After reading numerous reports and looking at way too many pictures I decided to take my virgin trip to Brazil. Since I am living in Japan , and have also gone to Thailand four times in two years, I decided it was time to try out something other than Asian girls. So with my passport in hand and my work finished, I set off. First stop was New York to meet up with my buddy, and then catch a plane to Rio. The American Airlines flight over was pretty empty so we each got a whole middle section to ourselves and were able to catch some sleep before touching down in Sao Paulo and then connecting to Rio. We were met by our driver from www.riorentals4less.com (by the way the owner of this company John Thomson is a shady character) and he took us to their office in Copacabana.

Now about apartment rentals, I'm not sure if we just got ripped off or what, but for the $90 US we forked over a night for our apartment I would have much rather stayed in a hotel. One thing that I didn't realize till we got down there was that the apartments for rent are in normal apartment buildings, so it's sort of odd bringing back your whores from help at 6 or 7 in the morning while your next door neighbor's kid is leaving for school. Other things about the apartment were, we didn't have maid service so the place got pretty grimy after a while. Also, my friend had some issues with a crazy bitch from help who was fucked up on coccaine and was doing voodoo in our living room. Then she started running around the apartment complex nude and when we tried to get her to put her clothes on her she just ran out to the lobby where the door man promptly threw her nude ass out on the street. A strange situation to say the least but if we were at a hotel she would have had to check in at the front desk, which I think gives you more protection from girls going wild once their in the room.

Anyway, back to the trip overall I think that Rio is a cool city, I would not go so far as to say it's a vacation city, its more like going to New York City only there's a beach. As for the girl scence its definitely not on par with Thailand. In Thailand it's an industry, there are so many girls everywhere it's ridiculous. However, in Rio the girls only seem to be in one main area, Copacabana. Of course there are other options like escort agencies and Termas (which are awesome) but for most people the center of action is Copacabana. On a side note, maybe its just me, but nobody on this board ever mentioned how nasty the Copacabana area is. It's amazing how much difference you'll see if you take a short taxi ride down to Ipanema beach, there are no kids pestering you for money, no trash on the beach, and most importantly no hustlers trying to rip you off every time you look up.

I'll stop bitching now though and talk about the girls in Rio. Overall the girls are very pretty and most have amazing bodies. Its funny because in the states you often look at a girls face to judge if she's pretty, but in Brazil the first thing you notice is the body on these girls. During my stay I went to two termas and help every night. The termas I went to were 4 by 4 and Centaurus.

4 by 4 is was probably my favorite. It has a real dance club feeling to it and there are plenty of fine girls all over the place. I went here two times and each time I had a blast. The first time me and my buddy took two girls up to a suite but I was too fucked up from the tequila to even remember fucking them. But from the little bit I can comprehend it was good. The second time we went was just as fun and I spent most of my time dancing with these two twins with braces who were pretty hot. I didn't session this time but my friend did and he has been talking about that girl everyday since so she must have done something right.

The other terma we visited was centaurs. This place has got to be the biggest rip off joint in Rio. Don't get me wrong the girls are fine but they charge $290R to get in and the facilities are horrible. As I mentioned though the girls are overall pretty hot. We went there on a Saturday and there were about 40 girls in the place. I ended up taking a pretty 18 year old girl upstairs for a 40 minute session which is included in the entrance fee. Sorry I don't remember her name (too much tequila again).

Personally, I think that the Termas are your best bet in Rio, but what would any trip to Rio be without going into Help. I know that Help is touted as the largest "disco" in South America, but to be honest it should be touted as the largest whore house in South America. For all the newbies out there let me just say every girl in help is a will have sex with you if you have money. I don't care if you are fat, ugly, blind, deaf, retarted, crazy, or a convict. This is probably the thing that disgusted me the most about help. As I said before I have been to Thailand quite a bit over the last two years and although the girls in Thailand are also selling their bodies for money, it seems that they still have more self respect then the girls you find in Help or at Meia Pattaca. The girls in Help were just too about it for me, for example here's how a normal conversation in Help went

Me: Hello, whats your name?
Girl: "NAME"
Girl: Where are you from?
Me: Los Angeles
Girl: where you stay apartment or hotel?
Me: Apartment
Girl: You like me?
Me: Sure
Girl: How much you pay me?

