General Info

[QUOTE=AndalusExpat;1939304]So am I headed into the back yard of the Cali Coke Cartels, or what? Are there bears? Can you get a decent beer?
[/QUOTE]I passed through Tulua once driving in a car between Cali and Pereira (10 years ago). Pretty easy drive, decent highway, no security issues whatsoever. Plenty of policia and militares posted along the highway occasionally, a couple of no-hassle checkpoints. I felt secure. I hung out in Cartago a bit, which looks similar to Tulua. Very sleepy, quiet place, I. E. , boring. I find Aguila and Club Colombia beers satisfactory.

Surprised it hasn't come up. But FYI will be watching closely today's peace vote with the FARC.

[QUOTE=Gimmedub;1944471]Surprised it hasn't come up. But FYI will be watching closely today's peace vote with the FARC.[/QUOTE]Gimmedub,

I've been avoiding posting here because of the petty snipes and put-downs if you suggest you are paying 5 k COP more than some other person, and I'm not going to delve into a whole political analysis. But in brief, the status quo (which won) is probably not so good for the country in general in the long run, but benefits us mongers.

For the rich and middle class, there's not much upside to the deal. For the poor it's a different story. No deal = no peace = less foreign investment & economic development = continued poverty and inequality.

I really doubt there will be a re-negotiation. It took way too many years to get to this point. They are not going to start the process again and hack away at it for another 2-3 years.

So that means the war continues. The deal sucked for sure, but it's naive (foolish even) to think a better deal could be had. It's also naive to think Uribe or his proteges can totally stamp out the FARC; they'll go deep underground, lash out from time to time, but they'll always be there in the background, getting what they can from the trafficking and kidnapping and "protection" biz.

Apologies if I sound too cynical or politically incorrect. Status quo means an ever refreshing supply of young girls for the hooker scene.

Call me evil, but I was actually starting to worry that a peace deal would spark an economic "renaissance" in the country which would mean less girls getting into the pay-for-play biz. It's kind of funny, but I actually felt a twinge of guilt that the country has (barely) chosen to stick with the status quo; instead of letting go of the past, they are still stuck in it. As I said, it does probably benefit us, and apologies again if that sounds a bit cynical.

[QUOTE=Phunluv;1944823]Gimmedub,

I've been avoiding posting here because of the petty snipes and put-downs if you suggest you are paying 5 k COP more than some other person, and I'm not going to delve into a whole political analysis. But in brief, the status quo (which won) is probably not so good for the country in general in the long run, but benefits us mongers.

For the rich and middle class, there's not much upside to the deal. For the poor it's a different story. No deal = no peace = less foreign investment & economic development = continued poverty and inequality.

I really doubt there will be a re-negotiation. It took way too many years to get to this point. They are not going to start the process again and hack away at it for another 2-3 years.

So that means the war continues. The deal sucked for sure, but it's naive (foolish even) to think a better deal could be had. It's also naive to think Uribe or his proteges can totally stamp out the FARC; they'll go deep underground, lash out from time to time, but they'll always be there in the background, getting what they can from the trafficking and kidnapping and "protection" biz.

Apologies if I sound too cynical or politically incorrect. Status quo means an ever refreshing supply of young girls for the hooker scene.

Call me evil, but I was actually starting to worry that a peace deal would spark an economic "renaissance" in the country which would mean less girls getting into the pay-for-play biz. It's kind of funny, but I actually felt a twinge of guilt that the country has (barely) chosen to stick with the status quo; instead of letting go of the past, they are still stuck in it. As I said, it does probably benefit us, and apologies again if that sounds a bit cynical.[/QUOTE]I too have followed the vote and have had many discussions with my Colombian friends about this. Sad but true and the status quo will continue and the up side is that the dollars to peso exchange can only get better.

TTM.

[QUOTE=TheTallMan;1945082]Sad but true and the status quo will continue and the up side is that the dollars to peso exchange can only get better.

TTM.[/QUOTE]Correct sir, the peso took a hit today so now is the time to buy pesos if you can.

If anyone cares, I did an experimental transaction at a Citibank machine on October 6. I withdrew 1,200,000 pesos and the the conversion was done at 2927. I may have been able to withdraw a larger amount, just not sure. The girl at the bank told me that each USA Bank has its own arrangement with Citi about limits. I am BofA in the USA The ATM charge was $5.00. I will be using CapOne soon. No extra charges after local ATM fee. (yes I know about Charles Schwab).

Dear gents,

I'm a experienced Asia visitor and know my way around there. But I like to give Central / South America a chance as well.

