First time travel to Brazil from July 26 to Aug 12, 2022

[Trundelav]

I'm writing this brief summary of my 1st visit of Brazil while waiting for my flight back to USA.

The very first thing I would like to mention is to make sure your debit card can work fine in Brazil.  My Bank of America debit card could not work (probably because my password has 7 digits, the ATM only accepted 6 digits), no one working in the bank could help me with this issue, so I had to transfer some money to western union bank and retrieved it from a local branch in Rio.

As for the city,  even though Rio has one of the world's best beaches, a relaxing environment, I like Sao Paulo better.  Sao Paulo was more diverse, better infrastructure, providing a good variety of authentic cuisines.

As for the garoto saunas,  club Lagoa in San Paulo was my favorite, the setup was more enjoyable, the boys were mostly athletic type; club 117 had quite a few big muscle guys, personally i found the garotoes less attractive than the ones in Lagoa; club 202 was pretty small, the boys were not as attractive as lagoa or 117, but I did use the cabin on both times I visited it.

I am glad I visited Brazil and gained my own experience of this unique country, not sure if i would like to visit it again in the future, but I definitely will think of it occasionally.

[+ Axiom2001]

On 8/12/2022 at 12:36 PM, Trundelav said:

I'm writing this brief summary of my 1st visit of Brazil while waiting for my flight back to USA.

The very first thing I would like to mention is to make sure your debit card can work fine in Brazil.  My Bank of America debit card could not work (probably because my password has 7 digits, the ATM only accepted 6 digits), no one working in the bank could help me with this issue, so I had to transfer some money to western union bank and retrieved it from a local branch in Rio.

As for the city,  even though Rio has one of the world's best beaches, a relaxing environment, I like Sao Paulo better.  Sao Paulo was more diverse, better infrastructure, providing a good variety of authentic cuisines.

As for the garoto saunas,  club Lagoa in San Paulo was my favorite, the setup was more enjoyable, the boys were mostly athletic type; club 117 had quite a few big muscle guys, personally i found the garotoes less attractive than the ones in Lagoa; club 202 was pretty small, the boys were not as attractive as lagoa or 117, but I did use the cabin on both times I visited it.

I am glad I visited Brazil and gained my own experience of this unique country, not sure if i would like to visit it again in the future, but I definitely will think of it occasionally.

Remember COVID-19 and its variants ultimately changed our world.  Thus your experiences perhaps were not similar to the ones that previous travelers experienced.

 I write this because it's the first that I've read during my almost 20+ years being here about anyone NOT liking my favorite country and yearning to return.  But the answer is in my first written sentence.

The last time that I was in Brazil was in 2011 after traveling there on 10 other occasions during the early 2000s.  Almost every man who visited prior and during who reported here had only positive experiences to share.

Give it additional thought; perhaps your position might change.  But do keep in mind that (unfortunately) "our world has dramatically changed."

[pubic_assistance]

I've traveled all over Brazil. (It's a huge country). I love the people, the culture and the food. Unfortunately my last visit to Rio put me off travel there after being robbed at gun point by two teenage Favella boys. THAT is not an uncommon occurrence in Rio...and I am no naive traveler. I flash no wealth / wear no jewelry or watch. I was just white and American. So a target for robbery. Literally no way I could have seen it coming..and standing in one of the best parts of town in the middle of the day .

[SirBillybob]

10 hours ago, pubic_assistance said:

I've traveled all over Brazil. (It's a huge country). I love the people, the culture and the food. Unfortunately my last visit to Rio put me off travel there after being robbed at gun point by two teenage Favella boys. THAT is not an uncommon occurrence in Rio...and I am no naive traveler. I flash no wealth / wear no jewelry or watch. I was just white and American. So a target for robbery. Literally no way I could have seen it coming..and standing in one of the best parts of town in the middle of the day .

Unfortunate, and all too possible though likely statistically rare for once in a lifetime visitors whereas your risk is inflated temporally. So far, having accumulated several months in Rio/Sampa since 2015, I am incident-spared. My playbook is, similarly, to not appear the least bit infected with affluenza. May I ask the general location of your mishap?

