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Robbed in Cali Colombia
09-29-2015, 04:07 PM
Not too long ago a DEA agent was shot and killed in bogota during a taxi jacking. Shit can happen anywhere really if you let your guard down. I've heard of pretty bad things happening in seemingly normal taxis in Manila too. Getting kidnapped, robbed, and stripped naked and left in some remote area isn't that rare. It could have been much worse.
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Robbed in Cali Colombia
10-02-2015, 08:44 AM
yeah don't get a taxi without easytaxi in Colombia, pretty standard
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Robbed in Cali Colombia
11-23-2015, 03:46 PM
Even easytaxi can be iffy at times. There was a story back in July about two young guys getting robbed after there easy taxi driver drove a few blocks away from where they were picked up. He stopped and two other guys got in, beat the shit out of them, took everything they had and then threw them out. Always be careful.
Here is my story about getting robbed in Colombia. I was living in Bogotá for a month while I took an English teaching course. I was fresh from living in Guadalajara, Mexico, and there it was generally safe to walk around at most hours. This went against most of the advice the Mexicans gave me, but I never felt uneasy. One night, I was leaving a friends place after watching the Colombia-Argentina Copa America game. There were no taxis because of all the people going back home after the game, and I couldn't use the transmilenio because I didn't have a card. I decided to walk back to la Candelaría where I was staying. Everything was good and I was thinking to myself, "latinos think everybody is going to rob them", "they need to get out more", "they only rob tiny girls with purses". I was thinking all of this as I was about to leave a shady part of el Centro, Carrera 7 and Calle 19. Just then a guy bumps into me, grabs my collar and pulls a knife over his head. I quickly try getting free from his grasp, but then 3 other guys come from behind me. He gives me the most sinister and crazy look I have ever seen, and I know its hopeless. They pat my pockets while the guys keeps me still. The three guys get my cellphone and run off. The guy with the knife tries to take my jacket, and I tell him "NO". We are so close to a major road with police, so he decides it's best to give up and takes off. I hated living in la Candelaría. Stick to Chapinero and those good neighbourhoods in the North.
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Robbed in Cali Colombia
11-23-2015, 04:18 PM
Sorry to hear this bro...unfortunately there a lots of junkies and hoodlums hanging around La Candelaria ...I remembering walking through the huge park by the Tercermileno down there during the day and getting a very uneasy feeling ...Chapinero is better but still got to be careful..
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Robbed in Cali Colombia
11-24-2015, 03:03 PM
Uber is generally the best bet. They background check drivers and every trip is logged so if something were to happen to you there's a record of who the driver is.
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Robbed in Cali Colombia
11-26-2015, 09:12 PM
Damn straight, biggest mistake of my time in Colombia. FOB gringo straight from Guadalajara thinking that if I could walk around in GDL at night without nothing happening, it would be the same in Bogotá. Other thing was that it was just after the Colombia vs. Argentina game in Copa America. All taxis were full and I didn't have the card for transmilenio so I said fuck it, I'll take a chance.
Three of the four guys took off after they got my cell phone and then it was just the guy with the knife and me. I could've given him my jacket, but for whatever reason I had my bank card and debit card in the inside pocket, and without those I was without funds in Colombia. For whatever reason that scared me more than the fact I could die, even though a girl had told me about how her classmate was killed when he tried protecting his girlfriend from a robbery only a week prior. I took my chance and it worked out. He gave up and took off.
Lesson learned, try to always have cash. Separate your things into different pockets. Listen to all advice given by native Colombians. If they are worried or scared about a neighbourhood or situation, there is usually a reason.
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Robbed in Cali Colombia
05-14-2016, 02:07 PM
Everyone is writing that you should use uber in Cali, but do all you guys buy local sim card? I mean how do you get internet to get the uber
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Robbed in Cali Colombia
05-14-2016, 02:59 PM
Go to tigo and buy a sim card
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Robbed in Cali Colombia
06-20-2016, 05:37 PM
I lived in Cali last December. Saw a family get carjacked on Christmas, in the upper class area called Granada. Didn't see if there was a gun or not. Another time, a girl was coming to meet me, and she and everyone else on a city bus were robbed.
Another time I saw a guy who performs at red lights asking a driver for money. They eventually got into an argument and the driver got out of his car and assaults the guy, attempting to kick him in the crotch. I couldn't believe my eyes and kind of wanted to laugh.
Generally did not feel that dangerous walking around during the day though. I'd say the danger is not enough to stay away from Cali because of it. My results with girls and overall experience there were good, but not great, so I wouldn't recommend it over other cities in Colombia.
I'd recommend using world nomads insurance, like I do. It covers theft of your stuff, with a few reasonable exceptions, such as cash. The price might be high for shorter trips, but not bad if you buy 6 months at a time. They paid for everything when I was robbed in Rio de Janiero, though it does take an annoying number of hours of paperwork and waiting to get your money. Just don't take anything irreplaceable and make sure your computer/phone has a daily automatic backup of your important stuff to a cloud storage service such as dropbox. Then there's not much need to worry about theft, or whether you should try to fight/run away.
So we've got taxi, bus, walking and driving robberies. The only one I've never heard of is biking. I did hear that bike tourists are generally left alone. Probably because they don't appear rich. And it cuts out the taxi driver, other pedestrians, other people on the bus, and the multi thousand dollar vehicle they could steal. Interesting thought. Might be one more reason to try bike tourism, or at least use a bike more.