Tourist Bus robbed in Rio

[KY_TOP]

A Tourist Bus was stopped and robbed between Rio's airport and the Downtown hotel the British passengers were headed to.

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4638150.stm

 

Making me feel real safe about visiting Rio. ;(

[+ Axiom2001]

I sympathize with those individuals who got robbed, but this one event will NOT deter my visiting Rio in the future. Within the past five years, I've gone to this beautiful city which abounds with people (men and women) who are just as attractive, a vibrant beat and culture, and an unassuming ambiance in general.

 

Thanks for sharing the article; I hope it will NOT be the factor to change the plans of future visitors; I've never been fearful being in Rio although I know crime is rampant in parts of it. But again, crime is existent in many of our major, major cities which we also visit. One just has to be careful, etc. during his travels....

[swallows22]

Same thing happened to a mate and his partner. They had booked a private car. Got pulled off the road from the airport to the city. Lost everything. Their driver was having a chat with the "bandits".

Does not mean he was in cahoots, but they still lost everything.

[Guest msclonly]

Treat the boys nicely, and think of it as Insurance!

 

[trilingual]

This robbery was unfortunate, and its spectacular nature guaranteed that it would be in the news. But it's always important to keep things in perspective. Rio is expected to host more than 2,000,000 visitors this year. The percentage of those who fall victim to crime is extremely small. The odds of running into trouble are very low, although obviously they're not zero and if you're one of the unfortunate ones it's definitely an unnerving experience!

 

Generally this doesn't happen as frequently to M4M travelers. In the bus case, it's pretty clear from reports in the local press that it was an inside job, because someone had to know about the tour group, the bus route, and the fact that it was loaded with fat cat visitors (the group is made up of very well-to-do folks who travel the world to go to horse races). Most M4Mers travel solo or with a friend or two and don't take tour buses to their hotels. Most are also smart enough to use the somewhat overpriced but very reliable pre-paid co-op cabs to get from the airport into the city. By prepaying, the traveler eliminates any incentive for the driver to take the passenger the long way around in order to run up the meter. By using the co-op cabs the passenger also has a receipt with the cab's ID on it in case of any problems along the way (like forgetting something in the taxi after reaching his destination). The co-op cab ride can also be paid for by credit card, eliminating the need to have wads of Brazilian currency upon arrival in Rio.

 

BTW, for those arriving in Rio by bus from another Brazilian city, there are also pre-paid co-op taxis available at the bus station.

 

It's possible to get into town for less than the co-op cabs charge, but the risks increase. There are definitely some crooks driving standard yellow cabs that regularly work the airports and bus station (some of them are pirate/gypsy cabs unregistered anywhere) and by taking one you're very unlikely to have any recourse if anything bad happens, let alone having a record of your trip. There's also an air-conditioned, Greyhound-type "executivo" bus every half-hour or so, but it's not an express and makes many stops along the way. It doesn't stop at every hotel, though -- it mainly runs along the beachfront boulevards. The bus is only recommended if you already know Rio (and know where to get off for your hotel) and are traveling with relatively little luggage.

 

M4Mers who follow the safety tips here and in the "Essentials" section of http://www.GayTravelBrazil rarely experience problems on their trips to Rio. However, those who want virtually zero risk on their vacations should probably forget about Brazil and plan to visit Zurich or Stockholm!

[KY_TOP]

If I was totally scared to death I obviously would not be headed to Rio. Many of my M4M friends have such great memories and I enjoy new places so it seemed a place to add to my travels. Unfortunately 4 of them have been robbed or had something stolen from them. But they still go back, which must say something about the city.

 

I guess my biggest concern will be my lack of knowledge of the geograghy of the city. Where my hotel is in relation to the places I want to see or visit like the sauna's. If I can get someone for an orientation the first few days of the trip showing me the lay of the land and areas to avoid that will help. Once I can understand my surroundings, that will give me a comfort level to enjoy myself.

 

I appreciate all the tips and I might e-mail you with a few specific questions in the next few days if you are ok with that.

