Rio de Janeiro Reports

[QUOTE=RamDavidson84;3083925]I think there's a market for it, I think Dolce is its own worst enemy. I spent a month in Rio. I would have went there more, but there was always hidden fees and up charges and stupid shit like that.[/QUOTE]I always have fun at Dolce Vita and I agree with your assessment. Despite its imperfections it's pretty much the only game in town of that nature so I put up with it. They hit the guys hard because I don't think the girls pay for entrance or drinks so if they got the girls you got to pay, if you want to dance someone has to pay the band. My biggest problem with the place is you can't get there before midnight, that's a tough nut to crack a few nights in a row, it starts to wear on you.

[QUOTE=RioBob;3084011]Help had a 25 year lease and that's how long it lasted. I was there when it opened and closed. The government closed it down using eminent domain so the owners of Help had no choice but to close. They were looking to get rid of the eyesore in preparation for the World Cup and the Olympics. Also the Othon hotel chain was suffering and was trying to get it closed for years, as soon as it closed many government officials had generous shares in the hotel chain. Plus since the dollar was weak at the time business was off and their payola was down so it provided no value anymore.[/QUOTE]For the community, closing it was the best thing that could have happened.

[QUOTE=Pascoal2000;3084074]For the community, closing it was the best thing that could have happened.[/QUOTE]What was so bad about it? I never had the opportunity to go but seems like its not much different than dolce vita, but larger. Its not like Copacobana is the nice part of town.

Are they serious about not accepting a photo of your passport page? They want a page scan and state that "photograph of passport copy is not accepted". Nothing about a photograph of the actual passport, though. Just trying to gauge how anal they really are.

[QUOTE=Kazeu;3084195]What was so bad about it? I never had the opportunity to go but seems like its not much different than dolce vita, but larger. Its not like Copacobana is the nice part of town.[/QUOTE]I have no idea what the OP means, but I could never stand the volume. It was earsplitting, or at least it felt that way to me. One involuntary benefit that many punters have gotten from Help's demise is they live their lives tinnitus-free, LOL.

As for your comparison with DV, hell no. Not even close. You could've pulled three girls at Help for the price of DV, if not more.

[QUOTE=Xpartan;3084216]Are they serious about not accepting a photo of your passport page? They want a page scan and state that "photograph of passport copy is not accepted". Nothing about a photograph of the actual passport, though. Just trying to gauge how anal they really are.[/QUOTE]I recently went through the process. They wanted a regular passport photo, like the one you would get from an outside sourse.

Instead, I used my camera and used a selfie to submit mine; that is the picture I have on my visa.

You will also need to upload a color picture of your passport.

[QUOTE=Xpartan;3084216]Are they serious about not accepting a photo of your passport page? They want a page scan and state that "photograph of passport copy is not accepted". Nothing about a photograph of the actual passport, though. Just trying to gauge how anal they really are.[/QUOTE]I can't answer your question because I took them for their word and didn't test them. I had a great photo of my bio page, but went ahead and did a scan of it and submitted that. This is a part of what I meant about the process being a bit of a nuisance. But if you don't want your application rejected, it's best to just go ahead and provide what they ask for to the letter.

[QUOTE=Kazeu;3084195]What was so bad about it? I never had the opportunity to go but seems like its not much different than dolce vita, but larger. Its not like Copacobana is the nice part of town.[/QUOTE]The building looked bad and gave the city a horrible atmosphere.

[QUOTE=Xpartan;3084216]Are they serious about not accepting a photo of your passport page? They want a page scan and state that "photograph of passport copy is not accepted". Nothing about a photograph of the actual passport, though. Just trying to gauge how anal they really are.[/QUOTE]I found them very anal. 2 selfies shot with my Samsung Galaxy S21 ultra were rejected. Finally, a shot taken with my Nikon DSLR was accepted.

[QUOTE=RamDavidson84;3083925]I think there's a market for it, I think Dolce is its own worst enemy. I spent a month in Rio. I would have went there more, but there was always hidden fees and up charges and stupid shit like that. The other problem was Rio is just so big and there are a lot of venues spread out all over the city. You had the clubs in Lapa, Perollo Negra South of Copa Cabana, there was that one. Big club which was half free lancers / half normal girls- forget the name. 4 x 4 to the North of Copa Cabana. All the termas also eat into business. There are plenty of women in Rio lookin to make money the old fashion way and if someone got the right set up and could ru the business right with honest and affordable upfront pricing with out the games, it would be a big win for all involved. Look at how well Scandallo does in Sao Paulo. There absolutely should be a similar spot in Rio which could rival it. I think what would happen is, it would probably lead to a few of the smaller clubs closing down, but those smaller holes in the wall suck anyway and are hard to find without research and having time to explore.

