Leaderboard

I like to read reports that members post about their travels. Tomcal has done Rio and Brazil due honors, and it would be folly to try to imitate him. Likewise with Oz. Just take notice of his posting today about taking the train to Cambodia! Others too offer good reports. I just don't feel up to the competition. So my trip to Rio last week would start by thanking tomcal and lurkerspeaks for encouraging me to use rioapartmentrentals.com. They put my husband and I into a good 2BR apartment with an ocean view (Okay, you had to stick your head out the window to see it) in an area above the Copacabana Palace and a ten minute walk to Cardeal Arcoverde Metro station. There was an abundance of groceries in the area, and staying in an apartment gave us more of a feel for living there. We enjoyed our favorite restaurants: Bella Blue, Sequiera Grill in particular, as well as a downtown visit to the historic Confeiteria Colombo, which took us back in time to enjoy a meal with long-dead cariocas! Yes, we went to the saunas. Club 117 is no longer the top one, in our opinion. In the past, I have always liked it. We went on two occasions, and both nights had a completely different cast of boys with an exception or two. But these guys know their value, and it was rare to hear an offer below R100. The H went with a guy, had a great time for the agreed price, and then was stunned when he had dressed and the boy hit him up for another 50. It's always been common that guys try to get a little more money, or a drink, but after the fact trying to raise the price was a new one for us. We did say no. The main difference I noted in Club 117 was rudeness on the part of the boys. They would push their way through a crowd, or run up/down that narrow staircase without regard to anyone in their way. For the first time, I felt that the front desk was rude. In general, I think Club 117 has too much attitude. You might think that too if you went to Meo Mundo, where attitude and rudeness are almost unheard of. I had never been there before, and my first visit felt a bit overwhelming as it was so crowded on a Monday free cabin night. Once I relaxed a bit, it seemed to be a very friendly place, and prices were back in the 60 to 80 range. And what beautiful guys! An angelic looking fellow showed up at the right time to make my night a success. The H was having his own 7th heaven, and we left quite satisfied. I skipped free cabin night at Club 117 on Tuesday as I just didn't want to deal with the crowds, and H says they were big crowds and the place was so warm he couldn't wait to leave. Not that he would leave too soon. We tried Meo Mundo again on a Wednesday night and were disappointed at how quiet it was. That was foolish of us as it soon became crowded again, and we were now among familiar faces. H met a guy whose name seemed to be Haka, and this guy was the toast of the town. What a personality! I am told his dick is enormous too. We had originally intended to go to Meo Mundo on Saturday night. I followed instructions here and took a taxi there, but somehow the address I had read here said 118 Teofilo whatever, when the actual address is 18. So we instead went to Point 202, always my least favorite sauna. But this particular night was really good. Lots of muscle boys, but not the 117 attitude. I must have gone with the only non-muscle boy there, but we had a great time. Everyone was quite friendly, and the woman working the desk was a great improvement over the stuck up guy they used to have. We took a night off and went to Ipanema for some shopping. We had been there on Sunday as well for the Hippy Fair. We also went touring downtown. On Friday we flew to Porto Alegre, where we stayed at the new Cosmopolitan Palace hotel. It was nice, and any worries as to whether boys are allowed in the room abated when we saw that the lobby had several women of the night hanging out. The only "male of the night" I saw was very cute, but wore makeup to enhance his looks. We went to Porto Alegre because the Rock in Rio Festival was beginning, drawing some one million people to Rio. I didn't want to deal with the crowds so flew south as a previous visit there with tomcal was quite a success. I learned (hard) the value of having tomcal around at a sauna. He knows everyone! But the two of us (H and I) found it much harder to penetrate (figuratively) the local crowd. Essentially, the boys didn't give us much of a chance, and so many of them seemed to be taken already, especially the cutest ones. That left slim pickings, but doable. We were told that many of the guys might be in Rio for the Festival- just my luck. But both nights we went to Mixx bar after the sauna and enjoyed the colorful crowd there a lot. Shopping was also fun, and the Thomas Pub provided one of the best meals I have ever had. (It wasn't Pub food either!) One incident that hurt my view of Mezzaninu Sauna was the adding of a cabin charge to the bill. It took me a minute to realize it, so when I spoke up the desk clerk said it was too late to protest it as he had already run the charge. So, I asked to speak to Roy, the owner whom we had met last year. The clerk was quite surprised at that, but said he wasn't in. Nonetheless, the irreversible charge was refunded once the owner's name came up. Innocent mistake on the bill? Sure, why not? We had a good flight back, but are now jet-lagged, but satisfied. You'll note that I have no pictures, and what happened with me and certain young men at the saunas will stay between us. As much as I enjoy reading others' stories, mine always retain a few facts just for myself! Sorry!

