All about Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

TheLittleAmigos

OLá DUDE!!!

“Because of its location that is close to the equator, the big dude had been directly hit by lightning at least two to four times a year. On the very last occasion, the lightning broke off his right’s thumb. As much as cariocas (the people of Rio) loved the big dude, it is still painful to learn that the government is willing to restore Cristo’s right thumb rather than fixing the basic needs of their favelas (the slum neighborhood in Rio)”.

Cristo Redentor aka Christ the Redeemer.

The big dude himself.


To fit in the whole body of the big dude without any other people’s head in a small camera frame is apparently quite a challenge.


This must have been what the big dude is looking at all the time.


Stunning 360 view of the marvellous city of Rio.


Incredible.


Breathtaking.


Spectacular.


I am running out of superlatives now. Let’s just say that it is simply beautiful. Full stop.

Christ the Redeemer aka Cristo Redentor aka the big dude is the big statue on the top of Corcovado mountain in the middle of Tijuca rainforest National Park. It is an art deco statue of Jesus Christ in Rio de Janeiro. He himself is a huge statue measuring to 30 meters tall and his arms stretch up to 28 meters wide. As a symbol of Brazilian Christianity, the statue has become an icon for Rio de Janeiro and Brazil and has been nominated as one of the new seven wonders of the world.

Because of its location that is close to the equator, the big dude had been directly hit by lightning at least two to four times a year. On the very last occassion, the lightning broke off his right’s thumb. As much as cariocas (the people of Rio) loved the big dude, it is still painful to learn that the government is willing to restore Cristo’s right thumb rather than fixing the basic needs of their favelas (the slum neighborhood in Rio).

In order to get there, we can either take the famous cog train or the bus. The cog train will take you directly to the base of the statue and the big plus is, they have a little samba performances in the train. While by doing the bus, it will take us to the parking lot, and from there, ride a van up to the base of the statue. Clearly, there would be no samba in the van, but you will save a lot more time as the schedule for the van is more frequent than the cog train. So, we ended up opt for the bus because we wanted to do a lot of other things else in that one particular day.

After 5 minutes van ride, we reached the base of the statue. One thing for sure, it is a bit crowded, though there were no lines while we were at the parking lot. But, apparently, if its a sunny day, even if it is off-season, there is no chance that it is going to be quiet.

The big dude was wonderful. Yes. It is one of the seven wonders of the world, yes, it is a holy thing, yes, the cristians adore him, yes, the cariocas are proud of him, yes. But one thing that you can’t deny is, you would only spend less than a minute staring at him with the big chunk of it were because you were trying to fit in the whole body of him without any other people’s head in your small camera frame. And, that’s it.

And, the rest of the time, you will be drawn to what must have been what the big dude is looking at all the time. The incredible views of the marvellous city of Rio. The views are stunning, magnificent, breathtaking, spectacular… and let’s just say that it is simply beautiful. Full stop

TheLittleAmigos

The next best thing

“From the top of Sugarloaf Mountain, it gives you a very good idea of the crazy geography of Rio, the way the city is laid out between the mountains and the ocean. The landscape is purely green hills backdropping the city, with the stretch of golden beaches lapped by Atlantic’s waves, and rows of skyscrappers sprawling along the shore. People says that the best time to come is around sunset, but the truth is, no matter what time you come, it is very unlikely that you would see Rio the same way again”.



Sugarloaf at the left and Morro da Urca at the right.



The fun way up to Sugarloaf.



Views from the first platform at Morro da Urca.



This must have been a very nice neighborhood.



The gorgeous view of the islands from the second platform at the top of Sugarloaf.



The golden stretch of Copacabana.



The big dude standing up the highest peak in the middle, Guanabara bay at the right and Copacabana at the far left.



Guanabara bay.

Sugarloaf mountain aka Pão de Açúcar, is another iconic trademark of Rio de Janeiro. It is a peak rising at 400 meters and offers a bird’s eye view of Rio de Janeiro from the mouth of Guanabara Bay. It has a very little vegetation on its slopes and consists of a single massive block of granite stone, molded by atmospheric pressure and temperature along its million years of age.

