^ ya there are tons of memes about it.

I think it was always illegal because no one of them were licensed or paying tax but now they are cracking down because they are taking over sidewalks.

   

(02-19-2019 12:16 AM)lavidaloca Wrote:  Having read the police report of the Belgian I think it's a bit unfair to suggest this was due to his poor decisions. I would say he was pretty unlucky.

1) The girl suggested they were going to stay in Laureles which I understand is a Estrato 5 barrio.

2) He has a colombian bank account and based on reading the report I'd assume he speaks good spanish for a foreigner. Everything was very clear and simple. It would seem reasonable to assume he lived in Colombia.

3) He handled the situation well.

Sorry, I disagree with this largely. I do think he could have made better decisions. But rather than disagreeing, I'll try to be more productive and explain why and point out some things he could have done to stay safe.

One of his biggest mistakes was going out to meet her where she suggested. Her turf, essentially. That's a common mistake in Colombia right now where guys end up going out to meet Tinder girls at places that they're unfamiliar with, that are suggested to them by the girl, and that are possibly in on druggings/robberies. Don't forget that recently in Medellin they cracked down on all these bars and it came to light that a lot of them were either turning a blind eye to girls coming in to drug/rob people, or that they were somewhat complicit in them doing it there. So this was his first mistake.

I won't even comment on it being in Bello, because it doesn't matter, same thing happens in Poblado right on Calle 10 or right next to Lleras. So him going to Bello to meet her was irrelevant.

The second, and his absolute biggest mistake, was letting her get the Uber, which he then got kidnapped in. He let her call an "Uber" because she had a promo? What? No. That's sooo sketchy. A big, big, big no no. When has a girl ever offered to send you a cab in Colombia and pay for it? Huge mistake. This was clearly a setup. Always be the one who calls the Uber or Taxi. Always use a taxi app (Uber, Easy Taxi, Tappsi, etc) that is trackable. Do not get in the taxi/Uber if the license plate does not match either.

The third mistake here, and this is a big overall mistake in Colombia, is that this guy clearly lived in a building without a doorman. I wonder if the girl took him back to his place just to see if he had a doorman at his building. Maybe based on the area she knew he didn't. But either way, staying in a building with a doorman should be everyone's #1 requirement these days pretty much. It's that important for safety. If you do not have a doorman, people can come in and out of your building/apartment once they've drugged you or kidnapped you. Once they have easy access to EVERYTHING you own and have with you, you're really fucked.

These are the 3 biggest mistakes and I thought it was worth pointing them out, in order to help anyone who is reading this to stay safe in Colombia.

One last thought from this story.......I've been thinking about how to avoid this guy's situation, where if you get kidnapped and they get all your bank cards they keep you hostage for longer because they see you have a bunch of money in the accounts. I would say the first important thing is to just not have bank cards for all your bank accounts. Like, just have online accounts that you can keep secret that don't even have ATM cards and keep most of your money in those, if possible. It's probably best to minimize the amount of ATM cards you have on you in Colombia. Additionally, try to keep the balances on the lower side, so this way they won't see that you have, say $20,000 in savings, and will keep you hostage for 2 or 3 days so they can do multiple transfers to try to empty out as much as possible. Yes, this is an extreme scenario, but I'm becoming paranoid with stuff like this and I do think it's important to take extreme precautions in case of these extreme scenarios.

Just don't carry any cards on you, unless you plan on having a baller type night 200-300k should be good.

Sidney, the kidnappers went back to this guy’s apartment (didn’t have a doorman) and had access to all his stuff. If someone goes back and finds your passport and any bank cards you keep behind, that’s what’s I was talking about. Literally keeping them at home isn’t enough if you get so owned that they have access to your apartment and everything in it. Don’t even have them at all!

