Trip finale...

bila aku bosan kat Sao Paulo tu... aku terfikir, if i knew pasal sao paulo mcm ni... i've would have change the plan altogether... ye lah masa buat plan tak tahu apa2 sgt kan...

so for those out there yg plan ke sana from Doha... i would suggest you to do this (for a week holiday - lebih kurang 10 hari)

Khamis - try to get there on thursday, i.e. kena lah cuti khamis tu. sbb fly dr doha ni pagi... u'll spend the whole day kat dlm flight je... and mlm tu, dok lah sao paulo. try to stay at central or somewhere near metro... easy to get around.

Jumaat - spend the day around Sao Paulo... try to get the best of it... although takde apa sgt lah pun... mlm tu, get a bus to Rio... but kalau dah bosan sgt, take a bus ke rio lepas check out...

Sabtu - spend the day at the beach... malam g lah ke faire yg besar kat central (aku tak g, sbb tak sempat). rasa nya ada samba school yg buka (pun aku tak gi). sabtu ni happening... blh jalan2 area lapa and central...

Ahad - another leisure day. boleh lah jugak buat favela tours ari ni (or sabtu tu). n dok je lah kat beach... sabtu ahad mmg ramai org kat beach!!!

Isnin - do the whole day city tour

Selasa - do whatever yg tak cover lagi... n try to get out from Rio either tonite or tomorrow very early morning. go to Buenos Aires... :-)

Rabu - by now korang dah ada kat buenos aires... do the round trip or city tour kot (aku tak sampai pun buenos aires :-( )

Khamis - another day in B.A... n malam fly out ke doha...

kalau buat mcm ni, at least boleh gak sampai argentina.... aku suspect buenos aires sama bosan mcm sao Paulo... hehehe... i don't know...

Travel Report: Sao Paulo

since flight aku dr doha ke brazil melalui sao paulo, i have to make my journey back to Sao paulo from Rio. As the bus trip was not eventful, masa balik aku decided utk balik tgh malam and tido dlm bas. although dah book tido kat hotel sao paulo tu, aku tak kisah lah burn gitu. org kata sao paulo pun tak best. itu pun aku ada 2 hari penuh kat sao paulo.

first day, aku still penat sbb tido dlm bas, aku decided rehat dulu kat hotel. hotel aku area ibirapuera, famous sbb ada park besar gile kat situ. ibirapuera park. so lepas breakfast aku g ke park tu... tgh hari rembang... but still ada org jogging2 n jalan2... a normal park lah or gaya org kita taman rekreasi nothing to shout out. pas tu dkt tgh hari... aku balik hotel tgk bola 2nd semi final. lepas bola g shopping mall... bosan indeed... nak berjalan malam malas plak. apparently, hotel aku jauh gile dr metro station, nak ke metro kena naik teksi bayar RM25. so, aku jadi malas nak g memana...

2nd day... keluar lewat, almost noon sbb nak check out bilik n memikirkan aku kena lepak sampai flight pkl 3am... n setelah read up mmg takde apa2 kat sao paulo... what did i do on 2nd day... aku g ke MAPS, art gallery yg kira paling besar kat south america... am ain't art lover... so takde benda sgt... but ada lah aku tgk2... MAPS ni located kat paulista avenue... kira jalan paling famous lah kat sao paulo ni... aku jalan dr ujung ke ujung... bangunan je... nasib baik lah cuaca ok, 22 degree... tak lah panas sgt.

aku naik ke observation deck bgnn paling tinggi kat sao paulo, one of the tallest in south america.. nak tgk mcm mana besar nya sao paulo ni dr atas... Sao paulo ni adalah bandaraya paling besar di south america... this is how it looks like... mmg hutan batu.... and nothing much around... seriously i would not spend any day here dah, menyesal gak dok 2 hari, should have stayed in rio longer or fly dr buenos aires je....walk around.. g 3 shopping malls (giler, punya lah bosan, sampai g mall)... jalan sampai penat for 7 hours... aku balik hotel jam 10pm, then ambik teksi ke airport jam 11pm... sampai airport jam 12am dpt tau flight delay 3 jam sbb ada riot kat airport buenos aires... tunggu lah sampai 5am br fly out...
although ending trip aku ni tak lah best sangat but at least i've been there and rio was a good one.. insyaAllah ada rezeki kaki aku akan jejak lagi kat brasil ni... tchau!!!

Travel Report: Demam bola...

