As soon as I selected my nationality India There is a big red tick mark on it. Document Verification Required I ran to my boarding gate I'm going to the passport line alone immediately The local people here are telling me themselves Hello friends my name is Tourvashu Right now I am exactly at Mexico City International Airport. And today I am going to my next country The country for which I left India And a country for which I am very excited Yes friends, today I am going to Brazil Which is the largest country in the Southern Hemisphere And is the fifth largest country in the world Brazil, We are in North America right now And Brazil is located in South America Today I am going from North America to South America And I'm going to my continent number six It's 1:00 in the afternoon and I have a 3:30 flight.
from Mexico to Brazil Mexico is located in the Northern Hemisphere where summer is currently going on. And when it is summer in the Northern Hemisphere, it is winter in the Southern Hemisphere. Winter's going on where we're going So along with the continent, the weather and hemisphere are also going to change.
Normally going to Brazil from India is not allowed. If you do not have a returned confirmed flight ticket After Dussehra, I am going to go to some more countries, I am not sure yet where I am going to go. I was not planning to come to India yet Due to which I was facing a lot of problem in going directly to Brazil from India.
I applied for Brazilian visa in Brazil Embassy India I got the Brazilian visa within 10 working days of applying for the visa. I got a Brazilian visa for 1 year And got validity of 3 months It was not very difficult to get a visa for Brazil. Only normal documents were attached Like Written flight statement, Confirm Hotel Booking and 3 Months Bank Statement I also had to show my income slip and 2 years' Indian tax returns Apart from this, there were some other documents attached which I will write down, you can see them.
There are no major visas on my passport right now I neither have a visa for USA nor a visa for Canada. In all Latin American countries In immigration and boarding the flight There are many issues, there are many problems. If you guys don't have any major visa Like I'm having a lot of problems too I am also being checked thoroughly at immigration.
I got an email that I have to check in online and bring a printout of the boarding pass. Only then will I be welcomed here I checked in for my flight this morning So there is a huge red tick mark on my checking. That is, Document Verification Required Before Boarding the Flight As soon as I selected my nationality India Just after that the warning came let's see what happens See you again after completing all the process I asked some officers here Where is the flight checking counter and where do I have to drop my bag No one knows anything and no one is talking He is telling me to go straight to the flight.
I can't board a flight with checking baggage after asking many people Found a small counter of Copa Airline Here most of the people do online checkin Then I went to the counter of Copa Airlines There was a Mexican lady sitting at the counter Mexican people are very friendly they asked for my passport I thought I'd have a little fun with her so I asked her where he was from and she told me Mexico City. Then I asked him, "Are you a chilanga? " Then he replied laughingly, "Yes, I am a chilanga.
" She questioned me a little bit She asked me where the visa was because she could not find the visa on the passport The visa was at the very end because my passport is 60 pages long. And have filled around 50 pages only 10 pages are empty She was not able to find it so I found it and gave her my Brazilian visa. Then they she asked me how long are you going to stay in Brazil I just randomly said that my visa is for 3 months so I will be there for 2 months.
she told me ok I was feeling a little scared Lest he ask me for my return flight ticket Well I've got my boarding pass And now I am walking towards the security check After that there will be immigration again Here behind me is the immigration and security check counter let's meet after some time So friends, my security clearance is done. I have arrived at my boarding gate But my immigration is not done yet Mexico may not have exact immigration at all Brazil is about 15000 km away from India Actually, there is no direct flight from India to Brazil. And if you have to reach Brazil while transiting from another country So it will take approximately 22 to 24 hours for you to reach Brazil from India.
Brazil is about 7000 km away from Mexico. And for me this flight is going to be 12 hours I'm going from Mexico City to Sao Paulo in Brazil which is the largest city of Brazil And Sao Paulo is the largest city in terms of population in Brazil as well as in South America. So the name of my airline is Copa Airlines Which is registered in Panama country Panama is the southernmost country of Central America I have two flights in this total 12 hour journey.
