Buenos Aires - Club Black

At this point I was very disappointed with the Internet escorts. The local agent did claim that she could not guarantee anything about the escorts, but she could get the going rate and that the appointments would be reliable. I was betting that she had some local reputation so the escorts would play less tricks. It wasn't to be.

So I head straight to Club Black, against advise from some US expats. It was really just across the corner from my hotel. It was the number one club. At $300 (peso) an hour outcall, $20+ (US?) per drink, and more for the ladies' drinks, it had to be number one. That's how the negative advice came about. A drink is comparable to a Korean beer in a room Salon in LA, though the drink has higher alcohol content. BTW, my drink was free, got a coupon from the airport.

[In the rush back to my hotel, I didn't look at the bill much.  I vaguely  remember it's very roughly $20 US a drink.  Someone below says its 120 peso for the girl's drink.]

Another important background informaton is that, the above price was in pesos, which used to be about the same as dollars. At the time, the peso had long settled down to roughly one-third of a dollar, but people had long memories about these things. I heard about disputes from time to time about whether the stated price was in peso or dollar. I tried calling an escort with an ad in a newspaper, and asked her what currency was the price, she laughed and said dollars.

I had no legacy problem because I was always thinking in pesos. So I was expecting a hooker bar, somewhat more expensive than the other many such bars. But I should think in terms of dollars, as in the good old days. The club wasn't that plush as compared to top clubs in affluent Asian cities, in prime locations. But it has style, with front like an anonymous bank. There must be a center stage overlooking the corner of a major cross road in Recoleta, as shown in a previous picture. However I never got that far. At the entrance, there was a long bar with some 30 to 50 stools? It was a long walk towards the center stage. Lining the long walk way, opposite the bar, was some group sitting areas, like a lobby in a hotel.

I knew it was early for Latin America standards, 9pm, but I couldn't help it even after I upgraded to a larger hotel room. Instead of looking at the 4 walls all the time, I looked at the screw, walked up the screw, and walked down the screw. I knew there must be at least a group of regulars or VIPs far at the center stage, keeping the staff busy. Otherwise, the bar area was rather quiet, except for some 20+ girls sitting quietly on the bar stools, enjoying their drinks. I walked in, but nothing happened, so I sat at the middle of the long bar with some empty seats. I gave the bartender my coupon and enjoyed my free drink.

I wasn't impressed with the girls at first glance. But I should be. They averaged about 22, mostly local Argentinians, and at $300 a puff lining up the bar, that's quite impressive in terms of dollars. I didn't realize that their dress code was as conservative as some LA room salons, while I was expecting some playboy materials walking around as bunnies. Cleavage and short skirts were rare. Indeed most were dressed in casuals fit for office work. It wasn't designer outfits but they did put enough effort in their clothes to show off their individual styles, while remaining subtle.

As with some Asian culture, where breast enhancements are seen as kiss of death, fancy makeups are seen as cover ups, even in the evenings. So, the lineup seemed tame and plain at first glance. But as hostesses in a hostess club, they seemed to be as good as anywhere else.

I'm sure they all noticed me, and seemed friendly, but I was left alone so I took my time to look around, and to look at more girls gradually turning up for work. After a while, I began to over look their conservative dresses and began to realized that they were pretty young, in different good shapes, and came in many different styles. One was in a subtle cheerleader outfit, and looked like an American high school cheerleader. One even looked a little goth, showing off her awesome waist baring one inch of her tummy. If any of them came up to me, I would say yes yes yes and rushed back to my hotel.

But I think my strategy worked too well. I took the chance to sit at the bar in the hope that I would be left alone to watch all the girls with minimum drinks. Indeed no girls and no waiters bothered me. I began to feel like I was in a Catholic girl school party with all girls sitting on one side, and boys on the other. It didn't matter that I was sitting on the same side with the girls (at the bar), because I was the only boy invited. I smiled at my targets, they smiled back but stayed put. Friendly staring also didn't work. If anybody came up to sell drinks or whatever, I would have told them to get me that girl. But nobody came. The girls looked at me looking back at them and other girls. By then my free drink was over long ago, and I had more drinks than I wanted to drink.