São Paulo is a megapolis. It has a population greater than many small countries. My first impression was of a mixture of New York and a third world city. Skyscrapers coexisted with slums. The first unpleasantness was learning that my backpack had not accompanied me. It must have missed the connection in Amsterdam or Madrid. I blamed the Spanish, I suspected them of incompetence. So there was nothing to do but to leave my hotel address with the airline staff and catch the airport bus then the metro downtown to the Osaka Plaza Hotel in the Liberdade district, where I had a reservation.
I took a walk around the neighbourhood. Liberdade has the largest Japanese community in the world outside Japan. I digested the notion of Japanese fluent in Portuguese. A tall torii (gate) dominates the entrance to the suburb. A bit later I found a rock garden. Street pavements were uneven. It was a bit like that too in NYC's Chinatown. In the meantime I had to be careful not to twist an ankle or worse.
I took the metro to Estação da Luz, a couple of stops from Liberdade. There I found a booth staffed by friendly Brazilians who marveled at a visitor from so far away. I got a ticket for the Trem de Prata (Silver Train, page in Portuguese), a tourist sleeper service to Rio. (Note from the future: I didn't know until I started writing this memoir, but the service would be discontinued a year later (page in Portuguese), in 1998, due to lack of patronage from competition by plane flights. Pity, it was a civilised way of travelling.) It was 120 reais as I recall, about 120 USD, but included a dinner. I reckoned it was worth taking to avoid a bus journey and would save a night's lodging.
For lunch I treated myself to a ½ picanha (top sirloin) at the Baby Beef Rubaiyat, a steak house, and a mango dessert. It was expensive but worth every penny. (Note from the future: I see from web reviews that it's still highly rated.) There were many well-to-do people in São Paulo, evidently.
I was wary all day of crowds, especially in the metro, in case of pickpockets, perhaps even a little too paranoid. I noticed metro tickets being traded and wondered why. A search suggests that there are traders who buy cheaper in bulk and sell at a little discount. Maybe the commuter also saves time not queuing for the machine or counter. Of course there is possibility of a scam if you buy from a stranger.
When I got back from my excursion, my backpack had been delivered to my hotel. Happy again. Not just over the travel necessities, but also the photos, which were irreplaceable. I had dinner in a posh Japanese restaurant in Liberdade. It was very good, possibly the best Japanese food I had till that time. Of course I had blown the budget with lunch and dinner. What the heck, sometimes you have to live a bit.
I was more confident I could handle South America now. The biggest adjustment was getting used to being confronted by poverty. The Pope was visiting Brazil, so TV was full with coverage of his visit. Otherwise TV programs were awful, but the music on radio was reasonable. Lots of disco and rap though.
I took the metro to Estação da Luz, a couple of stops from Liberdade. There I found a booth staffed by friendly Brazilians who marveled at a visitor from so far away. I got a ticket for the Trem de Prata (Silver Train, page in Portuguese), a tourist sleeper service to Rio. (Note from the future: I didn't know until I started writing this memoir, but the service would be discontinued a year later (page in Portuguese), in 1998, due to lack of patronage from competition by plane flights. Pity, it was a civilised way of travelling.) It was 120 reais as I recall, about 120 USD, but included a dinner. I reckoned it was worth taking to avoid a bus journey and would save a night's lodging.
I was wary all day of crowds, especially in the metro, in case of pickpockets, perhaps even a little too paranoid. I noticed metro tickets being traded and wondered why. A search suggests that there are traders who buy cheaper in bulk and sell at a little discount. Maybe the commuter also saves time not queuing for the machine or counter. Of course there is possibility of a scam if you buy from a stranger.
When I got back from my excursion, my backpack had been delivered to my hotel. Happy again. Not just over the travel necessities, but also the photos, which were irreplaceable. I had dinner in a posh Japanese restaurant in Liberdade. It was very good, possibly the best Japanese food I had till that time. Of course I had blown the budget with lunch and dinner. What the heck, sometimes you have to live a bit.
I was more confident I could handle South America now. The biggest adjustment was getting used to being confronted by poverty. The Pope was visiting Brazil, so TV was full with coverage of his visit. Otherwise TV programs were awful, but the music on radio was reasonable. Lots of disco and rap though.
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