They are two ways that you can choose in order to reach the top of the mountain. First, you can go with all-glass cable car that first stop at the lower granite block called Morro da Urca, and then continue to the atop of Sugarloaf. The ride up is a good fun, with the spectacular views and everything. While the other way of doing it is you can rock climb your way up to the summit. And, at this point, it is pretty much clear which way that we opt to.

Sugarloaf is definitely has more relaxing vibe than the big dude statue as there were less people and there are more spaces to explore. It gives you a very good idea of the crazy geography of Rio, the way the city is laid out between the mountains and the ocean. From here, the landscape is purely green hills backdropping the city, with the stretch of golden beaches lapped by Atlantic’s waves, and rows of skyscrappers sprawling along the shore. People says that the best time to come is around sunset, but the truth is, no matter what time you come, it is very unlikely that you would see Rio the same way again.

TheLittleAmigos

The legendary Copacabana

“How could you go to Rio and not coming to this beach? This beach is legendary! This is where dental floss g-string and crocheted man g-string made their first debut.  I have been to quite a number of beaches in the world. Man! Never once I encountered so many guys wearing g-string. Though most of the times it is not a fantastic sight, kudos to the confidence that they have to even put it on”.



The hotels lining up the street in front of Copacabana.



This is Copacabana, baby!!!



It is winter in the Southern Hemisphere, so as Rio. So, the water was terribly cold. Most likely between 15 to 20C.



Babes in a g-string.



This is around 8 am in the morning. Still empty considering the Copacabana standard.



The misty Copacabana during the evening.



Sun sets over the beach.



Favela kids playing soccer and volleyball.



Copacabana at night.



Having fun.



3 reais per piece churros



Dancing over a bossa nova song.



Find a bite to eat at the beach kiosks.



Fried shrimp over a coconut water.



Should I say this a night market?

How could you go to Rio and not coming to this beach? This beach is legendary! This is where dental floss g-string and crocheted man g-string made their first debut.  I have been to quite a number of beaches in the world. Man! Never once I encountered so many guys wearing g-string. Though most of the times it is not a fantastic sight, kudos to the confidence that they have to even put it on.

This place lives up to it’s reputation. It is so lively! Cariocas and tourists lining up for caipirinhas at beach kiosks, favela kids showing off their football, volleyball and futevolei (volleyball played without hands, which seems to me like our sepaktakraw using a soccer ball) skills, great bodies wearing skimpy swimwear suntanning under the sun, and the most interesting thing is, all these beach vendors selling their stuffs among the beached and tanned bodies. Sunglasses, hats, t-shirts, towels, swimwears, sun tan lotions, chairs, umbrellas, toys, drinks, ice-creams, snacks, shrimps, you name it, they’ve got all that. One piece of advice, don’t bargain, just pay, these people work hard under the sun.

Copacabana is also surprisingly clean. And the sand is wonderful though the waves are quite rough. On Sundays the main street on the beachside is closed to traffic and people can walk and bike on the street. And when the night falls, we loved walking the sidewalk, watching the sun goes down, watching kids playing soccer, rehydrating over água de coco (coconut water) and snacking on the fried shrimp while enjoying the awesome night air.

In short, I simply loved this beach, maybe a little bit more than Ipanema. All because of its liveliness, all day, into the evening, straight into the nightfalls.

TheLittleAmigos

A girl from Ipanema

“This place is great with beach vendors, amazing landscapes, and LOTS of people. It was like you need to be very careful to find any space on the sand that you can step on, or else, you will end up stepping on somebody else’s bikini-clad bodies. It is THAT jam-packed. But then, if a secluded beach with beach services is what you are looking for, this is definitely not the place. Rio is a 8 million people city! So it is as urban as it gets”.



The iconic view of Ipanema.



Kids and football are everywhere.



Arpoador beach from my beach chair.