Masa aku jejak kaki kat Brazil adalah hari Brazil kalah dgn Holland... aku ada gak hasrat nak tgk football fever kat sana... tp since dah kalah, tak nampak lah... but everywhere masih ada lagi banner2 pasal worldcup, cumanya org2 tak bercerita n excited about it...
but still... aku sempat lah nak tgk world cup fifa fan fest area... kat copa cabana beach... watching netherland beat uruguay... what an atmosphere... since it was europe vs south america kind of thing... best!!!

Travel Report: Carnaval

Rio ni famous jugak dgn Carnaval... pesta parade mcm Citrawarna Malaysia tu... tp sgt jauh lagi hebat... korang blh tgk lah kat utube mcm mana hebatnya parade depa ni... the dressess the colors n of course the people... mostly depa menari samba.. Carnaval ni selalunya buat masa summer, around bulan february. kalau g masa sini party is everywhere and harga semua benda mahal lah.since aku dtg bukan masa carnaval n nak tgk the dances, samba, bosanova and capoeira show. aku g tgk kat platforma, tempat yg ala phantasea kat phuket and cultural village show thing... tp aku tak lah rasa gempak mana... the sound wasn't good, the dances were so-so... and the people are not the best among all... anyway, dah sampai n bayar.... tgk je lah kan... hehehe...

here are some pics and clips... tak ramai pun org datang... the entry price is ain't that cheap... dekat Rm200 gak... and since aku dtg sorang... takde lah sempat aku nak suruh org tolong ambikkan gambar ngan awek2 seksi ni... hehehe...

Travel Report: Rio... places..

One of the factors aku pilih to visit Rio ni sbb wujudnya salah satu 7 keaja1ban dun!a tu. i.e.Statue of Christ the Reedemer. aku tahu, tu patung salib, but sbb dia popular n nak melengkapkan misi aku g jejak n tgk sendiri all the nw 7 w0nders 0f the w0rld, aku g jugak... lokasi patung tu mmg best... the view from there... breathtaking... tp patung tu tak lah mengagumkan sangat, lebih kurang sama besar kot ngan patung kat batu caves tu.but the view from there... nampak cantik gile bandar rio ni...

Bridge to Niteroi in Rio de Janeiro

that's maracana stadium

tasik di rio... lagoa area... poshy area ni... takde favela kat area nithat's sugar loaf mountain, from corcovado hill... and the other part of rio...

utk g ke sana, disebabkan faktor keselamatan dan bahasa, aku decided utk ambik city tour. aku join the 1 day city tour, harga dia BR180 dalam RM360. aku ambik kat hotel n aku tahu lg mahal skit dr aku ambik direct dr agent. tp sbb kan time constraint, ambik je lah. aku rasa depa charge RM30 fee as org tgh. another thing, since aku travel solo, aku kena bayar penuh harga teksi, so kiranya amount charge tu berpatutan lah, and dah termasuk harga naik cable car n fee g ke patung ni (dlm 24BR - RM48) plus dia bagi lunch (yg tak halal... :-( will talk abt food later). so nak tahu mcm mana nak g sendiri ke atas ni, cek lah website... aku tak tahu... hehehe...

then lepas aku g situ, kitaorg singgah jap kat maracana stadium. rasanya antara stadium bolasepak paling besar kat dlm dunia. tahun 2014, final world cup akan ada kat sini... tak sempat pun buat tour stadium, dok kat luar ambik gambar je... aku cari2 lah gambar favorite player aku, roberto carlos, kalau2 dia termasuk wall of fame... yup dia ada gambar beraksi tp takde foot print dia plak. katanya org rio/brazil benci kat dia ni sbb dia sombong... hmm... plan asal nak dtg balik sini nak buat tour, tp sbb takde roberto carlos, hehehe..kitaorg singgah jap kat arena carnival parade, nothing much. sesapa nak sewa costume blh lah.. tp aku tak buat pun...then 2nd famous landmark kat Rio. the sugar loaf mountain. (macam table top mountain kat Cape Town plak). the sugar loaf ni dinamakan sugar loaf sbb bentuk dia macam roti and bila ada awan kat atas dia, mcm roti salut gula... tu je pun... dia ada 2 puncak, first puncak nampak beaches around rio... 2nd puncak nampak lah copa cabana beach.. again, what fascinating the most, was the view from the top of the mountain... enjoy...cable car to the first peak... tambang BR44 (RM88) tu lah aku rasa city tour ni reasonable

that's the 2nd peak (400m from sea level)... from there br nampak copacabana beach...

that's copacabana beach, ipanema tak nampak dr sini... its the other side of that small hill. aproador, tpt aku duduk tu, kat ujung tanjung copacabana beach.

view from 2nd peak... u can see the 1st peak. Copacabana on the left, rio on your right and the highest peak of the background mountain tu lah ada patung tu....

that's rio... almost sunset...

