Rio de Janeiro

Hi all:

I realize that this is the [i]Argentina[/i] Private thread, and that there is another website for other countries. That said, I believe there are a fair number here who also travel to Brazil on occasion. Since I just got back from there, I thought I would provide a quick update.

I won't bother to try to update anyone with all the goings-on there. There is another website that does a far better job of that. But, I thought I would post one quick update on an issue that has occurred over the past year or so in Rio de Janeiro.

As many know, the world-famous nightclub Help is no more. The city finally succeeded in closing it down about a year ago. I'm told it is now going to be some music museum or something like that.

For those of you who were fans of Help, I'm not sure a similar experience can be had in Rio. However, it appears that much of the traffic from that establishment has now migrated to a bar on Avenida Atlantica, a few blocks to the North, called Balcony Bar.

There is no dancing at Balcony. It is an indoor-outdoor venue right across from the beach near the end of Copacabana. There are plastic tables set up under a tent outside, and the beer is relatively cheap. On any given night, there are probably 100-150 garotas who will show up to hawk their services. Just like Help, the quality ranges from about a two to nine. And, I'm told, a watchful eye is needed as there are some trannies in the crowd. As with Help, negotiation is done with individual chicas. The bar itself is safe, and the surrounding area appears relatively safe as well, if only due to the large amount of traffic nearby. I would not suggest walking home from this place in the wee hours, however, and there always are a large number of cabs available immediately outside.

Right next to Balcony Bar is another bar called Dolce Vita. Entry to this place is 20 Reals for hommes, and free for garotas. You go upstairs and there is all variety of techno and latest-craze style music playing. This is a small place, maybe one-twentieth the size of Help. But, it is much nicer than Help was, and there are private areas where you can get bottle service and be separated from the hordes. It's not a bad option if you are so inclined, and the cream of the crop from Balcony Bar tends to drift up to this place as the night goes on. It really doesn't get going until 1 am Or so. All the garotas here, as in the Balcony Bar, are available for purchase from what I could tell. The garotas at Dolce Vita probably range from five to nine, with a 10 available every once in a while. Attire is casual.

I can't talk much about prices because I tend not to negotiate. So, not much information there. But, if you're looking for the Help-style experience when traveling to Rio, this would appear to be the new destination.