Asian backpacker

So it’s been nearly 1 week since I arrived in Rio De Janeiro. The last couple of days have been packed with activities hence the late updates. Although the weather hasn’t been too kind on me here, I still try to make the best of out. Truth to be told, Rio has a lot of outdoor activities so it’s a pity that it was raining for the majority of the time.

The first day it was raining too, so the people at the hostel started a nice “little” BBQ and these Brazilians sure know (and love) their meats. To be honest I can’t remember what we had but it was goooooood and it’s not the same with the BBQ that I’m used to, where everyone just gets a big piece of meat, here they just cut up the meat in bitesize pieces and everyone that wants, just takes it. We started the BBQ in the afternoon and ended it around 8 at night or so, when most people took a nap before going out, me included of course! The next couple of days I went to do some sightseeing around town and just familiarize myself with the city. I met up with some couchsurfer friends and together we visited some museums and went to a couple of concerts (jazz & Central Brazilian music). It’s been a while since I’ve actually traveled solo and with a city this big and interesting you don’t even take the time to rest since every street every area has so much to see . My legs were killing me the last couple of days, I walked so much! Probably have to get used to the feeling. 🙁

Then last night I had my first couchsurfing meeting. Really nice way to get to know some people from all around the world and exchange travel stories and tips. There are plenty of local Brazilians that attend these meetings and it was so nice to talk to them and get to know their story from living in Brazil and what’s going on with the economy, politics and just their background. They always said that Brazilians were very friendly and welcoming and last night I finally realised why. People are so involved, like when you are on the mini-bus discussing a certain topic, other passangers are listening closely and often join the conversation. Unlike in Belgium or Hong Kong where people just turn away or give you strange looks, here they befriend pretty much any one. Some of the problems with me though, is that I don’t speak Portugese and it’s tough to find an English-speaking person here. So let this be a heads up, learn some Portugese before coming to Brazil, it’s totally worth the trouble when you have a street vender telling you about his life and what not.

On an Asian backpacker note, I haven’t met or seen many Chinese/Asian people around here in Rio, there isn’t a Chinatown here. Some of the local Cariocas (inhabitant of Rio) did tell me there are actually quite a few Asians around here. But maybe they’ve gotten so tan or have slightly different facial structures that they don’t resemble Asians anymore more. I did get the feeling that I’m stared at on the street for being an Asian since there are so few of them here I guess. Sad to say I haven’t been to the beach yet since the weather didn’t permit it. But the next couple of days it’ll be sunny so I’ll be sure to go take a stroll down copa-copacabaaaaanaaaaa~~~~~~~~. Also another thing I noticed here, the guys are buff as hell! Since there’s a strong beach culture going on people like to look good here with their shirts off. I can’t blame them, but it’s sad to say that my body isn’t exactly Brazilian beach ready. There are workout machines all around the boardwalk and you can see most of them being used by people. I hope to get some pictures at the beach next time.

Oh and I had some typical Brazilians street food: Pamonha. It’s like mashed corn, packed in corn leaves and then boiled. When eating it they put cinnamon on it for some extra flavor. It was nice how the flavors seem to match, the cinnamon and corn-mash. They probably put some other stuff in it too, like milk and coconut. Next week I’ll visit the beaches and Christ the Redeemer and Sugar Loaf mountain.Oh and the title of this post doesn’t relate to what I’ve done, but more like what some of the girls in my hostel were saying and repeating…. yeah… PG-18.