Grilled corn anyone???



You can get almost anything in Ipanema



The perfect blue sky



Beach vendors selling toys



They were a group of ‘sleepovers’ when we arrived at the morning. And, by noon, it is down to one.



Arpoador beach.



The whole stretch of Ipanema.



The beach kiosks. Not as many as in Copacabana.

Ipanema was made famous by a bossa nova song called “A Girl from Ipanema”. And, because of that, if you did not spend a day hanging out in Ipanema beach, you can not say that you have been to Rio. This place is great with beach vendors, amazing landscapes, and LOTS of people. It was like you need to be very careful to find any space on the sand that you can step on, or else, you will end up stepping on somebody else’s bikini-clad bodies. It is THAT jam-packed. But then, if a secluded beach with beach services is what you are looking for, this is definitely not the place. Rio is a 8 million people city. So it is as urban as it gets.

The beach is full of baracas, small 3 or 4 men teams that take care of a small portion of beach and sell everything that you might need, some sort of mini beach clubs. These small stands dot the Ipanema every twenty meters or so and each baracas tend to have their own personality. Apparently, choosing the right barraca goes hand-in-hand with finding a section of the beach that suits you.

The landscape, both natural and human is second to none. The sand is powder soft. Water, quite chilly, but then, it is late May, the equivalent of November in North America, so be aware of that before thinking that you are going to be swimming all day long. As for the human landscape, like what I said, it is second to none. Pay for a beach chair with an umbrella, relax with a coconut in hand, call out to the vendors that will appear like every thirty seconds for either freshly grilled cheese or bbq corn, and while your day away. Words on me, you are not going to see this view everyday. So, sit back and enjoy.

bellaa

I want go there.. Seeking neymar..

International brazillian footballer

TheLittleAmigos

The infamous and notorious favela

“This is a world where sewage runs openly, rats run freely and the police aren’t necessarily a welcoming site. So many people, so densely populated, from the countless taxi motorcycles to the swarms of electric wires, this favela is quite a sight from within. So many narrow streets and back alleys, steep stairs, extremely tights turns… You just have to get in there to really believe it. It is so colorful, but yet, so humbling”.



This is Rocinha, the biggest favela in Rio



The van dropped us at the top of the favela, and we walked down through the alleys within the favelas.



The policia is always around.



The first time in almost a week I was in Rio, that I found something selling at less than 1 real.



The best view of the favela is from the gate of heaven.



For some reasons, the favelas are usually built at the slope of the hills.



If you have watched Fast & Furious 5, you would certainly know what I am talking about.



A favela with a world class view of the city.



I enjoyed seeing the very cheerful kids dancing and playing drums to entertain us, but at the same time, felt concerned of their future.



A public bus through the favela’s main street.



The messy tangles of electrical cables. Believe me. It works.



The moto-taxi riders.



The insights.



The back alleys.



The infamous favela stairs.



The open sewers in the middle of the favelas.



It was Saturday. And, it seems like everybody was out for a ‘catching up’ session.



Happy hour.



I am glad that Aisha enjoyed the companion of the favela kids.



A group of kids practicing capoeira.



Hands down! The capoeira was exceptional!



What a sight!



We had a little bit of samba too!



I love Rocinha.



Making our way down through the main streets.



An experience like no other.







Need a ride up? The moto-taxi riders will always there for you.



We would never see the favela the same way again.

I first came to know about the favelas when I watched Fast & Furious 5. Favela is a slum neighborhood or shanty towns scattered around Rio and the other parts of Brazil as well. The largest favelas in Rio is Rocinha (pronounced hosinya), where homes are packed together in a sprawling maze of streets and alleys. Clearly, Rocinha is not a traditional tourist attraction, but, well, human beings are curious by nature,thus, here we are, in the middle of the biggest shanty towns in Brazil, trying to find our way inside and see a different way of living life in this part of the world.

