Caracas

hey ricker,

i have one foot in venezula and one foot on a cáscara del guineo (banana peel) (lol) ;) any info mate you can share?

i hit you with a pm two weeks ago and haven't heard from you - any "off the beaten path" advice you can push along? sc's, casa de citas i can hit w/o getting robbed (figuratively speaking).

i will be staying at the tamanaco.

cheers all.......

I will be in Caracas for about 10 days in May. The first 5 days I must stay at the Hilton and after that who knows.

Any current information on Caracas and the area near the Hilton would be appreciated.

Thanks

Major Dude

IF possible read my reports from last Sept and Nov.......and DO NOT STAY AT THE HILTON

that area is among the most dangerous areas in all of Caracas i stumbled upon this area by accident and I nearly had a heart attack. There is a pretty cool bar/cafe called Rajatabla across the street but dont go w/o a local.....so if your looking to go native check it out, alot of Regaetton music....but dont go alone or else you prob. will get jacked!!!

You would be better served staying at the Tamanaco or Eurobuilding.

When in Caracas stay at the Paseo las Mercedes Hotel at the corner of paseo las mercedes and Avenida Mercedes.

I was in the Tamanaco for the last two nights, Wednesday and Thursday and I would pass in the future.

Great place if you like stuffy atmosphere, loads of $2000 Burberry suit wearing oil executives and $13 breakfasts.

Paseo Las Mercedes is a better choice - its clean, comfortable atmosphere and is located in the lobby of an airconditioned mall with lots of little shops and stores to occupy your down-time. (This is where I´m sitting right now)
I was able to negotiate a price of $68 per night incl. breakfast.

I saw the Hilton its a disaster. Terrible barrio sprung up right around this venerable Hotel. Pass on this hotel regarless of price. Las Mercedes area is neat and safe.

cheers

Ford,
How close are you to the clubs and action at the Mercedes? Can you walk to the places where we would want to hang out at night?

I love Caracas! Great town, great great food, absolutely stunningly gorgeous women everywhere you turn, and (now) good solid accomodations!

Like so many countries and cities to which I`ve traveled Caracas is a study in contrasts. Great disparities in wealth from intense abject poverty to great (OIL) wealth can be seen everywhere. Driving from the CCS airport thru town I witnessed things that in my life experiences - know no equal.

As I left the airport my driver told me that we would be traveling thru (as he called it) the "barrios of Chavez". He said it is poverety like you probably "never seen". "Our president did this to us". I told him that he must have the wrong person for I have "seen it all"! I have traveled thru the barrios of Guatemala City, San Pedro Sula, Tegucigalpa Honduras, Managua Nicaragua, Santo Domingo DR, etc. Nothing will shock me...............I was wrong!

Shocking! As we drove, tens of thousands of little pink and pastel wooden sheds dotted the landscape. Up the mountains, down the mountains, thru the valleys as far as the eyes could see in every direction and out of every window. It is a mass of abject poverty of such magnitude that it must truly rival the famous rolling slums of Sao Paolo and Buenos Airies Brazil.

The relevancy of this preamble to this board is that it is wholly necessary to "get thru" this mass of humanity to get to the area that it is safe to "party". As we drove past the sheds and dilapidated apartment houses I commented that "surely It couldn`t be safe for me, a Norte Americano turista to be in this area" My driver said, "Senor forget about you its not safe for ME to be around here" With that we hit our first redlight and my driver exclaimed " The windows, the windows - lock `em, roll em up!"

con`t.......

Yes i tried to stay at the PLM a couple of times and it is always been filled. The doorman there can exchange money for you at a much higher rate.

NO you cant walk anywhere from that area, you have to take a cab to San Ignacio which is about 10 mins.

The taxi ride from the airport cost anywhere between $30 - $50 depending on your negotiating ability and your ability to make a quick exchange of dollars for bolivars at the airport and pay in the local currency.