That's how professional those vipers in Help are. Shit, call me old fashioned but I need a bit more than that if I'm gonna hand over my hard earned money. To each his own though if you like that type of approach from a girl then by all means go to help. However, the funny thing is, even though I can't stand the whores in Help I still think it's a fun club. It's fun to go there and just fuck about with the girls. If you like music and dancing you can do just about anything on the dance floor in help, and who knows you might be able to get a freebie from one of the vipers.

Bottom line is I'm still a young guy (I'm only 24) and I like to party. Thailand is cool because you can party all night and the Thai girls love to party with you. Thai girls will hardly ever mention money, and when you ask if they want any money they say "Up to you". However, from what I have scene in Rio the girls at help and on the beach are straight up hardened pros. I know I've only been to Rio once, but I'm just stating my observations. So it all depends on what you are looking for in a vacation, as for me I will probably due Brazil again but only stay in Rio a day or two to visit the Termas and then move on to Salvador or some other cities..

The Rio sex scene is mainly short time oriented and quite professional. The most hard core girls are probably at Help (I cannot say for sure as I don't frequent Help)

At your young age, if you are hip and attractive, you can probably find some girl that is actually interested in you.

In other cities, girls are still more interested in foreigners, more interested in romance. I suggest Fortaleza. Natal, Belem, Salvador, Manaus for the more adventurous, as it is harder to find the professionals.

Non professionals seem most open in Natal, Belem, Manaus, .......

Options are endless, but portuguese knowledge is useful

Great report thanks! I always wondered what a RIO experience would be like for a virgin traveler in his 20's. I personally don't care too much for hardened pros -. I prefer the chase, and the ocasional hooker that is worth my money....in any case, it sounds like a "Must Do" at least once in your life! Glad you had fun...

Unless you were staying in a palace (On top of Help), $90 per night was a ripoff.

I'm making my second trip to Rio this weekend. I sent an email to John describing what I was looking for. It was almost 6 weeks before I heard from him again. During the interim I arranged an apartment from David at Gringomanagement that is literally around the corner from Help and Meia Pataca. Within an hour of sending an email inquiring about his availability, I'm on the phone with him going over details. (I'll let everyone know how the apartment was when I get back. I'm feeling pretty confident though, based on the customer service so far.)

When I finalize the deal I then hear from one of John's partners. I let them know that I already made arrangements. They send me another email saying that they'll be able to meet all my requirments and because of a change in price will be able to knock off $5 per night. What the hell? I'm still getting a better deal with David.

Sorry for the venting. The point is follow your instincts.

Hoya,

You certainly overpaid quite a bit on the apartment. And, Centaurus is a clip joint unless you have the procedure down pat and can avoid the tourist tax and the other associated headaches. I have made it a point to never go there, because of the extra fees (more on principle than money), but quite a few of the guys do like the place.

As far as the advice on non-pro's, unless your Portuguese is in good shape, I don't think anyone has a good chance of working a non-GP into the sack in a short amount of time. If you're there for a week you want to experience the scene and not waste time on chasing garotas.

Hoyaboy

Interesting report, I have been grappling with the tough decision on whether to spend same of my valuable hobbying time in my usual long term haunt of LOS or go to Rio. I love LOS and would find it hard to beat, but I actually prefer the "Latino" type to Asian women and some of the Rio ladies look hot. I also like long steamy sessions where the lady is as much into it as you are. From what I have read Brazilian girls are good for that. From your experience would you advise me to at least try Rio or just stick to good old LOS?

Yes, you got ripped off big time on the apartment. I paid $50 for a large two-bedroom with lots of amenities just a block from the beach and Help.

Your conversations at Help were atypical, and probably a function of your talking with girls who speak some English (usually but not always an indication that she's a hard-core puta). Even in a putaria like Help, it works best if you talk at length, have a few drinks, and dance a bit before cutting a deal. If the vibe isn't right, move on to another garota. After all, it's not like you only have one or two options. I find sweeties there all the time who want to party all night long.