[trilingual]

In spite of its size, Rio is a surprisingly easy city to get around. The areas that interest most M4Mers are relatively small, compared to the vast size of greater Rio, and it's not actually that easy to get lost. Downtown is laid out on a rough grid pattern. The Zona Sul, where virtually everything else of interest is located, is a narrow strip squeezed between the mountains and the sea, rather like Waikiki in Honolulu. Both Copacabana and Ipanema are laid out on grids, too -- there are a few long avenues parallel to the ocean intersected by side streets. The hills and ocean provide landmarks that make it pretty easy to orient yourself.

 

In the Essentials section of http://www.GayTravelBrazil.com you'll find city maps of major Brazilian cities, including Rio. That should help you locate where your hotel is and where you'll be in relation to other places. Although it's not absolutely necessary, for a first timer a guide can be useful to just show you the ropes and help you find your way around. But you'll soon see that it really is quite easy. Much easier that finding your way around most European cities, or American cities like Boston or Atlanta, all of which were laid out on the "spaghetti plan." ;-)

 

You'll also find that by following the advice here and on http://www.GayTravelBrazil.com you'll have few problems. While glitches inevitably occur, by and large Rio is well organized to deal with visitors. The co-op cab system makes it easy to get from the airport to your hotel, and the Metro system and the zillions of taxis make it easy to get around. While Rio's Metro system isn't extensive, compared to the size of the city and its mass transit needs, it's surprisingly useful for visitors because there are stations near many of the most interesting attractions. The Metro now has some essential signage in English, and the recorded station announcements on the trains are now in English, too.

 

Visiting a new city in a new country is always a bit anxiety-producing, but Rio really is not a difficult destination. You'll get the feel of the place very quickly.

[+ deej]

>Visiting a new city in a new country is always a bit

>anxiety-producing, but Rio really is not a difficult

>destination. You'll get the feel of the place very quickly.

 

Oh, if KYTop can handle Bangkok during the Tsunami or New Orleans during Katrina I'm sure he'll be fine in Rio.

 

Rio will probably seem downright dull. Well, maybe not dull. }(

[Chuck50]

hey good buddy you have been through far worse than this HUGS Have a great time in RIO I want to go back some day was much different when I visited in the NAVY many years ago. Have some fun for me. HUGS

[Chuck50]

hey good buddy you have been through far worse than this HUGS Have a great time in RIO I want to go back some day was much different when I visited in the NAVY many years ago. Have some fun for me. HUGS

[+ Lucky]

Just in case Tri was getting too comfy on the beach, the LA Times today had this article about Brazil and gay-bashing:

 

THE WORLD

In Home of the Ultimate Party, Not All Are Welcome

By Henry Chu, Times Staff Writer

 

 

CURITIBA, Brazil — The surgeons who put Nick Oliveira's face back together did an excellent job. Only a faint scar remains from the 27 stitches under his right eye, where the skin had split and a piece of cheekbone dangled after a gang of thugs beat his face to a bloody pulp.

 

But the psychological scars haven't healed as nicely. A year and a half after the attack, Oliveira ventures out at night only by taxi, and he keeps careful watch on his surroundings. He never wants to be a target again merely because of who he is: a gay man.

 

Brazil has long been famed as a mecca of sensuality and tolerance — its European colonizers once said, "There is no sin south of the equator." Yet for all the bare flesh and the drag queens who strut their sequined stuff to wild applause during Carnaval, there remains a dark side for those who do not adhere to the heterosexual norm.

 

Physical assaults on homosexuals are commonplace in Latin America's largest nation. In 2004, according to statistics compiled by gay activists, there were 159 reported killings of gays and lesbians in Brazil — an average of three a week. By contrast, the FBI recorded only one such homicide that same year in the United States.

 

The slayings and other attacks are the violent outgrowth of the discrimination homosexuals still face in a culture that remains deeply Roman Catholic and socially conservative, despite a licentious streak. Although a dynamic gay movement has made some inroads in the last 20 years, protection of homosexuals lags behind the advances won in the U.S. and other Western countries.

 

"To be gay or lesbian is still to be vulnerable, owing to the culture of homophobia that is very rooted in people's minds," said Marcelo Cerqueira, a prominent activist in Salvador, the capital of Bahia state.

 

The tide of anti-gay violence seems at odds with signs that society is actually becoming more accepting of homosexuality.

 

In Sao Paulo, last year's gay pride parade attracted more than a million people, making it one of the world's largest such celebrations of homosexual identity. Rio de Janeiro, that bastion of hedonism, is now an increasingly popular destination among gay travelers drawn by the city's lustrous beaches and its boisterous Carnaval parties.

