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[QUOTE=GrownMan1;1547236]Really? I don't know if you're lucky or just very fortunate.[/QUOTE]It really is no state secret. One can follow what Charles Pooter or Frannie wrote only recently and avoid most of the pitfalls and I am not speaking of DR alone (although the Haitian women part would be relevant in the DR from Pooter's perspective, I guess).
Excellent, balanced, thoughtful and level headed assessment from a "newbie". Should help calm nerves of those waiting on the wings, that are scared by the "shenanigans" in the DR.
Only one comment: I only did Pto Pta airport once but at the other airports, they check your passport along with the $10 card. This is before the immigration queue so I cannot see how one can claim " naci en la capital" and get away.
[QUOTE=Rahsta;1547163]In 2009 a passport agent stamp my passport then pointed down to a note that said something like " Today is my birthday, can can you give me 100 pesos". She had the note out of site of everyone else. It was written in english. I just took my passport and kept it moving.[/QUOTE]Was she hot? LOL
Thanks Phuker!
[QUOTE=GrownMan1; 1547236]
[QUOTEI have yet to meet a Vet Besides yourself, That can give DR a squeaky clean pass. Most gives words of wisdom because they know Things can go ugly real fast. There are some members on this forum That dedicate a lot of their time writing just to help newbies avoid these pitfalls[/QUOTE]Count me in as another who has made multiple trips without any serious hassle.
Sosua is like a mirror, smile and it smiles back at you. If you have a negative attitude it will inevitably throw more shit back at you.
That's the thing about Sosua, we all go down there with different attitudes and expectations.
I read this the other day, and I think it applies.
"Mommy, why do all the idiots come out when Daddy's driving?"
If you are a 50 plus guy who wants to have sex with attractive young girls look no further. For thirty dollars they will rock your world. If you really try you can not have a good time I think. There is a constant flow of new women.
[QUOTE=Oakie; 1547374]Count me in as another who has made multiple trips without any serious hassle.
Sosua is like a mirror, smile and it smiles back at you. If you have a negative attitude it will inevitably throw more shit back at you.
That's the thing about Sosua, we all go down there with different attitudes and expectations.
I read this the other day, and I think it applies.
"Mommy, why do all the idiots come out when Daddy's driving?"[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE=OldKool;1547388]If you are a 50 plus guy who wants to have sex with attractive young girls look no further. For thirty dollars they will rock your world. If you really try you can not have a good time I think. There is a constant flow of new women.[/QUOTE]I'm nearly 70 and the chicas here can't get enough of me!
[QUOTE=Oakie;1547367]Was she hot? LOL[/QUOTE]To find an ally at the airport, that's like about 2 bucks, cheap, and you'll get a killer smile, don't forget to leave the name of the hotel where you are at, maybe a sister or cousin will show up, then another bit of advice: on the street make eye contact, bingo, a telephone # and name, my address book is unending, so many, so little time. And pesos
Phuquer, excellent informative report with one exception. Advising people to lie to the first "official" you meet in the DR just to save 10 bucks is just plain wrong. Besides, regardless of what the guy told you, in order to enter without paying for a tourist card you must be a citizen which means you must enter on a Dominican passport.
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If you look Hispanic, can pass for Hispanic, or can speak decent Spanish, try telling him 'Yo naci en la Capital'. He asked me if I was born here and my instinctive response was to say I was not. I paid the $10 then asked him if I said I was would he let me pass. He said he would have taken me on my word. Next time I'll try not to pay.
Manizales911, you're probably right. But I did mention that I did have a US passport and he said it didn't matter. He was the one that told me that I should have said I was born there.
[QUOTE=Frannie;1547054]I am not so sure that the average business person in the DR has an expensive phone. When I have seen them with smart phones, they are usually the cheaper models, and anyway if you have the really expensive ones insurance is available including for robbery.[/quote]Of course you arent sure. But one doesn't have to be sure, just aware that enough individuals in the DR own and carry expensive phones. So there is no reason to be all paranoid over bringing ones phone or other gadgets with them on vacation as if nobody else in the DR has the same stuff.
[quote]Anyway if you are willing to lay down your life for your cell phone, then good luck with that, and you won't be the first.[/quote]Thats just an asinine statement not worth addressing.
[quote]People are asking how to avoid these kind of catastrophes in the DR. Yes, one method of risk management is to lock up your valuable stuff carefully, but another is simply don't bring it down in the first place, thus sidestepping the whole issue.[/quote]I think it's quite apparent people can chose either option. However for those individuals who arent easily swayed by vets with an agenda, they don't have to fear carrying and using their equipment while on vacation. Especially when enough chicas are walking around owning and carrying phones they don't want to lose either. The key issue here is, if you choose to bring your equipment on vacation, do so but don't do obvious stupid shit.
