Finally, having just visited Brazil (Rio, Iguaçu Falls & Salvador de Bahia) for 10 days I can now proclaim I have a sliver of an understanding of the BRICs concept (Brazil, Russia, India & China -http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BRIC), an acronym first coined and prominently used by Goldman Sachs in 2001. The ecological and human diversity of the world’s fifth largest country is truly impressive. 40% of this country’s nearly 200 Mil population are multi-ethnic; this makes Brazil perhaps the most multi-cultural society in the world!! I used to think NYC was the biggest melting pot on earth, until I visited Rio. One of my tour guides told me that Brazil now focuses on the development of China (since March of this year China has replaced the US as Brazil’s largest trading partner) and India far more than that of the US because China & India have the rise of the middle class to buy stuff, while the US is in trouble. Hmmm, I call it money talks, bullsxxt walks……
So why did it take me so long to visit Brazil? Simply put, it had a less than stellar reputation against tourists so I put off going there until I figure I was mentally ready to do so. When I was getting my passport photo done, the proprietor of the photo store I went to (who happened to be Chinese) told me that each and everyone one of her relatives in Rio has been robbed or mugged. I was emotionally prepared to have a tense experience because of all the stories I had heard and all the advices I was given. On top of that the swine flu broke out a week before the trip, so taking my soon-to-turn 75 years old mother to a seemingly “dangerous” destination coupled with the possibility of catching the virus on the plane rides to and from was certainly not a relaxing start to the trip! I spent 10 days sans purses and jewelries and dressed as if I were in combat, with my pepper spray hidden in my pants (the biggest irony is that I have had to use my spray only once in my life – in Chicago! And I hope I will never have to use it again)! But what a surprise it was then that not only was the country safe, but that the people were very warm and helpful! All the fears and cautions (which perhaps served us well as we were in a heightened alert state of minds) gave way to pleasant surprises.
TOP 10 EXPERIENCES
10) GENUINELY FRIENDLY & HELPFUL PEOPLE – I experienced my first dose of genuine helpfulness of Brazilian hospitality before I even embark on my trip. My friend Cristiane whose home town is in Sao Paulo sent me a comprehensive list of where to go and what to do in Rio; and walked me through further details one night over dinner! On my TAM flight from JFK to Rio, I was seated next to a lawyer named Ana who had just completed a 9 day all ladies shopping trip with her 2 friends in the Big Apple. She took my friend’s & my Frommers’ suggested itineraries and proceeded to give me the do’s & don’ts on each neighborhood and where are the must go to places, down to how far they are from our hotel to which streets to avoid!! She even gave me her cell phone # just in case I get into trouble and she can bail me out!! Then on arrival given our flight was 45 minutes EARLY, our tour guide was not at the baggage claim area waiting for us. I asked another travel agent who was waiting for her group of travelers to arrive from Paris on how to contact our tour guide, she promptly rung our guide for us and put us at ease that we were not being abandoned!
9) FOOD PORTION THAT RIVALS AMERICAN SIZES – Is it possible that the portion of Brazilian servings at restaurants can be bigger than that of America? The answer is a resounding yes!! Twice we gave away our left-over lunches (I had it doggie-bagged as I don’t believe in wasting food given so many starving people in the world) to people that were roaming the street whom when we pointed to our food, they gladly took it from us. The “individual” portion tends to be big enough for 2 people, as we discovered. What was also interesting was that at a BBQ place, they gave us a spare plate to put all the meat that we can not finish and they will gather all the left-over and give them to the homeless. What a great way of helping the needy.
8) LORDS OF THEIR STREETS - In Rio it seems every street has a “Parking Lord” where he would come by and charge a driver for parking his or her car even though it is free parking. Our tour guide was constantly negotiating with these lords on how much to pay! I asked if he can tell these lords to bugger off, he said that one may come back and see a scratch on the side of the car, so better just pay.
7) LANGUAGE OF A TOURIST - I marvel at the fact that we managed to get around with sign language (mostly), English and Spanish (limited) in a Portuguese speaking country! And the universal sign language of a tourist: point to your camera, gesture at the shoot button, hand it to anyone in front of you, and they will take a picture for you! And likewise I did the same for others who asked, even though I have no idea what they were saying to me!
