Santo Domingo

[Davey612]

Santo Domingo trip report below

[Irish1972]

Davey,

Could you point me in the direction of your review of the DR. I had a look at the blog and must admit I am intrigued. Would love to learn more, but there seems to be precious little about the DR on the web.

Thanks

[Davey612]

Here is the review that I posted earlier this year. It may be a bit outdated, since I know the Phoenix bar has changed. Also, all the websites about gay life in DR no longer discuss the cost of you know what. So, here it is again:

"Dominican Republic trip report

At the urging of a member here (hi David Jewell), I have decided to write a short note about my trip to the Dominican Republic. I'll only concentrate on what interest guys here in this forum, mainly the guys and the gay scene.

First, a caution note to readers who are Asians. The Dominican Republic may not be the best place for you to visit if you cannot tolerate being called "Chino, Chino," or "Chino cochino," or slurs about their perception of your language. I know that among Dominicans, they also call each other "chino," "moreno," "rubio," etc as nicknames for the way a person looks like. However, I also perceived when being called "chino" is a racial slur. This perception permeates within Dominican society because I even saw a TV comedy show that made parodies of the Chinese (it seems that Chinese immigration has caused conflicts within Dominican society). Such a show would have been totally considered racist here in the U.S.

On the other hand, if you enjoy men with darker shades of skin (or are a "size queen") and know some Spanish, then the Dominican Republic is heaven on earth. So, how's the gay scene? Quite small. You can count the bars in Santo Domingo with the fingers of one hand. They are all in the zona colonial of the city.

Unlike Thailand, there is no organized bar system. All you need to do is walk along the El Conde street, the main tourist walking street, and you'll be sooner or later accosted by all sorts of people who will try to sell you anything, or just beg for some pesos. This includes the "bugarones," the hustlers. You'll know what they are selling, specially when they mention they can give you a good massage because they have strong arms like Sammy Souza (which is an institution by itself over there).

I have been warned by friends whom I met at gay.com that picking guys from the street can be quite dangerous. Notwithstanding that, at the place where I was staying, the Monaga guest house (see www.monaga.com (http://www.monaga.com)) [NOTE: this no longer exist at its current place], I have seen other guests who have been picking up guys literary from the front door of the guest house. Some of the guests rarely venture out of the place because their days were full of appointments with various bugarones. I am pretty sure some of you guys are asking by now, how much? Well, it ranges from 1000 to 1500 pesos, though one of the guest proudly told me that he was able to negotiate all the way down to 500 pesos (exchange rate is around 28 pesos for each U.S. Dollar). Memories of cheap charlies in Thailand?

If you want to meet bugarones in a bar, you can meet them at the Phoenix bar [NOTE: I don't know what is the current situation]. The guys will hang around and try to start a conversation. If you don't want to be bothered, tip the menacing doorman/bodyguard some pesos and he'll make sure nobody touches you.

There are four other bars in Santo Domingo. The main disco where the "beautiful" people go to is called Arena (or Aire). It is upstairs from the sister bar called Juntos. Arena is quite nice and has a Spanish sophistication about it. Juntos, on the other hand, is nicely dressed but more warmer. Things don't start moving at Arena until 1AM or so, and it does not close until 6AM. Junto closes at around 2AM. The other two bars are Parios and Jay Dees. I was at Parios, and my impression is that it is just a big room that is used for some water strip show. Did not have a chance to go to Jay Dees.

Santo Domingo also has a sauna, called Aqua. It is located inside the hotel Hacienda (which is also a gay friendly hotel). Aqua is actually quite nice. It has a hot tub, hot steam, and sauna. There is an outdoor solarium area, as well as the normal TV room showing porn movies.

Well, that's it. I would like to mention that if Latinos in other countries consider themselves machos, then Dominicans are the super machos among them. I haven't seen such expression of machismo in other Latin countries that I have visited. It is as if they are all paranoid of being seen as less than male. Taxi drivers will not give each other an inch of a way, which makes taking a cab ride somewhat akin to taking a bumper car ride at an amusement park. Men talk about women like trash. Every time a Dominican man sees me talk to a woman, all he thinks is that I am trying to have sex with her. And oh, there are no passive (bottom) Dominican men. They are all active (top). Well, or so they claimтАж

I don't want to convey a total negative view about this island. I did meet some very nice men and did develop friendships. One of my most memorable memories was when I was invited to a party hosted by a gay couple. They just bought their condo and invited friends for the house warming party. Unlike customs here in the U.S., guests are not expected to bring gifts. It was quite a nice evening meeting a whole spectrum of gay people.

So, if you want visit the Dominican Republic, I would suggest that you try to make some friends first. The chat room at gay.com is a good place to do so. Just like the Bangkok chat room, there will be money boys trying to make contact with you too. But I am sure you'll know who is trying to be your friend and who is trying to get your wallet.

Lastly, it is not Thailand."

Anyone have current up to date info on the Dominican Republic?

[Jetsam]

Anyone have current up to date info on the Dominican Republic?

yes I like to know too, we are 16 months further now

[Davey612]

I just returned from a two weeks trip to Panama City and Santo Domingo.

To answer the first questions, you can check current nightclubs and hotels in Santo Domingo at monaga (http://www.monaga.net). Do note that one of the listings, the CasaNewyorker will close on July 9. Doing business in the hospitality field is tough.

Since my review, a few changes have happened. The Dominican Republic has a similar curfew as in Thailand: Everything closes at midnight Sunday - Thursdays and at 2AM, Friday and Saturday.

But it does not matter that much because it is quite easy to meet guys. Just park yourself at the outdoor cafe in the El Conde street and you'll attract the Bugaroones like honey to bees.

As I said before, unlike Thailand, nothing is "up to you." You better negotiate upfront (both the propina, the service). Lots of straight "bisexual" guys. Make sure that during the negotiations you mention you don't want them watching channel 87 and 88 (the porno channels). If kissing is important, better mention so.

Now, as for Panama City (in Panama that is, and not Florida), that is a subject for another day and another review. But you can check Panama City's nightlife offering at the following websites: drumbas (http://www.drumbas.com/Inicio1/) and farraurbana (http://www.farraurbana.com/). Panama City uses Dollars but Spanish is still the main spoken Language. All I can say that Panamenos are great kissers. hehehehe

Oh, another Panama tibid. If you have a chance to sail around the San Blas islands on the Caribbean side of Panama, do so. Tons of beautiful islands. Crabs and lobsters quite cheap. Just make sure you have lots of Dollar bills.

[catawampuscat]

Some friends talked up Costa Rica a few years back and some even moved there but I haven't heard anything
recently. I was concerned about crime which was rampant and the difficulties of bringing someone back to your
hotel.
Panama City sounds perfect. What amount of dollars is the norm for the tips? If a tip of $100 was expected or if $20
was the norm it would make a big difference for many of us. :cat:

[Davey612]

I have no first hand answer to your question. One of my Panamenian friends said that he read a newspaper in which a "chulo" advertised short term "regalitos" for $20.

Yup, in Panama, they are called "chulos."