The LOS/Rio comparison is a tough one. I have made many trips to both, and actually prefer the girls of Rio. Once you speak a bit of Portuguese it's easier to find the non-hard-core garotas, and I actually have had better luck in Rio than BKK in find real sweethearts. I've had more bad experiences in BKK than Rio with girls not delivering as promised (never in Rio have I had girls, after 20 minutes of sex, start complaining "you're too big" or claiming that they have to go cook for their father or look after little sister or...). I've heard a hundred excuses for why long-time now needs to be short-time.

I sense you didn't read my guide on Rio, since in it I warn readers about Centaurus being over-priced and suggest that Copacabana is largely a tourist-trap shithole (I normally stay in Ipanema unless work dictates otherwise).

Glad you had fun at 4X4. I love that place; along with L'uomo it's my favorite.

Ironically, your "conversation" with the Help garotas sounds exactly like the conversations I typically have with girls from Rainbow 1 and 2 and other go-go bars. I haven't found the girls in LOS to be any less (or more) business-oriented than those in Rio, but I do find the Rio girls to be less shy when back at my apartment/hotel and more sexually demanding, open, and aggressive.

Wickedwilly,
Give Rio a shot. As a vet of both places I think you'd be cheating yourself by not trying it out.

Hoya,

I am one of the few who thinks Centaurus is a great place. However, I have frequented the place enough and receive treatment that your average joe gringo would not normally receive. For instance, I never pay the tourist tax, I also never pay up front. Sweet and GCL and others can attest to this fact (which others claim to not be possible).

I also speak a bit of Portuguese (I think the appropriate term for my language skills would be Termaguese - term coined originally by SFHombre I believe) and I genuinely try and communicate clearly with the girl that; if she goes and gives me a tourist fuck in the Cabine; then I am going to be pissed.

The other advantage was that I have been with several girls there and they typically alert the girl that I am going up with that I am a fairly frequent visitor and typically bring lots of friends. I also have a girl or two who I ask if the girl I am considering is cool or a scammer. I am not sure how all of this plays into the overall equation, but I have been very pleased with Centaurus over the past 9 months. In fact, I would have to say that it would have to have been my favorite over this time period.

I guess the long and short of it all is that you can have quality sessions in Centaurus. However, the expectations on client service that management places on the girls is far lower than some of the other places. Therefore there is a higher risk that you could end up having a less than optimal session. The upside is that I personally feel that the girls are "as a whole" a slight grade above the girls in other Termas in terms of looks. For this I am willing to pay a nickel or two more to go to Centaurus. This I offer as my personal twisted opinion. Take it anyway you like.

Kenmore

Let me start by suggesting that any Rio hobbyist should read Bwana's guide before getting on the plane or making any arrangements. IT IS DEAD ON.

I have been to Rio 6 times in the last two years, I have used John Thompson for 5 of those times and I have noticed the steady decrease in the level of service and the incremental increase in price to the point where I will not use riorentals4less anymore. Their service is simply non existent although I personally like John and find him to be an amusing character however he's gotten too greedy for his own good. For the record I should also add that I had referred Crhesq1 (a good friend) to John Thompson as late as a few weeks ago.

In my personal opinion I have avoided Centaurus in all my visits just as a matter of principal just like I avoid Costco since I do not believe in paying upfront for anything. I also have a habit of asking any lady I meet in Brazil to leave immediately if she asks for the money upfront. In my humble and limited experience it has always been a scam when you are asked for the money upfront.

Another thing that i try and avoid is Help women that speak more than a very very few words of English. That is a sign of a hard core PRO which you would want to avoid at all costs since the price will be much higher and the sex will be much less enthusiastic (there are exceptions to every rule of course)

I've been to most of the hobbyist destinations in Asia and then I was exposed to Brazil which ruined me permanently! I would not miss my quarterly trips there for the world!

