Hola amigos. RT aqui. Greetings from Santiago.

Usually, I vacation in San Jose, Costa Rica. Occasionally, my work takes me to the city of Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic.

The Puerto Plata/Sousa area is rife with mongering opportunities, but, it's a small area, and I'm too well-known over there to kill a few days just screwing around.

However, a combination of needing to burn a couple of vacation days, just getting back from San Jose, and American Airlines putting Santiago on sale has put me right here.

For those that don't know much about the Dominican Republic, here goes: It is one of two contries (Haiti is the other) on the island of Hispanola, smack dab in the middle of the Caribbean.

Spanish is the language here, Christianity is the religion, and being poor or barely struggling to get by is the major domestic product of this country. Even the large cities (Santiago is #2 to Santo Domingo) are very depressing.

The currency here is the Peso. It trades for 51 to the dollar (1/29/04). These poor people have seen the value of their money go down by 2/3 in less than three years. When I first came here in May 2001, I received 16.7 pesos for a dollar. Now, 51.

No, salaries haven't tripled. Items directly related to the dollar (gas, milk, cars, pampers, tourist-related items were always priced in dollars, etc.) have tripled, and most other prices have risen, but not dramatically. Therefore, anyone who comes here to spend money on a vacation, and actually leaves the hotel will do very well. Cigars are dirt cheap, for example, and Dominican Cigars are supposed to be top-notch.

Two and a half years ago, short-time girls in Sosua were getting 500-800 pesos ($30-$48). Last month, I paid 1,000 pesos for a date, and could have paid less if I tried ($25). The peso was hovering around 40 then. At 50 to a dollar, 1,000 pesos is $20. In December, I paid 800 pesos ($20) for a bar girl in Puerto Plata.

The upscale clubs in Puerto Plata previously asked 1,500-2,000 pesos ($90-$120). My last short-time date there cost 2,000 pesos ($50), but they knew me, so maybe 'retail' was 3,000 ($75).

I don't know if prostitution is legal here or not. I am guessing it is. What with the big neon signs and music blaring from the whorehouses. If it's not legal, it certainly isn't something the authorities are interested in policing. It is totally risk-free, from a customer's point of view.

I have flown out of Santiago a couple of times. There aren't many clubs here, but the three I have seen have all been top-notch, with asking prices of 1,500-2,000 pesos short time ($30-$40).

The people here in the Dominican Republic are not happy with their current situation. The current president has pissed EVERYONE off, and there are General Strikes here every two months or so. There was one that ended yesterday, which threw a serious crimp in my plans. The Thursday lesbian show at Casablanca was cancelled, for example.

The elections are coming in May, and depending on how it turns out, it will either get much better here (people being happy-wise) or much, much worse. Can anyone say Venezuela?

The people here, however hard it is to believe, are basically pretty happy day to day (most people are pleasant and have a smile for you), the girls are beautiful, the people are honest, and the weather is nice. There's not a hell of a lot to do here other than eat, gamble and get laid.

Oh, that's all I like to do. Never mind.

All prices in the report will be in dollars, to keep things simple, but I paid for everything in pesos. I have my trusty GPS with me, so, once I'm done, you can follow in my footsteps.

RT

Great! looking forward to your report - I heard that Dominicanas call the deed "chichar" pronounced "shi shar" so I hope to read that you heard that word plenty form the girls...<grin>! If you have time to travel in DR, check out Black Beards hotel.

Batman, the word is singar. Pronounced "sing-gar" with the accent on the second part.

"Ah, papi, síngame duro". Or, "ah, papi, que me singues duro". "Fuck me hard".

RT, nice to see this report. I completely forgot you were coming in a day after me. My flight got delayed because of the JFK situation and I ended up getting in the same day as you. We may have been on the same plane. My Thursday night was depressing with everyplace I visited ending up being closed.

Five clubs now, though, right?

Incredible, we were probably on each other's heels all night Thursday.

Yup, Porky's, Casablanca, Ilusion, Pasion (for everyone but me!), and Diversions.

I bet there are a **lot** of 2nd-tier type places (al la Diversions), if we can find the right people to ask.

I did ask two cab drivers on the previous trip. They both confirmed that they paled in comparison to the top 3/4 that we've already visited, and the one took me by the Diversions place.

I think our next order of business in Santiago is finding out more about the car washes. I met Fantasy in Sosua and later read that he knew at least 6 or 7 that were supposed to offer good talent and provide a good daytime option.

Daytime options were abundant in Santo Domingo.

I am going to be in Santiago mid-June. What places are considered "Can't Miss"?

Great report, sounds like a great time. I'm planning on making my first trip later this year or early next year. Thanks for sharing
cheers
kj

(Message edited by kjvegas on July 05, 2004)