I've been to this club a...

I've been to this club a number of times on different occasions, some great, one lousy. As at all Mexico City clubs, when you walk in the door, they frisk you to make sure you don't have a gun. They take you to a seat, but if it's not busy you can indicate where you want to sit. There's a small dance stage in the front, a longer one in the back, that fake smoke blowing all over the place, pseudo-Egyptian decor, girls line the outside walls at tables running from the front to the back.

The girls range from drop-dead gorgeous to middling. You have to have a drink, around 50 to 100 pesos for you, depending on what you get, but each drink is twice as much for the girl if you want to sit with one. Girls will approach you, but if you just say no, gracias, they move on. If you see one you want to sit with, about all you need to do is make eye contact (though it's not always so easy as it's dark and they're always blowing that fake smoke). You can walk back to the men's room to survey the girls.

Now you sit down with a girl and things get interesting -- or difficult. As I said, the drinks for the girls cost twice as much as for you -- most of it goes to the house. The waiters often give them basically water, or very watered-down drinks, so there's nothing to stop them. If the girl downs her drinks pretty fast, I'd indicate you've had enough -- she just wants money. One girl asked to switch from Cuba Libre to another drink, and I said no problem, but it turned out that the other drink cost twice as much -- total rip off -- so it wasn't long before she'd racked up around 2500 peso, or $250 dollars. I got angry at the manager -- I said nobody had told me that it was going to cost twice as much, he said, yes, but she asked to switch, and on we went. I bargained him down to $200 and left very pissed. If they pull something like this on you, you can't get out -- repeat, you cannot get out -- there are half a dozen strong men who will tackle you. I've seen it happen.