The trip have shown us life in the favelas like we have never seen before. This is a world where sewage runs openly, rats run freely and the police aren’t necessarily a welcoming site. So many people, so densely populated, from the countless taxi motorcycles to the swarms of electric wires, this favela is quite a sight from within. So many narrow streets and back alleys, steep stairs, extremely tights turns… You just have to get in there to really believe it. It is so colorful, but yet, so humbling.

Although this isn’t the most extreme favela and it has indeed been taken over by the police and government, it is a great reality check. Off course you can see poverty and people who don’t have much, but the beauty of the favela is that, how the people of the favela seemed to be happy and satisfied with what they have, a HUGE lesson for us all out here. We were also expecting rejection during the visit, a striking inferiority complex, hostility, but it was completely different. Never once, we felt threatened or unsafe, but, quite the opposite, we felt welcomed. It was heart warming to see how very welcoming everyone was.

Cariocas say, you have not seen the whole of Rio until you have been to the favela. And it is undeniably true. The favela is certainly not clean, and far cry from being the first world, but it is a community and the way of life for many people living in Rio. And when you look back up the hill from the bottom… you see that it is even more beautiful than ever.

skystrike

tahun depan sukan olympic kat  rio....confirm banyak pelancong datang situ...

TheLittleAmigos

When you talk about samba, you talk about Brazil

“Samba is one of the most authentic Brazilian features. If you talk about samba, you talk about Brazil. It is a  Brazilian musical genre and dance style with the roots originating all the way from Africa. Samba is the main element of Brazil’s world famous festival, the carnaval. The carnaval is a spectacle known for its colorful, extravagant and close-to-nothing costumes that held in February every year. And months prior to that, the samba schools are usually already in action preparing the performances as well as perfecting their costumes.”



Plataforma show. Quite expensive but who cares



A lavish feathered costumes.



The capoeira.



A samba with a tropical setting.



Amozonian-themed samba.



Cant imagine how heavy the costumes are.



Colorful and spectacular.



There was no shortage of skin on show.



Lively and entertaining.



The show is in the full swing. Join in if you want.



Leave little for the imagination.

Samba is one of the most authentic Brazilian features. If you talk about samba, you talk about Brazil. It is a  Brazilian musical genre and dance style with the roots originating all the way from Africa. Samba is the main element of Brazil’s world famous festival, the carnaval. The carnaval is a spectacle known for its colorful, extravagant and close-to-nothing costumes that held in February every year. And months prior to that, the samba schools are usually already in action preparing the performances as well as perfecting their costumes. Since we definitely couldnt afford to come during the Carnaval’s month, perhaps, by going to samba schools, that’s the closest we could get to actually have a Carnaval experience. Unfortunately, because late May is an off-season in Rio, and also might be because the practice is not in a full-swing yet, the Samba’s school experience that we signed up for had to be cancelled, and we just had to make do with a Samba stage show at Plataforma. It was disappointing at first, but thinking back, though the stage show is definitely touristic but it is better than nothing. And, turned out that the show was definitely one of its kind!

During the stage show, we also get to see a little bit of Capoeira. Capoeira is a Brazilian martial art that combines dances, acrobatics and musics and I remember seeing if the first time in “Only The Strong” movie when I was in my early teenage years. Capoeira at the Platforma was entertaining. But, nothing could beat the capoeira that we’ve got at the favelas. Hands down, that Capoeira was exceptional!  It is just as original as it could be, that’s all that I could say.

TheLittleAmigos

Buzios, a lovely little seaside town

“Buzios used to be a charming quaint fishing village that has evolved into a bustling tourist seaside town. But, during the morning, you can still see locals coming back from the ocean with a fresh catch and during the afternoon, seeing them mending the nets and the boats. Totally different vibes with those beaches that we had in Rio. They also have little pier and ocean path for nice evening stroll. Go for a walk, have something to eat, go shopping, watch the sunset, watch the fishing boats, this is a great place for tourists to experience how gorgeous Brazil used to be and indeed, it is still is”.



Ruas das Perdas and its cobblestone street.