My first flight is from Mexico City to Panama City And it's a 4 hour flight Then I have a short 1 hour transit in Panama City Then after that I have a 7 hour flight Panama City to Sao Polo Brazil I booked this flight a week ago The ticket for this flight cost me 583. 75$ This flight is the most expensive or second most expensive flight of my life. So friends my boarding has started I am going to fly by Copa flight for the first time Copa Airlines operates only in most of South America and Latin America.
A Don't know whether I will be served food on the flight or not i will go there and see I have no idea whether it is a low cost carrier or a luxurious one So friends, I have come inside the flight. the flight looks great I have been given the middle seat Even if the middle was not found, the window was not here. Now we have reached the international airport of Panama City, the capital of Panama country.
And right now I have a 1 hour lay over here Copa Airlines I liked Space Vice and Comfort Vice very much I just had some trouble eating They didn't have any vegetarian menu. I couldn't eat anything in the flight i just drank coffee I had brought some snacks and I ate a little of that. I'll see if I can find something to eat here, I'll eat it.
This airport of Panama is very big, it has around 250 gates. When I booked the flight ticket I booked directly through their airline's website. And even there there was no option to tighten the food.
Probably the same thing will happen in the next flight also We would have to go without eating and the layout was only for 1 hour. And normally boarding starts 1 hour before or 45 minutes before. I haven't had time to eat anything.
I ran to my boarding gate or was very far away. It would be about 15 to 20 minutes walk from where the flight dropped me. I have not reached yet, I will reach in about a minute.
I felt like stopping somewhere to eat something But I may miss boarding or the flight. My boarding time is 8:40 And it's already 8:45 So I just confirmed at the boarding gate He told me that he will start a little late by 20 minutes so that the boring starts. Finally I have got 20 minutes so let's go, I will eat something in this 20 minutes.
I got 1 hour of free Wi-Fi at Panama International Airport I found a shop just outside my boarding gate They have a lot of options for food They have everything from vegetarians to non-vegetarian salads and fruits. i got this wrap This is Vegetable Cheese Wrap It's about $10 So friends, boarding of our Sao Polo flights has started. it's almost 9:00 pm It's dark outside, it's night.
So friends, after 12 hours of flying from Mexico, we have arrived. Brazil, the largest country in the Southern Hemisphere and South America I am walking towards immigration, let's see what immigration is like. The weather is quite cold outside.
Winter's going on here. I even feel cold Brazilian immigration is right in front of me I will see how the entry is, how I get the entry. Friends, I feel that 95% of the people on the flight were Brazilians.
The Brazilian line was on the other side and everyone has gone into it. And I am going alone to the Foreign passport counter Look, there are only two or three people standing in front of me and everyone else has gone to the Brazilian line. I thought there would be a lot of foreigners here, but wherever you look, I am walking alone in the line of foreigners.
let's see what happens now So friends, you are welcome Federative Republic of Brazil Finally I have entered Brazil This is my continent number 6th out of 7 continents in the world Immigration was much easier because there were only 2 to 3 foreigners in the entire flight. So as soon as I reached the immigration counter, my turn came within 1 minute. Almost all the officers at the immigration counter were female.
When they took my passport, they were searching for my Brazilian visa for a long time because she was not able to get it. I told her that there is visa at the end of the passport. After that she found my visa And then scanned my Brazil visa and then picked up stamp to stamp on my passport I requested her please don't stamp on a new page They stamped Brazil's entry on some already stamped old page I have been given entry for 90 days in Brazil She has written on it with a pen, 90 days in Brazil, that is, I can stay in Brazil for 90 days.
So friends, right now we are at Sao Polo International Airport. Sao Polo is the largest city in the whole of Brazil by population. Apart from that, Soo Polo is the largest urban area population wise outside Asia.
