Riowakening

Brazil through an Australian's eyes

Why do Brazilians give hugs to complete strangers?

I was getting out of the lift in my Rio de Janeiro apartment building when the random Brazilian guy riding alongside me gave me a hug...

Ipanema Beach acai woman Vanessa Esplendorosa can teach us all about happiness

There's a great woman who works on Ipanema Beach that is impossible to forget. Vanessa Cabral dos Santos, or Vanessa Esplendorosa as...

A love letter to Rio, a gangster’s paradise

I’M living in a city where the gangs are so out of control the army has been called in to keep the peace. Like many predicted before...

Getting robbed at Rio's Christ the Redeemer statue

DOES Brazil’s Christ shed a tear looking down over the sadness below him? It’s a question Rio de Janeiro’s residents ask as they gaze up...

20 Brazil and Rio tips for travellers visiting for a holiday

If you’re thinking of coming on a holiday to Brazil and Rio it's a great life choice to make, believe me. There can be a lot to get...

Visiting Sao Paulo on a Brazilian holiday is a must

Sao Paulo has to be one of the most underrated and unloved great cities of the world. While just about everyone knows the famous...

Is Brazil safe to travel? Why tourists shouldn't worry

A newspaper front page with a little girl covered in her dead mother’s blood declared “Terrorism in Rio is everyday”. In the grisly...

You're safer in Rio's favelas than near its beaches

Walking through a Rio de Janeiro favela I was told by my resident guide that the order from the most senior gangsters is to not lay a...

Brazilian is the world's best accent no one knows

You can practically feel the sun and samba beats bursting out of Brazilians mouths. Yet when the coolest and sexiest accents in the...

Why I left Australia for Rio de Janeiro and Brazil

The question wasn't why would I come to Rio it was why wouldn't I? Here I was, a stereotypical monolingual English-speaking dude. I had...