If you're in the mood for something different-something "down and dirty"-you may want to check you Vila Mimosa (or VM, as it's known to most). VM is a small section in the old downtown area (not far from the soccer stadium, Maracana) that is home to some very seedy and inexpensive brothels. VM is a local institution that primarily serves locals. It can get a bit rough, so if you do not look like a local and speak Portuguese, you may not want to wander in here on your own. Go with a group and book the services of a guide.

What will you find in VM? There are a bunch of tiny beer bars and small houses each with several small rooms. You can select a girl and head to one of these rooms and do the deed on site. Here's the deal, though. If Cleanliness is next to Godliness, VM borders on Hell. The rooms run from dirty to disgusting. The girls vary wildly in quality, from "butt-ugly, would get close enough to beat it with a 10-foot stick" to surprisingly pretty. I saw quite a number of girls who looked underage as well (if underage girls appeal to you, you might want to tour a Brasilian jail before you decide to imbibe). But this is budget-sex central: you should never pay more than 20-25 reais for a turn with a girl here. You may pay double that if you decide to take her back to your place (not a bad idea if you're averse to cum-covered sheets). To be honest, this is not my cup of tea, but it's another of those places that one should visit at least once.

The action seems to get going around 5 p.m. and goes well into the night. As I mentioned earlier, go with a group or a guide. VM has its own website, which set records for number of hits in a day in Brasil after it was featured in a newspaper article: http://www.vilamimosa.com.br