What is your favourite destination for the hobby?

[Mandouke]

The world is a vast place with many hidden treasures. I am interested in knowing what your favourite destination or is for indulging in the hobby. What is the absolute best place for hobbyists? Why?

Do you go on business, for pleasure, or a combination of both?

How does it compare with hobbying in Montreal?

Do you get better value for your money?

 

[urquell]

This is kind of a loaded question, because different places are good for different things and are culturally (within and without the mongering community) different as well. On top of that, people have very specific preferences about things outside of mongering, like climate, presence or absence of beaches, language issues, ease and length of flights, etc. etc. Also, while some people might frequent one place more often very few who travel regulalry will limit themselves to one location. So, bearing that in mind, my favorites are as follows, in no particular order:

1) Medellin, Colombia. Great climate, modern conveniences, an easily accesible network of gorgeous women
2) Lima, Peru. Super interesting place to visit, world class cuisine, down to earth girls, not out to gouge gringos every second of the day
3) Angeles City and Subic, the Philippines. GFE capital of the world, very cheap to monger, stay and eat, super friendly, English speaking
4) Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Exotic, modern, cheap. Interesting venues and great food. I love the vibe here. The mongering scene is layered here.
5) Havana, Cuba. The city has issues with modern conveniences, but has charm and music everywhere. The girls are hot, cheap, and available all over the city in any kind of venue.

Many other places, some of them fun, but not favorites. The only ones I wouldn't do again for mongering purposes are Mexico and Paraguay.

How do they compare to Montreal? They blow Montreal away in pretty much every sense of the mongering experience. Also, every single one of them delivers far greater value for the money, by a significant and sometimes ridiculous margin. It's not even close, really. The downside of course is that you have to travel. Traveling is great, and I encourage it highly, but it can affect someone who wants to be on a regular schedule.

 

[Mandouke]

That is a great breakdown of places. I was just in Havana and while it was dirt cheap I was not in my best element and was very cautious, particularly while in Havana and also Guanabo where I frequented a number of very good clubs that catered to the hobby, the Casa was direct across the street from the club and a cab back to my resort was about 20 bucks US.

I most likely will be going to Thailand in the New Year.

 

[urquell]

That is a great breakdown of places. I was just in Havana and while it was dirt cheap I was not in my best element and was very cautious, particularly while in Havana and also Guanabo where I frequented a number of very good clubs that catered to the hobby, the Casa was direct across the street from the club and a cab back to my resort was about 20 bucks US.

Havana is a unique environment, unlike other places, and while you could instantly step from CR to the DR to Colombia and not miss a beat using your previous experience you need to adjust your way of thinking for Havana. The approach to mongering is totally different there, unless you limit yourself to the girl clubs in which case you miss out on the richest parts of the Cuban experience (and pay substantially more money). You already know what I think of going to Cuban resorts for mongering purposes, so I won't beat that dead horse or comment further on going to Guanabo. lol

Honestly I think it takes 2-3 trips to Havana before you really get a feel for the place and can navigate with confidence.

 

[Mandouke]

Honestly I think it takes 2-3 trips to Havana before you really get a feel for the place and can navigate with confidence

Indeed. The smell of shit in the air on the ride into the city was an experience. The girls on the street alone were difficult for me to handle. It was every 10 feet that I would be propositioned. The guys that I was with (3 other men) had all kinds of nightmares happen to them.

Much of it revolved around the girls they met and their reluctance once in the Casa to engage at a sexual level they were led to believe was coming their way. One of my friends in Guajnabo at the bar K5 drank a drink with ice cubes in it and that was it for him, lol! No Casa and a quick cab ride back to the resort.

I am sure on my next visit I will be much more of a player.

 

[urquell]

Indeed. The smell of shit in the air on the ride into the city was an experience. The girls on the street alone were difficult for me to handle. It was every 10 feet that I would be propositioned. The guys that I was with (3 other men) had all kinds of nightmares happen to them.

Much of it revolved around the girls they met and their reluctance once in the Casa to engage at a sexual level they were led to believe was coming their way. One of my friends in Guajnabo at the bar K5 drank a drink with ice cubes in it and that was it for him, lol! No Casa and a quick cab ride back to the resort.

I am sure on my next visit I will be much more of a player.

If the guys didn't manage expectations by asking before bringing the girls back then it's on them, unfortunately. There should always be a clear understanding before going back to the casa. Some casa management steps to take prior as well.

 

[EagerBeaver]

The downside of course is that you have to travel. Traveling is great, and I encourage it highly, but it can affect someone who wants to be on a regular schedule.

Doesn't your Spanish also have to be somewhat serviceable in the venues you reviewed? Especially when discussing services and clarifying expectations as it pertains to your last comment?

 

[urquell]

Doesn't your Spanish also have to be somewhat serviceable in the venues you reviewed?

In Medellin, not so much. There's plenty of girls that get by in English, particularly in the Poblado area around Parque Lleras. In Lima having Spanish is a big help, but if you're in the Miraflores area you can get by generally. If you're stepping out from there then you want either a guide or a good translator. In Havana there's lots of girls that can navigate the basics in 3-4 languages because they're so dependent on foreign money. Usually European languages and English. They also cooperate with each other to help each other communicate with foreigners. Cultural thing. In the philippines everybody speaks English and perhaps most surprisingly in Malaysia it's actually not difficult to get by in mongering venues at all in English.

For people who are concerned about being able to communicate in English and who have less experience internationally I can recommend going to Costa Rica or Panama, both of which will allow mongers to operate exclusively in English with no issues at all, provided the mongers use the more gringo centric establishments. In CR you can usually get English even a bit off the beaten path. In Panama less so if you go into the sticks, but it's culturally very recognizable for North Americans with many American chains and the use of US dollars and many people in commercial districts speak English. The Cangrejo area where some of the most gringo friendly places are is in the financial area, and English is pretty easily found.

If you're a French speaker it's a different proposition entirely. Very few speak French and I usually just speak French to people I'm looking to get rid of because if they feel they can't communicate with you then it's a waste of time for them to hit you up for cash and they go away quickly. lol

 

[EagerBeaver]

If you're a French speaker it's a different proposition entirely. Very few speak French and I usually just speak French to people I'm looking to get rid of because if they feel they can't communicate with you then it's a waste of time for them to hit you up for cash and they go away quickly. lol

Uh oh I think Gaby just cancelled the vacation to Costa Rica.

 

[excentrix]

Any experiences with Sao Paulo? Going there quite a bit for work for the next few months.

 

[urquell]

Any experiences with Sao Paulo? Going there quite a bit for work for the next few months.

No Brazil experience for me, but ISG should be able to help you out a bit