Not a good time to visit Brazil

Expensive, very expensive, strikes, few people who understand basic english (do not count Spanish knowledge) are disappointed and not receptive to tourists. That is my opinion to this comunity of travelers who, like me, travel with a low budge.

Is this a joke?

This post has been removed because it may not have met our community guidelines.

...and "they speak another language and don't even understand Spanish" doesn't change that.

LOL. I just moved Brasil up on my priority list. Thanks, twosecondangrytraveller!

:P

You tweeked a nerve with some Brasilians!
I agree with you 100%. Basil is too expensive for a budget traveller, unless you like living in dumps and eating rice and beans. You can pay more for a hotel in a backwater in Brasil than you would in a major centre almost any where else in the world. The brasilian palate is, in a word, primitive. Any type of spice is out of the question. It is similiar to N.A. in the 70's when Italian was exotic. Sao Paulo a world cuisine hot spot?!!
English, forget it, only educated mid twenties might speak it. Outside of the high tourist/ business areas of Rio and Sao Paulo you will have to speak portugese. Some will be surprised and others revolted by your ability.
Greed is a national trait. If there is a reason they will joyfully triple the rates and demand a set length of stay. Restuarants are as expensive as N. A. Bring lots of money and realize that you might have to shorten your stay and flee to another country to keep on budget.

Any type of spice is out of the question.

Oh, is that what you "read somewhere" or something? Try checking out street markets in Rio de Janeiro which are absolutely filled to the brink with spices, flavors, and dozens of varieties of chili peppers. (This image is actually from BH, same concept):

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GlXk1p0VvVg/TxSKOqsr9JI/AAAAAAAA0To/P-Y3m-hpBQw/s1600/pimentas.jpg

That's only a small taste. Brazilian food is incredibly delicious and varied, and uses dozens of spices that I'm sure #6 doesn't even know the names of. Seems kind of uncool to make these sweeping declarations about subjects they know so little about, eh? Most Brazilian cities are also filled with per kilo or all you can eat buffets offering dozens of options that highlight the country's culinary diversity.

"Greed is a national trait?" Lame. Corruption and greed exists in every country on earth. Sounds like someone simply failed at making the right travel plans and decided to make stuff up and accuse other foreign visitors of being Brazilians with tweaked nerve. FAIL.

Yes, the country is in an expensive period, but sites like AirBnB are great for finding apartments at the same cost you would in other countries.

Seriously, it's not rocket science, but you're correct that comfortable mid-range travel in Brazil does require a bit of intelligence and maybe a LP phrasebook. If you're not up for the challenge, then don't even bother... try Cancun or Disney World, they speak English there.

I have travelled in Brasil since 1978 and have a brasilian wife. In all my time here, especially in the south, I have ONE cousin who uses pimento and I know ONE person who likes black pepper. You want a good laugh, ... go to a Thai, Mexican or Indian restaurant here, if you can find one. Real Asian is impossible to find, even in Liberdade. Most food here is meat and startch. Go into a supermarket and try to find anything out of season, it is not there. I won't even mention the cheese situation. Expats bring back food in their luggage, jam is a luxury item.
Go onto any site that ranks countries based on transperancy, health, ease of doing business and Brasil is always in the bottom quarter. The people are on the streets for a reason EROUTESIGLO. They do not speak english because the education system here is a joke. Everyone that can afford it sends their children to a private school. All my friends have private medical insurance because the public hospitals are deadly. Crime is a dinner topic. You are a typical, in denial, Brasilian. Even Pele and Ronaldo are starting to tell the truth.

What an extraordinary rant!

I'm sorry Brazil didn't agree with you - but it does seem exceptionally childish to come to a forum like this as post a supposedly 'damning' review of an entire country based on your (presumably, from your comments) extremely limited experience. It's a shame you didn't make a bit more effort to get to know Brazilians and their country - your comment smacks of incredible laziness.

'Brazil is too expensive for a budget traveller' - so are you going to post a similar rant slating the UK, France, Japan, Australia and the USA for being 'too expensive'? Prices in Brazil can certainly come as a surprise in Brazil after travel in other parts of South America, but bear in mind that Brazilians must pay the same prices as you do. It's not just to 'annoy' delicate petals such as yourself. Your statement that a backwater hotel in Brazil costs more than any major centre is complete and utter nonsense. Simply not true. Come over here to Australia and I'll show you expensive.

