cactusjack75

Great trip report! Did you go to Club Tobi while in Medellin. So many have posted great things about this place so curious if you went.

Thanks so much for the reply. I definitely want to check out Quito just for the touristic value of the city. Everything you wrote about it seems to be appeal and I love to explore cities, especially those with history. I didn't have Guayaquil in mind but might be worth a trip. I'll look into that more and thanks for the great info again!

Duplicate post please ignore.

Hey guys - there are some amazing airfares in May to Quito Ecuador out of my home city of Toronto. I've done a search of the forum and not much at all on Quito or Ecuador in general. Is there anyone who has tried it out? If yes, what was your impressions of the boys there (also city in general). Was it worth it? Ideas on where to stay? Any guest friendly hotels? Best places to hook up and how is grindr? I figure this is a long shot as practically nobody writes about Ecuador in here. I went to Lima last year and had a great time with the boys there so thinking Quito might surprise. Anyway, any info would be greatly appreciated?

What do you mean by 'Brazilian standard' in terms of appearance? It is a muslim country so I don't think guys are going to be walking around with speedo's like Ipanema lol.. I found the Egyptians hot but that is me, I prefer younger and skinny - twinkish looks and there are plenty of cute Egyptian eye candy for me. As for hooking up there - homosexuality is obviously frowned upon in a majority muslim country. It isn't technically illegal but the authorities have been known to arrest gays for engaging immoral acts using vague 'indecency' laws. A western tourist being cornered in this way is probably extremely rare, but I guess not impossible. I wouldn't rule out hooking up with someone but be very cautious. Meet in a public place first and get a good sense of the person before doing anything. Might be difficult to bring one to your hotel though. I have a friend who had no issues staying in the western 5 star hotels in Cairo. I have no experiences with Air bnb in Cairo but if there is a doorman/security to the building - could be problematic. Anyway have fun and share your experiences

I'm new to this forum and have been enjoying reading all the posts and topics quite a bit. It is nice to be in an arena with like minded guys/interests. I think people should be able to engage in a civil discussion, even when there is disagreement in here without making personal attacks. There really is no need for it!

I just think it is a pretty blanket statement to 'stay away' from locals in M.E countries. Truth be told I've been to Morocco and Tunisia and I have certainly had my fun. Yes, I had issues with locals in Morocco but in retrospect, I let my horniness get in the way of rational thinking. I should have been more cautious and met with guys first before just bringing anonymous guys into my apartment. I was asking for trouble. So, i'm not sure staying away completely just because there is risk works for everyone and there are things you can do to mitigate risks. You can never eliminate risk completely in any instance. There is fun to be had but you have to be aware and cautious, careful. It is hard to do that because temptation is so strong but I would approach things differently if I went back to the Maghreb - especially Morocco for reasons I posted about. I've been to Jordan and had zero problems with the locals there so this is why I say it may be a bit extreme to just advise people to stay away from muslim countries. Legally though, yes it is more risky than other parts of the world and this is a personal choice a guy has to make, but he should make it as informed as possible. The key is being smart and being discreet. There is a vast gay underground in the muslim world but you must keep things on the D.L. In no circumstance should you make it public.. That is the fastest way to get in trouble. As far as just hooking up with them in Europe well - there is also the cultural experience and the exotic allure of visiting and meeting with locals in the native country. That is as if not more appealing than simply having sex with a Moroccan or Tunisian in Paris.

It is highly unlikely that a westerner would have capital punishment applied to them in Morocco and Egypt. It is even unlikely that Moroccans and Egyptians would be punished with death for homosexuality in their own countries - though being jailed is likely. I wouldn't make light of it though, there is certainly a legal distinction between Latin American countries and Muslim countries when it comes to homosexuality. I find this anxiety is no longer as exotic as it used to be but that is me. I certainly think people should be very clear eyed about the legal risks engaging in homosexuality in Muslim countries. The risks are real and certainly more present than most other parts of the world.

If I had a choice between Morocco and Tunisia i'd go with Tunisia when it comes to sex with locals. I had no problems with the three guys I hooked up with in Tunis (unlike Morocco as I described in my post). The men are every bit as hot and horny as in Morocco, but I found at least online you are more likely to find just everyday guys looking to hook up in Tunis and less hustling than in Morocco. Nicely equipped too!

I haven't been to Cuba in 5 years but this was exactly my experience on my last visit. Prior to that I went about 4 times. The straight guy who pretended to be gay was the icing on the cake for me not returning. Exactly as you wrote. The one I had was very hot and came on hard so I took him to my place. We agreed on price and as soon as we were to get down to business, he couldn't get hard and was simply faking it for the money. At that point, i'm not going to get into a confrontation with him because he couldn't perform so I just paid him and got rid of him. Plus he had what looked like gang tattoos on and was simply a bigger and stronger guy than me. I'm not going to risk a violent confrontation with such a guy for 30USD. Maybe I shouldn't have just to sort of support a stop in this behaviour but it can be easier said than done! This tainted my experience though and after that just gave Cuba a pass. There are so many other places in Latin America which are easier to hook up with locals in. Cuba can be a bit tricky. That said, you are right in that there are good guys there, they are just becoming drowned out by the fake straight guys looking for easy money. As for them scoping out your apartment - very true. Almost all the guys I had in Cuba did this and they are not shy asking you for things. Between the fake str8 guys and the desperation of the people for material items you have, i'm not really feeling the Cuban heat much anymore!

