[Gringo]

Quote:

Never been there, but from what I've read and what I heard from expats in Thailand and Thais, it is very similar to North Korea - you are only allowed to visit limited places open for tourists, you must be accompanied by a guide most of the time, much of the country is off limits, and you're not allowed to talk to locals except some approved ones. Considering how much English they would speak in those conditions, I'd guess it gonna be tough.

Burma isn't nearly as strict as NK on tourists. You can't go to NK independently it needs to be with a pre-arranged tour, you get shipped around on a bus with Government officials, taken to only where they want you to see, have to stay in official hotels which are monitored and bugged and told when you can and cannot take pictures. You can never go out alone or speak to the locals.

Burma isn't nearly that strict, you can travel independently and by your own means, take local buses, stay where you want, talk to who you like (though the locals may be hesitant to talk to you in case they're reported) and the areas that are off limits are the one where insurgencies and rebel groups are based which is more for your own safety.

I've never been but did a lot of research on it as I planned to go on my last trip to SE Asia but didn't make it. If my next trip is SE Asia then I'll try and fit Myanmar in.

[CrackerJack]

I used to work in Burma. I would throw a data sheet but it's been back in 2008 and forgot most of the venue names. Getting there is via Bangkok with Thai Airways, Jett8 from Singapore, Malaysian from KL or even with the local Burmese airline via Chiang Mai. I can't really tell you much about visa as my company took care of that, but as long as you're not a journalist than it shouldn't be a problem. The visa is not given or arrival so you have to track down an Embassy closest to you.
Yangon is very run down. Everything seems to be dirty and old. Not many buildings are maintained. There are some cool colonial places but rarely taken care of.

You can freely move around Yangon (capital, at least it used to be, now it's Naypyidaw, a phantom freak capital in the middle of the jungle), talk to anybody and have a pretty good time if you know where to go. The key to know where to go is to befriend a local.

For the first night a bell boy or a male concierge will usually provide some initial info to get things rolling. The best way for me was to chat up a band member playing in one of the hotels, buy him/her a drink during their break and ask about the best joints in town. They usually play at different places through out the week and know where the best spots are. That's how I swooped a pretty singer and than through her discovered a gem totally out of the way. A 4 floor night club full of young and hip Burmese escaping their oppressed lives. Good times.

The best time in my opinion would be to go during the Buddhist new year in April. It seem like all the best looking girls come out. It's probably the most fun time during the year in Burma. Huge stages are set up on the sides of the road with bands, dancers (some very hot) and fire hoses spraying everybody and everything with water. It's like that through out the whole city but the best spots are down town. Everybody is getting wasted and just lets loose. Way better than Songkran in Thailand. The negative is that April is the hottest month of the year. Easily over 100 degrees and over 90% humid.

There used to be a couple of rent-a-poon venues with some very pretty girls doing 'fashion shows' and available for take out, but the take out wasn't guaranteed unless you bought her flowers (a special stand was there where you bought the flowers and they pocketed some percentage of the money), and she liked you. Also a few freelancers where cruising around being available and less discerning.

The Burmese seemed to be more stoic and less emotional than their Thai neighbors. They are fairly approachable but not as fun and easy going as the Thais. Actually I like dealing with Burmese far more than Thais. Way more honest and dependable. Also, beggars, touts and the lot are a lot less common. Usually it's little kids camping out in front of more expensive places down town. Definitely nothing like Sukhimvit in Bangkok or in Manila. Burmese women are fairly cute and there are some stunners, but on average I would pick Thai ladies, but strictly looks wise.

As for local food, nothing really special. Kind of bland. There are quite a few restaurants serving Thai (Sabai, Sabai), Korean, Italian, French (L'Opera). Usually the prices are similar to what you would see in US or Europe. Thai 'Sabai Sabai' was the busiest, cheapest and tastiest of the bunch I've been to. Lot's of embassy workers go there.

