The thought of a 24 hour journey to get to a destination can be quite nauseating but there are places that I simply have to go, at least once in this lifetime. This dreary thought was abandoned as I ate, slept, ate again, can't remember how many times and watched a couple of movies on board The Emirates Airline. After a whopping 24 hours and to my great relief, the plane finally landed in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
I have joined a group of 20 for an excursion around South America, a trip that costs a bomb but which I'd rather put it as an expenditure that would enrich my life experience. Rio de Janeiro which is on the opposite end of the earth from where I live is our first stopover in South America. The time difference is almost 12 hours so while it is midnight in Malaysia it is noontime in this part of the world. The long flight has got me totally disorientated but it ultimately worked out for the better as I didn't suffer a jet lag when I arrived in this city.
About Rio de Janeiro and Brazil
Rio de Janeiro is Brazil's second largest city. It used to be the capital of Brazil before Brasilia took over as the new capital in 1960.
Glimpses of Rio de Janeiro
As our bus moves around the city we see a number of Portuguese colonial architecture some dating back many centuries. Brazil was once upon a time a colony of the Portuguese and Portuguese influence remain till this day. Today Brazil is the only country in South America where Portuguese is the official language.
The historic buildings were there to stay but in every way Rio de Janeiro is as modern as can be. It may not be as developed as some cities but it does have a good number of sky scrapers and state of the art bridges and highways.
Rio de Janeiro holds the world's biggest carnival annually. We passed by the Sambadromo, an area with infrastructure specially built to host the annual parade of samba schools in Rio de Janeiro. (see picture above). There are about 200 samba schools in Rio and this carnival attracts millions of tourists each year.
Rio de Janeiro also boasts of some of the finest beaches in the world.
There are more than 1000 slums in Rio which you will see here and there around the city.
Another amusing fact about Rio de Janeiro is, it is filled with graffitis. You hardly see an unpainted wall around. Apparently street art is legalised on many types of city properties and street artists are allowed to paint on walls, columns, etc as long as they are not historically designated.
1. Finally In Brazil
2. Rio de Janeiro's Top Attractions: Corcovado Mountain & Sugar Loaf Mountain
3. Rio de Janeiro's Famous Beaches
4. Rio's Top Tourist Hot Spots
5. A Quirky Restaurant In Rio
6. Staying in Hilton Rio De Janeiro, Copacabana
7. From Rio To Iguazu Falls
8. The Argentinian Side Of Iguazu Falls
9.The Brazillian Side Of Iguazu Falls
10. Loi Suite Iguazu, A Hotel In A Jungle
11. Getting To Know Lima, Peru. Part I
12. Getting To know Lima, Peru. Part II
13. JW Marriott, Lima Review
14. About Cuzco, Peru
15. A Taste Of Cuzco @ Tunupa Restaurant
16. Cuzco Historical Sites
17. Traversing Sacred Valley
18. The Journey To Machu Picchu
19. Machu Picchu, Peru
20. Staying In Aranwa Sacred Valley Hotel & Wellness
21. Adios Peru, Hola Buenos Aires
22. That Colourful Walk At Caminito, La Boca
23. Buenos Aires Attractions
24. A Boat Tour Of Parana Delta, Tigre
25. El Calafate, Argentina
26.The Scenic Drive From El Calafate To Los Glaciares National Park
27. Perito Moreno Glacier From A Boat
29. Resto del Glaciar, Argentina
30. Photos Of El Calafate Town
31. Things To Do In El Calafate
Nice. Why does Rio have the bluest sky in the world?��
ReplyDeleteThat I do not know, Lee.
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