Artisttyp Trip Report 2009/ Final Thoughts

[Artisttyp]

we did not even get into any trouble!

TL

Amazing!

See you again soon,

Artisttyp

[TejanoLibre]

Many thanks to tejano libre. He was a good buddy to me. Thank you for showing me around and giving me your time. It was very much appreciated. We will see each other again for sure.

TL would be a good guy to ask questions to. Invite him for a beer and you WILL be entertained.

PM me if you need to.

Forever Grateful,

Artisttyp.

LIVE LIFE, EAT ASS.

Please excuse the typos. I will try to fix them later.

Hey AT,

We had a great time hanging-out and we did not even get into any trouble!

Thanks for the goodies that you brought down for me from N. Y!

Take Care,

TL

[Jaimito Cartero]

I don't know if a passport has an address. I just assumed that is what shows up when they swipe it through their computer.

I think there is a few lines for an emergency contact in your passport, but that's it. I don't think most foreign countries care much where you live.

I've ridden buses from GRU to GIG, but I know I wouldn't like the super long trips. I just flew from Hong Kong yesterday, and being on any type of vehicle for the 20+ hours it takes, plus the waiting in the airport and other BS is not my idea of fun.

You may want to try and link some flights together. If you can get a plane ticket that allows free or cheap changes, that'd be ideal. Check into the Lan flight coupons. I think you may have to fly them to your first destination. Probably not dirt cheap, but it would be better than taking a lot of buses.

[Artisttyp]

I appreciate your responses thank you.

I don't know if a passport has an address. I just assumed that is what shows up when they swipe it through their computer.

I know very little about these procedures.

Thank you for your thoughts.

[El Queso]

Also, with low-cost traveling - look into the busses. They are usually cheaper than airfares and sometimes they are WAY cheaper. That's how most of the poor travel, and it's not bad at all. The most cheapest seats, on the cheapest busses, are not good, for sure. But for about 380 pesos (round trip price) for example, you can get a seat on a double-level bus to Asuncion, seats bigger than the best business class airline seat, stewardesses to serve meals and movies (usually in English with Spanish subtitles, but every once in awhile a movie dubbed in Spanish)

The problem is that the busses take awhile - it's an 18-hour ride to Asuncion by bus, where it's an hour fifty minutes by plane. The most comon price for a plane flight to Asuncion would be between U$S 150 and U$S 300 (570 pesos to 1,140 pesos, depending on what deal you can find) To me, on a low budget, the lower priced airline cost is not worth taking the bus, but when you get on the higher end, it starts making more sense.

Supposedly there are busses that travel to all parts of South America, but I've only ever taken them to Asuncion.

[El Queso]

Also has anybody had problems entering a country with a mailing address different than what is on your passport? Ie. If I moved to south america I would give up my nyc residence and basically have no set home. My drivers license / passport would still have my old address on it. Does this show on the customs computers?

Not sure about the other stuff, but I don't have an address on my passport (is this somethign new that they are doing with the new passports? And have never been asked for my driver's license when entering a country, in orer to verify my address. I have lived here in BA for three years, without anything more than the standard 90 day tourist visa.

My Texas driver's license has my grandmother's address and she passed away last year - I don't really have a physical address in the States any more.

As an aside, you should look into usabox. Com for mail forwarding, and in most cases you can use that address I would think for any visa requirements where they are not asking for proof. The only non-tourist visa I've had to get in recent years was to Paraguay and they just had me fill out the forms with my address, no verification of address, no proof of traveling, etc.

I'm sure that Brasil, for example, is more difficult, and I don't know how the lack of a ticket would be to them and other countries where it's a bit more difficult to get in.

[Jaimito Cartero]

I want to leave america and move to south america living on a tourist visa. Lets say I buy a ticket from NYC to Lima and start from there. Would I be able to get into Lima or any other country without a *return ticket back to the united states? Would customs need to see proof that I am moving on?

In three months?

I could buy an open ticket from an airline good for a year but I would have to keep changing it as I moved from country to country. Or not?

Also has anybody had problems entering a country with a mailing address different than what is on your passport? Ie. If I moved to south america I would give up my nyc residence and basically have no set home. My drivers license / passport would still have my old address on it. Does this show on the customs computers?

I don't think they can tell where you live, whatsoever. Don't worry about it.

In all the 10 years of mega-mongering I've been doing, I've only been asked for an onward ticket two times. Usually only when you've in a more restrictive country. If you were going to PS anything, this is where I would apply it to.

Some travel within South America can be pricey. There are some options that might save you some money. I'd check with Lan first. You can buy 2-3-4-5 segments for a cheaper price. This is where one way segments can also save you a lot of money. Other than GOL, I don't know of a real low cost carrier in SA. Always check out normal carriers as well.

If you have AA miles, you can book one way awards for 1/2 the miles. This will save you a lot of money, and always look at partner flights (LAN, etc) so they don't route you back through the US.

[Artisttyp]

This may not belong here but Id like to here what people have to say.

Question:

I want to leave America and move to South America living on a tourist visa. Lets say I buy a ticket from NYC to Lima and start from there. Would I be able to get into Lima or any other country without a *return ticket back to the United States? Would customs need to see proof that I am moving on?

In three months?

I could buy an open ticket from an airline good for a year but I would have to keep changing it as I moved from country to country. Or not?

Also has anybody had problems entering a country with a mailing address different than what is on your passport? Ie. If I moved to south america I would give up my nyc residence and basically have no set home. My drivers license / passport would still have my old address on it. Does this show on the customs computers?

I could alter a reservation in photoshop but I would rather not.

Thank you for your response.

[Artisttyp]

Btw any specific chicas you'd recommend from your trip? I don't speak much Spanish so hopefully that won't be a problem.

Thank you again to everybody who commented on my post. It was very much worth the effort.

Md2000 - I am horrible with names but I never forget a face. I am also a firm believer in chemistry. If there is none the session will follow as such. What I was trying to get across in my reviews is that certain services were offered to me and that they were willing to do them. Not all privados operate in that way. When I found the ones that did I went back to them for repeats. You will find your favorites like I did.

I hope this clears it up for you.

Not knowing spanish might be a little rough but not impossible. Make flash cards with sexual positions written down and have them handy. It would be a great ice breaker and better than getting frustrated.

[Slipknot]

Very informative. Thank you for taking the time to compose, and share.

[Member #3320]

Good report Art.

Both the content and the writing format / presentation was excellent.

[El Queso]

One of the best-balanced reports of Buenos Aires I have ever seen! Good work, man!

[Fernando22]

Excellent report Artisttyp!

See you soon!

[Md2000]

Great great great report. I'm going in a couple weeks and this will help a lot. I was literally loling during your rants.

Can't wait. Will post my open report once I'm back.

Btw any specific chicas you'd recommend from your trip? I don't speak much Spanish so hopefully that won't be a problem.

[Artisttyp]

Wow. What a great write up. Plenty of details and something here for everyone. Thanks for taking the time to do this. Shane

Thank you for your kind words. I have recieved a few pms as well. I really appreciate the fact that I can help those who help others.

I would also like to add another "complaint" about Buenos Aires:

Most internet cafes DO NOT have a bathroom. How F'ing stupid is that. That would be like a bar not having a toilet. You have one beer then you need to leave to use a bathroom.

These are the kinds of stresses I was refering to when I mentioned NYC and BA are very similar on the stress level.

Bathrooms are accessible if you find a McDonalds or a kind waiter. However they are ALWAYS UPSTAIRS and ALWAYS way the hell in the back. The McDonalds here are huge. Its like eating in another eco system.