I also enjoy Centaurus. I guess I have attained favored nation status and have not paid the tourist tax nor upfront in the last year. Of the dozen or so sessions I have had there, only one was truly disappointing. It was my fault for focusing on these hugh tits, her gorgeous face and not listening to the interview failings that occurred. On the other hand I have had a couple of sessions there that would make my top twenty (top 10%) best list. There is no better place for a big titted blond beauty.
CG

This John Thompson guy is getting known for bad business. When I was there I meet him very nice guy but I meet a guy that was renting out his apartment through him and he said the whole thing was a huge headache. Sound like you didn't like Rio Hoyaboy but like I tell my friends Rio is not for everyone but it sure is for me.

I've enjoyed reading all the different perspectives from everyone and have gained some useful insight. I think my main issue in Rio was that my only previous real experiences in the pay for play scene had been Thailand so it was the only thing I had to compare Rio to. However from what I am now begining to realize is that comparing Rio to Thailand is like comparing apples and oranges.

To the people trying to make a decision on where to take your next vacation I would say this. Thailand is an overall great vacation spot, not even considering the girls, its just a nice place to spend some vacation time and relax. The beauty of the southern islands is un matched, the beaches are amazing, the food is great, the clubs and discos are awesome, and the people are some of the friendliess you will ever meet.

As for Rio, I can't really classify it as a "vacation" spot. I really can't place my finger on it but when I was there it just did'nt feel as though I was truly on vacation. It was more or less the same hustle and bustle of any big city in the U.S. Don't get me wrong though the women are definitely some of the prettiest I have seen, but for the overall package(beaches, food, people, accommodations), I don't think that Rio can beat a vacation to Thailand.

I know that a lot of the Hard core Rio advocates on this board will probably disagree with me so I will try and sum up my point this way. Take a vacation to Rio if all you want is sex and nothing else. On the other hand, if you want a bit more of that true vacation feeling and sex along with it, then take a trip to Thailand.

As I mentioned before I have only been to Rio and Brazil is a huge country, so maybe I should just accept the fact that Rio does not have everything I need for a good vacation, and try some other Cities in Brazil. I'm not going to let my view of Rio(really just Copacabana) taint my whole impression of Brazil, and hopefully with a few more trips under my belt I will have a new outlook on Brazil as a whole.

Hoya,

You summed it up - your view of Rio is Copacabana and Rua Buenos Aires in Centro. Spend a few days in Ipanema or Leblon, or even the Arpoadore/Posto 6 section of Copa. It's a different world there, with the great beaches, complete lack of touts and hustlers, etc. You stayed in the tourist district the whole time, plus keep in mind, 160,000 people live in Copacabana, which makes it a high-density area.

That is strange about the food though - I think Brasil has some of the best food on the planet. If you like Italian, you'll love Brasil. If your on the Atkins diet or just love steaks, chops and grilled meats, then Brasil is heaven.

As far as beaches, Copa is not that great, in my opinion. It's nice, but too much of a hard sell from touts and whatnot. Ipanema is one of the best beaches on the planet, however, so again, I always recommend spending a little bit of time in that part of town. Ipanema/Leblon isn't too different from Miami Beach, even quieter actually.

One small note about John Thompson and Riorentals4less. I agree that he is a nice enough guy but when it comes to his business he is pretty bad. We had numerous problems with him including issues with the apartment owner and when John should have been standing up for us(his clients) he sided with the owner. Other issues included shady pricing practices, and also the apartments were pretty low quality for the money we payed. In fact, we even talked with some of his associates outside the office and they basically told us that we were better off getting a hotel instead of dealing with the hassels of an apartment.

(Message edited by hoyaboy on May 13, 2004)

What sort of problems did you encounter? Can you be specific? I just rented a 1 bedroom from him last week (first time) and had no problems at all.