Some basic tips for your stay there. There are no ATMs, credit cards are rarely accepted outside of main 4-5 star hotels, and if they are, there is usually a pretty hefty charge. Cash is king. For exchange bring $100 bills, they have the best conversion rate. They must be crisp. No folds, markings of any kind, holes from staples, etc. Pretty much brand new $100 bills. Smaller denominations are not as strict but you will get hit about 10-30% penalty. For you first day or two bring a $100 in 1s and 5s for cabs, drinks, etc. Taxis will take US dollars and so will most bars and restaurants but with a shitty conversion rate. DO NOT exchange your money at the airport. They are government run and you will get about 1/10 of what you would receive on the street. Hotels are better but also a rip off (about 40% less) but safe. Black market is best but illegal and with omnipresent military a very real possibility of getting yourself in shit. I and my co-workers used a very dependable store owner who did a bit of trading on the side. I would gladly provide intel via pm for respectable members.

All taxis are meterless. Whatever you're quoted offer half as much. A 20 minute ride will be about $10. Local made beer is 'Myanmar' and it's pretty good. At a hotel a 640ml bottle will be about $4-6. A hole in the wall place, about a dollar. Beer can be bought pretty much anywhere. Hard liquor only in good clubs and hotels, it's expensive so bring some from duty free in Bangkok or elsewhere. I haven't seen a duty free shop at the Yangon airport. There is actually one but only on the local side of the airport where the Burmese airline operates and you won't have access to it. I don't think you can buy liquor per bottle in town but never asked because I somehow scored an airside pass and just went through security, got what I needed and went back to hotel, lol. A meal at a restaurant would be about $10. A buffet at a 4-5 star about $20-40

Unfortunately I haven't made it past Yangon due to the cyclone that hit Burma in May 2008 and killed over a 100,000 people. The country I'm from have put economic sanctions on the Burmese military junta for their incompetence in handling the issue and pressed us to leave. As far as I know Mandalay is the second largest city and is considered the cultural capital of Burma. It's much smaller and less developed. I'm not sure if you need a permit to go there, but I don't think so. The best way would be to ask a travel agent once in Yangon and organize a hotel and transportation.

That's all I can think of right now.

[Kurupt]

(03-24-2011 04:11 PM)Giovonny Wrote:  

I think 2nd and 3rd tier cities in Russia would be good. Go where the culture is open about sex, you are exotic, and there are not many other tourists.

I'll see what oldnemesis has to say about this too, but as a russian guy I would advise you not to explore 2nd or 3rd tier cities in Russia by yourself!

Nice Chico report man.

[Vacancier Permanent]

Awesome report Cracker Jack on Myanmar!

[Luckystar]

(03-24-2011 03:46 PM)oldnemesis Wrote:  

Quote:

any of the 'stans' - although i believe that they are mostly Muslim

I can only speak for ex-USSR *stans - Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgizstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. Never been there myself, but most of my local friends are from there, as well as my wife. They're pretty conservative as well, although not as bad as Romania, and you won't find a lot of English speakers there. Most of them also require visa. Air travel is VERY expensive - four hour flight from Moscow to Tashkent costs the same as flight from New York to Moscow. Corruption is a lifestyle there. A lot of semi-pros there as those countries are very poor (except Kazakhstan which is doing relatively well). This is also Asia, and most people there look at least mixed Asian; their mentality is also Asian. They make good wives though also a lot of them want to get out of there, but language barrier may be an issue. I'd say speaking Russian AND not looking Arab or Indian is a must. Latino (yo Mixx!) or black should be a plus though.

About Muslim there - it is definitely not hardcore. Most of those Muslims are similar to Christians in America, meaning it is just a facade, and they do not take it seriously. None of them has Sharia Law, for example.

From what I know I keep hearing about the stans is that it is much much more racially tolerant than Russia/Ukraine. It is a very diverse region with many Turks, Arabs and Indians. All living fairly harmoniously.

You are right about the brand of Islam in the stans. It is of the liberal variety.

