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...

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...

A gringo's guide to Rio’s Carnival, the world’s biggest party

I had my insider's guide to Rio Carnival published on news.com.au. There is nothing better than writing about things you love, and this...

Technobloco strikes back on the streets of Rio Carnival

Technobloco? More like Cryptobloco. The legend of Technobloco spread so far and wide over the past year that it grew with as much hyped...

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...

The battle for school children learning in Rio’s favelas

Back earlier in the year I had the pleasure to do a story on the work of the Mais Caminhos charity in Rio's Ipanema just around the...

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...

Why Brazil needs Uber and Uber needs Brazil

Hardly a country has needed Uber so much as Brazil. Between its huge traffic jams, chasm of social inequality, tumbling economy and...

"A good criminal is a dead criminal": Rio's civil war

"A good criminal is a dead criminal." That’s the meaning of the Portuguese words “um bandido bom é um bandido morto” on the lips of...

Technobloco, Carnaval, Rio, Friends and Freedom

Ambushing the Sambódromo with hundreds of other Brazilian Carnaval party animals was one of the best moments of my life. The epicentre...

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...

Saudades for the beautiful Brazilian beach town of Buzios

As a Christmas orphan I hopped on a bus to find other family-less travellers in beautiful Buzios. Along with backpackers from the hostel...

Sydney lockout laws: A bad problem or a Baird problem?

I've been living in Rio for most of the year, a city which suffers from some pretty bad problems. But for all its issues it doesn't...