Not a trip report per se, just an acknowledgement of something several other CH members have been noting, especially kjtravels.

I still get regular PMs from board members asking where to find the girls in Rio. Many still think there must be physical locations where you find the girls, like Help, the Terraço, Meia Pataca, Mabs, Balcony Bar, and so forth.

That scene is gone. Dead. A few girls still hang out at Mabs late in the evening, but it's hardly worth the effort to trek over there.

Many of the termas are still going, but their prices have continued to rise despite the miserable economy in Brazil (Termas economics: if demand decreases, raise prices)

There are still quite a number of small casas with girls downtown and a few in Copa. Edificio Central (20+ floors of whores) has many, but in my experience the talent level has declined.

For better or worse, most of the action has gravitated to the internet or to apps such as Tinder, WhatsApp and Facebook. And lots of girls simply rely on word of mouth for potential customers to contact them and share their WhatsApp # (Brazilian girls do NOT use cell phones as phones; they are wifi devices for using WhatsApp for all telephone-like functions).

I use Forum X (https://forumx.com.br) to read reviews of freelancers, and then contact them on WhatsApp (all have their numbers listed Forum X). There are still a few sites where freelancers advertise (my fave these days is Photo Acompanhantes: https://www.photoacompanhantes.com/acompanhantes/rio-de-janeiro-capital

Other girls literally advertise their services on Facebook, and many (!!!) use Tinder. Just go on Tinder and "like" any girl that looks interesting. If she likes you back, she's working.

The reasons for these changes are understandable. Freelancing is simple, flexible, and the girl can keep 100% of the money. I know girls who work only when mom is available to take care of their kid, when they know they'll be in Copa for another reason, or when they need to pay their cellphone bill. There are lots of university students who are short on cash and work between classes and such. Twenty years ago these girls might reluctantly show up at Help or the Terraço looking for a client. Now it can all be done online, at their convenience.

Prices run the gamut, but in this market there's no reason to pay over R$250, and most seem to fall in the R$150-200 range for an hour. I had one long-time provider try to up her rate on me. I opened my computer and showed her the pricing from her competition and she sheepishly lowered her asking price. Don't be a sucker.

I can appreciate the above comments by BD.
The new reality in Rio mirrors what happened to another of my old favorites, Buenos Aires.
90% of the clubs in Recoleta or Centro have closed. Some due to lack of tourists and/or locals. Others due to outlandish police bribe requests. And the balance due to their economy that is in the toilet, now for years.

In Rio, the situation is exasperated by the return of high poverty and unemployment as the country slides into it's 3rd year of recession.

I am just thankful that I went to both (several times each) when I did.
Many of my associates missed the boat, and it may not be returning to port, ever!

Dr. J.

Certainly the point and click days of Rio mongering are done. That was apparent when I was down 13 months ago. Talent in the termas sucked, the prices were high, the night scene was gone. I'm sure there are still some good ones in the few remaining termas, but as dead boards like this testify, not a lot of American and European mongers are making the trip down anymore.

To the ones that still are, all I can say is get cranking on your Google Translate. You'll need some basic Portuguese to work the freelance scene.

It sounds like it's come full circle. Garotas used to cost R$200 or so out of Help, now the prices are closing back in. Of course, with 14 years of inflation, they're making chump change compared to last generation. But it does sound reassuring to me. The exchange rate is where it was on my first trip, the girls are charging what they were, there are plenty of non-favela girls working part time.

The rise of the Lawnmower Men is upon us...

I've vowed never to own a cellphone, just 5% of us left in the world now.

But if it means never getting laid? It's like something out of 1984(the, ah, novel...)

Bwana is wise and also very charitable in showing how it's done down there. Two years ago Medellin had fallen the same way. The Goddesses supposedly had gone online. I know I had to spend hours in fucking cabs to find even one killer.

There's always the Asian fallback, Bangkok and AC, but how long before those go internet too.

What-fucking-ever.

It has less to do with Internet applications and more to do with the eradication of poverty. The hobby is gradually drying up because there are more opportunities for young women. It's marginal, i.e. some girls with legit jobs use the apps to trick on the side (part time).

Many of your comments also pertain to Thailand, HK & Macao, e.g. that the talent sucks, "That scene is gone. Dead."

I'm on a Pattaya run now. Was I able to find a nineteen year-old with no tattoos who had never had kids and was not bad looking, with a nice natural bush (and would kiss and bareback)? Yes, but only one, and that was after scouring Sois 6, 7, 8, 2, Drinking Street, Walking Street, and Soi Bukhao. (Plus the massage parlors on 13/1, 13/2, etc.) Gone are the days when one would trip over such girls. Some of the girls in Macao looked like school teachers. It was a dream and I miss those times dearly.

