Don't go on this kind of "vacation!"

[asiufy]

Ki Choi,

If you liked Belo Horizonte, you'd be floored by Rio. It's the absolute prettiest city on the most fabulous location, that I know of. Of course, if you stick to the right parts

Regarding the women, we indeed have tons of good looking women, thanks to all the miscigenation that the early europeans enjoyed so much! But hey, given Brazil's #1 export, make sure she's really a woman


cheers,
alexandre

 

[flez007]

I have been to Brazil a dozen times for work purposes, that includes Sao Paolo, Rio, Sta. Catarina and Illa Bella - and always had a great time, food, first rate cultural experience and a growing economy. Brazil shares the same challenges as any developing country faces, and that is an un-even richness/wellness distribution due to populistic economic federal policies - but again, a great place to visit.

 

[Ki Choi]

Ki Choi,

If you liked Belo Horizonte, you'd be floored by Rio. It's the absolute prettiest city on the most fabulous location, that I know of. Of course, if you stick to the right parts

Regarding the women, we indeed have tons of good looking women, thanks to all the miscigenation that the early europeans enjoyed so much! But hey, given Brazil's #1 export, make sure she's really a woman


cheers,
alexandre

Hi Alexandre,

One of the saddest things about my work travels had been limited time and lack of opportunities to really see the places other than the airport, hotel, and local offices... Same for Rio, I had a pleasant stay at the hotel as I recall and our rep's office was nice (again with chock full of beautiful models) but didn't even get to see the famous statue... The only weekend I spent in Brazil was in Bella Horizonte. My friend drove an hour to a remote plantation that was also a restaurant. It was a highlight to me to experience the local foods and special liquors made from wild fruits. I still have two bottles in the house hidden for special occasions.

Ki

 

[asiufy]

Flez,

What p*sses me off is that we've been on the "developing country" wagon for a while, and now the indicators are pointing clearly upwards, with nothing to show for the middle class.
The government only cares for the two extremes. The poor, who blindly vote in puppet candidates (such as our current president), and the very rich, who finance their campaigns and lifestyles. So, what you see is the government issuing a lot of "social programs", which ends up meaning free money for the poor, at the expense of the tax-paying middle class.
All the while, the rich pay little taxes due to a number of loopholes and scams.
On the surface, it is indeed a booming economy, with 3 luxury shopping malls within a 1km radius. And the middle class? Pay 60% in duties to import a single CD from abroad.
On average, our cars cost 2x as much as anywhere else. Audio? 2x to 3x. Electronics? 2x to 3x. Clothes? Up to 5x as much.
That's why brazilians are taking over Florida and NY, buying everything and anything in their sight. Because that's the stuff they drool on the malls, and now that they wisened up that it's easier to save up for a plane ticket and go buy abroad, the government created a tax on international purchases! 6,38% on everything you buy abroad with a credit card.
And that's why I'm incredibly annoyed, because I pay all these taxes, 6,38% on my eBay purchases, 45% in taxes on car purchases, 100% in audio equipment, and see nothing in return. I'm still forced to pay for private *everything*, health care, life insurance, education. And when you expect decent roads for your taxes, if you want to use a decent road, you pay tolls. Airpots? Ours are such a disgrace that the government finally relented and privatized them this year.
Sorry for the diatribe, but I'm just about fed up with this place. I agree Brazil is everything you said, full of beautiful people, excellent food and exquisite and diverse local cultures. But a good portion of our inhabitants are making it quite hard to actually live here...

Now, Ki Choi, the majority of travel to Brazil has always been work-related. As such, what little infrastructure we had, was to cater for executives. Still, I'm honestly glad you had a great experience, and I'm sure that you'd be floored by the beauty of Rio de Janeiro!


alexandre

 

[NorthStar]