'Any type of spice is out of the question' - ha ha ha ! This one is just priceless. Did you visit Salvador and the nordeste. Did you eat a moqueca? If so, you ate the wrong one. Much Brazilian food is highly spiced (in Salvador, it can really burn!). Even in those regions where the food is milder and perhaps more 'ordinary' - say Minas Gerais - it is still extremely flavoursome. I spent 3 weeks in SP and ate an amazing range of global cuisine: Japanese, Italian, Vietnamese, Thai. It might not be London or Melbourne or New York, but it's still got an impressive range. You clearly have been eating the wrong food.

'English, forget it' - so bl##dy what? The whole world doesn't have an obligation to speak your language. What kind of a primitive and uncultured statement is that? I'd argue you don't deserve to travel with such an appalling attitude. Get off your backside and learn some Portuguese. I spent a year taking Portuguese classes ahead of my trip to Brazil - granted, I'm already fluent in Spanish so it wasn't too hard, but every single Brazilian I met, from the north to south, was incredibly appreciative of my speaking their language. 'Revolted by your ability' - seriously, what?

'Greed is a national trait' - OK, this is the only one of your rather puzzling points that touched a chord with me. I would agree that price gouging by hotel owners is almost criminal in Brazil. That's just how things are. I find the practice disgusting and as a result would never dream of booking accommodation during one of these time (Carnaval, Reveillon, WC). Why can't you just do the same? It's supply and demand, that's just the way it works. Airlines the world over massively increase their rates during the school holidays. Why? Because they can. Kerosene doesn't cost more during half term. You either have to swallow the pill, or choose not to fly during holidays.

The immaturity of your post is almost beyond any degree of belief. Please grow up before your next trip.

BTW having a Brazilian wife is completely irrelevant. It doesn't make you an authority on Brazil. Clearly.

Are you kidding? There are plenty of Thai and Indian restaurants... run by Thai and Indian people. It may require a bit of effort and a bit of money, but it's not rocket science. In fact, I was just at a great one last week: http://maharaj.com.br

Second, and it's hard to believe someone could be so clueless about this, I am not Brazilian in any way. I'm a visitor here, but one who actually spent the time to figure out a bit about the country instead of biotching and whining about it. If a typical street market in Rio has stall after stall of peppers and spices (including freshly ground black pepper), yet you only know "one" person who enjoys these, how does that make any sense? Even every Subway in the country has a big canister of both black pepper and red pepper behind the counter. Why? Because people like it.

Most food is meat and starch? I know of dozens of vegetarian buffets in Rio alone with literally hundreds of fruits, veggies, legumes, nut, and other dishes... caldo verde, picadillo, moqueca, delicious salpicão . It's incredibly varied and could be a great opportunity to go out and make some friends at a dining hall apart from your "one cousin." I get it that if someone only knows the word "carne" in Portuguese it might be a bit tough to ask for anything else, and if you're eating on a shoestring budget then you're not going to get the best quality meals, but just as you incorrectly assumed I was Brazilian, you're simply dead wrong about the entire country and its cuisine... crime is a "dinner topic?" What does that even mean??? The US and England are also wracked with crime and homelessness. Welcome to planet earth.

Newsflash: they don't speak English because it's not their language (though to be fair, many, many Brazilians speak excellent English, and the people badmouthing them in this thread simply don't know any better). Anyone expecting to come to Bolivia, Brazil, or Burma and expect to be spoken to in English by everyone in the country is just an insufferable burden on us all.

...that said, back to the original topic, it ISN'T the greatest time to visit Brazil, though the strikes aren't too disruptive (and nothing like the chaos that I've seen in other countries like Mexico and Peru). Is WC a bad time to be here if you're not interested in football? Probably. Is inflation going wild, and the exchange rate much lower than it used to be, making the country more expensive to visit? Yep. Guess the bottom line is that it isn't a country for people who enjoy a bit of challenge... and for them, there's always cruise ships where everyone will speak English to you all day long.

