Medellin Reports

[QUOTE=DownLow123;2809648]
Wow! You can't make this shit up.

What an amazing experience that I lived through!

Moral of the story, don't go meeting no girls' parents.[/QUOTE]Is this your first Medellin trip? Barrio life is the way to go!! But obviously, it’s not for everyone. I visit girls' families all the time and I use it as an opportunity to see more of the barrios, especially if it's somewhere I have never been. Personally, I feel safer in the barrios with locals than in Poblado with gringos hehe. And it's much more fun! I'm a Chinese guy in early 40's, but look like I'm in my 30's so I def don't blend in. But I speak Spanish, respect the culture, and have been hanging out in the barrios for years. One time I went to Pachelly way up in the hills of Bello and it's suppose to be a dangerous barrio, but I felt safe because I was amongst amigas and their families. It's one of the few times you would still have a gringo factor because up there they def don't see any foreigners. But yeah, I understand you being out of your element and feeling like you can get got. Just take a deep breath and enjoy it!! Btw..I tell chicas in the barrios Im a chino paisa hasta la chimba hpta!!! :)

[QUOTE=DownLow123;2809648] Moral of the story, don't go meeting no girls' parents.[/QUOTE]Here's my first thought, why did you even agree to meet this girls parents? I just never understood that, unless you both want something serious, I'm sure the parents feel the same way, otherwise they wouldn't go thru all that trouble.

I guess if you are a real gringo meaning non Latino, you're curious about the barrio life and want to experience it? But if you are Latino like myself, shit just visit your own family in Mexico or wherever like I do for the barrio experience. No need to take a risk like that in unfamiliar territory.

If an Airbnb doesn't specify that you can't bring female guests / sex workers, can I assume that it's OK? I've noticed that most of the places is laurels has this policy, but in San Diego / Buenos Aires it doesn't say that.

[QUOTE=DownLow123;2809775]I'm in my early 40's.

Yes I can pass as Colombian in a barrio (which is why I'm still alive I think).

I've met the chick three times before I met her parents.[/QUOTE]LOL Colombia is less dangerous then Tijuana where I lived for 6 years. These people are not out to kill you. You learned that and had a peak experience by taking some risk. If it was your first trip / first meeting of course that would be much more dangerous. Enjoy life while we can.

Pueblito Paisa is a good option for guys who are here for only a few days at a time. Guatape is amazing but it takes a day out of your trip.

[QUOTE=JustTK;2809840]IMO Guatape is the only world class activity for tourists in the MDE area, although you can do any of the other stuff you mention if you want to fill up your day.

Food sucks in general. The cheap restauraants dotted around town are terrible IMO - 20 different ways to serve the same handful of ingredients. But you can find a few great restaurants if you have the time to search them out? Which ones? - well, obvio depends on your budget. I like Govindas for day to day food, and I like Zaaika and Tabun for higher cost meals. I haven't been to any high end places for several years, so no comment on that.

Water in Sta Marta is not claimed to be potable. Govt will tell you not to drink it. I drink it after boiling. Whereas water in MDE is declared as safe to drink. I drink it from the tap.[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=Surfer500;2809763]...Simply put, you can ride the Metro from anywhere in the City to one of the Metro bus lines, as an example at the Industralies Station, and there is no additional cost to ride the connecting bus, meaning the transfer is included.[/QUOTE]I took this fare chart tonight. Maybe I am wrong, but I think it lists different price for different combination. That is where the discount coming from. Your Spanish is much better than mine, so maybe you can shed some light on what it is describing.

I went to a restaurant that I have been to before with a friend. The bill is under 400 mil total. What was weird was the waiter took out his translator to ask me how much tip I was going to give? 10%, 15% or 20%. My friend said it was no unusual in Medellin but it is for me and I have been to the same restaurant before and was even in the same seat as last time.

To put it into perspective, a regular girl told me she earns 45 mil for working a 10 hours night shift. My cleaner is 70 mil to clean and wash everything in the apartment.

[QUOTE=Nounce;2810003]I went to a restaurant that I have been to before with a friend. The bill is under 400 mil total. What was weird was the waiter took out his translator to ask me how much tip I was going to give? 10%, 15% or 20%. My friend said it was no unusual in Medellin but it is for me and I have been to the same restaurant before and was even in the same seat as last time.

To put it into perspective, a regular girl told me she earns 45 mil for working a 10 hours night shift. My cleaner is 70 mil to clean and wash everything in the apartment.[/QUOTE]I think in that situation I would have not even paid the 10% tip and I would have let him know I won't be back.

[QUOTE=Nounce;2810003]I went to a restaurant that I have been to before with a friend. The bill is under 400 mil total. What was weird was the waiter took out his translator to ask me how much tip I was going to give? 10%, 15% or 20%. My friend said it was no unusual in Medellin but it is for me and I have been to the same restaurant before and was even in the same seat as last time.

