Be very careful in Major Brazilian cities
May 27, 2015, 2:22 pm
#16
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The stated motivation of those organizing many of the rallys/protests, and stupid Facebook campaigns to make fun of Dilma's taste in clothing, IS to discourage tourism and embarrass the country in front of the world, as if somehow this would translate into political change.
May 27, 2015, 2:26 pm
#17
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Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: BOS
Posts: 15,027
Ironically, Dilma has made more to promote inbound foreign tourism to Brazil than anyone else: her disastrous economic policies made the currency lose 50% of its value in just over two years, making Brazil finally "fairly priced" for the poor standard of service and accommodation we deliver.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articl...-their-savings
May 27, 2015, 2:58 pm
#18
Join Date: Jun 2011
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Ironically, Dilma has made more to promote inbound foreign tourism to Brazil than anyone else: her disastrous economic policies made the currency lose 50% of its value in just over two years, making Brazil finally "fairly priced" for the poor standard of service and accommodation we deliver.
May 28, 2015, 5:28 am
#19
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Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Rio de Janeiro, Miami, Nice
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Olympe- at lunch ~$50 pp including a modest wine, other superb places Gero, Fasano al Mare, Rubaiyat all can now be modestly priced.
Don't forget that the 30% plus drop in air traffic Brasil-US means you can get upgrades on cheap fares, and award seats are plentiful on nearly everyone. Promotional prices can be found for places like the Copacabana Palace too.
It has not been like this since 2008, so enjoy! Just be cautious at night and with obvious wealth.
May 28, 2015, 7:05 am
#20
Join Date: Apr 2012
Posts: 1,667
Brazil is having a bit of crisis of confidence coupled with rapidly growing .... crime.
...... there have been knife attacks, mostly on people with bicycles, but also of mobile phones and jewelry almost on a daily basis for some time now.
Unless you are really careful I recommend staying away from most public areas when they are not well populated and avoid being in public areas without a group.
Three members of my family have been robbed during the last two months and a childhood friend of my spouse was murdered while walking alone in a very public area, an exercise acquaintance of mine was murdered in a bicycle theft last week. These are too frequent to be coincidental.
.... they seem to be happening all over the country
Just be careful!
...... there have been knife attacks, mostly on people with bicycles, but also of mobile phones and jewelry almost on a daily basis for some time now.
Unless you are really careful I recommend staying away from most public areas when they are not well populated and avoid being in public areas without a group.
Three members of my family have been robbed during the last two months and a childhood friend of my spouse was murdered while walking alone in a very public area, an exercise acquaintance of mine was murdered in a bicycle theft last week. These are too frequent to be coincidental.
.... they seem to be happening all over the country
Just be careful!
Not hardly what it sounded like in your previous very graphic post quoted above. Here's a bunch of gory, violent things that happened to people I know and more examples still from the media. Now y'all come down and enjoy yourselves, hear.
FIFA needs your talents right about now.
May 28, 2015, 12:58 pm
#21
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May 28, 2015, 1:01 pm
#22
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May 28, 2015, 1:05 pm
#23
Join Date: Apr 2012
Posts: 1,667
The complaints are the same: economic "CRISIS", "CRISIS" with law enforcement, "CRISIS" with politicians who can't get anything done, "CRISIS" in confidence, "CRISIS" with crime (murder, rape, robbery, bombs, shootings), ad infinitum. That's what is heard on U.S. TV, from U.S. newspapers, from U.S. citizens.
Same complaints, different scenery.
I have more than a bit of a problem dealing with SPIN. Gonna have to get taller boots, I guess.
Last edited by VidaNaPraia; May 28, 2015 at 1:12 pm
May 28, 2015, 1:14 pm
#24
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I may quite responding to this stuff soon. If you knew me you might know I give comments regarding things with which I actually have experience.
I have indeed lived in Lagos, if having a residence visa and working there counts, and i have traveled to, but not lived in Ramadi, though I worked in Baghdad and Kuwait at the time. For the record I have lived through several other war zones and civil disturbances. I have also traveled and worked in a wide variety of such places because of my work. You seem to imply I do not much understand risk, nor civil unrest. It is your right to say that.
It would benefit everyone were you to offer insight rather than try to tear down other people. Denying factual information, including the recession in Brazil that officially began some months ago, the decline in international travel that is well documented and one reason that American Airlines claimed to have poorer results last quarter. As for the hotel and restaurant occupancy figures in both Rio and Sampa, you can simply check the data. Same goes for the crime rate.
Denying the facts does not change them. Refusing to acknowledge that behaviour changes are warranted by visitors and residents is unwise.
Please don't just criticise, provide data to support your arguments if you can find it.
As for Dilma, if you support her, good. She needs to get popular support above the current historical low for a Brazilian President, don't you think?