I continued to negotiate and negotiate to the point where I actually thought I wasn`t going to be able to get to my hotel at all - finally I was able to work a deal for 70,000 bolivars which is incredible since I was able to flip $100 for 250,000 bolivars by a money changer I ran into on the sidewalk.

As we drove I think my driver was having 2nd thought at the price he quoted me because he kept saying "the usual price is $50 you know"

I arrived at the Hotel Intercontinental Tamanaco around 2:00 pm and found that Citibank was nice enough to block my Platinum card (for my own safety) because they "noticed that charges were coming in from latin america and suspected theft!" How nice of them. Luckilly I had my Amex Platinum on me and I paid the bill with this.

I absolutely didn`t like the Intercontinental at all! When I was there I honestly got the impression that I was the poorest person staying at the entire hotel - AND I HAVE MONEY! The lobby was filled with slick looking Ermenegildo Zegna suit wearing executives and their polished Cartier watch wearing ladies. Before I left these "digs" I enjoyed a $14 american breakfast, and a delicious meal at the outside pool bar with fajitas mixta, 3 beers,and a cup of cafe con leche - all for very reasonable $48!! Outrageous! Stuffy atmosphere, unpleasant staff, unless the hotel is being comped by your company pass my friends, pass ;)
con`t..............

The Hotel Intercontinental is also situated on the top of a mountain so when you want to leave the hotel you need to take one of there "house cabs" who are also nice enough to inflate the prices considerably. You can try walking it but its a hike and of course with you bags it is an impossibility.

I went down the hill nad directly across the street is the Hotel Paseo Las Mercedes. Much better choice!!! It is much cheaper than the Tamanaco $70 as opposed to $124 it is clean, comfortable VERY guest friendly and with a helpful little staff of (semi-criminal porters who can get you anything you want incl. women, bolivars, (read) anything! Ask for Peter, he speaks English at about 50% and consistently flipped me 2500 bolivars for 1 usd on the quiet while the hotel was paying 2000 even.

A rate of $68 for me incl breakfast and gave me a comfortable, decent sized room (bigger than the Intercontinental) with extraordinary air-conditioning and amazingly good hot water.

Not only is the hotel VERY VERY guest friendly, but get this one. When you call up for a girl, the girl enters the hotel and walks up to the front desk and gives the staff her identification card. The man at the front desk calls up to you room and tells you that "there is a girl here for you sir, for fun, may I permit her to come up?" (honest) "Yes, sir you may permit my girl for fun to come up to my room!" :D

Don`t get any late night munchies and raid the mini-bar and I promise you`ll have a great time at the Hotal Las Mercedes and you`ll be able to keep your expenses way down!

Strangely but conveniently the Hotel is located directly inside of a mall - so when you walk out of the front door you are inside a comfortable, stylish shopping mall, complete with restaurants, internet cafes and loads and loads of chica watching! The entire experience makes it seem like you are vactioning at a Hartford Whaler hockey game!

Did he say "Hartford Whaler hockey game??" (I just want to thank the Academy for awarding that line the Dennis Miller trophy for "obscure reference of the day")

Small downside, they have a solarium but I microscopic pool (like the size of a hot tub).

con`t................

"O.K. Ford enough blah, blah, blah and you - the purposes of this board is all about women - what about the women?!"

Caracas has the most amazing looking women I have ever seen in my entire life! (and I`ve traveled all over the western hemisphere) It is is truly no wonder Venezuelan women have won the Miss Universe pagaent more than any country!!

Everywhere you look there are scores of gorgeous trim sexy women!
Women with gorgeous made-up faces, long straight shiny black hair pulled back in pony tails, full breasts, tapered thin tanned waists with belly button piercings, curvy cherry bottoms, long lean legs and wearing little strappy leather sandals with tanned polished feet w/ tan little french manicured toes.

They are walking the malls, seated in the salons, waiting for food in the eateries and paused waiting at the bus stops. Its some sort of superior human race down here and I have no complaints!

