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GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT RIO
Brazil is a beautiful country of incredible contrasts.
The racial mixes in Brazil are greater than those of
any other country in the world and they have the most
beautiful people to boast.
Unlike the former British colonies, there is hardly
any skin color racism and in the huge slums that surround
the cities you can find whites and blacks and a myriad
of mixes in between, all living in the same boat.
There is hardly any religious intolerance, people are
generally very helpful and kind and if you are lost
they will go out of their way to help you even if they
can only communicate in sign language. They do not understand
people who are ill mannered, and have been voted internationally
as not only the happiest people in the world but the
best tourists as well. – No kidding!
Brazilians are also known to be extremely social. They
love to sit around chatting for hours with friends "batendo
papo" about anything you can possibly imagine.
So if you want to fully experience and understand the
“Cariocas” - or people from Rio, make an effort
to go out and meet some. Leave the Internet and business
at home and become a part of Rio and the beautiful people
and culture. After a week of going out, we guarantee
you a flock of friends calling regularly, seeing what
you are up to and meddling completely in your life.
But after all – what’s wrong with all the
attention anyway? – Enjoy it while you can.
RESUME OF BEACH TOWNS IN RIO:
COPACABANA
In spite of the lovely tourist photos and good location,
Copacabana is not a wonderful place to be.
Prostitution, petty thieves or scammers seem to gravitate
towards that area and basically try to rip "gringos"
off in any way possible. Also 40% of the crime in Rio
happens there.
If you are going to Copacabana or any of the nightclubs
there go with a friend. Or better yet avoid it altogether.
IPANEMA AND LEBLON
Common sense wise are the better places to be.
The beaches are beautiful, people are more tolerant
in general, and is much safer. You also don't need a
car as everything is within walking distance and public
transportation to anywhere is only a block or two away.
If you need to go to Copacabana it's only a 10 minute
walk.
Ipanema is also known to have some of the most beautiful
people in the world and the song "The Girl from
Ipanema" was written for that reason.
Ipanema is known to also be the gay center of Rio along
with a gay beach. (Between Farme de Amoedo and Teixeira
de Melo streets)
Leblon is also the most prestigious area of Rio with
a large shopping center and many restaurants.Therefore
for obvious reasons most of our clients prefer Ipanema
or Leblon.
WHAT TO WEAR
To be honest - it doesn't matter. You can go into the
best restaurants in Rio simply wearing a T-shirt and
flip-flops. In banks you see guys standing in line wearing
only Speedos and tank tops. - In fact only Speedos seem
to be the most common attire. It's warm all year and
in the "winter" maybe bring a sweatshirt for
cool nights. If you dress too nice you will stand out
as a rich tourist so don't bother. Most guys only wear
surfer shorts and tank tops or T-shirts all year and
everywhere.
GUIDES
Many people arrive in Rio and spend the first few days
getting lost and going to all the wrong places that
are usually recommended in outdated guide books. A local
guide can not only save you hours of wasted time, but
also give you the latest info on where to go and what
to buy. From Generic pharmaceuticals to city tours a
guide can save you a lot in the long run. Contact us
if you would like a guide for the first day you're here.
CASH
Can be gotten out of the Citibank or HSBC ATM machines
(in local currency only) which give a good exchange
rate. Other banks have ATM machines but don't give a
good rate of exchange. You will need your credit card
or debit card to get cash out of the machine so remember
you will need your PIN for your credit card. Many people
arrive and have forgotten their PIN for their credit
cards. Avoid getting cash at night and the maximum you
can withdraw in one day is $R1000 Reais (local currency)
for each card. Therefore if you have 2 credit cards
you can withdraw $R2000 Reais etc.
You don't need to bring travelers checks as all the
stores and restaurants now accept credit cards. Doctors
and medical services do not accept credit cards.
You might want to make sure you bring some cash with
you or get some local currency when you arrive at the
airport. You can change a small amount of dollars at
the airport with the people who carry luggage. They
give quite a good rate of exchange for the dollar.
TAXIS
Are very cheap in Rio and are a great alternative to
buses, which can be quite a pain in the butt if you
don't know where you are! Don't take cabs from people
who come up to you at the airport and ask you if you
need a taxi. They don't use the meter and double the
price.
Go out the main entrance (only a few meters away) and
just get one that is leaving passengers. Make sure they
use the meter. Should cost about half of what they usually
charge when they don't use the meter. If they refuse
to use the meter simply get out and take another one.
The same thing can happen when you leave a nightclub.
Walk a block down the street and get a cab that uses
a meter.
Taxi drivers are usually honest, so don't worry about
them driving around in circles to make the price go
up. That is actually quite rare.
IPANEMA GYMS
Body Tech:
Extremely overpriced gym that has quite a snobby attitude
towards tourists for some unknown reason. A few soap
opera stars go there so there is a strong "who's
who", gossip club, and people who exercise their
eyes instead of seriously just wanting to work out.
There are 3 branches in Ipanema:
Visconde de Piraja 365
Gomes Carneiro 90
Barao da Torre 577
Price: $40 a day, $65 a week, $150 a month
Academia Power:
Teixera de Melo 87
A very simple gym with 3 floors that is kind of grungy
and very disorganized. No aircon so you can lose weight
by sweating to death in summer. There are some very
good-looking clients though so you might want to check
it out.
Price: $20 a day, $25 a week, $45 a month
Ipanema Sports:
Visconde de Piraja 161 - 1st Floor
A new gym in Ipanema that is open 24 hours in the summer,
and every day the rest of the year. Most gyms close
on holidays and on Sundays so this gym seems to have
won hands down. Also has free internet so you can kill
2 birds with one stone. Only problem now is it gets
a bit crowded around 6:00pm.
Price: $25 a day, $37 a week, $90 a month
There are quite a few other small gyms but to be honest
we recommend the Ipanema Sport Club as the most practical.
When you finally get the time to work out the others
are usually closed…
CLUBS/BARS/RESTAURANTS:
Ask for our Ipanema map with a list of good restaurants
as well as where the clubs are.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FEEL FREE TO ASK
MAP OF IPANEMA AVAILABLE ON REQUEST
FlathuntersRio
Ipanema
Rio de Janeiro
Tel: (55-21) 25139178 / 96959971
flathuntersrio@samerica.com
MEMBER OF SOAR
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