I'll try to explain our situation with the apartment and John as best I can. If you read my report I mentioned that me and my friend had each taken a girl back from help one night who both seemed pretty normal in the club but it turned out that when they got into the apartment they started to get a bit crazy. Honestly it was probably one of the strangest things I have ever seen but the girls were doing some sort of Bahian Voodoo ritual in our living room and they were in some sort of trance. These girls were shaking and speaking in toungues and shit(I am not making this shit up). One of the girls while still in her trance decided to take of her clothes and pour a bottle of hennesy all over her body and then run out of the apartment nude, we were trying to calm her down and put her clothes on her and get both of the bitches out of our apartment, so as we wouldnt disturb any of the neighbors(Just to note we did'nt even have sex with these girls). Unfortuanately the girl ran out nude though and went to the lobby and disturbed the people in the apartment. To make a long story short the door man eventually threw this girl out in the street with no clothes on even though we attempted to give her her clothes back the doorman said to leave her outside.

Anyway, we go to bed thinking the situation was over but we were awakened in the morning by John telling us that we had to move apartments because the owner was upset. We think about it and say OK because this is Brazil and eventhough it wasnt our fault we got a crazy bitch from Help we would still move apartments because we didnt want to have to deal with the police or anything.

However, John then informs us that we cannot get a refund on the apartment and would have to pay more money to rent another apartment from him. Now we had allready payed for the complete 9 days and this was only the second day, so basically John was stealling 7 days payment from us and also telling us we had to pay again for a new apartment.

This we wernt going to accept so all of us went back to Johns office where we basically told John that we were going to cancel the credit card we used to pay with if he did this. This scared him and eventually he decided to call the owner of the apartment so that all of us could talk about the situation resonably.

When the owner came she was a very resonable woman and it turns out that John hadnt even explained the situation about the girl and the voodoo shit she was doing in our living room. John was just trying to cover his own ass and make sure the owner was happy first and basically didnt give a fuck about are situation. John had no problem screwing us out of our money and the apartment. In the end the owner of the apartment gave us another apartment for free and we did not have to pay any more money to John.

I dont know if I explained the situation that well but the jist of the situation was we payed alot of money to use John's services and he had no problem at all screwing us.

(Message edited by hoyaboy on May 13, 2004)

(Message edited by hoyaboy on May 13, 2004)

(Message edited by hoyaboy on May 13, 2004)

thats fucked up ,funny story though,I loved my first time in rio Ive never tried asia,but im not really attracted to asian ladies ,besides a few exeptions. you should give it another shot.

So it was you guys who had all the drama!! John told me about the fiasco when I went to rent a place from him, in fact, he now makes people sign a "conduct" contract. Basically, it states that if you cause a big disturbance, you will be kicked out with no refund.

I know it was not your fault that the girls were nuts, but I have to side with John on this one. Its his livelihood that is on the line. If the owner gets pissed and decides not to let John rent out her apartment anymore, then he loses out on future income. I would have taken the owner's side over the tourist too.

Actually, John is not the only one who has this conduct policy in effect. Other rental agencies will kick you out of thier place without any refunds too. I think thats one of the benefits of a hotel over an apartment, if the guests act a fool, you can call security to come and have her thrown out.

I realize that John could possibly loose out on future income if the owner gets mad and won't let him rent out the apartment anymore.

However the thing John has to realize is that he is running a very small business and that most of his new customers are referred to him by people who have used his service before. So if he does not treat the few customers he has with good service then they will stop referring new business to him. I know that I will tell all my friends back home not to use John after our experience, so right there alone is a loss of potential customers.

Like I said We were referred to John by a friend. So in John's business, word of mouth is the main way he gets customers or looses them. Therefore, in the long run if he starts loosing customers because of the bad PR he receives it really doesn't matter if the owner of the apartment is happy or not. It's basic business knowledge that "the customer is always right."

(Message edited by hoyaboy on May 13, 2004)

Hoya,

I've never met John but from reading your side of the story, I would have tossed you guys out as well. I know you're young and inexperienced, but you need to control the situation with the garotas at all times. Why did you allow the garotas to get out of control? I mean, basic procedure is set a programa, go to apartment or hotel, start fucking. Not much time for garotas get too out of control in that environment.

You're not on M and Wisconsin anymore, doing shots and taking drunk girls back to your dorm/apartment for an afterhours party. Yes, rental apartments in Rio are in regular buildings - there aren't any monger-only apartment blocks, at least none that I know of. Just like anything else, you cause a big scene, and naked whores running around drugged-up (which they probably were) generally will result in negative consequences.