Naysayers (like the "Occupy" know-nothings) who say that classical Economics as a bunch of b.s. are like a three year-old standing on the tracks and holding up a palm to stop a slow train. You can criticize it or ignore it, but it's happening over time and it affects us all.

https://www.amazon.com/Basic-Economics-Thomas-Sowell/dp/0465060730/ref=dp_ob_title_bk

They're still poor, they just have smartphones now. Why sit in a club all night or a termas all day when you can deal direct with mongers?

The real losers are the pimps and mamasans and club owners. You can still spend R$500 for entry and a 40 minute run at a termas, but you will be paying twice the price for the same pussy.

Sorry for mixing Asia and Brasil together, but the same goes for go-go's and whatnot in Thailand and the PI. Plenty of guys still like to get some drinks and do the bar/club/go-go/termas/whatever brothel experience. I do. But, just like using Amazon, you don't have to go the mall anymore to get a pair of shoes. There's a wider availability of selection, better pricing, reviews to reference and free delivery if you do it online vs in the store.

yeah, all that, and the utter annihilation of chance. Death of the random for convenience-sake.

Until it's OVER over--like poor Raymond Street, my former fav hangout--I will continue to walk out my door at Pacific Breeze, stop outside Kokomos, and say: "Left or right?" And the direction I walk will determine who I end up with that night.

You keep Amazon shopping, I'll keep doing my thing until there are no physical females left in the street.

See how nice that works out?

You should still go to bars and such. Just use it as research, get their contact info, and contact them later for a program.

Adapt or die, or in the mongering scene, adapt or pay higher prices for worsening product. Older units will continue to work the old venues, the skank will always be around.

I do monger differently in the LOS, but even there, more and more girls are foregoing the bars and using Facebook, LINE, ThaiFriendly, and other online sources. Earlier this year I had three bar girls give me their LINE IDs while in the bar so I could arrange to see them w/o paying a bar fine, and they could keep the whole amount.

PV, I feel your pain, but even in AC lots of girls have abandoned the bars and are freelancing by using LINE or Viber or Facebook or PinaLove. You know from first hand experience that the number of hotties in the bars have declined, and it's not because the Philippines economy is red hot and absorbing all these highly educated girls into good paying jobs. The hotties have found they can make more money out on their own.

Interesting discussion. Unusual that it's not on the Chatboard. Not much action there anymore. The Amazon metaphor is a good one. I agree with PV. There is a "thrill" to walking out of your hotel or apartment and not knowing who you will meet. Like the times we had in Rio or Bangkok in the past. Termas still offer that experience to some extent.But when it comes to variety clearly the internet offers more. I'm still going to do my last minute Christmas shopping at Macy's, but it never hurts to explore the online world IMHO.

Yeah, well, I'll let my trip report photos speak for themselves on quality. Quality from 95% in-the-flesh connections.

Bedouin, it's likely just stubbornness. I'm a technophobe from way back as evidenced by the fact that I have never, in my life, sent a text message. Most of my students send a hundred in a day. Constant communication is highly overrated. As it is here in Chi I have to duck PI chicks who are Facebook friends.

No idea what LINE is but I'm interested if they cut the 3000 bar rate Bwana or just kept all of it. If you told me I could save 50% of the $250 a day I spend over there if I use the phone then I'd do it tomorrow (cheap throwaway phone).

I went over to the Dark Side a couple times with internet dates in Medellin. Yeah, you can WhatsApp or PineappleLove with them on that 3-inch screen but it's basically blind date time when they show up at your door if you're not interviewing them over a drink. Those Medellin internet dates went OK but seeing them in the flesh I likely wouldn't have chosen them.

Whatever, man. Just hope I can make it back next year.

PV, we all get a little more stubborn as we get older.

I'm like Pauly - I've got to see them in the flesh. I'm notoriously picky about body types, and the internet is a notorious liar. I will not bother with any type of method that doesn't involve seeing them in the flesh off the bat. Give me go-go stages and massage parlor lineups any day of the week over Photoshopped images on the phone!

Fortunately the changes sweeping our beloved destinations as outlined above will probably take a bit more time to seriously impact Jakarta, so I still have my backup bolt hole. :-)

However, unlike Pauly, I'm a big advocate of texting and using mobile devices for actual communication. Such as scheduling with my regulars to come over...

Whats the quality like at 4x4 these days? Has it slowly degraded in the age of the smartphone? Like many on this board I prefer a known quantity. I guess I am going to have to buy a smartphone in order to keep up. You are not alone Pauly V. There are a lot of Luddites in this hobby. I have a Walmart flip phone. The younger members of my family view it as a full blown eccentricity as if I strolled about in a bowler hat and spats.

Shopping for pussy online has its downsides, but it's more flexible than simply looking at pictures on Facebook or Tinder and deciding whether to pull the trigger or not.