Same would apply if you took a girl home and then she drugged you. She’d of course be looking for stuff like that.

thanks natas305, so the doorman is big which are the most cost efficient airbnb and or hotels that have these in el poblado or laures that you recommend? basically they make sure they ID the person in and out and you can't let them leave without your notice. Also never bring more than one girl, don't use tinder, stick to nightlife and girls in groups I also think some of these stories are lower class women with kids, tats etc not even that attractive to begin with. Don't bother with gusto that is a hooker bar but babylon and la catrina, sixtinna and fondas all seem like legit places with normal girls at night. Also guys don't hang out and drink in parque lleras the cops will bust you that is like walking on south beach with liquor open and always meet women in clubs since they have to be 18+ to get in tons of girls that are too young walking around there and can run into trouble with police if they see you with them. if your a solo guy traveling at least try to meet up with other foreigners in el poblado so it looks better than of course you can break off and meet a women

How about you just go to Medellin and have fun and don't worry so much about getting robbed? If it happens, it happens, you don't want to spend your entire trip worrying about getting robbed, if it seems like too much then pick another place to go travel to, Ecuador is nice.

I'm so conflicted with Bogota right now. It's a massive city with horrible traffic and pollution. My stress levels are going up because of all the traffic. Don't even waste your time trying to take an Uber or bus during rush hour. Thing with Bogota is that girls are hot and pretty easy. I'd say it's on par with Bangkok for how easy girls are. Girls are great here, but personally it's not a good city to live in long term. The air pollution and stress will shorten your life span. If your only objective in life is to get laid, then I'd highly recommend Bogota. You can clean up pretty well here if you're decent looking. It's unfortunate that there are so many bad things about Bogota, otherwise it'd be paradise.

(02-22-2019 10:32 AM)travolta Wrote:  I'm so conflicted with Bogota right now. It's a massive city with horrible traffic and pollution. My stress levels are going up because of all the traffic. Don't even waste your time trying to take an Uber or bus during rush hour. Thing with Bogota is that girls are hot and pretty easy. I'd say it's on par with Bangkok for how easy girls are. Girls are great here, but personally it's not a good city to live in long term. The air pollution and stress will shorten your life span. If your only objective in life is to get laid, then I'd highly recommend Bogota. You can clean up pretty well here if you're decent looking. It's unfortunate that there are so many bad things about Bogota, otherwise it'd be paradise.

I'm there now. It's still day 1 for me so I have yet to see how game goes. In terms of pollution and pace (stress), I would agree with you. I actually saw a few people walking outside with face masks on to filter out the pollution on my way to a cafe from my apartment.

Feel free to hit me up if you wanna meet up, btw. I'll be here for 9 days.

@Travolta... How are you meeting girls in Bogota? Day game, online?

Day game, online game and night game, but I've only closed girls I've met from Tinder and day game so far. I rarely party these days, but I've met some sexy chicas at Gringo Tuesdays. Tinder is also good in Bogota (but not so much in Medellin in my experience). Last night I had this Venezuelan girl who was the prettiest girl I've ever been with. Every once in a while Tinder might surprise you, but overall it's a lot of effort.. Day game surely is where you'll find the sexiest girls.

The pollution is even worse in La Candelaria when you are walking down narrow streets with buses and trucks blowing diesel smoke in your face.

(02-22-2019 10:32 AM)travolta Wrote:  I'm so conflicted with Bogota right now. It's a massive city with horrible traffic and pollution. My stress levels are going up because of all the traffic. Don't even waste your time trying to take an Uber or bus during rush hour. Thing with Bogota is that girls are hot and pretty easy. I'd say it's on par with Bangkok for how easy girls are. Girls are great here, but personally it's not a good city to live in long term. The air pollution and stress will shorten your life span. If your only objective in life is to get laid, then I'd highly recommend Bogota. You can clean up pretty well here if you're decent looking. It's unfortunate that there are so many bad things about Bogota, otherwise it'd be paradise.

Travolta, how's your Spanish?

(02-22-2019 08:29 PM)Brodiaga Wrote:  

(02-22-2019 10:32 AM)travolta Wrote:  I'm so conflicted with Bogota right now. It's a massive city with horrible traffic and pollution. My stress levels are going up because of all the traffic. Don't even waste your time trying to take an Uber or bus during rush hour. Thing with Bogota is that girls are hot and pretty easy. I'd say it's on par with Bangkok for how easy girls are. Girls are great here, but personally it's not a good city to live in long term. The air pollution and stress will shorten your life span. If your only objective in life is to get laid, then I'd highly recommend Bogota. You can clean up pretty well here if you're decent looking. It's unfortunate that there are so many bad things about Bogota, otherwise it'd be paradise.