Catocony,

I can see how it looks like we weren't trying our best to keep the girls under control. Honestly though we did the best we could, short of beating the bitch, in a bad situation.

I would love to know what the Rio vets would have done in this situation, I was contemplating video taping it because the shit is hard to picture without being there. The only reason I didn't video it was the bitch was already masterbating with my cell phone(She was really getting off with my cell phone and when I tried to get it back she kept it up in her pussy!!!) So figured I didn't want to risk my expensive video camera.

So all in all from that Help experience we got kicked out of our apartment and my cell phone got molested.

Any advice on what to do in a future situation like this? Should we just have beat the bitch? What would you have done?

Catocony,

In paying $90 for an apartment I should have the right to have some fun. I realize that the situation was a little out of control, but there was no reason for John to not refund any of our money. In fact, when he came to kick us out, he was not concerned if we had money for a new apartment, or if the women stole or injured us. He was purely concerned with his own shit.

Additionally, John had showed us help disco, where the thermas were, as well as invited us to a whoremongering party. He knew what we were down there to do

The real reason, which John later confessed to, was that there were a host of incidents in that apartment, probably much worse that a naked woman, and the owner was just fed up with John and his clientelle

I am a little lost what you guys should have done with the crazy girls. Speaking the language would have been a plus, it would have given you options like calling the doorman plus 2 more of his friends/janitor helpers

Calling the police, unfortunately, is not a good idea in Brazil. It might have worked, but quite likely could have brought more trouble. The tourist police would have been an option too.

I am surprised that Catocony does not suggest you could have called his favorite tour guide. I heard stories that he defused situations like this one (no, Catocony, I am not attacking anyone. On the contrary, I am suggesting your friend might be a person skilled at solving such problems). A local person with proper language skills and proper contacts has a much better chance to solve this situation.

Of course, the appropriate person to solve this would probably have been your apartment rental guy, or even the apartment owner. It is in his own interest to solve the situation. You did not try to call him?

I am really curious how this problem could have been solved. Also, a naked woman on the street, the poor girl probably will have been in trouble. Did she ever get her clothes back? I probably would have thrown her a bed sheet or a towel. I also would have been worried that the girl come back with police to demand her clothes.

Also, I am surprised that apartment owners really can kick out people with no refund. Does not look like a wise decision. If you had a lease, I think you could go to police to protect you from eviction. That is what a friend of mine did, but in his case it was a long term rental. Eviction usually needs a court order.

Of course, the landlord probably has better connections to police then you have. And it is best to avoid trouble. If you had paid the apt with cash, this would be another hard-to-solve problem

John could make you sign a contract containing a conduct clause, a morals clause and any other clause that you can come up with. If you paid by credit card, he'd have no recourse. It's very doubtful that the "contract" would be enforceable.

By the same token of course, if you refused to sign, he wouldn't have to rent to you. You have to make choices.

Thumper, I don't think that the issue is that John tried to kick them out of the apartment (situation was screwed but I can see where he was coming from with that) but how they were treated afterwards. No refund and then trying to gouge them for a new apartment at full price?!?!? In my line of work we call that theft. What a good business man would have done to maintain goodwill and kept a line open for future referals would be (and this is based upon whether or not the guys were complete assholes or not) would be to offer them another apartment that was similarly priced and transfer the fee. (I'm presuming that brazilian business practices would allow this)

One more day till paradise!!!!

Hoya, if a garota is using your cell phone as a dildo and you haven't taken action yet, you're probably too late to do much. Now, it sounds like you and your friend were sharing a two-bedroom apartment, correct? Well, the first thing you do is define what you're into, both with your friend and with the garotas. Do you want tag-team action, do you each want to do one and then swap off later, or do you just want to pair off and get to it? That's what you two have to figure out, then relay it to the girls.

