Drinking Buddies Wanted

What!? You mean carlos69 won't let me spend all my mornings, afternoons and nights in an Irish pub? Then what am I traveling 4,400 miles for?

Horses for courses but frankly I've never seen the point of travelling somewhere else just to be with fellow travellers. Sometimes moving outside your own comfort zone makes for a more enjoyable experience. I must admit I've never had much of a problem striking up a conversation with locals anywhere in Brazil, Rio included. Just takes a little effort but of course not everyone has the same tastes. To each your own I suppose.

Oh boy... here we go with the "I'm a real traveler, you are just a tourist" crap... Don't start with me. Would you consider staying in a hostel a sellout move, or do you just knock on doors until someone lets you in, because you wouldn't dare be exposed to staying near travelers. I think that traveling is about doing whatever the hell you want to do, whether it be Lapa on a Friday or Shenanigans on a Tuesday. If someone wants to post in English about meeting up for a drink, I suggested a place where he could meet English speaking travelers for a drink, and that's what I did. We are all very happy about your positive interactions with Brazilians, I met my wife in Brazil, so obviously I had some good interactions with "locals" as well, but I also met some great travelers while there, and I don't think anyone should limit who they interact with based upon their country of origen.