To put it into perspective, a regular girl told me she earns 45 mil for working a 10 hours night shift. My cleaner is 70 mil to clean and wash everything in the apartment.[/QUOTE]Tipping is still not compulsory in Medellin. Maybe the waiter was bluffing, knowing you're not a local. The common question they will ask when you ask for the bill will be: would you like to tip in cash or include that in the total amount. If you choose the latter, they will charge a 10% tipping, if you prefer to pay in cash, you can decide how much you will tip. When they don't ask, usually in the fancier places, the 10% shows as part of the total amount, though mentioned in a separate line. I have ignored that "tip included amount" several times, when I'm not happy with the service or quality of what was served.

[QUOTE=RiceRocket99;2809877] Btw..I tell chicas in the barrios Im a chino paisa hasta la chimba hpta!!! :)[/QUOTE]I'm South East Asian and had lived in Medellin for about 10 years and still return there almost every year. That's how I earned that description LOL!

[QUOTE=Nounce;2810003]I went to a restaurant that I have been to before with a friend. The bill is under 400 mil total. What was weird was the waiter took out his translator to ask me how much tip I was going to give? 10%, 15% or 20%. My friend said it was no unusual in Medellin but it is for me and I have been to the same restaurant before and was even in the same seat as last time.

To put it into perspective, a regular girl told me she earns 45 mil for working a 10 hours night shift. My cleaner is 70 mil to clean and wash everything in the apartment.[/QUOTE]Absolutely bizzare to the point you should be enraged, it is scary because if these scumbags are allowed to prosper Medellin will turn into a hell on earth like Cancun. Please do not contribute to the corruption of this great city. I am happy to pay the service charge only for Colombians who are respectful enough to treat me like anyone else who eats there, not an opportunity to exploit.

Please consider giving 0, and since the tip was alceady on the bill for that, DEMAND they remove it. I have never removed it because I have never encountered scum like this. If they refuse to remove it, refuse to sign and email your credit card company to get a refund.

It is absolutely the extreme end of arrogance for a Colombian to do anything but the standard schpiel of "Do you wish to include the standard service charge?" (ALWAYS 10%, YOU DO NOT ALTER IT)

[QUOTE=JustinFields;2809794]Newbie on this forums but not a newbie when it comes to mongering.
Taxi or Uber?[/QUOTE][URL]https://www.escapeartist.com/blog/no-dar-papaya/[/URL]

[QUOTE=Nounce;2810001]I took this fare chart tonight. Maybe I am wrong, but I think it lists different price for different combination. That is where the discount coming from. Your Spanish is much better than mine, so maybe you can shed some light on what it is describing.[/QUOTE]The different prices are for the different types of cards. Look at the top row for example that is the row that will apply to most people using the metro system. If you have a tarjeta eventual (the old grey one but is now white) you pay 3280 pesos, if you have a personalized cared then you pay 2880. The lower rows are for different combinations of busses, tranvia, metro, etc. And the metrocable to go to parque arvi has a different price as well and isn't included in the fare for the Santo Domingo metro cable.

[QUOTE=Nounce;2810001]I took this fare chart tonight. Maybe I am wrong, but I think it lists different price for different combination. That is where the discount coming from. Your Spanish is much better than mine, so maybe you can shed some light on what it is describing.[/QUOTE]I don't know if my Spanish is any better than yours, and the chart is confusing but I did notice that if your a senior citizen you get a discount of something like 150 or 200 Pesos off the base fare, but I'm not sure how you get the discount. I'm assuming to get the discount your CIVICA card would have to be registered with your ID which they used to do years ago, and it might only apply to Colombian Citizens.

[QUOTE=Parasitius;2810026]Absolutely bizzare to the point you should be enraged, it is scary because if these scumbags are allowed to prosper Medellin will turn into a hell on earth like Cancun. Please do not contribute to the corruption of this great city. I am happy to pay the service charge only for Colombians who are respectful enough to treat me like anyone else who eats there, not an opportunity to exploit.

Please consider giving 0, and since the tip was alceady on the bill for that, DEMAND they remove it. I have never removed it because I have never encountered scum like this. If they refuse to remove it, refuse to sign and email your credit card company to get a refund.

It is absolutely the extreme end of arrogance for a Colombian to do anything but the standard schpiel of "Do you wish to include the standard service charge?" (Always 10%, you do not alter it)[/QUOTE]I've never eaten anywhere in Medellin at a high end place where more than 10% has been asked for or already included in the bill. Unfortunately more of this is going to occur as more and more foreigners show up and people figure out how to squeeze them.

A perfect example of this happened to me two weeks ago. I met one of my Chicas at the Poblado Metro Station and we got in a yellow cab to go to a Hotel near Tesoro. I showed the driver the route on my phone and asked him to turn on the meter and he refused. He said the fare would be 20,000 COP so I told him that was insane and that I wasn't that dumb and got out of the Taxi and slammed the fucking door.

We got in another cab and the fare ended up being only 10,000 COP.

Moral of the story like you point out is don't put up with this shit.

However because things are so cheap here, a lot of times it's just chump change for many, and as much as this stuff pisses people off like you and I, can you blame them for trying to squeeze foreigners no different than other parts of the World.