Tag Archive for Brazil

Food ticket to Brazil

October 1, 2010 / admin / 5 comments

Woke up this morning and did some cupboard cleaning. Opened one of my travel diaries and it landed on a page, where I had stapled an empty carton of 3 Corazon coffee from Brazil – the strongest coffee I had tried in the Minas region of Brazil. Memories of Brazil flooded my mind… or should I say taste buds. The pangs started in the morning and has lasted all day. Today is definitely one of those days I wish I could indulge in some Comida Ultima (Ultimate Food in Portuguese).

Tough luck! Except for Agua de Coco (Coconut Water), Bandra (though a lovely ex-Portuguese colony) has no little nook serving anything close to Brazilian food. Anyway, here I am, revisiting all the good ole pictures of my favourite food from Brazil and wishing Cindrella’s Fairy God Mother would convert a pumpkin into a Brazilian buffet in my house.

What I want in the morning-Cafezinho. Not just any coffee. I want Brazilian coffee. And Cafezinho means little coffee, like Ronaldinho means little Ronaldo. Get the drift.

A perfect breakfast would be – Pao de queijo (Bread with cheese) and Coxinha (almost like an Indian Samosa) stuffed with chicken.  Top it off with a Bolo Chocolat (Chocolate cake) and it would be incredible.

For a super rich lunch, nothing beats a traditional Brazilian meal. Check out the spread that we had at Cafe Edgar, in Rio de Janeiro. Our friends Ronaldo and Renata introduced us to the thoroughfare – Arroz (Rice), Feijoada (Beans cooked with lots of meat), Farofa (That’s Mandoica fruit powdered and panfried) and the green vegetable which almost tastes like Spring Onion meets Seaweed. If you don’t want Feijoada (with meat), you can ask for Feijao (Just beans). Then, you will be served something very close to Rajma Chawal (Indian rice and beans).

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Category: Brazil, Food & Drinks, South America, Travel Tips / Tags: , , , , , ,

Quase Uma Escritora… Quase Brasileira

November 6, 2009 / Backpacking Ninja / 2 comments

Eu senti muito saudade para Brasil. A gente conhece isso. Entao, eu comecei um novo blog para compartilhar meus pensamentos em português – Quase Uma Escritora

Porque eu nao posso explicar todos emoções e situações em ingles.

Porque eu nao quero falar ou escrever em uma lingua todos conhece acqui.

Porque eu nao quero ser uma livro aberto.

Porque eu quero minhas secretos.

Além disso, eu sabe que as pessoas quem vão traduzir esta são muito poucos.

Porque eu sabe que as brasileiros entendem.

Porque eu fico em um universo paralelo.

Porque eu fico em uma mundo sonho.

Category: Brazil, South America / Tags: , , , ,

Saude, Saideira and Saudade… Only the Samba was missing

September 1, 2009 / Backpacking Ninja / 4 comments

Mondays don’t turn out like this. Especially in Mumbai.

Got to relive a bit of my Brazilian days… Started the evening with ‘Saude’… nothing sounds as sweet as Saude…. Try the whole heavythroat Spanish Salut or the armytone Israeli Lakhaim or just the heavydrunk English Cheers… nothing sounds as melodic and beautiful as Saude.

Spent pretty much the entire night, educating my new student (on Brazilian culture) the importance of ‘Saideira’. You can’t take a beer away from a Brazilian. Neither can you take Brazilians away from beer. One bunch who take the last drink very seriously… and its the last drink all night.

Saude and Saideira and all the Brazil talk… Eu senti saudade… muito saudade… unbelievable deep yearning or nostalgia for Brazil, that only you can feel.. you just cant write about it.

O que uma noite refrescante ….. so faltava o samba!
Category: Brazil, South America / Tags: , , , , ,

Ultima dois semanas….

March 12, 2009 / Backpacking Ninja / 14 comments

The last 2 weeks in Brazil went away so quickly it almost felt like it never happened. I was torn between just staying back in Rio and dancing away every night or heading to Florianapolis and lying around in the beach or diving in Ilha Grande or taking a boat ride down Pantanal (the Kerala of Brazil)…. But, then I figured that it involved 20 hour bus journeys or 2 hour boat rides, both I was sick and tired of.. So, I just decided to head to Sao Paulo and attend classes at the Capoeira Academy and do the ‘oh so brazilian things’ and ‘some not so brazilian things’ before leaving…

I drank Cerveja.. lots of it..

I ate Acai.. tons of it..

I overdosed on Guarana..

I ate at the cheap Comido por kilo places.. Ive now perfected the art of loading the plate only for 10 Reals or under..

I ate at the Japanese quarter of Sao Paulo… (Incidentally, some of the best Jap food in the world is served in Sao Paulo)

I ate at the best pizza place in the world .. (Thats what my host Luiza calls it)

I drank loads of coffee.. and bought lots..

I ate Pasteils in the Mercado Municipal.. (Mauricio in Chile. i did try to ask them if they would deliver in Santiago .. I remember your request… and they said thats not possible..)

I drank Caipirinhas.. (and even volunteered at a street fair trying to make some)

I drank Maracuja juice…. mmmmm,….

No guesses.. I am a foodie… In between all this eating and drinking, I did some Capoeira. I injured my wrist trying to do a stupid move that I cannot do and had to stop doing classes.

So, I decided to Samba instead… I went to my favourite Samba club and was amazed that I could sing a lot more than I could 5 months back.. the band remembered me and the singer (who looks like an ex boss of mine) even dedicated a song to me..