I was recently in Manila and hooked up solely with guys off of Grindr. One I paid for a 'massage' and the other was just a normal hookup - no money exchange. The massage guy wanted way to much for sex so I gave him a pass. The normal hookup guy was definitely an A in bed and pretty passionate. Something to note about the rent trade in Manila - at least that off of grindr, but I assume this would be the case if you actually go to a gay massage joint. Normally you agree to getting a massage only and price for a massage only. They do not like to talk about sex. They say they can discuss 'extra' services after the massage. This threw me off because the massage guy I hooked up with quoted a pretty high price for sex. He was actually surprised I turned him down. He asked me to name my price but at that point the whole mood was just off for me and I didn't want to continue. I much rather agree on a price for the whole deal ahead of time. This way there is no 'negotiating' right in the middle of the action - it just kills it and not for me. I would say there is a pretty decent crop of guys you can meet off of grindr or just online in general who are not rentboys but by and large, my experiences in Manila as with in Thailand is if you are a Westerner - they start talking about being Moneyboys or Massage boys (Money boys, hustlers, rentboys) just by a more 'professional' name. As for as hotels allowing guests. I stayed at Red Planet hotel with no problem so I assume this generally isn't an issue. To make sure though, you could double check the hotel. Manila itself didn't do it for me. Too chaotic, polluted and not pedestrian friendly at all. It doesn't have a good metro system so therefore you rely more on Grab (uber in S.E Asia) or just taxi's in general which I hate. Plus, because the traffic is so horrendous, it takes ages to get even a few kilometres. The food wasn't very good either (unless constantly eating fast food is your thing). Bangkok is the much better choice if you are considering either. If I go back to the Philippines, i'm passing Manila and check out the trade in smaller cities like Cebu. I'm thinking the guys will be friendlier and for the rent trade - cheaper. As of right now though, I would say if you want better value and as sexy, if not sexier men - i'd go with Thailand over Phillipines. Pattaya to me is still the easiest place in S.E Asia to reliably get hot guys for reasonable prices and who perform well. It isn't the city of sin for nothing.

I've had some good experiences in Cambodia, both in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap. I found there to be more guys just wanting to have sex without exchange of money in PP v Siem Reap (which is more touristy). Guys are on the small side in Cambodia versus either Thailand or Vietnam based on my experiences. I found the going price for a MB was 30 USD. That was for me though as a bottom and at 43 y.o. Grindr was all I needed to keep me more than busy on my trip.

As someone who has been to Morocco multiple times, I think the OP's observations are spot on. The fact that tourism has exploded in the last decade or so, especially in Marrakech makes the matter worse. You are viewed as simply a conduit for money. Not all Moroccans are like this, but unfortunately, so many are. I would say 80 percent of the guys I hooked up with in Morocco in one way or another engaged in some sort of deceit. As soon as the experience was finished, that is when the shoe drops and they come at you from left field either wanting money, even if no money exchange was discussed at all, or they are wanting more than agreed to. I had two experiences where the guy refused to leave the place until I gave him more than what was bargained for. It then became an almost endless haggle to agree upon an amount just to get them out of the place. Let alone pretty scary actually. You have someone in your apartment, that shouldn't even be there whom you don't know and who you can't report unless you are willing to be scrutinized yourself for doing someone in a country that Is strictly forbidden. This leads me to why Morocco is so tricky in these instances. Homosexuality is illegal. There are no rights and you can go to jail for practicing it. Hotels will not allow unregistered guests in. They are not legally allowed to do this. Any stories of a hotel 'allowing' or turning a blind eye to this I would look to with suspicion. There are a lot of legal risks for a hotel to allow a foreigner to host some hot Moroccan man. So that leads to really the only viable solution for a foreigner to host a Moroccan and that is in an apartment Most buildings have security/guardsman so depending on that person will mean the difference between being able to host in your apartment or not. Sure you could bribe security but its a risk. There are a few places you can get with no security or guardsman. This is the easiest way to ensure you'll have no problem even getting a guy into your place (hopefully no prying eyes are watching), but it is also the most risky because you are most vulnerable and the guy knows this. Some unfortunately will take advantage. If you don't give them what they want they will use this against you. They'll tell you homosexuality is illegal, they'll refuse to leave without an outrageous amount of money and yes, some are willing to be violent about it. So who has more to lose. Well the OP got into that well. You need to have a steely nerve to deal with some of them and they are used to a hard life and using hard tactics. I've been to a few dozen countries and have met men in pretty much all of them and nowhere else have I had as many negative experiences with local men, be it escorts or just men in general than in Morocco. For me, i'm done with it. Simply isn't worth all the effort and there is a real risk of having a really bad experience with a guy and you are completely vulnerable. So - it is too bad because Moroccan men are among the most beautiful in the world and they are usually very well equipped, but all the difficulties and anxiety associated with it for me is no longer worth it.