And yes friends, if there is any biggest metropolitan city after the whole of Asia then it is Sao Polo where we are currently. São Polo International Airport is located quite far from the city center of São Polo. The distance from here to the city center is around 30 to 35 km.
There are two-three ways to go to the city center from here. Buses also run from here to the city center. Now a new train has also started here to go to the city center.
So trains also run here and taxis are almost an option here. Friends, let's first find an ATM and take out Brazilian currency. After that we will take train or bus to the city center whichever we get first.
So the visuals at Sao Paulo International Airport looks like this. Here many people are waiting for their passengers to arrive. But I don't know where the ATM is here.
I don't understand where the ATM is I can't see it anywhere The name of the currency of Brazil is Brazilian Real. (BRL) At present 1 Brazilian Real is $ 5. 5 If you multiply Real by 15 then everything will be in Indian rate.
Here I will multiply you by 15 so that it becomes easier to understand. After searching all over the airport and asking a lot of people, I finally found an ATM here. It is quite in the corner and has a small machine It is not easily visible So from here the local currency which is Brazilian Real is withdrawn.
English option is here And the second option of Portuguese language has come. Portuguese is the national and official language of Brazil. So it takes 24 reals extra to withdraw Brazilian real from ATM.
That means he is taking $ 4. 29 extra Right now I don't have any other option so I will have to get the money out of here. I don't understand how much money I should withdraw.
And I don't want to use the card again and again Let's take out 2000 Riyal, it will be approximately $ 357. 41 I will try to less use the card because there is a problem in using the card here, I will tell you further what is the problem. I can't understand what is written here.
So friends, I have withdrawn Brazilian Real from the airport ATM. I tried a lot to get 2000 Brazilian Real but was not able to get it. Every time the transaction was getting canceled Because it had an English option but at most places it was written in Portuguese, so I was not able to understand much of what it was trying to say.
Some people told me that there is no maximum limit of Rs 2000 here, you should try to withdraw less money from it, then I tried to withdraw Rs 1. 5 k. So when I tried to withdraw money from it, the round came out to be Rs 1000 in which $180.
59 - $ 190. 78 would have been deducted in my Indian account. And he has taken $4.
17 extra So this is what Brazil's currency looks like 50 and 100 rupee notes are out here In this, two notes are of Rs 50 and the remaining 9 notes are of Rs 100. Look this is the Brazilian Real This is a currency of 100 and this is a currency of 50 reals I met some tourists in Mexico who have already visited Brazil. He told me that he got his international card in Brazil First time their international card is used, their entire card is copied.
And money started being deducted from their bank He recommended me to use the card as little as possible while in Brazil. Use the card at a good place only and use as much cash as possible because the cards get copied very easily here. And the chances of fraud are very high here No problem, I'll try to do less transactions with card or i will use it at a safe place and at most places I'll do it with cash.
Now let's go out and take a train or bus from the airport to the city center. bus is written here and train is written here let's go by train It will be fun to go to the city center by train And the train service here has just started and the bus has been available for many years. There is a railway station nearby from here but to reach there we will have to go by free bus.
Now we have come out of the airport but we will have to ask someone where we will get the shuttle. Friends, it is already day because our flight landed around 6:45. The time was very dark and it was night, he could not see anything outside but now everything is visible.
It's already 7:30 and it's already day and there's a lot of light. Look here it says Shuttle to Train & Terminal 1 This airport is located in this district Guarulhos outskirt of Sao Paulo Locals here are also saying that there are chances of you getting fraud. The locals here are telling me that I have to be very careful because it is very dangerous here and the chances of fraud are very high.
The locals here are very friendly and it is written everywhere that I have to be cautious here because the crime rate here is very high. He is saying that as soon as they see you, they will understand that you are a tourist. Right now I'm waiting for the bus and I've put my bag down on the ground next to me These people are telling me that you are safe at the airport so you can keep your bag down.