Expensive, very expensive, strikes, few people who understand basic english (do not count Spanish knowledge) are disappointed and not receptive to tourists. That is my opinion to this comunity of travelers who, like me, travel with a low budge.

Nice trolling there mate.

@ vidic15 you insult me. Here at Thorn Tree I have got valuable information which helped me in my travels to Greece, Italy, Japan, Turkey, Egypt, Russia, Paris & London. Perhaps I posted silly topics such as the price of BigMac in Paris & London, other more relevant such as how to travel to Turkey during Ramadan (first Muslim country I visited, an extraordinary experience) or how to expect from the russian cops in Moscow and St.Petesburg (I've no problems). I I'm not trolling. I was born and live all my 50 years in Niteroi (in the other side Guanabara bay, opposite Rio de Janeiro town) I travel with a Brazilian passaport and a Portuguese passaport but the more important thing I learned is that I belonged to a small planet.
But let me focus about travelling in Brazil during World Cup:
DER SPIEGEL (12.5.2014) cover "Tod und Spiele" (Death and Games).
LIBÉRATION (16.mai.2014) "Des incidents ont éclaté à São Paulo, où doit se dérouler le match d'ouverture, le 12 juin".
THE GUARDIAN (16.May.2014) "Anti-World protests across Brazil: Latest showing of sour national mood towards tournament in country racked by strikes, crime and anger at wealth disparities."
Not a good time to visit Brazil !

http://en.mercopress.com/2014/05/30/end-protests-against-the-world-cup-whatever-money-has-gone-has-been-spent-or-stolen-already

#14, not sure if it's a language barrier thing, but you really are trolling hard... obviously some sort of personal/political feelings but whatever. The links you've posted contain no reasons why Brazil isn't a good place to visit (apart from the fact that the World Cup is going to be disruptive... boo ho). Yes, there is wealth disparity in Brazil... as there is across all of Latin America and the world in general. "Few people who understand English" is simply not a good reason to not visit a country; never has been, never will be.

#14, not sure if it's a language barrier thing, but you really are trolling hard... obviously some sort of personal/political feelings but whatever. The links you've posted contain no reasons why Brazil isn't a good place to visit (apart from the fact that the World Cup is going to be disruptive... boo ho). Yes, there is wealth disparity in Brazil... as there is across all of Latin America and the world in general. "Few people who understand English" is simply not a good reason to not visit a country; never has been, never will be.

Corisco (and probably quite a few others) like this.

A most amusing thread, albeit for all the wrong reasons. I was beginning to think that comedy gold like the OP and skipperjamie's posts had been forever banished on the new TT.

Shame on you enroutesiglo! You are nothing but a tourist. Some of us travel with our eyes wide open and do not like what we see. Yes, it is political...boo hoo. I have bear witness to things in many countries. Heard the whispers of the people of Myanmar, talked to Vietnamese boat people I have seen the death squad cars patrolling the streets of Buenos Aires. Had a rifle pointed at me in Brasil, and seen guerillas on patrol in Guatemala. And all you can say is "there is wealth disparity" . Go to the beach, watch the string bikinis, and have some beer, screw some locals That is the real Brasil.
You all have missed the point on english...it is because the public school system is so shitty there that only the wealthy get a good education. Only the wealthy have access to good hospitals. To bad for the rest, right.

How can you understand those whispers if they don't do them in English? I doubt Spanish works for those either.

Only the wealthy have access to good hospitals.

a.k.a, Planet Earth minus Scandinavia. Gotta love it.

Go to the beach, watch the string bikinis, and have some beer, screw some locals That is the real Brasil.

Huh? Wait... is this post about legalizing weed? Because I concur.

You have never been to Myamar. English is widely spoken and the people are more than willing to tell their stories, especially now, back then it was done in private.

Everything I have said is based on first hand experiences and I stand behind all of it. There is a bigger discrepancy between the rich and the poor in Brasil than in India.

THERE IS NO RULE OF LAW FOR THE WEALTHY, this is a crime.
http://www.privateislandnews.com/south-america-illegal-mansions-sprout-on-public-islands-in-brazil/

There is a bigger discrepancy between the rich and the poor in Brasil than in India.

Oh come on, now you're just being silly.

This post has been removed because it may not have met our community guidelines.

This post has been removed because it may not have met our community guidelines.