. I said what is wrong? She said she wanted to go to a room where time is not an issue. We went to a place around the corner where there are usually transvestites hanging in front of.

Got to the room and it was game on. This chick was acting like I was her long lost lover. BBBJ, licking my ass, fucked her in the ass. I had to beat her off of me. In the end she wanted to stay there and cuddle. I am trying to send subliminal signals to the hotel guy to come knock on the door, but nothing.

She was from Venezuela too. She is working the streets because her sister had cancer and they had to borrow money from the mafia for the surgery. I said huh. I thought that kind of shit was free in Venezuela. She said hell no. They want the money up front and in USD. I forgot how much she told me she had to borrow. (See if I had written the report back when it happened, then I would know.) But I want to say 7 million pesos and she said she has to pay it back 250,000 pesos every day. She lives in Santa Fe with her mom.

This lady was holding on to me like there was no tomorrow. After 1 hour and 40 minutes of nobody coming to knock on the door, I finally said look lady I have to go. I got up and put my clothes on and asked how much I owed her. She said 100,000. Gladly. It was well worth it.

I walked downstairs and the hotel guy was in a chair asleep. I went outside and it was raining. The place was now a ghost town. It was 1:40 am. I walked back to my Airbnb taking these pictures with my top of the line Samsung as I have had no problem doing for the past almost 20 years.

The next morning I headed out in Indrive at 9 am. He drove through Santa Fe. Man I have never seen so many people out there in my life. It was more wide open than a Friday night. I think we have been going to Santa Fe for the street chicks at the wrong time. Mid morning looks to be when you will be like a hog in slop and get the pick of the litter. I guess that will also be a big advantage to the guys who are scared to go at night.

[QUOTE=MongerHunger;2956305]I had just finished getting my hair cut at the barber shop near the Monaco Building in the South Stroll and was walking up to Calle 20 when I heard a commotion and glass breaking ahead. Alot of screaming and yelling and people were running in all directions and then people started converging on the corner of Calle 20 and Carrera 14. I seen a crowd surrounding a guy on the ground in a pool of blood. What I could see through the crowd was this guy had a hole in his neck and blood was pumping out as he was bleeding out. A terrible scene and chaos to say the least. No police around at all even though they had did a bust on that corner about 30 minutes earlier. At one point it seemed that he had stopped breathing. Multiple people were calling emergency services on their phones but it was too late. You guys that live in Bogota and frequent Santa Fe can confirm this with your sources because I seen it with my own eyes. Be careful out there and be aware.[/QUOTE]Honestly this shit reads way too wild for me. I am currently planning a trip but I am genuinely scared if this is something that actually happens on the streets. Who the fuck wants to go to this awful place for some pussy. ?

[QUOTE=Argo1990;2958515]Honestly this shit reads way too wild for me. I am currently planning a trip but I am genuinely scared if this is something that actually happens on the streets. Who the fuck wants to go to this awful place for some pussy. ?[/QUOTE]I've been to Bogota more times than I can count on my fingers and toes and I've never been stabbed and left to leak out on the pavement. That being said, watch out for the Venecos, they are ruthless. They aren't all bad people some are hard working and somewhat honest, but alot of them are lacking in the ethics department. And once you cross Caracas keep your head on a swivel, I think you're more likely to be a victim of petty crime than violent crime though.

-Gabacho.

[QUOTE=MrEnternational;2958492]I am always late when it comes to writing these reports.[/QUOTE]No worries about writing the late report. It was a great read.

I plan to head back in March. I felt like I only touched the surface during my last trip.

Never saw the BBQ dule, will look for him.

Were there any midgets to be found?

Thank you my brother!

[QUOTE=Argo1990;2958515]Honestly this shit reads way too wild for me. I am currently planning a trip but I am genuinely scared if this is something that actually happens on the streets. Who the fuck wants to go to this awful place for some pussy. ? [/QUOTE]That shit was definitely wild to see in person. I usually hang out in the South Stroll area and this was the first time I've seen a murder in Santa Fe. I've seen fights, arguments and drug dealing before in Santa Fe. I always get my haircut at the barber shop near the Monaco Building where a few youngsters cut hair. There's a guy that has one leg there but I get my haircut by the guy with 3 crosses tatted on his neck. I also hit the bar down and across the street with the pool tables called Bar de Tejo El Sotano. Everything was cool up until that bullshit happened. It's still fresh in my memory.

[QUOTE=TomJackin;2958549]Never saw the BBQ dule, will look for him.[/QUOTE]The back side of Troya (or maybe that is the front). The side where you can enter all of the clubs. It is like a driveway or garage. His place is there. You get a plate of meat and potatoes for like 30,000 pesos. I always try to talk him down, but he is always like this is the minimum. And he insists that you try before you buy. Evidently it is this Alejandro Brazas & Sabores place that is on google maps.

[QUOTE=TomJackin;2958549]Were there any midgets to be found?[/QUOTE]If there were, you know I would have gotten one for Long Time!

I'll be coming to Santa Fe, Bogota for the first time. Asking for suggestions which area to get a hotel or Airbnb at that is close to where the chicas on the street stand around.

[QUOTE=Combo;2957634]I don't get this. On all my trips to ATMs in Colombia I've gotten the interbank rate, which would be the 4418 you quoted at first. They do charge me a bank / ATM fee, but my Schwab account refunds that to me.[/QUOTE]I also have a Schwab card / account and I do get the 50% rebate, however, the rate is always changing. Per Google, at this very moment the exchange rate is 4402.81, I do have to get some pocket cash to go out, so I'll report what is the current rate later in the evening or tomorrow morning.

[QUOTE=BlackPage;2958265]I really cannot understand why this topic comes out every now and then. It should be very well known by everyone travelling outside his / her own country, that withdrawing money from an ATM usually offers the options:

1) CREDIT. Advance cash from credit card. Never choose this. It has 4% advance cash fee, on top of any conversion fees and bank fees.

2) DEBIT. This is the option to select. Money is taken immediately from the bank account. No 4% fee, but there are conversion fees and bank fees depending on the bank (it could be local bank fee PLUS your bank fee).

CONVERSION OFFERED to your home currency.

NEVER accept. The conversion fee is some 10% higher than the regular rate. Some people takes this option, for ignorance or because they like to see immediately how much money they are withdrawing from the account. I understand that the rates reported by Gauntman are these ones.

Without this option selected, the amount is converted to the currency of your home bank account based on standard inter-bank rates of the time of the day you withdraw. The rate is the one given by the MasterCard or VISA circuits, in most cases, and it is some 1%-2% higher than the average mid-point rate you see on [URL]xe.com[/URL] or [URL]yahoo.com[/URL].

The difference between the option "conversion/no conversion" is striking! It could be some 10% overall. Please note that the same conversion option is also offered often when you pay by credit card in a shop, restaurant, hotel. "Sir, you want to be charged in EUR or COP?". If you do not mind, your expense on your credit card statement will be up to 10% higher than without conversion... Beware.[/QUOTE]Nice to know! I'll check this in a few minutes as I need to get some pocket cash.

[QUOTE=MiamiBoy1;2957639]You got to decline the conversion rate that is offered to you by the bank / ATM. Even if you decline, you will still be able to pull the money out. At a much better rate (usually previous day's spot rate).[/QUOTE]I just got back from the ATM and indeed, if you decline the conversion rate offered by the ATM, you still get your money but the receipt will not show you the conversion rate. I'll need to wait until the withdrawal reflects on my online banking.