6) TAKING THE RIO METRO - Riding the subway was the highlight of our trip in Rio! We had not planned on taking the subway, but wanted to take the bus instead. Our tour guide talked us out of it and said it was far safer in the subway because there are tons of polices whereas none on the bus. The only place where his wife was ever mugged was on the bus. Someone could sit next to you and put a knife against your ribcage and alas you are cornered on the bus. The Rio metro was cleaner and felt safer than the NY subway, my mom was impressed!
5) STRIKING BEAUTY - Few cities are as physically striking as Rio de Janeiro. Its topography reminds me of Hong Kong, SF and the Bay Area, and its demographics of NYC. My favorite beach was Ipanema, and my favorite sight-seeing spot was the Corcovado Hill (taking the tram up reminds me of the Peak tram in HK) and the statute of Christ Redeemer, the aerial view seen from here is simply breathtaking!
4) WISDOMS OF A TOUR GUIDE: 1) “There are no natural disasters in Brazil, just corruptions.” 2) “There are 8 women to 1 man in Salvador, why do you think I am on my second marriage at 42?” I checked the CIA handbook on Brazil, the national avg is .98 men to 1 woman, odds is still ok.
3) FX FORECAST - I was told 5 years ago the Reais was at 3 to 1 to the US$, today it is at 2 to 1. I ran low on Reais and offered to pay US$ for a sightseeing bus on board (they didn’t accept credit cards), I was quoted a US$ price that was a whopping 30% premium over the local currency ticket! I think our bus vendor was prescient in predicting the direction of the US$ in another 5 years!
2) CITIBANK TO THE RESCUE: I was never happier to see a Citibank ATM machine in Rio!! None of the ATMs for the local banks at the airport or in the city worked, even those with the Cirrus signs. After exhausting all local bank options, I was just ecstatic to spot the all too familiar Citibank sign, so in spite of charging me US$4 ATM fee, I gladly used the machine!
1) 5 STAR HOTEL MOMENTS:
** In Rio – 2 things stood out: 1) I was mildly amused by (though my mom was not) the fact that there were NO robes, NO slippers in our hotel room, but there was a condom in the bathroom vanity kit! At least the gov’t or the hotel is health conscious and forward thinking! 2) In the Room service menu there was a PET’S MENU: grounded meat, veggies with brown rice & fruits, pet’s cookies & candies! That sounded pretty appetizing, certainly healthier than the hot dogs and pizza on the human menu!
** In Iguaçu Falls – There was gut renovation of hotel rooms from 9 am to 5pm, jackhammers were going and going….and apparently they raised their room rates according to our tour guide! Noises come with a premium!
** In Salvador – No foreign exchange service at the concierge, so if you run low on local currency, you are out of luck as the ATMs didn’t work there either!
So why did it take me so long to visit Brazil? Simply put, it had a less than stellar reputation against tourists so I put off going there until I figure I was mentally ready to do so. When I was getting my passport photo done, the proprietor of the photo store I went to (who happened to be Chinese) told me that each and everyone one of her relatives in Rio has been robbed or mugged. I was emotionally prepared to have a tense experience because of all the stories I had heard and all the advices I was given. On top of that the swine flu broke out a week before the trip, so taking my soon-to-turn 75 years old mother to a seemingly “dangerous” destination coupled with the possibility of catching the virus on the plane rides to and from was certainly not a relaxing start to the trip! I spent 10 days sans purses and jewelries and dressed as if I were in combat, with my pepper spray hidden in my pants (the biggest irony is that I have had to use my spray only once in my life – in Chicago! And I hope I will never have to use it again)! But what a surprise it was then that not only was the country safe, but that the people were very warm and helpful! All the fears and cautions (which perhaps served us well as we were in a heightened alert state of minds) gave way to pleasant surprises.
TOP 10 EXPERIENCES
10) GENUINELY FRIENDLY & HELPFUL PEOPLE – I experienced my first dose of genuine helpfulness of Brazilian hospitality before I even embark on my trip. My friend Cristiane whose home town is in Sao Paulo sent me a comprehensive list of where to go and what to do in Rio; and walked me through further details one night over dinner! On my TAM flight from JFK to Rio, I was seated next to a lawyer named Ana who had just completed a 9 day all ladies shopping trip with her 2 friends in the Big Apple. She took my friend’s & my Frommers’ suggested itineraries and proceeded to give me the do’s & don’ts on each neighborhood and where are the must go to places, down to how far they are from our hotel to which streets to avoid!! She even gave me her cell phone # just in case I get into trouble and she can bail me out!! Then on arrival given our flight was 45 minutes EARLY, our tour guide was not at the baggage claim area waiting for us. I asked another travel agent who was waiting for her group of travelers to arrive from Paris on how to contact our tour guide, she promptly rung our guide for us and put us at ease that we were not being abandoned!