Edited November 9, 2022 by SirBillybob

[pubic_assistance]

1 hour ago, SirBillybob said:

Unfortunate, and all too possible though likely statistically rare for once in a lifetime visitors whereas your risk is inflated temporally. So far, having accumulated several months in Rio/Sampa since 2015, I am incident-spared. My playbook is, similarly, to not appear the least bit infected with affluenza. May I ask the general location of your mishap?

I used to assume that people getting robbed in Rio, was a matter of them being naive American tourists, flaunting wealth/ being in the wrong part of town at night and not watching their surroundings. 

I have traveled all over the world, including "rough trail" countries where poverty and crime are also a constant.

This one really caught me by surprise. Two teenagers on bikes riding down the sidewalk on a nice street in Leblon, a block away from the luxury boutiques.

They rode toward us and just as they were about to pass us, they jumped off their bikes and pulled guns out of their waistbands.

Fortunately, being a seasoned traveler, I am well familiar with the protocol of armed robbery and prepared with a pocket full of singles ( That in a rush looks like a lot of money )

Reached into my pocket, handed him the money and put my eyes to the ground. The sped off, thinking they made off with more than they did .

[Alex93108]

14 hours ago, pubic_assistance said:

I've traveled all over Brazil. (It's a huge country). I love the people, the culture and the food. Unfortunately my last visit to Rio put me off travel there after being robbed at gun point by two teenage Favella boys. THAT is not an uncommon occurrence in Rio...and I am no naive traveler. I flash no wealth / wear no jewelry or watch. I was just white and American. So a target for robbery. Literally no way I could have seen it coming..and standing in one of the best parts of town in the middle of the day .

I’ve been to Brazil several times . That won’t happen in Sao Paolo , but yeah it will happen in Rio . Being white does have its privileges. 

[+ Vegas_Millennial]

4 hours ago, pubic_assistance said:

Fortunately, being a seasoned traveler, I am well familiar with the protocol of armed robbery and prepared with a pocket full of singles ( That in a rush looks like a lot of money )

Thanks for this tip.  I'm going to remember to keep a pocket full of $1s in my pocket when traveling.

Although I have never been threatened at gunpoint, I once was threatened for money by someone I was taking back to my hotel room.  I keep my wallet arranged with mostly $2 bills up front (it takes up lots of volume and looks like a lot of money, even though it isn't).  I threw a wad of $2 bills to him on the street for him to get and then drove off once he was outside my car.  I certainly dodged a more dangerous situation there, especially if he had made it into my hotel room.  I lost less than $20 on that move.

Edited November 9, 2022 by Vegas_nw1982

[pubic_assistance]

4 hours ago, Vegas_nw1982 said:

Thanks for this tip.  I'm going to remember to keep a pocket full of $1s in my pocket when traveling.

Absolutely !

Very important. Always carry at least 20 singles in the local currency.

If you're robbed...comply and hand over the cash. It's a cheap way to save your life. They never stop to count the money. (Unless for some reason you're trapped in a dark alleyway with no witnesses)

Never fight back when there's a weapon involved.

Edited November 10, 2022 by pubic_assistance

[EZEtoGRU]

On 11/9/2022 at 2:15 PM, jetlow said:

I’ve been to Brazil several times . That won’t happen in Sao Paolo , but yeah it will happen in Rio . Being white does have its privileges. 

What?  Huh?

[SirBillybob]

6 hours ago, EZEtoGRU said:

What?  Huh?

Devil’s Breath? Good Night Cinderella? Place your bets. 

[Alex93108]

I was being sarcastic - I guess this got lost in translation. 

I have plenty of stories including the time my cab driver ( pre Olympics) decided to go around the Favalla instead of taking the tunnel to get  toCopacabana / Ipanema / Leblon where I was staying. Was met by two teenagers at the top of the hill with what look like automatic machine guns. 

Street smarts as always - but sometimes its just bad luck