Don't make the mistake of putting the bags down after you take them out of the airport. Because as soon as you leave your bag, you will not even know when your bag will disappear from you. Here's what these locals have to say Whereas locals never say this about their city or their country.
So friends, this free airport transport shuttle bus has arrived here which is green in color. This bus is completely full, there is a complete crowd, there is no place even to stand properly in the bus. So friends, this is my first impression of Brazil.
Right now we are inside the airport shuttle bus. I am going to the train station now Right now I am in 30 and 35 km outskirts of Sao Paulo City. Airport is located in which district, it is a locality of that district.
The bus dropped us at the train station at the second stop. When you go inside and go up here, you will see that the train station is newly opened here. And here that train will take us directly to the center city of Sao Paulo.
Now I have to go to the city center and purchase a SIM card. So you can see that I am now in the Southern Hemisphere It's winter season here Most people are wearing jackets right now Some people are wearing light jackets and some people are wearing heavy jackets So this is the airport train station and I have to purchase tickets from here I have purchased an airport train ticket This is a QR based small ticket We will reach the city center by airport train for $0. 89 The ticket is quite cheap, I thought it would be a bit costly.
This ticket scan will probably scan here There are two lines visible here, I don't know where to go. Here people are running, probably the train is coming here or has already arrived and I will also have to run with them. The train is stopped here, I don't know whether it is going there or not, but let me sit in it.
These people are asking me to sit here so there is a map there Maybe two trains run here, one slow and one fast. And this is a fast train which will take us directly Friends this is not a fast train I thought it would be a fast train Now whatever it is, it has come at the right time, so we all sat in it. Here the temperature is written on the display board which is 15 degrees Celsius here right now.
This Girl is also saying that you are going to have a lot of problems with this Camera. As I told you, there are two trains running here, one slow and one fast and the one in which we are now is the slow train. So it is stopping at many stations.
She's Jessica and she's showing me pictures of kids in kindergarten because she's a kindergarten teacher So friends, we have reached the city center and the Luz station of Sao Paulo. It is a very beautiful railway station. Friends, look what a wonderful railway station these people have built.
I feel as if I am at a European railway station or in London or the UK. His train is also very beautiful both inside and outside. Friends, I have said bye to that girl.
Jessica is giving me some of her time and helping me purchase a SIM card. Someone told me that a SIM card is available somewhere near here. But we do not understand from where we have to get the SIM card.
I have to go to my friend's house from here, I will not be able to get a SIM card there, so I will get a SIM card from here right away. Should be found around here but can't understand where to find it. She is asking some policemen and security officers here.
She is helping me a lot The security officers said that you people should go down, we have now come below the train station. The metro here is connected to the entire city, so you can go anywhere in the city by metro from here. She is saying that the SIM card will be available here in the basement only and it should be available here.
So friends, it is 9:30 in the morning and it is office hours, so you can see how crowded it is here. I feel as if I am in India right now. SIM card is written here but I don't know I think it should be found here Let's ask her, no other shop is visible here apart from these.
Here I saw a small shop for SIM cards, I don't know whether anyone is sitting here or not. Yes, someone is sitting here I am not able to understand here because there are two plans given here, one of 16GB and one of 30GB. But what is the difference between the two?
If you are local or resident of Brazil then the price of SIM card will be halved (50%) for you. And if you are not Brazilian and do not have a Brazilian ID card, you will have to pay double the price. So I asked her if there is any way to purchase a 16GB SIM card, She told me that I will give provide my ID and will purchase a SIM card and give it to you.
So she is giving her ID and turns on a SIM card for me She is giving me the SIM card at half price and the people here are very friendly and She themselves told me that I will give them my ID and give You the SIM card. I am not able to talk to her directly, I am talking to her with the help of a translator. Here I feel that everywhere in Latin America, SIM card is called chip because here if I call someone SIM card, he does not understand, whereas if I call someone chip, he understands.
