Day 14-15: Rio de Janiero, Brazil

no LAN, don't let me check in, that means i'll get a middle seat next to the bano, thanks.

Here's the thing, i don't like it here very much. in fact i will go as far as to say i could spend the rest of my life not coming back to brazil. it's not a bad place, but it's not oooh lala like everyone thinks. i found the same for Prague and...yes, i'm afraid i found the same for New York and Miami. and Paris. and Amsterdam. and London, but damn you Heathrow, you're airplane connection tickets always work out cheaper than Helsinki

they have late dinners, which of course i hate because i eat at 4.30pm, the hotel is on Copacabana beach, but i assure you it is all things seedy. there are straong round shaped stretches of beach, and i am biased when i say this: our beaches are better. but more people here play volleyball a la Top Gun style (can you hear Take My Breath Away in the back?)

the place is superficial and nothing is organised properly. it is industrialised ghetto, not so different from Hong Kong. so i will talk about food instead. i tried Acai today which is a gooey ice cream made from palms. it is thick and purple and full of pulpy seeds. not too sweet, and leaves a stain. strangely addictive. there are balls of bread with cheese on the inside. tried pernil, roast chicken and ricotta pie, tastes like quiche. there's a green fruit with pink squishy flesh, also nice. had buffet that measures by the kil (ate half a kilo and spent 9 bucks), tomorrow i will try all you can eat for 10 bucks. there was sushi but it looked obviously over-handled (not made by a Jap)

went to sugar loaf mountain where the birds hover and you see the planes land. then p corcovado to see christ the redeemer, and stood for an hour waiting for the train to take us back down (is that what he is redeeming for?), talked to a law professor from sydney uni who also owed never to return. watching the lightening was very cool, though the electrical system went down so the train ride took forever.

this is the kind of place that makes you feel dirty