Once the general course of action for the evening is negotiated, make it happen and don't budge from that plan. Garotas will naturally roam around the apartment, check out the fridge, see if there are any small items they may be able to fit in a purse (hey, it happens), shit like that. However, once they start to act out of line, correct the situation. Even if you don't speak Portuguese, raising your voice will get their attention. Since you don't pay them till they leave (I hope so at least) you're in charge, plain and simple. Remind them of this, and when/if goofy shit starts, let them know that they either stop it or out they go, no money tonight and yes, you did waste your 18/28 reals to get into Help. You didn't buy tickets for a circus, you've bought a programa.

One question - did the two garotas come as a pair? What I mean is, did you and your friend pick them up independently, or did one bring her friend into the mix? Help girls almost always travel in pairs/threes (usually one good looking, 1-2 fugly, just the way it is), so one thing is to make sure to break the pairs up. If the girls don't know each other that well, they'll be more prone to getting to business when they get to the apartment. If the girls are buds, then you could be in trouble, which in your case you were.

Hoya:

Interesting situation. Your girls where either drugged up or had thought up a real novel way to get your money and run with no fucking (rare, but unusual in Rio). The only solution once things get sticky are the time-honeored words "Cai Fora!" (piss off) and hustle them out the door, by force if neccesary (beating is a little much, but a few well-placed kicks and shoves are always understood, no matter how drugged-up the reciever is). Naked people in the middle of the night in Copa are rare, but not unheard of, I wouldn't have worried about it.

AS for John, I don't know him, and I can see his point in maintaining good realtions with the owners, BUT he treated you guys like shit. I'll be sure to steer the hell away from him. Any tout can sterr you to an apartmetn in Copa, there are dozens walking up and down Av. N.S. Copacabana peddling them. John's "value" is that he can (or at least should ) smooth over situations like this for both the owner and the renter. Don't want to shill too much (except in that I'm returnig favours), but Ken (ezriorentals) has his shit together and can be trusted.

Lastly, contracts. In Rio? hahahahaha! Absolutely unenforceable, in both directions. The whole sub-let scheme that the apartement owners are doing has no legal backing... in other words, it's not illegal, but tehy have no legal protections either.. in theory, if you had decided to just camp out in the lady's apartment, ignore your "eviction" and not leave, there's nothing she can do (in practice, you have to leave the apartement SOMETIME, if only for food, at which time she'd just re-invade and change the locks). Anyway, your credit card company is your best protection (suprised that John accepts CC's, most don't).

Just my $0.02,

BS

Hoyaboy, this is one of the funnier stories posted here in a while. It's too bad you couldn't have gotten a video of the girls all voodooed out in your living room. It sounds like drugs but who knows? Hey, it could have been worse. Imagine if you hadn't had a friend along to help you as back up.

I agree your with opinions of the areas you saw in Rio as far as a vacation spot. Take away the sex and I'll be darned if I can figure out why anyone would go to Rio. For a place that is touted by travel agencies as a #1 world destination I was pretty disappointed. Like you said, New York City with a beach. Nicer people though. But as a sexual destination, fantastic!

The more I look back at the situation the more I realize that me and my buddy should have noticed the red flags with these girls before we even got to the Apartment.

Red Flag 1: Me and my friend picked these girls out independently at help and when we introduced them to each other they said that they didn't know one another. However, when we finally got to the apartment they said that they were sisters!!!

Red Flag 2: After we left help we went to get some take out food from Terraco Atlantica(Spelling) and while we were waiting the two girls went to the bathroom together to, as they said "Take some pills".

Red Flag 3: before the voodoo shit the girls were held up together in the bathroom in our apartment for about 15 minutes doing god knows what.


In all honesty we should have called John to come over when the voodoo shit happened but we didn't rent a cell phone and the only phone we had was an American phone which didn't work in Brazil(and was inside the girls pussy). Not renting a cell phone was another rookie mistake. So for any newbies out there I would advise you that the first thing you do if you rent an apartment is to get a cell phone. The lack of phones in the apartments is another reason I will stay clear of apartments in the future and stick with hotels.

