Brazil travel blog by Mark Berman -
February/March 2017
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Sao Paulo is a monster, it's a biggy, the biggest city in all of South America, but it's a good city and believe me
you will see only a small fraction of what the city has to offer unless you stay here for several weeks! I do however know a selection of
places and things in Sao Paulo from my 3 days here. I will definitely devote more time to getting to know more of Sao Paulo in the future. I really loved it!
Uber from the Airport
I will give you some really good advice immediately so that your trip to Sao Paulo starts well. Firstly, if you arrive at Guarulhos airport
you will need a taxi into the center, unless you take a bus of course. Taxi's charge a flat rate of $126 Reals ($40USD) to take you anywhere
in the city! This price is extreme, take an Uber ride and the cost will be $50 Reals! I didn't have a mobile plan when I arrived and had no
choice but to pay a taxi, it was the middle of the night and I was exhausted. But this was enough incentive for me to get a chip and plan with Vivo
the next day and download the Uber App. From then on I never looked back and never used another taxi on the whole trip, only Uber, fantastic
service and I saved $100's and $100's!
Hostel in Luz
I stayed at a great hostel in an economical private room in the Luz neighborhood in the center of town,
this is a good area to be based and is near the train station. The room was $55 Reals per night, you can see that the $126 Reals payed to that
taxi was plain robbery, over 2 nights accommodation it cost me!
Into the Big City
A ride on the underground metro train will cost you less than $4 Reals per
trip, it's a great system for getting around this huge place! So what did I do in the short time I had in Sao Paulo? As much as I possibly
could, which included walking 34kms exploring (according to my pedometer). I mean at some point you need to get out of the train and on to the
streets or you will see very little apart from dark tunnels.
Japanese Liberdade Neighborhood
I spent most of the first day on foot (19kms walking) and visited the Japanese
neighborhood of Liberdade, they say it's the largest Japanese community outside of Japan but this is not overly apparent out on the streets
apart from the street lighting in the form of lanterns and some of the shops, market day could well be different!
Metro to Vila Madalena & Beco do Batman
From Liberdade I took the
underground metro to Vila Madalena, the neighborhood known for art galleries, cafes and street art and murals at the Beco do Batman alleyway!
This is a nice part of the city where you can eat at a restaurant table outside. Beco do Batman isn't bad, but around the city is where you will see the
real gems in street art. Many backpackers base themselves in and around Vila Madalena while in Sao Paulo.
Central, Republica and Luz
Later I explored the center of the city
and ended the day around Republica and Luz, an old but very interesting part of the city with historic churches, buildings and train stations.
Botanical Gardens for Green Space
I made a point the next day to find a nice green space in Sao Paulo. I wanted to see less concrete, at least for a while and the Botanical
Gardens was the answer! I have been to some shabby botanical gardens in my time but this wasn't one of them, these gardens are beautiful, just
perfect to get away from the concrete jungle, full of flowers, bamboo, a greenhouse with exotic plants, ponds, walking paths, relaxing areas
for picnics and a place for wedding photos. There's a water wheel in the pond and large sculptures on the lawns. A photography school class
enjoyed their time in the gardens while I was there. There is also the opportunity to see some animals and insects along the nature paths! I
well recommend a visit to the Sao Paulo Botanical Gardens!
All You Can Eat Buffets
One of my favourite things about Brazil are the 'all you can eat' buffet lunches
and dinners, you see them all around the place and on this day I was lucky to find a Japanese buffet which included sushi and lots of Asian
dishes! These buffets generally cost between $6-9USD, you can't go wrong if you are really hungry!
Plaza Se (Praca Se)
In the center of the city around Praca Se
(Plaza Se) are a lot of sights - buildings, churches, the great bridge with awesome views of the city, markets plus places to eat and drink
are abundant.
Feels Safer Than Rio de Janeiro
Sao Paulo felt a lot safer than
Rio de Janeiro to walk around, even in the Luz neighborhood where I stayed. Luz I found very
interesting to just sit and watch the street activity and strange people walking around from my hostel balcony! Sao Paulo was starting to
gear-up for carnival with a few street events around town. I planned to see carnival later in
Salvador, but for now I wanted to see
Brasilia, the capital of Brazil!
Tweet
Like steps up a ladder, an orange flower at Sao Paulo Botanical Gardens.
Sao Paulo Botanical Gardens is a beautiful place to relax in South Americas biggest city!
Mighty Sao Paulo, a huge city and a very interesting one to explore with many neighborhoods and streets.
Japanese culture in Liberdade in Sao Paulo, the largest Japanese community outside of Japan.
