Tips for the Rio Olympics

[master_shake_]

http://imgur.com/gallery/hR7R8

basically don't go.

that's what i got out of it.

 

[DrPizza]

I saw earlier in the news that one of the athletes was "kidnapped" by police who demanded he withdraw money from a couple of ATMs, else go to jail.


So, yeah, best advice: don't go.

 

[DigDog]

if you DO go, do this:

go to the corner of Avenida Nuestra Senora De Copacabana, and Rue Joaquim Nabuco; there is a shop called Pin Pin Sumos
https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Resta...s-Rio_de_Janeiro_State_of_Rio_de_Janeiro.html

these guys have a fridge where they keep fresh fruit chilled; they then blend the whole fruit to make some amazing smoothies.

how amazing, you ask?

well .. i went to Rio in 1986 and i still f* remember them. life-changing smoothies; i recommend the mango ones.




in brazil they have two kind of beer, cerveja and choppe.

cerveja is your regular mom n pops beer. budweiser n all.
choppe (pronounce "show" and add a hard P at the end) is a super-chilled (ice cristals in it) light, fresh beer that is super-cheap and super refreshing.

you cannot understand how hot it is in Rio (possibly; maybe you do, but most likely you don't), drinking chopp is the best way to survive. chose chopp over cerveja.




there is a restaurant there called Il Porcao
https://www.yelp.co.uk/biz/porcão-rios-rio-de-janeiro-2
it's a churrascaria; you pay a fixed price and you sit down to an empty plate.

meanwhile, huge slabs of meat are skewered and put on the fire; as soon as the outer edge of this slab is cooked, the meat is brought over and the cooked bit is sliced directly onto your plate. then the slab goes back on the fire.

if you have ever, dreamed of engorging yourself with the best cuts of grilled meat .. and come on, who hasn't?

you know what i mean.




the Lord Jim pub is a pretty decent expat haunt
http://www.lordjimpub.com.br/
try not to go all 'murica tho.




three things i loved about rio, and possibly the ONLY three things.

try to understand that rio is a major city; just because it has a beach, it doesn't mean you should go there .. it would be like going for a swim in NYC.

in general be prepared for a shock, akin to the Paris Syndrome - rio is dirty and hot and unwelcoming, the locals do not understand you and they *will* try to steal everything that can be stolen. Women are not "fabulous" and the only appeal is that their bathing suits are really dental-floss thin.

Traffic is ... have you ever been to India?

traffic is insane. crime IS a problem and while you might escape the "get murdered" bit, getting your passport or something stole is very likely. Scams are everywhere.

Prices will get eye-gouging for those two weeks and to top it all off, STDs are a real thing.



wow, you make it sound like you should not go to Rio.



no, you should not go to Rio "when EVERYONE wants to go there".

watch the games on TV and then a few months later go there with a friend who is local .. you will have a shitload of fun.

It's a us-vs-them thing .. Rio is for brazilians and you are a Tourist(tm), what you really want is to get in to the action that the locals get - that's why you go to rio.

 

[StrangerGuy]

Nope, won't touch Brazil even not "when EVERYONE wants to go there".

 

[Anubis]

Nope, won't touch Brazil even not "when EVERYONE wants to go there".

since when does everyone want to go there? i have a cpl brazillian friends who are from rio, they live in the US now and both have said they are never going back to that shithole

 

[kranky]

Sooner rather than later, the concept of holding an Olympics in a single city will be abandoned. Why do all the games have to be in the same city anyway? Spread the events out into different countries.

Either that or just rotate them through the handful of cities that have the infrastructure already. The idea of spending tens of billions to construct a mini-city for two weeks of use is just stupid.

 

[StrangerGuy]

Sooner rather than later, the concept of holding an Olympics in a single city will be abandoned. Why do all the games have to be in the same city anyway? Spread the events out into different countries.

Either that or just rotate them through the handful of cities that have the infrastructure already. The idea of spending tens of billions to construct a mini-city for two weeks of use is just stupid.

But when there are stupid enough countries to get baited to burn money to line the pockets of corrupt interests like IOC and other special interest kleptocractic groups for faux prestige, why not?

 

[Exterous]

since when does everyone want to go there? i have a cpl brazillian friends who are from rio, they live in the US now and both have said they are never going back to that shithole

While not 'everyone' they had several years of double digit tourism increases

http://www.propertyfrontiers.com/files/95603966.pdf

The higher than expected and very strong GDP growth numbers of 2010-2013(14?) probably helped their image as an 'up and coming' place to be.

I remember reading a lot of articles praising Brazil's economy but it turns out to be a bit more like a house of cards

 

[rudder]

 

[IronWing]

go to the corner of Avenida Nuestra Senora De Copacabana, and Rue Joaquim Nabuco;

I think the Olympics would be over and we'd be well into Mardi Gras before I successfully typed that into my smart phone.

Sidenote: Mardi Gras isn't in the Chrome dictionary but Mahdi is. I guess if I evah want to do Mahdi Gras in Boston, I'm good.

 

[Homerboy]

there's a whole thread on Rio already...

 

[Miramonti]

Seems a bit ignorant to complain about a bottle of water for 6-8 real, which is $1.50-$2.00 USD and not extraordinary anywhere when out and about, muchless during the Olympics.

 

[master_shake_]

 

[Humpy]

I saw earlier in the news that one of the athletes was "kidnapped" by police who demanded he withdraw money from a couple of ATMs, else go to jail.


So, yeah, best advice: don't go.

As with most of the "news" concerning the Olympics this year that story was false. It was some MMA guy who has lived in Rio for a year, not an athlete and not participating in the Olympics.

Americans are mostly dumb as hell and terrified of their own shadows at this point.

 

[ISAslot]

As everyone now knows, if the advice is simply listed in a highly efficient bulleted text format, it is highly confusing and dull. Thankfully each statement has been separated onto its very own image of the same mallard to ensure visual stimulation and maximum bandwidth use.

 

[Ns1]

5/7

 

[Linux23]

wait, are you saying that the Brazilian girls are not hot?

 

[IronWing]

wait, are you saying that the Brazilian girls are not hot?

How much money do you have?

 

[Linux23]

How much money do you have?

enough

 

[DigDog]

wait, are you saying that the Brazilian girls are not hot?

i was also massively disappointed.

 

[Imp]

But if you win a gold medal, you may be awarded US$ 25k by your government. Are you telling me your life isn't worth $25k?

...Swimmers and runners who win multiple medals, that might be worth it.