Also, I would just like to point out that this was only are second night, so when this shit went down we were pretty taken back by the whole situation. Our attitude towards the help girls definitely changed and from then on we never really went to help with the intention to pick up a girl. Our new playgrond became the Termas.(Termas are awesome

Basically, the only reason we went to help was we knew no portuguese, and didn't really want to attempt going to a all Brazilian club in a city we knew nothing about. So we would go to help and just fuck around with the girls and drink and when the club closed we would leave. It was actually pretty funny seeing the last girls in help at the end of the night scrambling to find a man. They sort of looked like chickens running around with their heads cut off. However, if anybody is travelling on a tight budget and wants to get some play for cheap just wait for help to close and approach some of the remaining girls. You can get about anything for bottom line prices!! We met one girl willing to do me and a friend for 50 reals all night. We had to pass on that one though because we just felt bad for the girl if she was willing to have sex with two man for about $17 U.S. Ended up buying her some food outside help at one of the carts, and sent her on her way.


(Message edited by hoyaboy on May 14, 2004)

I couldn't disagree with you guys more about Rio. In addition to a great mongering destination, it is without a doubt one of the most beautiful cities in the world. It is a world-class city with beautiful beaches, great restaurants, neighborhoods with character, and a stunning landscape. Even for a non-monger, I think it is one of the "must-see" cities of the world.

In the original post Hoyaboy mentioned that he felt he was getting ripped off by John or his partners at Riorentals4less. I have read lots of good stuff on another Rio apartment rental site and was wondering if anyone can confirm whether it's legit or not. The site is www.ez-riorentals.com and a lot of people have been giving this guy (Ken) good reviews on his apartments and his services. Since he's the admnistrator of the site I was kinda curious about the accuracy of his reviews.

Anyone?

Kenn is a good guy, but my advice is, if you are concerned about an apartment, just get a hotel instead. US$50 a night will get you a good room, with breakfast, front desk security, etc. My personal opinion is for newbies to not get apartments on the first run - stay at hotel, get some garota experience under your belt, find your way around and then get an apartment on your second trip or, if you are on an extended first trip (at least 2 weeks or so), spend the first week in a hotel and then the remaining time in an apartment.

I have used Kenn a couple of times as well as Don. I have had good service from both. Both have connetions for apartments all around Rio but I think mainly in the Copa area. Obviously the reviews on Kenn's site will only be positive but I have not seen anything bad posted about the service.

If anything does go wrong you can always call these guys and then will fix it. Example, I rented a studio from Don in January, it was not one of their usual apartments as they were booked solid. There was a plumbing problem and when I used the shower the drain was backing up. Don had someone out there to fix it that day.

Unfortunatly these things happen from time to time. It's not the norm. As to your prob with the girls, it happened to me years ago.
John I know and respect as well as Kenn and Bobby. We do the same things here, which is try to help people not familiar with the city.
I consider Catocony a friend and enjoy his company. He has never needed our services in any way. But he's still cool to hang with and we look forward to his next visit. "BS" would like to refer to myself as "his favorite tour guide". We have many friends here that we help in any way we can and in fact, we'll help anyone that asks.
We now have an agency devoted to help tourist's.
WE, unlike some other people here, have a legal agency for tourism. Shortly, alot of these so called specialst will run into serious legal problems. As usual, we rent apartments, make hotel reservations, and show the city to whomever may request our services. And still, NOBODY does this better.
To all our friends out there, and they number in the thousands, we thank you and look forward to seeing you all in the near future.
Special thanx to Hombre for putting up with all the bullshit spewing forth from a few malcontents.
The more they talk, the better we look.

Don, riotrips@hotmail
www.AMERIOCA.net

Riotrips - Congratulations on your new agency. I have used your services three times and OUTSTANDING is the only word I can think of to describe your services. You and your staff's dedication and honesty to your clients are a testimony to your character. Thanks again and good luck with Amerioca. - Hemp

Congratulations with the new agency Don.

Thanx, as always.
I'll post the address shortly with an overview of services. At the proper location on this site of course. Should be open in less than 2 weeks.
We'll be adding as many restaurant reviews as time permits. We don't have all day to spam i-net sites for self serving means, but we'll try to add usefull info as possible.
Don@riotrips