Travel Report: Favelas...

a favela viewed from my apartment roof top...

Favela ni kalau dlm bahasa kita ni setinggan lah.. its the term for slum area or shanty town kat south america. asalnya dr kurun ke 18. slaves dok sini... settlement atas tanah takde nama or govt public land. lama2 dia developed.. org dr luar bandar dtg keje ke bandar n takde umah dok kat sini. then depa bg duit kat sedara mara n sedara mara plak dtg ke bandar n semua dok sini.. umah setinggan ni makin lama makin tinggi... dia bina umah atas umah.... ada sampai 13 tingkat.

ramai kaitkan favela ni as tempat tak selamat, sbb dia mcm port utk mafia n drug dealers. yes indeed, mmg byk drug dealers kat sini. byk jugak geng mafia. tp not all favelas ni penuh ngan mafia depends on location. sbb ramai yg dok kat favela ni utk keje kat bandar. yg ironi nya, bak kata tour guide tu, kat dlm favela adalah tempat paling selamat kat rio, sbb geng2 mafia ni mmg tak suka ada criminal kat dlm favela which akan bg peluang polis masuk dlm favela ni. so, depa mmg jaga keselamatan favela n mmg polis takde kuasa kat sini. cite pasal favela penuh ngan drugs n criminal ni dibesarkan2 dlm filem. if korang ada tgk filem city of god, mmg ada cite pasal ni. although flem ni bukan actually kat favela, tp kat rumah gantian favela (umah kerajaan bg pindahkan org kat favela) tp issue nya berlaku kat dlm favela.

aku join trip tour favela ni. seperti mcm aku join g trip soweto... tp aku rasa trip soweto lagi best la, sbb sejarah dia lagi significant.... reason aku g pun sbb blh nampak favela ni merata2 rio dan reputation dia as tempat tak selamat. but ada org kata tak ethical plak nak tgk kehidupan org susah, and ada plak yg support by going with agent yg ada bantu buat sekolah or bg donation. yup agent aku ikut ni ada sponsored satu sekolah yg 85% of the fund come from the tour yg kitaorg g ni.

first kitaorg masuk favela rocinha, the biggest favela in rio. ada 250,000 org dok sini katanya. in total ada 950 favela in rio, n ada yg besar n ada yg kecik. in total lebih sejuta org rio dok kat favela n keje depa byk nya dlm service industry, hotel - restaurant - maid - cleaner etc. perjalanan ke favela ni melalui kawasan org2 kaya mcm jalan2 kat bukit tunku kat kl.... umah2 org kat bukit, style umah besar2.... then sampai satu part br masuk kawasan favela. kitaorg berhenti sekejap sbb view dr favela entrance ni mmg best... atas bukit... nampak the whole rio town. the best view of the town sbb nampak cross tu and the sugar loaf in one frame. tp kitaorg tak leh ambik gambar sbb kawasan tu byk drug dealing operation. the mafia tak nak ada gambar dealers, setelah berhenti sekejap kita org g satu umah ni yg ada balkoni, tempat blh ambik gambar.... n this is favela rocinha... padat n ramai...selepas tu, guide bawak kitaorg ke favela sebelah favela rocinha. kat situ lah depa ada sekolah kecik. n kat situ sbb kawasan kecik, kitaorg blh masuk dlm favela, celah2 umah tu... tp kalau without guide mmg blh sesat. umah atas umah, ada tangga kecik ke atas and ada turun bawah, merata2... tp agak bersih, tak busuk... kalau bau pun bau anjing depa... tak lah busuk bau tandas ke apa... sbb ada sistem pembentungan. tp nak jadi cite, kat tgh2 favela ni ada sungai/air bukit lalu... ada mcm air terjun, tp air tu tak blh guna sbb sistem toilet apartment mewah atas bukit tu buang air kedalam sungai tu... what a waste...favela ni bertingkat2... bila ada generasi baru dtg, depa bina atas rumah yg sedia ada.... sini takde alamat.... tp ada electricity. internet ntah ada ke tak... org2 susah sini keje kat bandar, even depa ada business depa takkan tinggalkan favela sbb itu umah depa. kata tour guide, susah org favela ni nak maju mana. depa takde education, and nak g belajar sgt mahal n depa takkan mampu... so depa always dipinggirkan...now... byk jugak usaha kerajaan brasil nak bantu... ada proses perpindahan.... ada process buat sekolah buat kawasan rekereasi... byk benda... ada menjadi, ada yg tak... perhaps satu hari nanti maybe hilang favela... tp hilang plak unik bandar ni... n maybe susah jugak la nak buang terus... the mafia tu hebat... oh... btw, pernah byk perang antara geng2 mafia ni... which kalau cari kat internet sure ada byk cerita pasal rocinha, pasal favela n maybe pasal one of the 3 big gangs (aku cuma ingat salah satu nama, rasanya "friend of a friend" and rasanya ada satu lagi "kids of rio" kot....) and one can't deny location favela ni best, kenkadang view dia lagi best dr 5 stars hotel... right overlook the city or with sea view....

