mvan1

Thank you for your very reasonable response to my copying your question then my using your question for the basis to start a new thread about cell phones in Brazil. I hope that you will have an easy time when you decide which telephone carrier to use while in Brazil. Considering the high probability that you will not find a telephone employee that knows English, be sure to prepare a translation in Portuguese requesting a prepaid SIM card then bring that translation, along with a copy of your passport, to the phone company outlet that you choose. Your having these documents will make it easy for you to accomplish the objective of getting a working Brazilian SIM card. If you get a working SIM card for Brazil, please report back and let us know how things went. There will be others who might also want to obtain a Brazilian SIM card. Your experience will be an additional guide to those folks.

As tomcal pointed out, traffic in Rio is already bad without the Olympics. I could not venture a guess how many times I was stuck in traffic for an hour or more going from the main Rio airport to Copacabana. Those delays were when there were not 380,000 extra visitors in town. Of course, the 380,000 expected visitors will be spread out over 16 days. Even then, there will be a lot of extra folks in town competing for transportation. Many times after I arrived and settled in for my Rio stay, using the Metro was often extremely difficult. It is not uncommon to find that all seats in a Metro car to be used and "standing room" is occasionally not possible because each Metro car is frequently filled to capacity. Trying to squeeze one more passenger into a Metro car that is jam packed is not possible. Again, this happens regularly while there are not 380,000 extra visitors in Rio. One can only shudder to think of visiting Brazil during the period of the 2016 Olympics. Even if 20,000 rooms are found for the 380,000 expected visitors, traffic will be the real issue. I, too, shall stay away from Brazil prior to, during and shortly after the 2016 Olympics. Sitting in traffic jams is not my thing nor is waiting for hours for access to a crowded Metro not my thing. What could the Olympic Committee have been thinking when they selected Rio to host the 2016 events?

If anyone plans to go to Brazil for the 2016 Olympics and is concerned about finding housing or a place to stay, the esteemed Airbnb housing agency plans to find 20,000 rooms for about 380,000 visitors. All I can say about their plans and expectations is "good luck" in over crowded Rio. Here is a link to an article that discusses the matter: http://riotimesonline.com/brazil-news/rio-real-estate/airbnb-strikes-deal-with-rio-olympics-to-host-tourists/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheRioTimes+%28The+Rio+Times%29 Maybe they will pull it off, maybe not.

I remember Danilo, the guide. I think you mentioned some time back that Danilo is now in a different line of work. I recall that everyone who hired him for being a guide (not as an escort or garoto), was happy with his services.

Hi, you did say your buying the SIM card took place "years ago" and that laws maybe changed over time. Yes, the laws did change. Americans no longer have to have a Brazilian register a SIM card for the American. As I wrote, you simply go to a store in Brazil and present a copy of your passport and the clerk will register you along with the telephone number assigned to the SIM card. Back in 2003, it was a pain to get a phone and phone number. Fortunately, those days are gone.

Thank you for the compliment. I was a bit concerned that my explanations might be too long or boring for most readers. Before I decided to stick only to my regular profession, which allows me to travel extensively, I taught about twelve years at a major university. Although I love teaching, it was confining for someone like me who enjoys extensive travel. I guess it is the professor in me that tries to get others to learn. This is the reason that some of my posts contain a lot of information. Perhaps, sometimes, too much information. Thanks again.

