Travel log - Rio de Janeiro (1)

This year indeed is a travel year for me. In the name of work, it has brought me to places in the Far East like Tokyo, and recently to the ever famous Rio de Janeiro in South America.

To many Asians like us (what more Malaysians), South America is a continent in the distance and probably one of the continents we know least. Hence, I was indeed excited when I was informed of the working trip. However, the 28 hour journey across the globe is not exactly my cup of tea. According to my travel agent, the fastest route is to take a flight to Paris as transit point and subsequently catch a Air France plane directly to Rio, under the 'auspicious' flight number AF444. I did not tell Pinky about the flight number till I landed safely at Rio, considering what the number '4' means to Chinese. :-)

Since I have to spend 28 hours to reach there, I decided to take one extra day to look around Rio. I wish I can take more days however, workload back home does not permit me to do so, and more importantly I could not bear to leave my young family back home for too long....

So what are the 'plus points' about Rio. It seems that its famous natural setting really lives up to its reputation, especially when you get the birds eye view of the city either from the peak of Sugar Loaf or Corcovado Mountain.

Some of the best birds eye view of the city is seen below



This one is taken from peak of Corcovado overlooking the entire beachfront of the Copacabana Beach



The above is taken from the Sugar Loaf on Guanabara Bay. I understand this is the place where the Portugese first landed and founded the city in 1502. Together with backdrop of the mountains Serra do Mar, Rio becomes one of the most beautiful city I travelled to before.

The next couple of pics are related to two most famous tourist attractions of Rio:



The name Sugar Loaf is believed to derive from the fact that it resembles the traditional shape of concentrated refined loaf sugar. However, it is believed by some that the name actually derives from Pau-nh-acuqua (“high hill”) in the Tupi-Guarani language, as used by the indigenous Tamoios. Here, you can reach the peak via cable car. Apparently, the cable car system was commenced as early as 1912; quite a feat I thought for a country like Brazil.





No trip to Rio can do without a visit to Corcovado where a huge Jesus statue resides. It must rank as one of the most iconic sights in the world, the statue of Christ the Redeemer standing proudly atop Mount Corcovado, arms outstretched, gazing out over the sprawl of Rio de Janeiro below. The views from the top of the peak are sublime, one of the planet’s most amazing cities glittering at your feet.






Another must see in Rio is the Maracana Stadium.It was once the largest stadium in the world, seating just over 200,000 spectators. Owned by the Rio de Janeiro State Government, it is named after the Maracanã neighbourhood in Rio de Janeiro. It was opened in 1950 to host the FIFA World Cup. Currently, it has a 95,000 seating capacity. Apparently, I was told legends like Pele has a seat specially reserved for him. And my view is that he truly deserves such 'priviledge' !