I don't speak Spanish, I would love to monger and do some sightseeing in cities. I tend to make a combination visit to Colombia and Cuba but I'm open to any other suggestions.

I would appreciate some help here what countries / places to visit.

Important for me: easy to find the freelancers? Affordable prices?

Thank you so much in advance.

[QUOTE=AsianHeat;1947226]Dear gents,

I'm a experienced Asia visitor and know my way around there. But I like to give Central / South America a chance as well.

I don't speak Spanish, I would love to monger and do some sightseeing in cities. I tend to make a combination visit to Colombia and Cuba but I'm open to any other suggestions.

I would appreciate some help here what countries / places to visit.

Important for me: easy to find the freelancers? Affordable prices?

Thank you so much in advance.[/QUOTE]If I did not speak Spanish (I do), and wanted to go to Latin America for the first time to monger and sight-see, I would go to Costa Rica. But the cities are not where the good sight-seeing is; however, it's a small country and many beautiful sight-seeing trips can be made from San José. I would say that the only Latin American country where less English is spoken than in Colombia would be Paraguay, or maybe Bolivia. Colombia is also more dangerous than most mongering destinations. If you want even more English than in Costa Rica, you could go to Panamá. It's fucken hot there, but if you are okay with Asia, I would guess heat doesn't bother you too much. Colombia would be cheaper but almost every bar in Costa Rica has a few free-lancers coming and going. Flights to Colombia tend to be expensive as compared to Costa Rica or Panamá, so it would take some time to make up the airfare difference with the cheaper hookers, like probably at least a week. Don't know where you are based, but right now a good deal is to fly to Central America through Toronto.

Hi,

I will be going to Medellin in a week. I like to get the help of anyone there. Mansion decided to not let me in and wanted me to stay there. I don't want to leave it up to the girl to show me around. These were friends from my buddy who when 1 year ago. Please PM me. I'd like get some help there.

[QUOTE=Dickhead;1947354]If I did not speak Spanish (I do), and wanted to go to Latin America for the first time to monger and sight-see, I would go to Costa Rica. [/QUOTE]Thanks for this excellent info Dickhead (I don't feel comfortable calling you this after I send you my appreciation).

Somehow Colombia attracts me more then most other countries in Central / South America, but if speaking Spanish is highly, very highly recommended I better let this idea go for now and consider your option.

Still thinking of a combination Medellin / Panama / San Jose but I need to look into that.

Thanks again for your info, its appreciated.

The other significant difference in Colombia as opposed to the other countries you mention is there is way, way more silicone (or whatever they use these days), both in tits and ass. If you like that, great, but if you don't, you might be kind of surprised. Pussy is somewhat cheaper in Colombia, though. However, some of that difference will go away without Spanish.

It was recommended to me that premium, brand named alcohol is pretty expensive in Medellin. Does anyone know how many bottles one can get via Duty Free coming into the country?

[QUOTE=Thedman;1956747]It was recommended to me that premium, brand named alcohol is pretty expensive in Medellin. Does anyone know how many bottles one can get via Duty Free coming into the country?[/QUOTE]Not sure, but the premises is faulty. For example, in the liqure store on the entry floor at Oviedo, the Single Malt Scotch selection is actually very reasonable. Yes, I am comparing it to Seattle, were costs are high, but still cheaper in Medellin for me.

[QUOTE=Psychman;1957535]Not sure, but the premises is faulty. For example, in the liqure store on the entry floor at Oviedo, the Single Malt Scotch selection is actually very reasonble. Yes, I am comparing it to Seattle, were costs are high, but still cheaper in Medellin for me.[/QUOTE]Thanks Psychman. I too coming from Seattle area and with the state taxes you're right, our stuff is crazy expensive.

Air travel within Colombia is almost too cheap to pass up. Point to point flights between most of the major cities are 50 k pesos or less, although you need to have a little flexibility to get the cheapest rate.

If you're flying into Colombia, pick the cheapest destination. Chances are you will save a lot of money.

Example:

IND to CLO round trip is $872.

IND to MDE round trip is $838.

IND to CTG round trip is $706.

IND to BOG round trip is $699.

BOG to CLO round trip is $69,900 pesos.

BOG TO MDE round trip is $99,900 pesos.

That's $25 to $33 round trip and most flights are only an hour or so.

The cheapest fares are on Viva Colombia, which also flies to Miami (one way, Miami to Bogota, leaving at 11:20 am tomorrow for $72.40).

[URL]http://www.vivacolombia.co[/URL]