drugged and robbed at Estacion!!!

[Guest cutebuns888]

Last Saturday night I was slipped a "mickey" in my beer by one of the boys at Estacion. This was in one of the cabins. While I was drugged, he took my key, went to my locker, and stole my money... approx. 200 reals... (he didn't take my credit cards)... I wake up an hour later... he's gone... I check out and he ran up a bill of 476 reals!!!... surely, the bartender had to be in on this conspiracy... the charges were at least 50 items ranging from pizza to red bull to whiskey... the guy who checked me out was not in the least sympathetic... (there are many Brazilians who are envious of our wealth and that can quickly transfer to hate)... I asked for the manager and we settled on 150 reals... but no real apology... I will never go back there... I don't think this would have happened at 117... the lesson is: don't take any drinks to the cabins.... I've been to Brazil 4 times now... and I love it... but, frankly, I think it's a very dangerous country... and so do the credit card companies...

[Guest bam]

terrible! terrible! especially managements attitude, and i leave sunday for my first trip there will try to talk with someone in charge and let them know that how they treat people gets around (if i can communicate well with no portuguese);(

[trilingual]

Cutebuns, how about giving us the name of the guy who did this to you? Or at the least a description?

 

I'm not saying this didn't happen to you, but something about the modus operandi described here doesn't quite square with the usual scenario. "Boa noite, Cinderela" ("Nighty-night, Cinderella"), which is what the Brazilians call the drug-'em-and-rob-'em scam, is common enough that it's talked about quite a bit. Usually, though, it happens in a bar, or sometimes on a long-distance bus, when someone new acquaintance offers you a spiked drink. The drug of choice is usually rohypnol or some other date-rape drug which, combined with alcohol, knocks people out for hours on end. That wouldn't be easy to pull off in a bath house without people noticing, especially considering that the places ordinarily close about midnight. A drugged customer would be easy to spot, as he'd likely still be passed out at closing time, and it would also be obvious (and a red flag) to management if a customer is still alone in a cabine long after the guy he was with left. Obviously, this didn't happen in your case. Of course, there are undoubtedly some shorter-acting drugs that can be used to do this, but I can't help wondering if you possibly had too much to drink and just passed out for a while on your own? I can't help noticing that a few recent posters seem to be extremely devoted to their alcohol, and that can lead to problems in a foreign place. Naturally, passing out from one's own over-indulgence doesn't excuse, in any way, one of the escorts taking advantage of you by going through your locker or charging hundreds of reais worth of stuff to your locker number. Still, this is the first instance I've heard of this at the baths, and I'm a bit surprised by your account, because management knows how fragile their reputation is and is hardly likely to tolerate this kind of thing. They realize perfectly well that word of such incidents travels fast, and they can hardly afford to have their reputation sullied, especially not with local clients who are their bread-and-butter. After all, it's not like their establishment is the only game in town, either, so if they want to keep their clientele from going elsewhere, they have to run a place where their clients feel safe. Still, there's a first time for everything, I suppose. In this case, even though Estação management could have acted more energetically in your own situation, they evidently realized something wasn't right about all the charges to your bill and corrected things. I'd be willing to guess they've figured out who the culprit is and banished him. They absolutely don't need or want this happening to other customers. They know it will kill their business if it reoccurs and word spreads.

 

MORAL(S) OF THE STORY: Don't accept drinks or food from perfect strangers. In bars, and, I guess, the saunas get your own drinks and snacks directly from the bar or a waiter; don't let anyone else do it for you. And watch your own drinking; enough of those harmless-tasting caipirinhas will have the same effect as knock-out drops.

[+ glutes]

Cutebuns, sorry that this happened to you. Please read my post futher down the list here "Raped and Robbed in Rio"! These saunas (and country in general,) they are as dangerous as they are spectacular.

Please fellow family members, use extreme caution in Brazil!!!

[Guest Jake]

Estaceo is, in fact, my favorite sauna in Brasil since it opened. I am taken aback at the situation you describe and have never heard of another similar incident there or any other sauna from any American or Brasilian friends (who, by the way, will tell you that a sauna is the absolute SAFEST place to go - even with a pickup off the street).

 

I take normal big city precautions in Rio, but don't find it any more dangerous than any other big city. (Read HooBoy's account today of being robbed in N.Y.C. at 8th Ave. and 42nd St.)

 

As a further testament to Tri's observations in this post, I used to drink (and do other goodies) a LOT and the damndest things somehow kept happening to me on a regular basis.

 

Take care, but go enjoy yourselves free of any phobias about the safety of Brasil these days.

[+ Axiom2001]

Your remarks are well received, Jake! Although some travelers and respondents at this forum have had very unfortunate situations happen to them recently-- IT IS NO TIME for ANYONE to be an ALARMIST!

When one is holidaying in any major town (wherever it might be) be CAUTIOUS but not PARANOID!

 

Again, when I took my first trip to Brazil last month, I WAS NOT FEARFUL when there-- just cautious when alone and rather safe with Ernani. When I went on the guided tour to three of the favelas, our guide told us not to venture there by ourselves under any circumstances. He took us to selective favelas--not the really dangerous ones.

 

So men, acknowledge the words of the men who have been to Rio more than once.

 

(Curtail excessive drinking or other drugs which might impair ones senses.)

[trilingual]

>As a further testament to Tri's observations in this post, I used to drink (and do other goodies) a LOT and the damndest things somehow kept happening to me on a regular basis.

 

Hmmm. Sounds like there are some cautionary tales to be told here. . . ;-)

 

Guys, don't cruise while intoxicated when in Rio, or anywhere else in Latin America. It's risky anywhere you are, but possibly more so in Latin countries, where being drunk or loaded is a real invitation for someone to take advantage of you.

 

A big part of that is cultural. In some Northern European cultures it seems that the whole purpose of drinking is to get completely shit-faced. "Everybody" does it, and it's considered harmless fun. Well, it isn't in Latin countires. Being intoxicated, especially in public, is socially unacceptable in Latin culture. Just look around you the next time you're out in some Latin country and see how many drunken/stoned/out-of-control locals you see. Few or none, I'd be willing to guess. Alcohol is cheap and plentiful in Latin countries, but drinking is something people do as part of a meal, or to loosen up, relax and be sociable with friends. Except possibly at Carnival, that's the limit of most Latins' drinking.

 

Self-respect and dignity are supremely high values in Latin culture, and someone who's intoxicated (especially in public) clearly has neither. It's considered pathetic and shameful to lose control of yourself, and people have no respect for someone in that condition. This attitude is compounded when the drunk in question is a foreigner, because his behavior not only is considered disgusting, it's interpreted as a lack of respect for the people and customs of the country. Naturally, that opens the door to trouble. Since someone drunk/stoned in public isn't considered worthy of respect, and especially not a drunken foreigner, they become fair game for being taken advantage of, because some people see them as actually asking to be treated disrespectfully. And what could be less respectful than beating up or robbing someone?

 

Put another way, being drunk/stoned in public in a Latin country is equivalent to hanging a huge "I'm Pathetic and Disgusting. Please Abuse Me" sign around your neck. If you're the type who can't have a good time without being completely loaded, you should forget about Latin America for your holidays. You'll only be asking for trouble. Instead, try Scandinavia or Germany or Russia, where drinking until you pass out is considered fun! You'll have lots of company working yourself into a stupor, and you won't stand out like a sore thumb the way you would anywhere in the Latin world.

 

A word to the wise. . .