A charming little seaside town.



Little shops selling souvenirs.



One of the many cozy restaurants.



Aisha and her açaí berry sorvete (ice cream).



It was quiet during the morning.



They had McDonalds too.



Ice cream parlor.



The small pier for water taxi.



View from our spot.



The other end of the beach.



Cleaning the fresh catch



Working on a boat.



Strolling along the beach.



Playa João Fernández, the gems of the Buzios.



A beach with no waves at all.



Waiting for the sunset.



Finally, a stunning sunset over a fantastic dinner.

Buzios used to be a charming quaint fishing village that has evolved into a bustling tourist seaside town. But, during the morning,you can still see locals coming back from the ocean with a fresh catch and during the afternoon, seeing them mending the nets and the boats. Totally different vibes with those beaches that we had in Rio. They also have little pier and ocean path for nice evening stroll. Go for a walk, have something to eat, go shopping, watch the sunset, watch the fishing boats, this is a great place for tourists to experience how gorgeous Brazil used to be and indeed, it is still is.

Ruas das Pedras is the main walking street of Buzios Downtown. Its cobbled street run along the beach with cosy restaurants, best hostels in town, nice bars and chic little shops selling souvenirs. A little bit pricey but a fun place. Even if you dont want to shop or dine there, just watching the other tourists being tourist is also fun too. This place is also where all the action is. Different times, different tribes. Before sunset, people with kids strolling around, taking pictures, but after 9 pm, it starts to be the hottest place with hot and beautiful people.

The gem of the Buzios is actually on the other side of the peninsular. Playa João Fernández. It is a crowded yet unbelievable beach. The beach is rather narrow from the water to the back of the beach which ends at a stone wall separating the beach from a road. But the water is cool with a greenish blue hue and has no waves. It really is a relaxing beach with a good number of restaurants overlooking the beach. And, it is PERFECT for sunset.

Honestly, I fell in love with Buzios. It is a very charming place only 2 hours drive away from a hectic Rio. I am usually not eager to come back to the same place twice, but, if we ever come back to Rio, Buzios is definitely going to be the place we are heading to.

TheLittleAmigos

Going to Rio
Flight:
All international flights to Brazil stop at Sao Paolo. From KL, Emirates, Qatar and Etihad all go to Sao Paolo. That might be other flights that go there as well, but those three are the best bet. I bought the ticket from KOPETRO (Koperasi Petronas). Google and get the contact number. They are very helpful even though you are not seriously buying. So far, KOPETRO had never disappoint me. They always quote me cheaper than those on the website. The cheapest that I got was during my trip to Washington DC May 2015. Even when USD were already hit 3.8, I got the roundtrip ticket for RM4000. For this Brazil trip, it was approximately between 5k to 6k. That was the regular price. Remember, this is a long haul flight. Around 24 hours not including 3 to 4 hours stopover in Dubai or Doha.

From Sao Paolo, I took domestic flight to Rio. One hour from Sao Paolo. I bought the ticket from expedia.

For the hotel, we stayed in Olinda Rio Hotel. 3 star hotel opposite the Copacabana beach. At Copa, all hotels are opposite the beach. No hotels are exactly on the beach. We bought the hotel together with the domestic flight on Expedia. We got around 100USD per night. But, don’t worry, they were a lot other cheaper options around that area. Its just that because we prefer to stay right on the beach 

The peak season is around christmas and new year. And, also in Feb when they have the carnaval. Everything was expensive during this time.
Other thing is, Malaysian does not need visa to enter Brazil.

The currency exchange rate was approximately 1 USD = 3 reias. Bring USD as Ringgit Malaysia is an alien in Brazil ;)

By the way, kitorang baru berjinak2 bukak facebook untuk The Little Amigos. Jemput la singgah2 ;)

TheLittleAmigos

skystrike replied at 7-10-2015 10:25 PM
tahun depan sukan olympic kat  rio....confirm banyak pelancong datang situ...

tapi mungkin x seramai masa world cup rasanya