You are welcome. Even if you visit Brazil only a week or so, it might be a good idea to get a cell phone SIM card. I visit there many times each year and I would be lost without my telephone. Calling from Brazil using roaming on a U S telephone is outlandishly expensive. Using a local SIM card can be very inexpensive. There are lots of ways I use my phone in Brazil. I not only communicate with garotos and other friends in Brazil, I receive telephone calls from my friends and clients in the U.S. without having to pay a charge for a call. They dial a local U S number which rings me in Brazil and neither of us has to pay for the call. This is entirely legal and is advertised in the U S as a possibility. Without a local SIM card, this feature will not work in Brazil without charge. If you plan to visit the saunas and if you meet a garoto that you like, you most definitely will want a cell phone for making future plans with the garoto. I mentioned that I use TIM as my cell phone provider in Brazil. There are other carriers, such as OI, Claro and Vivo in addition to TIM. Depending if you are in Rio or Sao Paulo, it is relatively easy to purchase a working SIM from a local department store. The easiest and quickest would be to go (in Rio or Sao Paulo) to a chain department store named "Lojas Americanas" a chain with several branches in those cities. If you are lucky, you will find an employee who speaks a little bit of English. If you are not, just bring your unlocked cell phone with you to the store and look for a kiosk displaying one of the logos mentioned above. TIM is the most common in Rio and Sao Paulo. However, any of the carriers I mentioned above will be fine. While you are in the U.S., you might want to use google translator and print out a page in Portuguese saying that you are American and that you want to purchase a prepaid SIM plan with data. I already mentioned the costs in my earlier post. The SIM must be registered. A copy of your passport is sufficient to have the SIM registered in Brazil. If you are curious about some of the things you can buy using TIM, take a look at its web site. Here is the web address; www.tim.com.br The site is in Portuguese but there is an option to switch to English. Go to the upper right hand side of the home page in the search box and type in - TIM+INGLES If you cannot get the web site to change to English, go to google search and then enter -" tim.com.br English language". This should bring up a link that will take you to the English section of TIM telephone company in Brazil. Happy travels to Brazil

It is called helping other readers, but you apparently are incapable of seeing that. The person who made the unrelated post is new to the forum. He is excited about his upcoming trip to Brazil. I feel certain that he did not intend to hijack the thread. In this world, we have some people who like to help other people. On the other hand, we also have people who enjoy being difficult. If you were a traveler to Brazil, I think you might appreciate a thread on Brazil cell phones. I am puzzled why you are so worked up over this trivial matter.

Are you joking? There is a lot of discussion against hijacking threads. The post concerning cell phones had absolutely nothing to do with that thread concerning how much to pay garotos for dinner or overnights. I am puzzled why you do not see that. That is why I think you might be joking with your postings. The issue of a cell phone in Brazil interests many who travel to Brazil. Many readers will be helped by my information. Starting a new thread and moving the related question concerning a Brazil cell phone should hardly be the basis for such responses by you. Please tell me that you are joking!

Even though you misunderstood what occurred, your suggestion is noted.

You misunderstood. I said I moved his question, not the thread. The thread is titled - How much do you pay Garotos for dinner and overnight ? What does a cell phone have to do with how much to pay a garoto for dinner or an overnight? For those who actually travel to Brazil, it is useful to know how to obtain a working cell phone while there. Consequently, the topic of a cell phone deserves its own thread rather than the topic being buried with an unrelated subject. Oh, and it is NOT a "power" to copy a question and repost the question in a new thread.

I moved your question about phones into a new thread because your question does not related to the price of garotos at dinner or overnight. It is called "hijacking" to bring up a new topic in an established thread. Provided your telephone is truly "unlocked" from your carrier, you should be able to buy and use a SIM card in Brazil. You can buy SIM cards on the street but I would advise against that . This is because you have to register the SIM card and you will not understand what is being asked of you while registering. Also, you probably do not have a CPF number which you would need if you try to register a street purchased SIM card. Alternatively, you can go to the telephone companies of the various telephone providers in Brazil and they will sell a SIM card to you and register it for you using your passport number. Therefore, be sure to make a copy of the data information of your passport so that you can bring the copy with you to whichever phone company you select. Don't bring your original passport. Remember to bring your telephone with you to the phone company so that the agent can get the SIM card up and running. I personally use TIM as my Brazil telephone carrier. TIM coverage is not as good as some other carriers in Brazil, but it is okay in most areas. You must tell the telephone company that you want a "prepaid" or "prepago" plan. A prepaid plan costs about R3. daily on days you use the phone for data use. If you call other telephone numbers that use the same telephone company provider you use, there will not be any charge or the charge will be only twenty-five centavos for the entire call up to one hour in duration. If you call to other cell numbers with different providers, you will pay as much as R$1.59 each minute. Considering you plan to use a translator with the SIM card, you definitely need a data plan. Try to make this clear to the person at whichever telephone company you choose. Don't be frustrated if the people at the phone company do not speak English. You can "wing it" and get the SIM card working in less than an hour from the time you first buy the card until it is functional. Good luck