All these girls have some application with video capability, so you can chat with them and see them. I always do a thorough video interview before booking a girl. It's not a foolproof method but it's worked very well for me.

Beefjerky1, I went to 4X4 and didn't pull a girl. I thought the talent level was down. Solarium had some nice girls, but certainly no nicer than my freelancers. The freelancers cost me between R$100 and R$250 for between 1 and 3 hours. Solarium was over R$600 for 40 minutes. You've gotta really love the termas environment to be willing to pay that premium.

Guys, you've been using the internet to assist in mongering for a long time now. Clubhombre was an early board and very valuable 15 years ago. Much less so now, but if you were dedicated enough to use Clubhombre back in the day, you can certainly get the hang of using WhatsApp or Line or Viber.

You can cut and paste directly to and from Whatsapp and Google translate, so you don't have to really learn the language to have decent interviewing.

Face time the girls is a safe way to see what your getting.
I have to imagine there is still good beach action in Ipanema.

R$600 for 40 min? I am afraid to ask what Centaurus charges these days. I have been away for so long I might feel like Rip Van winkle down there. I have nev er even heard of Line or Viber but I have taken note of the very reasonable apt. rents and that is kind of pushing me toward an encore visit. I assume Bel Prazer still exists and that it is still cheap.

Bwana- you say you were mongering in Tijuca? What the heck is out there?

Beefjerky1-

R$600 is ridiculous in the current Brazilian economy, but the good news, if you haven't been checking, is the dollar is getting R$325. I have no idea what Centaurus runs. A year ago it was R$150 entrance and R$500 for 40 minutes. It's probably higher now.

Bel Prazer and all those "casas de fast foda" still exist downtown. Edificio Central must have 20 of them. Bel Prazer runs R$150/hr. That's pretty typical for the Centro casas.

Tijuca just happens to be overflowing with freelancers. I did a dupla with two very hot 19 year old at a motel in Tijuca. Total cost was R$290 (100 each for the girls, 90 for the motel). So it was worth a R$8 metro ride round trip.

on my last trip to Thailand ( this past Sept ) my Favorite Thai-pooying was using her cell phone to arrange future dates using LINE app....
cell phones are here and as they are getting more sophisticated by the year , , , working girls around the globe (whores/prostitutes ) will upgrade with this technology to their advantage.
nothing wrong with that !
yes the internet has changed how mongering is done , but lets not forget that most of us travel using the INTERNET all the time these days !

cheers

mongers are using the internet to their advantage to get laid / nothing wrong with this

prostitutes are begining to use this more to their advantage too / nothing wrong with this either

bottom line / pussy is atill - - and will be available around the world at bargaining prices

heck there is plenty of pussy in my backyard here in Chicago !

Good stuff here, thanks to Bwana and all the vets here for their perspective.

I have little to add from personal experience from online hookups, but survived for years of price inflation in AC via texting with former barfines. Like Murasaki, I am picky enough about looks (giant cans for ME!) that an innocent pic on social media isn't gonna get me interested.

Went to Rio a couple of weeks ago and there were working girls in Emporio in Ipanema. Nothing really worthwhile, but they were there. One in particular was concerned about me video taping some happy people dancing to "shiny happy people" that I found entertaining, but told her to to fuck off.....which seemed to attract her in her hooker way. Didn't pursue anything with her, but did make out like crazy with a girl I met just earlier that night in Lapa. Yeah, Rio is still awesome....but different!

Pennies for my thoughts;

A shame to read this and see how mess up is the nightlife in Rio. doubt i would go there again.
i just want to remenber my last trip there years ago and had one of my best monger trips in south america.

MarcoPolo

Marcopolo,

I miss the Help/Terraço scene in Rio, although I don't miss all the violence and crime that went along with that. Help, on a good night, was something special.

I've adjusted. I've never been a late night guy. Now I hit the beach in the morning, have lunch, then either order in a freelancer for an early afternoon treat or head to Centro to meet girls there. In the evenings I'll sometimes have a second girl come to my apartment or I'll go to Lapa or somewhere to catch live music. I'm almost always asleep by midnight. Back in the Help days the night was just getting started then.

But I can see that some guys would just not find the current scene of interest. YMMV.

Gents,

I can advise that using Tinder in Cartagena was the single greatest thing I have ever done in my life.

Mr. Bwana Dik thank you so much as I read your article and got the idea from you just before I flew out. Created the profile as I landed.

I will explain when I write the report but the game is as simple as put up a tinder profile ad a couple quick lines of what you need and expect and start swiping right.


I know some people say that they have 99 problems and a bitch ain't one, well I got 99 bitches!!!


The only problem is having to turn absolute dime
pieces down. The internet made the game safer and much funner and I do believe better for the average chica and university student as well.

Anyway... get it while you can.