 

Many of Brazil's best-known singers, in a land that worships its music, are openly gay or bisexual. And activists were elated last year when television audiences voted an outspokenly gay man the winner on "Big Brother Brasil," one of the country's most-watched reality programs.

 

The increased awareness can cut both ways, however.

 

"Many things in Brazilian society are contradictory," said James N. Green, a history professor at Brown University and author of "Beyond Carnival: Male Homosexuality in Twentieth-Century Brazil." "I think that gay life, as it becomes more visible and more public, evokes anxiety among a lot of men and their notions of masculinity, and I think that's one explanation for gay bashing."

 

To American visitors, Brazilian men often appear more physically affectionate with one another than their counterparts in the U.S., and stories are legion of sexual experimentation and fluidity among Brazilians regardless of gender or orientation.

 

But machismo and traditional concepts of gender roles still run deep. A 2004 survey among young people in three major cities found that, among young men, 49% regarded gays as "sick" or "without shame."

 

"There are many blurred boundaries [of sexuality], but there's also a hyper-masculinity," Green said. "You could not explain all the pejorative and negative attitudes towards gay men, effeminate gay men, if you didn't have that. This is a hyper-masculine society — soccer games are a perfect example."

 

With his lissome figure, slicked-down hair, and femininely graceful mannerisms, Sergio Machado, 27, knows he is far from the macho stereotype. Whenever he steps on a bus, strolls through the market or just goes for a walk, he can feel people staring.

 

Some are curious, others malevolent. In October, when he came out of a gay bar in his hometown of Curitiba and exchanged kisses with a friend, two young men nearby scowled and said loudly, "How disgusting."

 

A few minutes later, two other men — tipped off, Machado believes, by the first pair — tried to trip and punch him as he continued down the street. Luckily, he said, he was struck only lightly on the side of the mouth, and managed to flee.

 

Just a few weeks before, on Sept. 18, a young gay man was ambushed in Curitiba by a group of skinheads who allegedly shouted, "Gays must die!" as they stabbed him in the stomach with scissors. The 19-year-old survived; police arrested nearly a dozen members of a neo-Nazi gang in connection with the attack.

 

The swift response by authorities to the stabbing was an exception, brought about by public pressure from gay activists, say members of Grupo Dignidade, a gay-rights organization based in Curitiba.

 

Activists throughout Brazil say that not only do the country's notoriously corrupt and violent police habitually ignore complaints of violence against gays, but they themselves perpetrate some of it, with for example, random roundups and abuse of transvestites and transsexuals on the streets.

 

"If you ask transvestites who's the most likely to be violent, they'll say the police. They call them the Taliban," said Silene Hirata, an attorney who works with Grupo Dignidade to uphold homosexuals' legal rights.

 

Last year, on average, one or two people came to Hirata every week to report having been the victim of anti-gay aggression. "It's the tip of the iceberg," Hirata said, because many others refuse to report such crimes for fear of being "outed" to their families and friends or harassed by unsympathetic police officers.

 

According to statistics culled from media reports and other sources by Grupo Gay da Bahia, one of Brazil's most respected gay-rights organizations, 2,218 people were killed because of their homosexuality from 1963 to 2002.

 

Many of the slayings are particularly gruesome, fueled by hatred and rage, such as the killing of a 63-year-old man in Rio de Janeiro state. He was shot in the head, then tied up and set on fire while still alive.

 

Brazilian law allows for stiffer prison sentences for hate crimes, but sexual orientation is not one of the protected categories.

 

"Everyone knows that the justice system in Brazil is lacking," Hirata said. At Grupo Dignidade, "we don't have the wherewithal here to protect anybody. Who should do it is the state, the government, and they don't."

 

That's why Oliveira, the man who needed 27 stitches under his right eye after a brutal assault in June 2004, decided not to pursue a complaint.

 

A friend warned that the police could cause him more problems. So Oliveira, 36, concentrated instead on recovering from his injuries, which required six months of reconstructive work on his face and his teeth. "I wore sunglasses the whole time," he said, laughing at the memory.

 

But tears sprang to his eyes as he recounted the story of the beating that changed his life and brought home to him the potential danger he faces.

