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March 13th 2006

Published: April 8th 2006

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RalphOnTour

Rio de Janeiro

AdventuresOfTheWartas

March 13th 2006
Rio de Janeiro

If I would have only two words to describe Rio de Janeiro then I would use "not impressed". Yes, yes I know everyone claims that Rio has the most beautiful setting in the world, is full of girls in little bikinis laying on beautiful city beaches but I still think it’s not that great.

I did the usual tourist things like going up and say hello to Christ, view the city from above from the Pao de Azucar (Sugar Loaf Mountain) and have a look at the admittedly exceptional setting the city has. A mandatory stop at Copacabana and Ipanema beach (which were more or less deserted when I was there) were also on the program.
My problem with the city is that it lacks flair and has apart from the well known sights not that much to offer. Oh and did I mention that it’s very expensive. Most of the things here cost twice as much as in the rest of Brazil and are sometimes very close to Sydney prices.

Saying all that the stay hasn't been that bad (Maybe I was just in my bitchy mood for a couple of days). Christ and the sugar loaf are nice to look at and you have great views over the city. The hostel was ok (apart from the 12 bed dorm) and the nights out ended at 4am in the morning.

My recommendation is that if you ever come here stay a couple of days do the touristy things so you can say you did them and then go to Buenos Aires which is way cooler (IMHO).