azdr0710

the metro and my own two feet work pretty well

the continuous loop of that melancholy music only added to the desperate, fleeting grasp of youth some of these "celebrities" seem unable to let go of

I gave Hong Kong about four days in October of 2017......don't really need to go back......I had a list of things to see and do before I got there, checked a bit of it off each day, and finished the list by departure..... I don't seek out expensive restaurants or attractions......either ate at the hotel buffet or a nearby simple joint for breakfast....would try to find something for lunch and dinner, but I'm not a foodie...... rode the Star Ferry, took the train to Victoria Peak and walked back down, rode one of those double-decker buses to Western and back, rode up the famous escalator, walked thru a couple flashy/pretentious malls (they love the bling!), walked thru the so-called "red light district" and another "party" street, had Chinese tea at a place in Hong Kong Park, went out to the Chi Lin Nunnery (very nice), walked thru the Kowloon Walled City Park (great!), went to the Hong Kong (History) Museum (excellent), walked Nathan St and walked by the Peninsula, went to a couple night markets (ok, bought a couple trinkets), watched the sound and light show from Kowloon on the buildings on HK Island (surprisingly lame), went to a couple temples..... the Kowloon side is, of course, more "Chinese" than corporate Central on the HK side......but it's easy to find authentic-ish neighborhoods anywhere outside Central.....a friendly ex-pat American directed me to a few nearby attractions and his favorite lunch spot when he saw me fumbling with my map and guidebook...... I wanted to go up to that well-known temple and hike way above the airport on Lantau Island, but it was very humid....instead, I paid a small fee and watched the planes land and take off for a couple hours before my flight, using an app to identify the airlines/planes/routing from the rooftop viewing area...... the high-speed train to and from the airport is a good deal.....buy a RT ticket just outside customs at a staffed desk near the tourist info area....it includes free bus service from the in-town stations to most nearby hotels..... there is a lot more to do in the area, of course, but I got my fill....everybody has their own priorities......I did not look for a hook-up or any kind of "sex parlor" - it just didn't seem to be the place for that

your quote was written nine years ago

others will chime in, but I can help a bit after two visits to Rio.... 1. I don't think a real translator should be hired for your first visit.....Google Translate is very helpful, though.....many of the locals in and out of the saunas do not speak English.....you may also want to carry an old-fashioned Portuguese-English dictionary.....I stumble a bit in Spanish in Rio, but fear this is insulting...... 2. summer (now) in Rio is the popular time....I think there are more guys working in the saunas 3. during my 2012 and 2016 visits to Rio, I was allowed to wear my casual street clothes at all times in all the saunas....they are much more comfortable to me that an ill-fitting towel and I was very grateful for that....(Thermas in Barcelona requires all to wear a towel) please go thru all the threads here in the forum about Rio......ask questions, if you don't find answers, about the protocol, how to bargain, safety, etc....do not be flashy on the streets or in the saunas....walk confidently and be aware of your surroundings.....don't forget to do the tourist stuff.....

yup, trying to open PBC (address is a series of numbers) just results in constant looking....never opens......that's never happened before...... I wonder if they got hacked because real names were available there and somebody got pissed???.......remember the pornwikileaks scandal of several years ago?..... imdb seems ok for me.....

http://theswedesbarandbistro.yolasite.com/ https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-swedes-puerto-vallarta looks very reasonably priced.....great menu! .

any update??......

He may still take his usual vacation from posting reviews, which, in the past, has lasted from about mid-December to early January.....

do you mean besides Sao Paulo and RJ, too?!......

love vintage pictures like these.....Ipanema before the highrises is fantastic

lurkerspeaks once put out a call in 2012 asking if any forum members wanted to join him on a trip to Rio....I bit and am so glad I did it .....we hung out for a week, doing all the things one does in Rio, and even got to hang out with tomcal.....both of them had been in Rio before and it made my trip, obviously, much easier...... he was one of the good guys......

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luh1JCQ3l1E https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VF4vBtN2AqE

met Tomcal two years ago in Rio during my first trip there (with lurker) and he was invaluable helping me navigate my way thru the saunas and the streets of Rio!.....fun-loving, unpretentious guy.... I'm sure you'll do fine, Tom, and I'm very glad we met up.....great times!

now plowing my way thru the DVDs of Season 4....even now, it's getting weird, but I'm holding on by a thread....some clever moments, but don't know if I'll make it to this final season....