[Gringo]

Quote:

now it's Naypyidaw, a phantom freak capital in the middle of the jungle)

I read about that, very weird. They must be one paranoid bunch to build a new, hidden away capital city in the jungle. It was all done very secretively wasn't it? Apparently it's a very strange place but I'd love to visit just to see for myself. Definitely have to get to Burma soon.

[hydrogonian]

Nice Data sheet on Myanmar crackerjack.

What are the chances that a guy who worked in Myanmar would read this forum, and at the rare time that we mentioned Myanmar?

[speakeasy]

I'm surprised no one ever talks about going to Armenia. Armenian women are pretty attractive.

[familydude]

@speakeasy : is your wife native russian? uzbek?

- Almaty : I met a kazak in a tashkent club. For the following week as I expressed my fustration with the hords of p4p and conservatives, he assured me the situation was quite different in his home town and invited me to visit.
- Georgia : I've been keeping an eye on that one for a long time. Im not really concerned about the tensions with russia. Reaching it from anywhere in EE isn't too hard, and the flights cost about 250 euros. No visa restrictions. A turkish acquaintance told me I'd be wasting my time as they're very prude there, but Im second guessing his assessment after witnessing his level of game.
- Armenia : Also don't know much... The visa is good for 120days (contrast that with some stans-countries for which it's hard to get anything longer than 14days)
- Transinistria : It fits many of the superficial requirements (dictator, political/economical isolation). But most reports from travelers report boredom and it doesn't seem like many youths remain.

In my formative years, I read the memoirs of a journalists covering the balkan wars. I was especially moved by the following account of the liberation of one albenian village from the serbs:
"As we navigated narrow alleys into an ancient town square, dozens of beautiful girls in tight jeans clinging clothes leapt onto our jeep, while hundreds of townspeople surged forward, pressing the girls onto us, as thousands more cheered from balconies and windows.
'NATO, NATO' the girls cried, 'We love you, thank you, thank you', They threw flowers inside our jeep and blew kisses to me and my startled colleagues. Others looked shyly from a distance and smiled invitingly. A tall blonde caught my eye and winked. My heart raced."
Total glory days ... or one could just work on his game

[Gringo]

Do you remember the name of the book?

[oldnemesis]

(03-25-2011 02:26 AM)Kurupt Wrote:  

I'll see what oldnemesis has to say about this too, but as a russian guy I would advise you not to explore 2nd or 3rd tier cities in Russia by yourself!

For those who speak and read Russian 2nd tier shouldn't be an issue. Even some 3rd tier - although the infrastructure quality may really surprise you - like showers without hot water in a hotel. Unless you go to unstable or extremely corrupt regions, you'll be fine.

[oldnemesis]

(03-25-2011 07:13 AM)Luckystar Wrote:  

From what I know I keep hearing about the stans is that it is much much more racially tolerant than Russia/Ukraine.

Same as Ukraine I'd say, but definitely better than Russia.

[The Duke]

(03-24-2011 02:52 PM)Luckystar Wrote:  

Almaty is one of the places my clients rave about.

People in Tashkent spoke very highly of Almaty in general.

(03-24-2011 03:24 PM)Gringo Wrote:  

The pro's will be obvious, they either work for the bars as waitresses and double up as whores, work in strip and go go bars, or hang around in shady clubs and afterhour clubs freelancing. You need to watch for semi pros too. Some will pretend not to be working or that they work in an office (or some other bullshit) to try and trick you, it's easy to see through. You can take these girls home for free easy enough if you approach it right.

I wish I could spot a pro vs non-pro better. In Peru, my friend and I were in a bar with lots of pros. We went home with two girls and those girls gave us ZERO indication they were pros. I think they were pros only because of the bar we picked them up from. This is what you guys call shoring right? I'm not sure how common this is, but it seems like if a pro really likes you a lot then she will completely pretend like a non-pro. A girl in Uzbekistan was acting like this too -- she was buying me drinks and wanting to go home with me -- I think she might be been a pro or semi-pro but there was no explicit indication she was a pro. So then how do you know?