Some things change, but some things will always be the same. Dudes want beautiful women, Latinas want to get paid to play when they got bills piling up.[/QUOTE]Once again, the discussion of Help brings back memories for many of us.

I don't think on-line hook-ups are any match for the speed and convenience of a meat market. I say meat market will all due respect and deference. Most mongers aren't going to put in the advance time to make arrangements on-line. Help offered a guaranteed party and hook-up every night of the week.

RamD, you make some good points about the Rio talent pool and scene. I would add that Help's talent was drawn nationally similar to the popular Sao Paulo boates. An entire beach-sex destination sprung up around Help. Guys came for the girls. More Brazilian girls came to meet the demand. Everyone enjoyed the sun, the beach and the girls. Seasonal demand during the Northern Hemisphere's winters brought even more girls. Apartment buildings around Help became honey hives stacked with sexy women from all over the country.

Sadly for all these reasons, I don't think the city will allow this spectacle establishing itself again. I remember Western women complaining to me that scantily clad, young women were making arrangements right on the beach a few feet away from them. Some of these Western women were simply resentful that beautiful women were giving it up for a few bucks.

[QUOTE=Pascoal2000;3084246]The building looked bad and gave the city a horrible atmosphere.[/QUOTE]I thought the building looked like any other disco.

I think the spectacle outside Help at night and the beach and cafes during the day certainly impacted the atmosphere.

[QUOTE=AxelHeyst;3084260]I found them very anal. 2 selfies shot with my Samsung Galaxy S21 ultra were rejected. Finally, a shot taken with my Nikon DSLR was accepted.[/QUOTE]Same here had initial trouble with acceptable foto for evisa. I had to use an enhanced Hi-res photograph for E-Visa.

The anal retentive contiuned with CPF application.

Approval delayed by 24 hours to check all of my signatures matched signature page of passport page. I was delayed getting fast approval because of anything with my signature needed to look the same where.

[QUOTE=Tochka;3084332]Same here had initial trouble with acceptable foto for evisa. I had to use an enhanced Hi-res photograph for E-Visa.

The anal retentive contiuned with CPF application.

Approval delayed by 24 hours to check all of my signatures matched signature page of passport page. I was delayed getting fast approval because of anything with my signature needed to look the same where.[/QUOTE]Once you understand that the true purpose of the Brazilian eVisa is to hassle Americans, Canadians, and Australians, everything about the process makes more sense.

[QUOTE=CatBert55;3084333]Once you understand that the true purpose of the Brazilian eVisa is to hassle Americans, Canadians, and Australians, everything about the process makes more sense.[/QUOTE]Well not exactly. They implemented the requirement based on the principle of reciprocity. For example, the United States requires Brazilians who want to visit to have visas, so Brazil requires Americans to have a visa too. Based on reciprocity, if the United States dropped its visa requirement, then Brazil would drop its as well for Americans. It wasn't always this way, but things changed with the return of Lula to office. I'm glad most nations around the world don't operate off of strict reciprocity. Otherwise, I would need a damn visa to go to all kinds of places since the States has a visa requirement for citizens from a boat load of countries, even just for tourism.

[QUOTE=TheCane;3084335]Well not exactly. They implemented the requirement based on the principle of reciprocity. For example, the United States requires Brazilians who want to visit to have visas, so Brazil requires Americans to have a visa too. Based on reciprocity, if the United States dropped its visa requirement, then Brazil would drop its as well for Americans. It wasn't always this way, but things changed with the return of Lula to office. I'm glad most nations around the world don't operate off of strict reciprocity. Otherwise, I would need a damn visa to go to all kinds of places since the States has a visa requirement for citizens from a boat load of countries, even just for tourism.[/QUOTE]Of course it's reciprocity but I think you slightly miss my point. Brazil believes (rightly IMO) that they belong in the community of nations whose citizens can travel relatively easily within that community. The Brazilians don't want it to be super easy like getting an ETA or ETIAS or ESTA. They want Americans, Canadians, and Australians to feel some pain. Of course, they don't make it as painful for us as we do for them because they want our tourism more than we want theirs. But still, the hassle is the point.