Day 4: Back to Bangkok - Or NOT A very long day! We woke up today and had breakfast at the hotel and packed our bags to travel. We were headed back to Thailand today but since it rained a bit, we decided we would head to Phnom Penh and fly out. We had a few choices of transportation to get from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh. We could have chosen to fly. They had direct flights from about 84 USD. We could have taken a boat (which is what we wanted to do) for about 35 USD but when we asked to book this, we were told it was not open until October. So, if you plan to try a river boat ride, be sure you come at a time when it is open. We could have taken a variety of bus services that ranged from about 8 USD to 14 USD. However, we decided to take a taxi as we thought the rate of 60 USD was reasonable and were told it would be more comfortable than a bus. The hotel tried to get us to book with them for 90USD but we just called a local travel agent who told us 65 and we said 60 and she said OK. As we needed to check out, I went downstairs and started the process. We had 2 rooms as I wanted the boys to have a room of their own on the trip and at 45 USD a night, I thought very reasonable. Plus, if we had added a 3rd person to our room, they would going to charge 20 USD anyway. At checkout, I saw a bill for 187 USD. It was for the minibar in the boys room. I was shocked but I guess I didn't want to argue and I paid it. When we were in the taxi, I asked the boys if they had drinks from the minibar and they said they drank everything each day. I asked why they just didn't get something from the mini mart and they said, "you told us mini bar was free." LOL I did tell them that when we stay at the Intercontinental. At a Royal Ambassador, I get free mini bar privileges and I tell them to drink anything they want each day as it is free. Since we have not stayed at this hotel before, they thought the same was for this hotel. I didn't tell them that things weren't free here and I didn't tell them the total cost of the bill. But, I had a big chuckle on my own for not being more clear. It won't happen again! The taxi ride was Hell on Wheels! Literally, the road is horrible. The way the people drive the road is dangerous and I was relieved to get to my room. The ride really was horrendous and I wish I had taken either a plane or a bus. The car hit 10,000 major bumps and we felt like we were riding a roller coaster each moment. Once we got settled in the hotel, I was not feeling well. Perhaps it was getting drenched for 3 days so I asked the boys to go out and get me some gatorade. I gave them 100 USD. They came back and gave me my change. I had 57 USD. I asked why so little and the BF said, that was what they gave him from the 100. I asked how much the bill was and he didn't know but said 20. In other words, they don't speak the language and the guy at the store short changed them. I told them they try this with me in Thailand from time to time and that is why I always count things very carefully. For those of you unbelievers, let me say the boys have never short changed me. They have access to my ATM's, CC, etc. I trust them totally and as they have their own money, it would not behove them to make up the story. They were both surprised at this and now know to be more careful. I guess the guy saw a few gold necklaces and their watches and said, "here comes my payday." We did eat dinner tonight near the River front. It was just OK and nothing special. We chose to stay at the Intercontinental Hotel as I needed some nights before the end of the year. It is late at night here and I have a fever so I am off to bed. Long day. Raining again on us in Phnom Penh.

Thanks Oz, and lurkerspeaks. I also appreciate the "likes." When I wrote it, I didn't really expect much of a response. The jet lag is now gone, and we are wondering where we might go next.

When you said you twisted your ankle in the first 10 minutes I thought the finish of that was going to be, so I got the boys to push me around all day in a wheel chair. I have seen that ploy used before but it might be largely an American thing. Thanks for the report and pix. Best regards, RA1

Day 3 I know from experience that shit happens. On my last trip here, I lost my photos and the same thing happened on one trip to Brazil. I have a few hundred thousand photos from years gone by and I have been organizing them the last few months. Knowing that I had lost photos in the past when things happen, I have started to use Dropbox to save all my camera images. This comes in very handy for me as I just connect the camera or the flash drive and dropbox has a setting that allows it to always upload to your dropbox account. I do this now for all images and it loads to my account and even if my computer is stolen, I have not lost anything of value to me like photos. I also have family in the USA with access to my account and they can see all the photos each day as well without me having to send via email. IMHO, Dropbox is a savior in many instances! Here are a few photos of the breakfast in the hotel. Again, this is a good place to eat and the food is very good but it is mainly Asian cuisine as that is their customer base. Today, when I was at breakfast around 6:30 AM, they will full with only Asians. I was the only white guy in the room. It has not stopped raining since we got here. We had planned to go about 50 k outside the city for a few other ruins and some mountain trekking but with the rain, we were told that it was not possible. We had also tried to do the balloons over the ruins and they were closed. Lastly, we saw an ad for ATV and a few hours of 4 wheels though the area and again, they were closed due to the rain. So, we didn't get to see all the things we wanted to see but at least we got to the major temples yesterday. We have been in and out of town quite a bit. We have eaten on Pub road for several meals and also in the hotel. The average cost of all of our meals here have been about 10USD per person. I will say that if I do this again, I'll stay near the center of town. Our hotel is great but it is a Tuk Tuk ride into the city all the time.