Flez,

What p*sses me off is that we've been on the "developing country" wagon for a while, and now the indicators are pointing clearly upwards, with nothing to show for the middle class.
The government only cares for the two extremes. The poor, who blindly vote in puppet candidates (such as our current president), and the very rich, who finance their campaigns and lifestyles. So, what you see is the government issuing a lot of "social programs", which ends up meaning free money for the poor, at the expense of the tax-paying middle class.
All the while, the rich pay little taxes due to a number of loopholes and scams.
On the surface, it is indeed a booming economy, with 3 luxury shopping malls within a 1km radius. And the middle class? Pay 60% in duties to import a single CD from abroad.
On average, our cars cost 2x as much as anywhere else. Audio? 2x to 3x. Electronics? 2x to 3x. Clothes? Up to 5x as much.
That's why brazilians are taking over Florida and NY, buying everything and anything in their sight. Because that's the stuff they drool on the malls, and now that they wisened up that it's easier to save up for a plane ticket and go buy abroad, the government created a tax on international purchases! 6,38% on everything you buy abroad with a credit card.
And that's why I'm incredibly annoyed, because I pay all these taxes, 6,38% on my eBay purchases, 45% in taxes on car purchases, 100% in audio equipment, and see nothing in return. I'm still forced to pay for private *everything*, health care, life insurance, education. And when you expect decent roads for your taxes, if you want to use a decent road, you pay tolls. Airpots? Ours are such a disgrace that the government finally relented and privatized them this year.
Sorry for the diatribe, but I'm just about fed up with this place. I agree Brazil is everything you said, full of beautiful people, excellent food and exquisite and diverse local cultures. But a good portion of our inhabitants are making it quite hard to actually live here...

Now, Ki Choi, the majority of travel to Brazil has always been work-related. As such, what little infrastructure we had, was to cater for executives. Still, I'm honestly glad you had a great experience, and I'm sure that you'd be floored by the beauty of Rio de Janeiro!


alexandre

-----Alexandre, very true what you're saying in your post,
as I'm in close contact with a very nice and smart audiophile Brazilian Doctor friend (Kate),
and for quite a while.

* It is truly unbelievable what Audio electronics cost over there in Brazil?
...And all those exorbitant taxes!
Brazilian audiophilia is almost exclusively for the riches.

 

[Peter Breuninger]

Ilha do Mel is indeed a dump, a haven for hippies ... Not much in the way of tourist infrastructure there.
Brazil is a top 10 economy, with a bottom 10, african infrastructure. Our airports are dumps, and the major cities are some of the most dangerous.
All of this is about to be shown to the world once we host the World Cup (Football, aka Soccer) in 2014 and the Olympics in 2016. It's going to be a disaster of incredible proportions.
So if you're thinking of coming here... Well, just don't

I love this board! Thanks Steve and Amir for WBF and topics like this.

 

[NorthStar]

---Yes! Thx Amir for this one! :b

 

[Ki Choi]

Now, Ki Choi, the majority of travel to Brazil has always been work-related. As such, what little infrastructure we had, was to cater for executives. Still, I'm honestly glad you had a great experience, and I'm sure that you'd be floored by the beauty of Rio de Janeiro!

hope to visit Brazil again for pleasure with wife. We have the Iguassu Falls to see in our bucket list.

 

[mep]

hope to visit Brazil again for pleasure with wife.

Ki-That's a long way to go for pleasure with the wife.

 

[amirm]

Just to continue the saga, poor OP has been diagnosed with Dengue Fever. Apparently it is from mosquito bite and has no cure (?).

 

[flez007]

Just to continue the saga, poor OP has been diagnosed with Dengue Fever. Apparently it is from mosquito bite and has no cure (?).

It does, but takes a while to be fully recovered...sad story indeed!

 

[NorthStar]

Just to continue the saga, poor OP has been diagnosed with Dengue Fever. Apparently it is from mosquito bite and has no cure (?).

-----That is simply too much; no cure!?! ...Not sure!?!

* Those bugs, over there in Brazil, do they also carry Cancer?

 

[Ki Choi]

Ki-That's a long way to go for pleasure with the wife.

Not according to my wife...Mark. On the other hand, I did drag her to Swiss Alps couple of years ago with true mission of visiting Audiohouse, the last remaining Studer parts distributor, in search of rare parts for my herd. After a long train and taxi rides from our hotel, we got there at 3:30 pm on Friday... and they were already closed for the weekend... Europeans...

 

[Ki Choi]

Just to continue the saga, poor OP has been diagnosed with Dengue Fever. Apparently it is from mosquito bite and has no cure (?).

Hope he recovers soon. I couldn't survive the first hour... His story should be a good basis for a movie...

 

[NorthStar]

Hope he recovers soon. I couldn't survive the first hour...
His story should be a good basis for a movie...

-----Now, I was thinking the exact same thing! ...

 

[Ki Choi]

-----Now, I was thinking the exact same thing! ...

Like Money Pit meets Cast Away - but do think it has better story line.

 

[NorthStar]

Yes, or ...

---...Or a mix of 'The Ruins' with 'The Cabin in the Woods'.

.
.
.

* Sorry Amir; just don't tell him (your employee).

 

[Ki Choi]

On the other hand, Amir has connections into the movie industry and it could be a good thing for him.

 

[NorthStar]

---I hope we won't get both banned!

 

[flez007]

---I hope we won't get both banned!

You are both trying hard!