ujung tu favela, viewed from my apartment... yg bangunan putih tu sheraton hotel.. see... the view dr sheraton tu sama je ngan favela atas tu, and probably better.. :-)

ni plak favela yg ada view of the city, aku rasa tour guide tu ada cakap kat favela atas ni lah video clip michael jackson tu...

Rio is so famous ngan carnival, selalu buat bulan february, and above is the arena, tempat perarakan (blh sewa baju kalau nak berangan) and u can see ada favela kat ujung arena, a good view of carnival for those who live there...

anyway, apart from city of gods, cite incredible hulk pun ada ambik arial view of the favela. and one of the favela ni pernah ada kat dlm video clip michael jackson "they dont really care about us" from this video ada tunjuk mcm mana keadaan dlm favela, for this one namanya dona mata (gambar kat atas), not rocinha.

Travel Report: Rio the beaches...

hari ketiga, hari ahad, br aku mula nak tgk2 rio waktu siang... pepagi lagi aku dah keluar. plan asal nak naik ke atas bumbung hotel aku utk ambik gambar. seriously hotel aku mmg paling murah around the area. mulanya aku nak dok hostel, tp takde hostel yg ada individual room available sbb kalau dorm susah nak solat. so aku ambik lah hotel ni. tp, yg teruk nya roof top only open at 8am... and sunrise at 6am... hampeh... if aku dpt sunrise, this would be the view... tp ni gambar dah siang dah...so sbb tak leh naik roof top aku terus ke ipanema beach... around the corner je. ada lah 5 minit jalan kaki. hotel aku area aproador beach. its actually the tanjung between copacabana beach dan ipanema beach... yup copacabana very famous, tp tu dulu2... sekarang mostly org muda go to ipanema, copacabana mmg nampak org tua2 je...

what's for today... aku plan pepagi lepas bfast aku masuk favela, will talk abt this place in an entry later. trip ke favela akan siap by 1pm... so lps tu nak dok beach... yup... aku g lepak kat beach whole day... doing nothing jalan2... mandi laut... n tgk org... hehehe. the last activity yg paling best... hahahaha...

from far... that's ipanema beach.. penuh ngan manusia... ni otw nak balik lepas g favela..

yeah... rio is all about beach... senang kalau blh tgk map... kalau dtg sini stay around ipanema, tp copacabana pun ok gak sbb senang cari makan and ada night activity. ipanema lebih upmarket and lebih bersih and kurang org murahan... tp instead of the two beaches, dok tgh2 mcm aku, aproador beach. pantai dia lebih utk org main surf... tp walkable to both ipanema yg best gi siang.. and copacabana gi malam... here are some of the pics yg aku ambik guna hp je. org hotel kata bahaya ambik pakai real camera since aku g jalan sorang2... n aku rasa pun susah... kalau nak masuk laut ke... or nak main volleyball (oops tak main pun, tgk je)....

ni ipanema beach on a weekend....
aku g gak copacabana on other day... weekday... kat copacabana ada sandcastle...

masa kejap sgt lah kat rio.. if i have another weekend, sure aku blh cakap ngan diaorg ni aku nak join skali.. too bad, tgk dr tepi je.... btw, apart from volleyball depa ada gak main soccervolley (betul ke?) rule mcm volleyball tp pakai kaki n kepala n badan except tangan... mcm takraw lah tp pakai bola volley n net rendah skit dr volleyball.
this is a wonderful song yg buat ipanema ni famous... 1960's Girl from Ipanema..