Amazing and wonderful pictures. The H and I flew to Siem Reap a few years ago and really liked the place, as well as Angkor Wat. Lurkerspeaks, good ol' Wikipedia tells us: Angkor (Khmer: អង្គរ or នគរ, "Capital City")[1][2] is a region of Cambodia that served as the seat of the Khmer Empire, which flourished from approximately the 9th to 15th centuries. The word Angkor is derived from the Sanskrit nagara (नगर), meaning "city".[3] The Angkorian period began in AD 802, when the Khmer Hindu monarch Jayavarman II declared himself a "universal monarch" and "god-king", and lasted until the late 14th century, first falling under Ayutthayan suzerainty in 1351. A Khmer rebellion resulted in the 1431 sacking of Angkor by Ayutthaya, causing its population to migrate south to Longvek. The ruins of Angkor are located amid forests and farmland to the north of the Great Lake (Tonlé Sap) and south of the Kulen Hills, near modern-day Siem Reap city (13°24′N, 103°51′E), in Siem Reap Province. The temples of the Angkor area number over one thousand, ranging in scale from nondescript piles of brick rubble scattered through rice fields to the magnificent Angkor Wat, said to be the world's largest single religious monument. Many of the temples at Angkor have been restored, and together, they comprise the most significant site of Khmer architecture. Visitor numbers approach two million annually, and the entire expanse, including Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom is collectively protected as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This popularity of the site among tourists presents multiple challenges to the preservation of the ruins. In 2007, an international team of researchers using satellite photographs and other modern techniques concluded that Angkor had been the largest preindustrial city in the world, with an elaborate infrastructure system connecting an urban sprawl of at least 1,000 square kilometres (390 sq mi) to the well-known temples at its core.[4] The closest rival to Angkor, the Mayan city of Tikal in Guatemala, was between 100 and 150 square kilometres (39 and 58 sq mi) in total size.[5] Although its population remains a topic of research and debate, newly identified agricultural systems in the Angkor area may have supported up to one million people.[6]

Lucky, great report! I loved reading about it and I am glad you got home satisfied!

Day 2 in Siem Reap I woke up early today and headed downstairs for a good breakfast. The hotel provides a very nice buffet and I love omelets. The ones here were excellent. The have a wide variety of food for foreigners and locals. It was a lot of Asian delicacies as the majority of the guests are Asian tour groups. The hotel manager said mostly from Korea, China and Japan. I had arranged a tour guide for today. The cost was 25 USD for the day for the guide and the van was another 50 USD. We need a van as there were 3 of us and the guide and driver. We were told that most likely it would rain today but we booked the guide anyway. It did rain. The entire day. There were a few short breaks but we were soaked the entire day. Many of the photos you will see are in the rain. It was just a very cloudy and drizzly day today! The driver and guide were excellent and well worth the money. We stopped by an ATM first thing as I knew we would need American currency to pay for the tickets to get inside the Angkor Wat temples. The ATM's here dispense USD but most places take several forms of currency. The cost is 20 USD for one day, 40 for 3 days and 60 for a week. We were going to only get one day but we wanted to do one more temple the next day so we booked for 2 days. They take a photo of you and you are printed out a pass. From there we were off to see the amazing temples in the area. It truly is a marvelous site. There is so much to see and it is often up and down stairs and hiking in the trails. You can read about the temples from other sites but I'll say that seeing one of the 7 Wonders of the World is just something none of us will ever forget. It was not my first visit here but I did enjoy it so much better because the boys were here with me to experience it. I twisted my ankle in the first 10 minutes and the rest of the day was spent limping around. I still made the day but it was a bit painful. As soon as we got back, my foot went up but it was too late. The damage was done! We left a bit later than the other groups as the boys wanted to leave after 9. When we got to the main temple the guide suggested that we start at the other temples and end at Angkor. We agreed and off we went. One of my favorite temples was the one where Angelina Jolie filmed part of Tomb Raider. The trees covering the temple grounds are fabulous. I also loved the kids from the area all playing in the trees surrounding the temple. We did have tons of kids come up to us today to ask us to give them money or to buy something. After 10 thousand no, no, no, I had one kid ask me to buy a postcard and I told him to count to 100. He did. In English. I gave him some money as I thought he earned it. He was maybe 6 years old. I was told that 80 percent of the children in Cambodia now learn English in school. That came from the guide and I don't know how accurate but so far everyone we met including waiters and gas station attendants spoke very good English. After we finished our tour, and rested, I went for a long swim. The hotel has a salt water pool and it felt great after a long day hiking and trekking. The boys and I ate at the hotel and called it an early night. Sorry there are so many images. It was just one of those days that we all wanted to take a ton of photos. We ended up with over 2,000 images! LOL I won't put them all on there but here are a few samples.