[Gringo]

If you went to a bar known for being a pro bar and it was clearly full of pros I think it's easy enough to work out that normal girls aren't likely to go there because they don't want to be branded a whore. I'd assume that any girl in that bar was working. The girls may not have 'really liked you' just simply tried to get a more long term prospect on the go, pretend to be a nice girl, go home with you and hope that you take her on as a girlfriend and then shower her with gifts and money.

I usually find it really easy to spot a pro, their behaviour is obvious. Just observe them from afar and see how they act, you will soon see.

And it's not usual for girls to buy guys loads of drinks so I'd have been wary about that, either she's got loads of money and is keen to get you home or she's up to something.

[familydude]

(03-25-2011 02:38 PM)Gringo Wrote:  

Do you remember the name of the book?

For the life of me, I cannot remember it.
I thought it might have been "Inat : Images of Serbia and the Kosovo Conflic" (also a good book), but cant find the quote inside it.

[Excelsior]

(03-24-2011 04:11 PM)Giovonny Wrote:  

I'll give you guys one..

Chico, California. Population is about 50k and half of these are college students. People party and have sex like crazy up there. If you like college white girls, this is about the easiest place I have ever seen in my life. I got laid on my 2nd day there. Funny story, I saw a cute girl walking towards me...

I said.."hey, are you looking for me?"
She said.."Who are you?"
I said.."Gio"
She said.."I'm Olga"

It was on from there. She was Russian and Black and a solid 8.5. I swear to God you can smell the sex up there and if girls are not getting laid they feel like they are missing out on something. A few years ago, one of those mens magazines like Maxim or FHM did a story about it. They had 15 guys go out over a friday and saturday night. 13 out of 15 guys got laid. I'm telling you guys this is horny white college girl paradise.

DareDorm did an episode from Chico State.

A lot of the DareDorm vids don't use real coeds, but given what you've said about the liberal nature of the place I'm betting this one might be real.
The girls in this vid aren't 10s, but I'd probably smash. This place seems like a solid spot.

[Screwston]

Chico, CA huh. I love me some college white girls

[Castor Troy]

In terms of South America, Brazil usually gets most of the press but I lived in Venezuela for a few months last year and think it has alot to offer if you're willing to walk on the wild side a little bit. I was staying mostly in Maracaibo, the second biggest city and in my entire time there (five months) I only met one other gringo. You definitely have the exotic factor on your side if you are a gringo and to date it has to be the easiest place I have ever been in terms of opening. Most young people speak at least some english and they are genuinely interested in why you are there. It's not very far from the Colombian border and the danger factor is high but if you're adventurous enough and looking for a cheap, good time it could yield some good results. Venezuela is an interesting place to be now because of the Chavez government which has in alot of ways fucked things up. That being said- it still has alot to offer the adventurous traveler and is easily accessible.

[MiXX]

(03-24-2011 04:11 PM)Giovonny Wrote:  

I'll give you guys one..

Chico, California. Population is about 50k and half of these are college students. People party and have sex like crazy up there. If you like college white girls, this is about the easiest place I have ever seen in my life. I got laid on my 2nd day there. Funny story, I saw a cute girl walking towards me...

I said.."hey, are you looking for me?"
She said.."Who are you?"
I said.."Gio"
She said.."I'm Olga"

Huh...you hit my favorite girls...college, white girls. So, could you break down a data sheet for us on Chico? Where did you sarge, other strategies (like the one above) that worked easily for you, where is most of the action? Where di you stay, things to do. etc.

Chico would be a 9hr flight for me, which I would thrown in a side trip when I am in Vancouver, and just head straight south.


Mixx

[Giovonny]

No need for a Data Sheet for Chico, California.

Just walk outside of your front door and there will be girls everywhere. The whole town is like one big college campus. You can go days without seeing someone over 25.

All the action happens within 5 blocks of campus. Just go to Chico State and walk around. There is only one area for night life and its literally right next to campus. All the bars are right next to each other so there is no reason to even use taxis. Every store, market, coffee shop, retail place you go into will be full of college girls. One of my favorite places was the Safeway near campus.