 

"I've had a couple friends who were attacked," Oliveira said, "but I never thought it would happen to me."

[trilingual]

Yes, there's gay-bashing (and worse) in Brazil. Just as there is in the U.S. In Brazil the worst of it, by far, is directed against transvestites/transexuals. But there are idiot skinheads and neo-Nazis (and I do mean idiot: hardly any Brazilian would pass Nazi racial purity tests) who also attack less effeminate gay men. Most gay bars are well known, so it's not exactly a secret where they're located, or where gay men congregate. Still, I disagree with the article to some degree. It makes it sound as if Brazil is a place of constant danger, and it isn't. Attacks against gays are NOT an everyday occurrence, any more than they are in the U.S. And I don't have the sense that contemporary Brazilians are all that conflicted about their masculinity and therefore driven to commit violence to prove their "manhood." At least not the urban people I know. Values are presumably more conservative in smaller, more traditional communities, but that's true in the U.S., as well.

 

Brazilian values are in transition, and in some ways Brazil is MORE advanced than the U.S. Piecemeal recognition of same-sex relationships is being granted by the federal government (in many cases after having been ordered to by federal courts). Pension, inheritance and child-custody rights are beginning to tilt in the favor of gay people. Brazilian gays can sponsor their foreign partners for permanent residence in Brazil, on the basis of their relationship. That's definitely not possible in the U.S. The gay rights parade in São Paulo is thought to have attracted 2,000,000 people last year (not 1,000,000 as reported in the article) making it the world's largest. Rio's gay pride parade is also growing rapidly, with well over half-a-million people in attendance last year (up from just a few thousand a very few years ago).

 

Well known entertainers are gay, as noted in the article, and gay characters and subjects are now a regular feature of the nightly novelas (soap operas) watched by virtually everyone in Brazil. A great deal of progress has been made, and continues to be made. There's much more that needs to be done, but when I read in 365gay.com about serial killers being sentenced for brutal murders in the U.S., and savage beatings of gays here, it doesn't make me feel that this is Gay Heaven. I don't feel any less safe in Brazil because I'm gay than I do in the U.S. Neither does my BF, or his friends, or any of my other gay friends in Brazil. We might worry about the overall crime situation in Brazil, which is undeniably an issue, but none of us cowers in fear that something bad will happen to us because we're gay. And it sure hasn't stopped any of us from going to the beach!

[swallows22]

Have mixed emotions. Never been to Brazil, but a bit apprehensive about Tri's comparison stictly to the US. Last I heard there were another 160 or so countries in the UN.

Other than the US, my preference is Europe, Thailand and Oceania.

[trilingual]

There are indeed many more countries in the world, but the article made U.S. comparisons, and the poster is in the U.S. However, there's gay-bashing in other countries, including the U.K. and Germany (skinhead heavens), Australia, etc. It's a risk in many places. The question for most travelers is what degree of risk are they comfortable with? Brazil's dangers are overstated (the press rarely reports good news) but dangers exist. Probably more so than in Switzerland or Sweden. But not enough to keep many of us from going there, or living there.

[trilingual]

Today's "Globo" reports that 2 of the 4 guys involved in the bus robbery have been caught. One was a cab driver at the airport, and there's at least one other insider involved. The gang has evidently been identified as carrying out three or four other assaults against tourists, but none on the scale of the bus incident.

 

While it's somewhat like shutting the barn door after the cows have gotten out, the city, state and federal governments have put together a task force to work cooperatively in preventing future unfortunate events. Brazil is very eager to increase foreign tourism and Rio's economy depends on it, so they have a big incentive to do that. I hope this translates to better patroling of the airport and the access roads to the Zona Sul, as well as clearing out the taxi mafiosi who have been involved in airport crime. Progress is slow in Brazil, as it is in many other countries, but it does lurch forward sporadically and things to get better over time. This is a good example!

[Guest alanm]

However, those who want

>virtually zero risk on their vacations should probably forget

>about Brazil and plan to visit Zurich or Stockholm!

 

I am a big fan of Rio & the recent bus robbery would have not effect my decision to return to Rio. Zurich and Stockholm offer very different types of trips than Brazil, but both cities are interesting tourist destination, as are Munich, Oslo and Milano and many other European cities especially in the summer. On the cities I mentioned, only Munich and Zurich have any real escort business.