9) FOOD PORTION THAT RIVALS AMERICAN SIZES – Is it possible that the portion of Brazilian servings at restaurants can be bigger than that of America? The answer is a resounding yes!! Twice we gave away our left-over lunches (I had it doggie-bagged as I don’t believe in wasting food given so many starving people in the world) to people that were roaming the street whom when we pointed to our food, they gladly took it from us. The “individual” portion tends to be big enough for 2 people, as we discovered. What was also interesting was that at a BBQ place, they gave us a spare plate to put all the meat that we can not finish and they will gather all the left-over and give them to the homeless. What a great way of helping the needy.
8) LORDS OF THEIR STREETS - In Rio it seems every street has a “Parking Lord” where he would come by and charge a driver for parking his or her car even though it is free parking. Our tour guide was constantly negotiating with these lords on how much to pay! I asked if he can tell these lords to bugger off, he said that one may come back and see a scratch on the side of the car, so better just pay.
7) LANGUAGE OF A TOURIST - I marvel at the fact that we managed to get around with sign language (mostly), English and Spanish (limited) in a Portuguese speaking country! And the universal sign language of a tourist: point to your camera, gesture at the shoot button, hand it to anyone in front of you, and they will take a picture for you! And likewise I did the same for others who asked, even though I have no idea what they were saying to me!
6) TAKING THE RIO METRO - Riding the subway was the highlight of our trip in Rio! We had not planned on taking the subway, but wanted to take the bus instead. Our tour guide talked us out of it and said it was far safer in the subway because there are tons of polices whereas none on the bus. The only place where his wife was ever mugged was on the bus. Someone could sit next to you and put a knife against your ribcage and alas you are cornered on the bus. The Rio metro was cleaner and felt safer than the NY subway, my mom was impressed!
5) STRIKING BEAUTY - Few cities are as physically striking as Rio de Janeiro. Its topography reminds me of Hong Kong, SF and the Bay Area, and its demographics of NYC. My favorite beach was Ipanema, and my favorite sight-seeing spot was the Corcovado Hill (taking the tram up reminds me of the Peak tram in HK) and the statute of Christ Redeemer, the aerial view seen from here is simply breathtaking!
4) WISDOMS OF A TOUR GUIDE: 1) “There are no natural disasters in Brazil, just corruptions.” 2) “There are 8 women to 1 man in Salvador, why do you think I am on my second marriage at 42?” I checked the CIA handbook on Brazil, the national avg is .98 men to 1 woman, odds is still ok.
3) FX FORECAST - I was told 5 years ago the Reais was at 3 to 1 to the US$, today it is at 2 to 1. I ran low on Reais and offered to pay US$ for a sightseeing bus on board (they didn’t accept credit cards), I was quoted a US$ price that was a whopping 30% premium over the local currency ticket! I think our bus vendor was prescient in predicting the direction of the US$ in another 5 years!
2) CITIBANK TO THE RESCUE: I was never happier to see a Citibank ATM machine in Rio!! None of the ATMs for the local banks at the airport or in the city worked, even those with the Cirrus signs. After exhausting all local bank options, I was just ecstatic to spot the all too familiar Citibank sign, so in spite of charging me US$4 ATM fee, I gladly used the machine!
1) 5 STAR HOTEL MOMENTS:
** In Rio – 2 things stood out: 1) I was mildly amused by (though my mom was not) the fact that there were NO robes, NO slippers in our hotel room, but there was a condom in the bathroom vanity kit! At least the gov’t or the hotel is health conscious and forward thinking! 2) In the Room service menu there was a PET’S MENU: grounded meat, veggies with brown rice & fruits, pet’s cookies & candies! That sounded pretty appetizing, certainly healthier than the hot dogs and pizza on the human menu!
** In Iguaçu Falls – There was gut renovation of hotel rooms from 9 am to 5pm, jackhammers were going and going….and apparently they raised their room rates according to our tour guide! Noises come with a premium!
** In Salvador – No foreign exchange service at the concierge, so if you run low on local currency, you are out of luck as the ATMs didn’t work there either!
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