Here are some other observations:

Its a mostly white, rural, farming town, they are not impressed with "big city" type of stuff. In fact, in alot of ways they look down on "big city" types. They are friendly people but they are not impressed with fancy cars, designner clothes, jewerly and stuff like that. Guys that do well here are just good looking white guys who wear jeans and t shirts. Alot of "local" guys wear cowboy hats and boots when they are out drinking.


The only Latinos they know are the Mexicans who work on their farms and ranches. They don't even know what Reggaeton is....seriously!

The quality of the girls is not that impressive. Lots of 6's and 7's. But the thing is that they are all DTF.

You can always find a few girls who are into dark meat (brown or black)

There is nothing to do here excect party and bang.

Green Bay Packers Quarterback Aaron Rodgers is from here.

I lived here for 2 years so I don't know about hotels. If you stay downtown you wil be good. Just go out at night in the downtown area and walk around campus and downtown during the day.

Don't go in the Summer cause all the students are gone.

Mixx,

This place is great but there are so many other places like this alot closer to you. I'm sure Florida St. and the UF are good. Think about Athens, Georgia and Austin, TX. Those places are like Chico but way bigger. You will have more options there. Chico is a long way to go just for some white p*ssy. The nearest airport is Sacramento, which is almost 2 hours away.

[Gringo]

Quote:

They don't even know what Reggaeton is....seriously!

Lucky them.

[MiXX]

(03-28-2011 05:44 PM)Gringo Wrote:  

Quote:

They don't even know what Reggaeton is....seriously!

Lucky them.

LOL. Diddo!

[mdr2004]

I HAVE READ ALOT HERE ABOUT BRAZIL AND COLOMBIA AND WILL BE VISITING BOTH SOON.I HAVE NO DOUBT THE GIRLS ARE F-ING BEAUTIFUL.

I WANT TO MENTION LIMA,PERU.

THERE ARE APPROX 10 MILLION PEOPLE IN LIMA! I HAVE BEEN THERE 4 TIMES AND HAVE NOT BEEN THERE 4 TIMES FOR BUSINESS! THIS MEANS THERE ARE APPROX 6 MILLION (OF THE 10 MILLION) GIRLS.3 MILLION OF THE 6 MILLION ARE PRETTY,SUPER FRIENDLY AND IN SHAPE.

IT IS A GREAT PLACE FOR WOMEN.

[glassjawed]

can anyone 2nd lima, peru?

[MiXX]

(03-28-2011 08:55 PM)glassjawed Wrote:  

can anyone 2nd lima, peru?

Very simple. If you are blonde, with blue/green eyes and white - GO!! If you are not what I just described, skip Peru and go to Ecuador for a better reception by local women. Peru is very racist towards themselves in extreme degrees. Much like I was told Calgary is.

I'll give you one of 30 different scenarios I went through. As I am leaving Peru, back home to USA, I give the Peruvian immigration officer my US Passport. He was paging, and paging it, and then had one of his co-workers take a magnifying glass inspecting it to see if it was a counterfeit US passport. Now, you would think they did this for everyone, WRONG! Everyone in-front of me who had a US passport (and was white) breezed right through.

It was hard for them to accept that I was born in New York because I am latin with latin looks, so therefore, I must be up to no good and the passport must be a fake. He even asked me "Is this your passport?" and I look at him (now getting very angry), "I gave it to you, and you see my picture on it right?" {Dickhead}.

I finally had enough when I started getting angry and told them that if they continue harassing me for this bullshit, I am going to call the US embassy and report them. So either charge me with something, or handle my passport with care and let me be on my way. However, this time I was yelling in plain New York, Brooklyn English!!

Mind you, I have a newer passport that is scannable, and they still gave me shit. A fake passport cannot be read by real official machines, so WTF!!

This was one scenario of MANY similar ones I went through in Peru, yet this is a fucking latin country! That's OK. I'll gladly go spend my money in Colombia and Ecuador - fuck you Peru!

Mixx