I agree with tomcal’s opinion concerning the lack of need to hire a guide in Rio de Janeiro. I emphasize “need” compared to “desire” when it comes to hiring a guide. I just finished my 123rd trip to Brazil. In all my trips, I have never hired a guide. I never felt the need to hire a guide. At the same time, I realize that many people are not as independent or adventuresome as I and are nervous about visiting foreign countries where they do not know the local language or the local customs and environment. Despite my lack of knowledge of the local language during my early trips to Brazil, I never had a problem navigating my way around Brazil and/or the saunas or anywhere else I wanted to go. I always do my research before I travel to any city that is unfamiliar to me. I believe that if one has sufficient information and maps, rarely will anything go wrong or be disappointing while in an unfamiliar city. On several trips to Brazil, I took certain garotos with me when I visited other cities. However, those garotos were not guides for me. I did those garotos a favor in paying their way to cities that they ordinarily would never see. While it is true that the garotos were helpful in translating things for me, I could have done very well on my own. In some cases, having a garoto with me while I was traveling around in Brazil, was an inconvenience because I was “stuck” with the garoto and could not do many “sauna” things that I would like to have done. I felt obligated to spend time with the garoto. Therefore, there are advantages and disadvantages to having a garoto type “guide” accompany you on trips. While visiting the cities of Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Porto Alegre, Recife, Curitiba, Salvador and certain other cities in Brazil, there is no need for a guide. As I wrote, just do your research about the places you want to visit and the things you want to see. On the other hand, there are people who prefer to hire a guide. This does not mean that these people are intellectually substandard or even fearful. It merely means they prefer to have a guide rather than not have a guide. It is that simple. In short, it is a personal choice to have a guide or not have a guide. My choice is to travel without one.

What a small world. Or at least, the sauna world in Rio de Janeiro is small. I also know Allison. I first met him at a sauna in Rio that is now closed. That sauna was named Estacao. It was located not far from Pointe 202, in Copacabana. Allison often worked in the saunas with a partner named Anderson who seems to have disappeared from Rio to live and work in Sao Paulo. I have seen Anderson in Sao Paulo but not recently. It is good to know that Allison is around and still looks good. -

Refer back to the above response of tomcal. I agree with him, especially where he wrote: "It is really what you feel comfortable with." There is no fixed rule on how much to pay a garoto. The garoto you invite to dinner (that you meet at a sauna) generally does not expect any money for going to dinner with you. Often, those garotos don't have money to buy dinner or any food while in the sauna and they are usually happy for a free dinner invitation. Therefore, there would be no expectation of payment for their time while at dinner with you. As to how much to pay them if they spend the night - that varies. Sometimes, garotos come to your hotel with the expectation of only a "brincadeira" (colloquial for a sexual encounter). Sometimes, through compatibility, the garoto does not leave and spends more time. If, following the brincadeira, you invite the garoto to dinner, as I wrote, it is a plus for the garotos (and a plus for you if you continue to enjoy the company of the garoto). Enjoying a garoto's company, initially, can be awkward because of a language barrier. Nonetheless, having their presence is usually enjoyable. Over time if you continue to visit Brazil, you will learn Portuguese as most garotos speak zero English. This means, until you can communicate with a garoto beyond sexual encounters, not being able to have a conversation with a garoto can be bothersome. A computer translator can help with communication with a garoto and will also help you learn a little (or a lot) of Portuguese. I have found that being able to communicate with garotos makes being with them more enjoyable than a mere physical encounter. Sometimes when a garoto comes to a clients' hotel room for a brincadeira, the garoto has no expectation of spending the night; it just happens. Paying garotos in a sauna is quite a different matter than "paying" them if you are taking them to dinner or if they stay at your hotel at night. These are things you will learn, over time. What you will extract from this forum is guidance rather than learning fixed rules for how much to pay garotos away from a sauna. The amounts mentioned in tomcal's post are reasonable. Those amounts are not firm nor are those amounts "set in stone" as there are many factors that determine how much a client gives to a garoto who spends the night or goes to dinner. If you go to Brazil often enough, you might very well accumulate a lot of garoto "regulars" that you will get to know away from the sauna. If you continue to have "brincadeiras" with these garotos on a regular basis, your payment structure might change. Some of these garotos could eventually become friends. Again, as tomcall said, "It is really what you feel comfortable with."