I have indeed lived in Lagos, if having a residence visa and working there counts, and i have traveled to, but not lived in Ramadi, though I worked in Baghdad and Kuwait at the time. For the record I have lived through several other war zones and civil disturbances. I have also traveled and worked in a wide variety of such places because of my work. You seem to imply I do not much understand risk, nor civil unrest. It is your right to say that.
It would benefit everyone were you to offer insight rather than try to tear down other people. Denying factual information, including the recession in Brazil that officially began some months ago, the decline in international travel that is well documented and one reason that American Airlines claimed to have poorer results last quarter. As for the hotel and restaurant occupancy figures in both Rio and Sampa, you can simply check the data. Same goes for the crime rate.
Denying the facts does not change them. Refusing to acknowledge that behaviour changes are warranted by visitors and residents is unwise.
Please don't just criticise, provide data to support your arguments if you can find it.
As for Dilma, if you support her, good. She needs to get popular support above the current historical low for a Brazilian President, don't you think?
May 28, 2015, 1:52 pm
#25
Join Date: Apr 2012
Posts: 1,667
Stop anytime, jb, preferably before my imminent boot purchase.
The U.S. local news last night featured two express kidnappings/one who was murdered, the shooting of a crowd of innocents in a movie theater, the bombing of a large public event with hundreds of spectators killed and hurt, the killing of a police officer during a mall robbery, several incidents of police killing citizens including a little boy in a park, a seven-year old shot while riding his bike to his grandma's house, more government gridlock and potential shutdown, U.S. legal action against corrupt sports officials, how the bad economy is effecting regular citizens (including reduced spending on big ticket items including vacations and cars---leases on cars as low as U$59/month as incentives since sales are so slow), a cheating scandal by teachers to get better scores on their young students tests, floods that swept away families, tornados that flattened towns, and on and on. People are organizing, fighting back.
You aren't providing "data" , just opinions, spin on events, not facts. "The sky is falling! The sky is falling!"
But I am to be held to a higher standard?
I have been offering insight. You seem to have missed that part. The world is in crisis, not simply Brazil. Brazil is reaping what it has sown. (The lives of the poor don't change much though.) And Brazilians are watching the novelas, as usual (after they post today's round of complaints to Facebook).
New tourists won't sense any difference. They've already been reading the last decade or so worth of (undated) crime tales on the net, whose accumulation has already got them thinking again. Tourists familiar with Brazil have been weighing in, as here--cheaper, good deals, overrides someone's personal scary bedtime stories.
(and just fyi, I have lived where bombs were falling on my head and buses blow up.....and Rio ain't that---or anywhere close to it.)
The U.S. local news last night featured two express kidnappings/one who was murdered, the shooting of a crowd of innocents in a movie theater, the bombing of a large public event with hundreds of spectators killed and hurt, the killing of a police officer during a mall robbery, several incidents of police killing citizens including a little boy in a park, a seven-year old shot while riding his bike to his grandma's house, more government gridlock and potential shutdown, U.S. legal action against corrupt sports officials, how the bad economy is effecting regular citizens (including reduced spending on big ticket items including vacations and cars---leases on cars as low as U$59/month as incentives since sales are so slow), a cheating scandal by teachers to get better scores on their young students tests, floods that swept away families, tornados that flattened towns, and on and on. People are organizing, fighting back.
You aren't providing "data" , just opinions, spin on events, not facts. "The sky is falling! The sky is falling!"
But I am to be held to a higher standard?
I have been offering insight. You seem to have missed that part. The world is in crisis, not simply Brazil. Brazil is reaping what it has sown. (The lives of the poor don't change much though.) And Brazilians are watching the novelas, as usual (after they post today's round of complaints to Facebook).
New tourists won't sense any difference. They've already been reading the last decade or so worth of (undated) crime tales on the net, whose accumulation has already got them thinking again. Tourists familiar with Brazil have been weighing in, as here--cheaper, good deals, overrides someone's personal scary bedtime stories.
(and just fyi, I have lived where bombs were falling on my head and buses blow up.....and Rio ain't that---or anywhere close to it.)
Last edited by VidaNaPraia; May 28, 2015 at 2:32 pm
May 28, 2015, 4:30 pm
#27
Join Date: Apr 2012
Posts: 1,667
Da_n straight I feel safer in Rio.
Last edited by VidaNaPraia; May 28, 2015 at 4:36 pm
May 28, 2015, 9:44 pm
#28
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Rio de Janeiro
Programs: AA / AV
Posts: 647
JB, re-read post #3 above, by boboqui ...
May 29, 2015, 4:12 am
#29
Join Date: Apr 2012
Posts: 1,667
Bobo made it sound in another post that if a tourist takes a taxi from the airport, s/he inevitably disappears, and strongly reiterated that opinion privately. Bobo is not happy that I had the temerity to disagree.
Last edited by VidaNaPraia; May 29, 2015 at 4:23 am
May 29, 2015, 4:26 am
#30
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