It's the same in Mexico and here too The name of the SIM card company is Compledo and they have given me only $2. 86 In this sim card i got 15gb for 1 month I'm staying here with a local Brazilian friend I will stay here for a day or two and then leave for somewhere else. Now I have to take metro from here to my friend's house I got her off the train I went down I took the SIM card and now I'm back up You can go anywhere in the city in $0.
89 as long as you don't exit the system and leave the station. You can travel everything from airport, train and metro in just $0. 89 So friends, I have just come out of the metro.
And it is raining very lightly, which means the work is still going on. But if the rain gets heavier I might have to stay somewhere Actually in Sao Paulo I had to stay at a friend's place Then he told me a few days ago that he is unwell She wouldn't be able to host, so I booked a hostel. So I thought, let's stay in the hostel, there is no problem.
Will take a hostel somewhere in the city center And will easily Wonder Sao Paul But then yesterday I got a message from her that you can come to my house. So as soon as he leaves the train station, her house is at a distance of around 800 m. I am walking to the direction of her house.
But now her message has come that she will return home after half an hour. We have to wait for half an hour in some nearby restaurant or cafe. There is some market or shopping area here, I am not able to show it directly because I am feeling very strange.
Everyone is looking at me and I don't even know whether this area is safe or not. All the people I talked to told me that Sao Paul is a very big city and some areas here are safe and some areas are not safe. I have no idea about this area, I am probably the only tourist in this entire area.
I feel very strange here There is some market area type where there are all kinds of shops. clothes are being sold here Here fruits, vegetables and electronic are being sold here There are many clothing showrooms here and some restaurants and cafes. Everything is here I think this is a locality The Portuguese colonized Brazil for about 350 years.
From the year 1500 to the year 1822 Colonized for so many years For this reason, Portuguese is the official language in Brazil and most people in Brazil speak Portuguese only. Today Brazil is the only country in the Americas where Portuguese is spoken. Otherwise, almost all the countries in Latin America were colonized by Spain, so Spanish is spoken there.
Because of Portuguese colonization Sao Paulo is the largest Portuguese speaking city in the world Let's Waite here because I think this place a little safe. So let's buy something to eat here. I have kept my backpack inside because everyone told me not to leave my bag anywhere even by mistake.
And I have kept the laptop bag which contains my passwords etc. with me. I have kept it with me.
I am ordering something because there are a lot of items available here. Here Carney means meat and I am saying that I do not want meat food. Look this is the local snacks here Looks like it's filled with cheese and vegetables inside.
I had a coffee and these snacks, I don't know how much it cost. The total cost of these two together is 17 riyals ($3. 04) and I give them a 20 riyal ($ 3.
58) note. She is returning me $ 0. 45 1 Real = 100 Centavos They gave me back 50 Centavos it means half Riyal Well, they have already brought me my food.
I left this big backpack here But I always keep this one with me because it contains my laptop, my passwords and all my electronic gadgets. If this backpack gets stolen, it won't matter. It's not too big because it only contains clothes and a few items.
All the items in this backpack are replaceable, I can buy them anywhere But everything in this bag is ere placeable. This is a coffee for $1. 34 and this is a snack for $ 1.
79 Both breakfast together is $2. 38 Sugar is also kept here as extra and hand sanitizer is also available here. Tomato ketchup is also kept here A lot of people are eating here and there are a lot of food options here.
I couldn't understand that much so I ordered for simple food only. The waiters and waitresses here are laughing at me. Now I made a mistake, this bottle here was kept upside down, so I was thinking that it is a sanitizer, but when I did not look at it, I came to know that it is something edible which is consumed by adding it to the food.
This liquid may be an artificial sweetener Brazil is the fifth largest country in the world and Brazil has total 4 time zones. Brazil is divided into four different time zones 93% of Brazil's population is in these 4 time zones. and 60% of the land area of Brazil Comes Under Time Zone -3 where we are now In a way you can imagine that GMT-3 is the time zone in Brazil.