Since I was tired of walking around "window shopping" and with my jeans becomming a little to tight in the crotch area and all I decided it was time to make a call to sexycaracas.com and see if I could find one of those "girls that want to come up for fun"

con`t down the road my typing fingers are getting tired :(

cheers,
FORD

[QUOTE=Ford]The taxi ride from the airport cost anywhere between $30 - $50 depending on your negotiating ability and your ability to make a quick exchange of dollars for bolivars at the airport and pay in the local currency.

I continued to negotiate and negotiate to the point where I actually thought I wasn`t going to be able to get to my hotel at all - finally I was able to work a deal for 70,000 bolivars which is incredible since I was able to flip $100 for 250,000 bolivars by a money changer I ran into on the sidewalk.

As we drove I think my driver was having 2nd thought at the price he quoted me because he kept saying "the usual price is $50 you know"

[/QUOTE]For $20 you can arrange to be picked up by Reinaldo Garcia not related to me who drives a late model car and speaks some English. He has a web page at [url]www.venezueladriver.com[/url] and has been previously recommended on this site.

Sexycaracas.com has been discussed on this board several times and with good reason - it is a good website and offers great services! Once you log on you are offered a selection of nearly 90 independent ladies, as well as a number of mp's, and outcall agencies. (There is also a selection tab marked "transexuals" but, I'm sorry I didn't see any reason to click on this choice)

I ended up enjoying the company of girls from agencies - Secret of Love and Tijuana. (2 girls from each)

The girls were friendly, affable, and very gfe. They came when they were supposed to (double meaning here);) and didn't seem to be (noticably) watching the clock. Each of the agencies seem to have a number of girls available - the pictures on the website appears to only be a guide - there are usually several other girls available that aren't featured.

The price was 160,000 bolivars ($64) for 2 hours of an unrushed, playfull evening. The girls at with me and talked for 15 to 20 minutes first and then said they needed to call their "office" so the time would start at the point of their call. Every girl hit me up for another $4 - $6 for a taxi that they was "assumed" in the service, whether it is mentioned on the website or not.

One issue to note - you must be able to speak Spanish at at least %70 to be able to use this service. They're a few girls that claim they "speak English" but I didn't use any of them so I can't make a comment for or against. The women who run the agencies speak NO English so if this is an issue for you you'll probably have to employ one of the porters at the hotel (throw him $4 - $10) to get him to translate for you.

con't

the las mercedes section of caracas is norte americano friendly and it is the area that immediately surrounds the intercontinental hotel and the hotel paseo las mercedes.

this area is "gringo - safe" and is fun to walk around. within safe walking distance of the hplm is a mcdonalds, a wendy's, a tgi fridays, several restaurants featuring fresh steaks, fresk seafood, comida tipico for venezula and even a decent chineese place. in the adjoining mall is a series of shops and stores to fill every shoppers needs.

for an internet cafe you could use the two that located in the mall steps fro the hplm entrance or you can venture two blocks down avenida las mercedes to a place called the computermall. downstairs it is essentially a business/office depot similar to that of a staples, but upstairs it is a combination internet cafe/pasteleria! they charge only about $2 an hour for internet use on a high speed connection and they'll serve you fresh brewed cafe con leche and fresh baked pastries while you "surf".

overall, i enjoyed caracas very much as much as i disliked margarita island. i found ccs to be an exciting, vibrant city with beautiful women and a unique latin sabor!! (flavor)

cheers,
ford

[QUOTE=Reinaldo]For $20 you can arrange to be picked up by Reinaldo Garcia not related to me who drives a late model car and speaks some English. He has a web page at [url]www.venezueladriver.com[/url] and has been previously recommended on this site.[/QUOTE]

Reinaldo,

My price returning to CCS from my hotel was 40,000 bolivars or $16. This was arranged by the porters at my hotel. They try to "rob" you with the cab prices when you arrive internationally into CCS - there is no question about it. I don't care about the English but I like the $20 part - your tip might be worth considering.
cheers

Have never paid more than 50,000 bol from the airport to the city ... any more than that is a rip off.