I learnt to click my fingers like the Brazilians.. (am still learning).. my right fore finger is almost green..

I bought some backless tops.. (god knows if I can wear them in India)

I went to a Brazilian waxing parlour and experienced excruciating pain… (they are not kidding when they say Brazilian women go through a lot of pain to look beautiful)

I shopped for Brazilian porn for an American friend… (and learnt about the different grades of porn)

I spent an afternoon reading Vinicius Moraes Poetry with a dictionary and fell in love with him..

I watched an Israeli film with Portuguese subtitles.. I think my Portuguese reading and comprehending level is way better than Hebrew listening level..

I went to a circus rehearsal with a girl from Honduras..

I went to a film archive and learnt about film restoration..

I bought hawainas… (brazilian rubber chappals)

I paid homage to Senna… visited his grave….

I downloaded Season 4 of Prison Break and saw most of it… and Im tired that its going nowhere.. and Michael is getting fatter..

I watched Lost with Portuguese subtitles and fell in love with Sawyer all over again..

I chatted with a Lebanese liquor store owner and discussed a part of the world I knew nothing about..

I hung out with wonderful couchsurfers..

I watched the corporate world walk by Aveneida Paulista as I sat around eating Acai flovoured ice cream in backpacker clothes… its a thrill…

I tried to hand stands in Ibirapuera park..

I slept on a few bus rides and missed my stops..

I bargained in Portuguese…

I discovered my artistic side and made a fabulous looking belt…

I skype called everyone I missed…

I tried to flip coins everyday to decide whether I should stay back in Brazil or leave.. I even tried best of threes..

Anyway… I did board that flight on 11th March. Took the metro to Tatuape and the bus the airport and drank a Cerveja and a Caparinha in the 1 hour in the airport. Quickly ate Acai too. Boarded the flight and was disappointed to find only Hollywood films and English music. Searched Delta In-Flight entertainment desperately for a Portuguese film. Spoke to the airhostess in Portuguese though she spoke fluent English. Was extremely delighted to be sitting next to a Brazilian exchange student. Saw the night lights of Sao Paulo as the flight took off.. and cried a bit…

The flight started heading northwards…. it got colder (though the flight had temprature control, I could feel the warmth of Brazil being sucked out of me) …. When I landed in Atlanta, the welcome was the coldest welcome in my whole life. Will do justice to that by writing the bitchiest blog post ever very soon.

Now Im here… cold…. missing Brazil sooo much… craving for Cafezinhos… missing hearing music everywhere… all the oh so Brazilian things… and wondering whether I should have done ‘best of 5′ when I flipped that coin. Only meeting my 2 school friends is making up for leaving Brazil.

Category: Brazil, Capoeira, South America / Tags: , , , , , , , ,

I survived the Carnival

February 28, 2009 / Backpacking Ninja / 8 comments

Every year, sometime around February, I remember media channels and publications covering the Carnival in Rio De Janeiro. From a distance, I have been party to bits and pieces and always imagined the Rio Carnival to be an orgy of millions of semi-naked Samba dancers in glittering costumes. I was terribly wrong. This very moment, as I am sitting in the balcony of a South zone apartment in Rio, sipping Cerveja (beer), and listening to a Samba band pass by in the street below followed by hundreds of people moving to the addictive rhythm, I feel a part of the real Rio Carnival.

One of the toughest decisions since I reached Brazil was choosing the city where I would spend time during the Carnival. Whether it is the traditional carnival of Olinda or the Afro-Brazil influence in Salvador or the mud parade in Paraty, every city in Brazil boasts of a Carnival with its own unique touch. Having read that it was possible to do something every hour for the entire month of February in Rio and wanting to experience everything possible as a first timer at Carnival, I chose Rio.

It has been 10 days since I reached Rio De Janeiro and I learnt a few things about the grand Rio Carnival. If there is one word to describe 72 hours of no sleep, having beer and barbecue for breakfast, thousands of people sporting crazy costumes and dancing in the streets, its called ‘Blocos De Rua’ – the street parties of Rio, that take place in every neighbourhood all day long.



If there is one place where there are more feathers than the bird population of the world, more colours than you can mix on Corel Draw, more perfect bodies than you can imagine, more fireworks than Diwali, more cheering and competitive spirit than any sporting event, this place is called ‘Sambodromo’ – the place that houses the Samba Competition among the top schools of Rio.


If there is one place where you can see carpenters, electricians, painters, artists, musicians, dancers, writers and technicians working towards one goal, with incredible teamwork and effort, its called ‘Cidade Do Samba’ – Samba City, the place where the Carnival paraphernalia is produced.


If there is one reason why bumblebees, mummies, angels, devils, prostitutes, musicians, magicians, clowns and cross-dressers hang out together, its thanks to ‘Fantasia’ – costumes, the very DNA of the Carnival.


If there are people peeing on the streets, homeless picking up beer cans to sell and make money, dirty starving street kids crawling under the stands to pickpocket tourists, drunk men beating up their women in broad daylight, people throwing up from bus windows, its called ‘Realidade’ – reality, one thing that even Rio Carnival cannot escape.

If there is one word for energy, life and spirit, it is ‘Cariocas‘ – the people of Rio De Janeiro, who are the drivers behind the biggest party of the world. I leave with a backpack full of glittering memories from the Carnival and symptoms of a strange disease. My feet move three steps even when I am asleep and this disease is called Samba Itch. What a perfect souvenir from the Carnival!

Category: Brazil, South America / Tags: , , , , , , , ,
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