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Rio de Janeiro


Brabus
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Am going for a couple of weeks on friday. Any do's/dont's? Any tips for surviving the long-haul flight in cattle class?

Don't go into a club called help down on coca copana (sp?) beach... it's the biggest unofficial whore house in the world apparently. (or do, if you're into that kinda thing)

If you go to the maracana to watch a game, take a can of deodorant and a body guard or two.

And if you get any time to go north try and go to an island called Isla Grande, it's fully well special.

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Rio is one of the places that The Times recommended the use of this website for : http://www.rentalocalfriend.com/

Basically, you pay for the services of a reasonably well qualified professional to take you to the best places for a day, or however long. Most of them are photographers, journalists etc, and have an indepth knowledge on what and what not to do.

A friend of mine (or a freind of a colleague more like) used them for a trip to Argentina and he raved about them. Said they were excellent and changed his holiday from the day he'd booked them, much for the better.

Even if you don't use them for more than a couple of hours he said it was money well spent purely for them to tell you all the tricks and places not to go etc.

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Not been to Rio, but I worked in Sao Paulo for 3 weeks so have a feel for the big city, Brazilian style.

The Brazilian BBQ restaurants are sublime. The best one's are eat until your dead. Most have butcher style place mats with animals (Pork, beef, lamb etc) and the meat cuts on them. Say beef is the red animal on the mat, 1 = sirloin, 2 = rump etc. The serving staff simply wander around with huge skewers marked to correspond to the animal colour and the number. So see a guy with red 1 and you know he is serving sirloin.

They operate a flag system, and as long as you keep the flag up (next to your place setting) they will continue to feed you.

Seriously, do not eat for 18 hour before you go, and don't expect to move after you have eaten !

Beer is good, and wines of all style plentiful- remember that there's a massive new world wine order in Chili, Argentina- these tend to be better than the local stuff.

If you haven't seen "City of Gods" watch it, it gives you a fairly clear reason not to go searching out coke and going anywhere near the favelas. Another stark hint, is the local method of simply dumping the dead on the street, awaiting collection like rubbish bags, most are simply covered in newspaper ( I'd see 3 or 4 a week in Sao Paulo)

If can be a dangerous place, but stick to main areas and you will have a brilliant time. The Brazilian people are fecking crazy, hedonistic and an absolute hoot to drink and banter with (football, girls, cars seem to be the priorities).

There's loads of great looking lady boys, and you need to watch out for hairy bums, and the obvious adams apples- otherwise you might get caught out. The real girls are pretty, all have the most perfect figures and ubre stylish- consider Brazilian girls along similar style lines to young Italians.

Cabs must be licensed, take care and check id and licence before getting in one- simple hijacking, being robbed and dumped 5 miles from anywhere is quite common.

In land and the prices drop, but there is poverty and due to sanitation issues plenty of reason to take malaria tabs and jungle anti bite spray.

Watch a football match, jog up Sugar Loaf mountain, fly inland on a trip- Braisila, and do go north of Rio- if you can get to Vitona the beaches are better and population levels less dense.

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Thanks alot Chri5. How did you feel about living and working in Sao Paolo? After three years I s'pose you got hang of the lingo or did you always feel like a Gringo?

Have seen City of God several times and have no plans to venture into any Favela. Will be staying slightly to the south of Rio in a place called Barra de Tijouca and hope to absorb as much as possible of the culture.

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Not been to Rio, but I worked in Sao Paulo for 3 weeks.

It seemed like a long trip, but it was only 3 weeks ! Infact at the end of the 3 weeks I was asked if I wanted a weeks free (play money and travel / hotel paid for) holiday in Rio and turned it down because I wanted to get home to the family.

Mad, nah- not with the prospect of a week "Billy no mates" in Rio.

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The restaurants with the full salad bars, fish selection and full delivered to table grills are called "Churrascaria's" which is lingo for Brazilian Grill BBQ.

Some offer flag systems- green = serve me (more, more, more), amber means pudding and red means "I'm going to puke".

The best one's are a 3 hour experience and you can eat as much as you want. Do also remember (from school geography) that Brazil has a excellent beef farming history- I'd argue that the beef (and meat in general) I ate was the best I've ever had.

Don't expect to lose any weight when your out there !

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Average cold counter

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Guys that like to torture customers with meats- At peak the BBQ grills (I asked and was allowed in to the cooking area) maybe have 100 sticks 2-5 kgs of meat cooking.

They even offer well done, med, rare and blue.

Churrascarias

In modern restaurants rodízio service is typically offered. Passadores (meat waiters) come to your table with knives and a skewer, on which are speared various kinds of meat, be it beef, pork, filet mignon, lamb, chicken, duck, ham (and pineapple), sausage, fish, or any other sort of local cut of meat. A common cut of beef top sirloin cap is known as picanha.

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That's exactly what it was! To a tee, just like that!

They'd come to your table and cut the meat on the skewer thingy, and the salad bars (which had a lot more than salad on them) looked just like that.

They also served some amazingly refreshing drinks, though I have no idea what they were because I was half cut by the end.:roflmao:

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I have very fond memories of such restaurants, there is a catch......

As you found out, all that food (I'm sure they extra 'salt' season it) is thirsty work. The food place we used had 8 of us in it, £25 for the food and £50 for wines and beers each (which was a lot of ££'s for a Brazil meal)

I didn't eat anthing other than a bit of fruit the next few days- my belly didn't seem to like having to cope with 30oz of meat + salad + bits more- rude not to have a go when it's offered.

I'm going to check out Brazil for Easter now..........

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I'm sure it will be higher cost than when I was there, but like everywhere- If you stay in big cities, geared up for tourists then it's never cheap.

Damn the cost- that's what credit cards are for (provided you tell the card issuer before you go, so they don't block the card due to unusual activity!).

Leading on from the card thing, muggings at ATM's is a huge thing- don't get money outside. Always go in the bank otherwise a scooter duo will attempt a grab and run, or a back and gun. They don't mess around.

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