Any item left out in the open will garner the wrong type of attention. It doesn't have to be an expensive item. The key is to secure anything you value. If you don't need your phone or any other item while out of your spot / hotel, then leave it in your spot and / or lock it up.
[quote]Yes, you can bring your $700 phone if it is essential for whatever you need, or if the amount of money sunk in the phone is not significant to you, but just be aware that it is likely to attract interest of the wrong kind.[/QUOTE]The mere fact a person on vacation is there spending money, living in a hotel, can attract the interest of the wrong kind. You don't need an expensive item for that to happen. Whatever it is you are trying to deflect from, the bottom line is, it is not asinine to spend money on an expensive phone, nor is it to carry and use one while on vacation in the DR. If one chooses to leave their phone home, so be it. No shame in that. I still have a iphone 3gs that I used when I 1st came to Sosua. That was the expensive phone at that time. And yet I still have it. Same with my 1st gen ipad. Now with all that wrong kind of interest all around me, I should have had the shit stolen by now. But I don't live by individuals that say the sky is falling because they want to be an authority for the masses. I simply use basic common sense when it comes to anything, especially stuff in my possession. Most people losing stuff to theft is through not being aware of the company they keep or not securing their stuff. Issues I have not have had problems with since 2008 when I 1st started going to the DR.
[QUOTE=Charles Pooter; 1546651]No secret, but 99% of mongers seem to manage it OK. Alcoholics, racists, loud-mouths, exhibitionists, drug-takers, bullies, and the terminally stupid will usually find trouble eventually.
My tips to improve the odds in Sosua (cannot speak for other locations) :
1) Avoid "the Strip" [b]after 11. 30pm. Pretty harmless before then. [/b] That area attracts all the scum of the island, and a lot of scum from abroad.
2) Choose haitianas rather than dominicanas [b]all other factors being equal. [/b]
3) If you have to drink, do it by daylight. [b]By "drink", I mean in amounts which might affect your judgment. A couple of Cuba libres just to be sociable never hurt anyone. [/b]
4) Have as little contact with Dominicans as possible. [b]I mean those who try to attach themselves to you or offer "help". [/b][/QUOTE][QUOTE=Bimmy5;1547251]Except for perhaps No. 3 this is the worst advice I have ever seen. If you have to follow these rules why go to Sosua at all. I love Sosua but I couldn't if I followed these rules.[/QUOTE]Fair comment, Bimmy. I am sure 99% of guys have a good time in Sosua without following all my advice, and 90% have a good time without following any of it.
But remember the context in which I posted it. I was replying to someone who was so nervous after reading all the horror stories online that he might not visit the DR at all. Which would be a shame and quite unnecessary. I went way over the top to try and ensure a 99. 9% safe environment for him.
A quicker way would have been to say "go to Blackbeards or Field of Dreams" but from the tone of your post I would imagine you would be the first to agree that he would be missing out on a lot by doing that,
However you have shamed me into modifying my rather smartass and over-casual comments as above [b]in bold[/b].
Will be in Sosua April 4th. Flying into Santiago and taking the bus to Sosua. Is this considered low season now? I didn't book any hotels, I will do that when I get there. I'm hoping this is low season so there should be an abundance of rooms available. Any input would be appreciated concerning hotels during that time.
Thanks guys!
Reminds me of an older guy a while back who said he has never had a cell phone and can't understand why others own them. I'm sitting wih a chica in La Sirena in San Francisco and there is a table full of people playing with expensive devices.
[QUOTE=Manizales911; 1547405]Phuquer, excellent informative report with one exception. Advising people to lie to the first "official" you meet in the DR just to save 10 bucks is just plain wrong. Besides, regardless of what the guy told you, in order to enter without paying for a tourist card you must be a citizen which means you must enter on a Dominican passport.
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If you look Hispanic, can pass for Hispanic, or can speak decent Spanish, try telling him 'Yo naci en la Capital'. He asked me if I was born here and my instinctive response was to say I was not. I paid the $10 then asked him if I said I was would he let me pass. He said he would have taken me on my word. Next time I'll try not to pay.[/QUOTE]If you are born in the DR and have a US passport you do not pay for the 10 tourist Visa. I have a family member that was born in the DR has dual citizenship and no DR passport. He does not pay to enter only travels on his US passport.