Riowakening

Brazil through an Australian's eyes

If Madonna can do a Rio de Janeiro favela tour so can you

Normal one day, crazy the next. This would be the honest slogan for Rio favela tours, ripping off Queensland's era-defining "beautiful...

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...

Rio de Janeiro is like the Berlin of South America

Heading to a music night in the back of an Uber through Centro’s grungy streets dotted with dilapidated, graffitied-covered buildings, I...

Murdered in Rio: A tourist’s wrong turn into hell

An Italian tourist who took a wrong turn into a favela and wound up dead with a bullet in his head today is another reminder of the...

Are Brazilians and Australians similar and what do we have in common?

You'll see Aussie surf brands worn all over Brazil, from the beaches to the gangsters in the favelas just like Quiksilver above. In...

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...

Brazilian women are more than a gringo's sex dream

Amidst the sexed-up excitement of men clamouring to reach Brazil and indulge their fantasies all sense of reality seems to go missing. ...