Be sure to watch the video of the bus falling through the sink hole in the road then reappearing only to float down the river - Yikes! http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/25/brazilian-bus-sinkhole-river-swept-away-video_n_6940342.html Rains can cause havoc in Brazil - Not to worry though, in middle April, the rains will subside and the drought will again be a major concern to Brazilians

It can rain at any time but the probability is less during middle April through middle December -

By the time you arrive in two weeks, the heavy rains should be gone (hopefully). In addition to last Friday's street flooding, look what happened in February in Sao Paulo where there was worse flooding plus one death from the heavy rain - http://floodlist.com/america/1-hour-rain-floods-sao-paulo-brazil It is my experience that middle April in Southern Brazil (Rio, Sao Paulo, Porto Alegre etc) is fairly rain free although it does rain a little.

On the contrary, it does not sound selfish or pompous. I also have TSA precheck. The problem is that not all airlines have an agreement for TSA precheck. Most foreign carriers do not have it and many U S carriers do not have it at all of its locations. You just happen to be lucky to live in an area where TSA precheck is available and happen to use a carrier that is TSA compliant. I often use foreign carriers and must endure the nonsense of the nude-o-scope or opt out, which I choose to do. If you opt out of the nude-o-scope, the TSA agents bring all of your belongs with you to the nonsensical "secondary" screening area. That way, you can keep on eye on your things and the probability of something being stolen is limited. Also, at the option of TSA, the precheck lines can be closed down temporarily for any reason. I have had that happen at the Miami airport on two different occasions. You cannot always rely on TSA precheck being open. The below link, warns you that on a random basis, TSA will not always be available even for those pre approved. Here is the most current list of airlines and airports that have TSA precheck. As you will see, many airports and airlines are not served. http://www.tsa.gov/tsa-precheck/tsa-precheckR-airlines-airports

The next time you go through airport security nude-o-scope, watch your things that you have to put in bins that are not always within your site. Also, the next time you are on an international flight and the flight attendant asks for UNICEF money, think about this incident shown below. Travel, although the destination is fun, getting to and from is a bitch - http://roadwarriorvoices.com/2015/03/25/united-airlines-employee-busted-on-camera-allegedly-stealing-cash-from-passengers-wallet/ -

Generally, a black mailer never stops. Even if you give the swine what he initially demands, he wants more and more. In the case discussed, the guy already got a car and a handsome amount of money. Then, the black mailer changed the deal and decided he wanted a house and more cash. Even if the victim had gone along with the new demands, the black mailer, statistically, would have come back later to demand more. I applaud the authorities for getting involved and putting the guy in jail where he belongs.

My plans to spend the weekend in Porto Alegre last Friday afternoon got disrupted due to heavy rains and flooded streets in Sao Paulo, where I had been staying for about two weeks. No taxi or bus could make its way to the local airport, without extreme delays, through the heavy floods that were in different parts of the city. The local airport in Sao Paulo (Congonhas) was operational but countless numbers of passengers were not able to get to the airport to make flights because of flooded streets. For those passengers who could make it to the airport, the flights left with them. For those who could not make it in time at the airport, the flights left without them. Although I left in time that should have allowed me to be at the airport about two hours before departure, I spent nearly two hours in a cab while the driver waited for the water and traffic to clear. Exiting the cab with luggage was not an option because of the heavy water in the street. By the time I got to the airport, the plane had departed. The next few flights to Porto Alegre were totally booked by other passengers who finally got to the airport but had missed their initial flight because of the flooding. The water in the streets was so bad that it actually made the local newspapers. Check out this web address for photos of flooded streets. Notice how high the water accumulated. http://floodlist.com/america/heavy-rain-floods-sao-paulo-drought-persists Needless to say, I was disappointed in not visiting Porto Alegre again. Porto Alegre is not a good tourist city but it does have two great saunas. There is always next trip. By the way, the rains also adversely influenced the saunas in Sao Paulo. Friday night (usually a busy night at Lagoa) was a dud. On Sunday night, a night that is usually busy at Fragata, was another dud. Despite the claimed water drought in Sao Paulo, there has been a lot of heavy rain during the past couple of weeks. In situations described above (can't get to Porto Alegre - saunas are nearly empty), it is nice to have an alternative in the event the weather puts a damper on plans. Among other things, alternatives include having phone numbers of favorite garotos and/or addresses for fun places. Unquestionably, having an alternative “A list” makes being in Brazil fun despite temporary and unforeseen obstacles.

Speak for yourself - Oh, yes, "best regards" -

- Hilarious! -