10 top tips for the early Brazil World Cup traveller Where to stay and where to find hotel bargains in Rio Rio de Janeiro To be close to the England team, stay in the Copacabana tourist trap. For a more upmarket neighborhood, head further down the beach to Ipanema or Leblon. If bohemian neighborhoods and moody bars and bistros are your thing, then you would be better off at a boutique hotel in Santa Teresa. But for the best views at the lowest price and a more vibrant slice of Rio life, find a favela hotel in Vidigal or Tavares Bastos. How to get around plane-travel-brazil Domestic flights need to be booked early. Book early or be punished. Domestic flights are absurdly expensive in Brazil. Leave it to the last minute and the price of a half-hour hop from Rio de Janeiro to São Paulo can surge two, three or fourfold. The same goes for more exotic destinations in the interior. The alternative – if you have the time to travel like the locals – is to use long-distance buses. In the Amazon, boats are the best option for the leisure of adventure traveller. Keep you eyes peeled for river dolphins on the way. What to do between matches Christ the Redeemer statue England player Phil Jones taking a picture on his phone as the national squad visited the Christ the Redeemer statue before their friendly match against Brazil earlier this month. You may prefer to avoid the crowds by going further afield. Photograph: The FA via Getty Images In Rio the tourist trail usually starts with the crowded landmarks of the Christ the Redeemer Statue, Sugar Loaf mountain and the bars and beaches of Copacabana, but for a change of pace and stunning scenery, try day or weekend trips to Búzios, Paraty or Petropolis. São Paulo is less attractive, but a finer temporary nest for visiting culture vultures. The Museum of Art arguably has the best collection in Latin America. More adventurous travellers have some of the worlds greatest wilderness and most spectacular landscapes to choose from. For starters, try the Iguazu falls on the border with Argentina, densely forested Itaimbezinho canyons in Rio Grande do Sul, the worlds largest wetland (and many other ecosystems) in the Pantanal, the beaches, deserts and fine food of Bahia, and of course the Amazon. What to eat Brazilian churrasco A Brazilian churrasco restaurant. Photograph: Nico Tondini/Robert Harding The most common dish is rice, beans and manioc (or cassava), which means vegetarians will never go hungry, though they may have to search for something beyond the staples. Brazil is the land of the cerrado plains, which is beef country. For a feast, try a churrascaria restaurant, which guarantees a stomach-bulging fleshfest. More daring palates should sample the cuisine of Bahia – which has African roots – such as bobó de camerão (a gravy-like shrimp dish served in a clay pot), badejo and vatapá. In São Paulo – with the largest Japanese community outside Japan – the sushi and udon are excellent. For a street snack, try chicken hearts or corn on the cob. How to say the Falkland islands shall remain ever British in Portuguese Stanley Falkland Islands The fate of the Falkland Islands may be a topic to avoid in Brazil. As Ilhas Malvinas devem continuar britânicas para sempre? is a fine gambit if you want to dig up old enmities between Britain and Latin America (though Argentina is a candidate for the least popular nation in the region). The more diplomatically minded might try: Não vamos falar sobre as Malvinas (Lets not talk about the Falklands). Ripoffs to avoid bus in Rio Members of a samba school travel by bus, a cheap way to get around Rio and beyond. There is no avoiding ripoffs in Brazil, where value for money appears to be an alien concept. To stretch your budget to the max, stay, eat and drink in or near a pacified favela, get around by bus or metro, and fill up on rice and beans at a kilo restaurant, where you pay the weight. Most importantly, tourists should avoid gimmicky items with little or no use, such as the caxirola. What to sing Criolo-Brazilian-singer If youre short of a song for the terraces, how about a tune by Brazilian favourite Criolo? Tall and tan and young and lovely, the girl from Ipanema goes walking and when she passes each one she passes goes Arent you a bit old for all that now? The muse for perhaps Brazils most enduring musical export is now nearly 70, so it is time to update the songbook. Dig out some Criolo, Tulipa Ruiz or Bixiga70, or else put those football chants to a samba beat. How to be cool on the beach Ipanema-beach-Rio It takes months of hard work to look this good on the beach. Luckily there is still time before the World Cup. Spend at least a year on your physique and a month on your tan before arriving, then slip into surf shorts or a bikini, wear Havaiana flip-flops, buy the most overpriced sunglasses you can find and then hang out at Post 9 in Ipanema. Alternatively, defiantly go against the mainstream by knotting the corners of your union flag handkerchief and wearing it on your head while your belly turns pink. Where to avoid Brazil-police-favela-pacification Policemen on duty after the pacification of the Rocinha favela in Rio. Rio is a safer than it was a decade ago thanks to the favela pacification programme and the flooding of tourist zones with police, but wherever you go in Brazil be wary of any quiet dark street and keep a close eye on your belongings. Probably also best to avoid unpacified favelas unless you have a local guide or have good friends among the Red Command gang. What to play in the absence of the vuvuzela Carlinhos-Brown-plays-caxirola The Brazilian musician Carlinhos Brown gives a caxirola demonstration to President Dilma Rousseff during the presentation of the official musical instrument for the 2014 World Cup. It was later decided to ban the caxirola from World Cup matches. If you get a sudden urge to make an officially sanctioned, recycled plastic, manufactured noise, then buy yourself a caxirola and get rattling, but dont expect to be allowed to take your new purchase into a World Cup stadium. Although the yellow and green noise makers are on Fifas list of licensed products, the world football body banned them from matches after dozens were thrown on the pitch in a test event.
Posted on: Thu, 27 Feb 2014 14:20:12 +0000
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