Travolta, how's your Spanish?

Beginner level. I know enough to get by most of the time in everyday situations. I can understand a lot more than I speak. I can hold a basic conversation with somebody for 5-10 minutes, for example an Uber driver. If a girl speaks no English then we'll definitely have a pretty bad language barrier. Most of the girls I've been with spoke at least decent English, but some zero English.

(02-22-2019 08:47 PM)travolta Wrote:  I'm so conflicted with Bogota right now. It's a massive city with horrible traffic and pollution. My stress levels are going up because of all the traffic. …..

If your only objective in life is to get laid, then I'd highly recommend Bogota. You can clean up pretty well here if you're decent looking. It's unfortunate that there are so many bad things about Bogota, otherwise it'd be paradise.

My feelings exactly. I spent a fair bit of time in Medellin and some in Pereira. I found the girls in Bogota to be charming, in high supply, very beautiful, and approachable in the time I was there. Personally, I never had much luck or love for the costenas.

Bogota has direct 5 hours flights from Toronto and would be an ideal location in Colombia. But for me the pollution makes the city unliveable in the long term. That combined with traffic, cooler climate, and what seems to be higher crime has kept me on connecting flights elsewhere.

NoMoreTO for Latin America where do you prefer? since your from NA and with flight costs, women, safety etc.

(02-23-2019 09:37 AM)Fitman2018 Wrote:  NoMoreTO for Latin America where do you prefer? since your from NA and with flight costs, women, safety etc.

I've been to Argentina, Uruguay on a 3 week vacation years back and liked it. I have spent a total of about 8 months in Colombia as a digital nomad. I can't really speak to the whole continent.

(02-21-2019 02:06 AM)natas305 Wrote:  The third mistake here, and this is a big overall mistake in Colombia, is that this guy clearly lived in a building without a doorman. I wonder if the girl took him back to his place just to see if he had a doorman at his building. Maybe based on the area she knew he didn't. But either way, staying in a building with a doorman should be everyone's #1 requirement these days pretty much. It's that important for safety. If you do not have a doorman, people can come in and out of your building/apartment once they've drugged you or kidnapped you. Once they have easy access to EVERYTHING you own and have with you, you're really fucked.

This should be quoted again because it's so important. A door guy can be a lifesaver. Not to mention the good doormen in Colombia are pretty street smart and know who to worry about. I had a funny situation where I was out drinking with a forum member who is Latin and a few girls and we took them back to my place. Not only did the door guy call me before he let them leave he also called me in the morning to make sure everything was ok. I have other situations where I had other people come and go and he doesn't bother to call. They know when someone is a potential threat.

Where are you guys going during the day in Bogota that traffic is so bad? If you have good logistics you should not have to travel very far to places that you can't get to on foot. There is also certain hours of the day when traffic dies down depending on where you're going.

Is 180 days tourist limit per calendar year or not? I see a lot of conflicting information online.

Calendar year but you still need to leave before staying 90 days and then come back.

Scotian, are there cannabis dispensaries in Colombia? I was reading about medical marijuana being available in Colombia and also a lot of big foreign cannabis corporations moving into the Colombian medical marijuana sector, so that's why I'm asking. I'm mainly interested in FECO (full extract cannabis oil).

(02-24-2019 01:01 AM)Shimmy Wrote:  Where are you guys going during the day in Bogota that traffic is so bad? If you have good logistics you should not have to travel very far to places that you can't get to on foot. There is also certain hours of the day when traffic dies down depending on where you're going.

I like leaving the city to do nature activities like hiking and rock climbing. Twice I've gotten stuck in traffic jams for over 2 hours when returning to Bogota.

You're correct, this should not be an issue if you have good logistics and rarely leave your area. I usually have girls meet me around my place, so it's not an issue is far as dates.

You can't legally buy weed in stores but they sell things of medicinal oil in stores in Bogota. I do not know the exact difference but I'm pretty sure it doesn't do anything close to getting you high.

You mean non-THC dominant hemp oil, Shimmy?