Ladies/Gents

Here is a trip report from my recent trip to Brazil. It had been on my radar for some time and a chance from a friend I joined his itinerary for a 11 Night stay in Brazil.

I flew on KLM from Teesside to Schipol and from there on one of their flights to Sao Paulo. This was operated on one of their 777/300 on their new Business class configuration. A 1 2 1 set up . A nice trip after almost a 3 hour delay departing. A pleasant trip and arrival into San Paulo around 2130. A very quick and painless exit from immigration. Bags picked up and we were out of the terminal. As you exit you may get accosted by people asking you for a taxi . Look for the fellas with a yellow high viz and they will direct you to a booth to the right of the terminal 3. Tell them where you need to be and they will give you a price and a ticket. You will be directed into a Taxi and you give the driver the slip. It cost me 53 Brazilian real, about £7.70p. In general getting around is quite cheap compared to home . I stayed at the Hampton by Hilton. This has been well documented in the past. With my translation app on the phone at the ready I asked for a high floor room and lucky the check in desk clerk spoke english. He said he didn't get many requests like this but gave me the highest floor and room 1526. He did say the roof is open in good weather and opens at 6am till 6pm. This was a Double room and as far as i'm aware i saw other rooms in the corridor whilst being cleaned and they were double rooms . Any even numbered room will have views at a slightly right angle but nothing is missed. 

Rooms are nice and have a coffee making machine. Beware most hotels don't have tea/coffee making facilities as well as no sink plugs but on a bonus the Hotel room did have ample electric plug sockets.Brazil has a unique style of plug so don't forget to buy some before you go Amazon do have them.

The views on the roof are spectacular and great for photographs. But beware the floor has a lot of trip hazards so watch yourself. Hardly any shade so bring your sun tan lotion..Food at the Hotel is quite good plenty to choose from and the evening meals which consist of a buffet type meal cost in the region of £12. They have another menu with steak and burgers which are slightly more . The Hotel has a little snack bar just to the right of the check in desk where you can buy almost anything. But in general crisps, chocolate to water and tins of Orange and Coke most for about £1. 

As for the Aircraft I was there for 4 days and hammered the Gol and Latam Fleets as well as a the Azul Fleet, that's what I came for , this is supplemented by Latam Chile and other South American Carriers. It's a non-stop roller coaster Like Amsterdam or Heathrow Aircraft in and out all the time. You will enjoy it. Outside the hotel there are no shops and to be honest there is a garage about a 7 minute walk but at night I would not venture out on your own. But I did feel quite safe and had no issues with my entire trip being accosted by people . The locals in Rio said if you go to the beaches just keep one eye behind you and keep your phone and camera in your bag.

From there we hopped into a Taxi to the Domestic Terminal in São Paulo called Congonhas. Sao Paulo city is the 7th densely populated City in the world. You can tell the traffic is manic and if you hire a car GOOD LUCK with that. You just don't see any nice areas, just a concrete jungle. We saw a lot of poverty on the road side and I think the country is addicted to the Sweets Mentos. It's crazy they are just everywhere being sold. Even on the road side. 

Our stay was at the Airport Ibis, its 13 floors right outside the Airport , again after some negotiation we were given room 1052 you need 1052 to 1062 even numbered most are twins but some do have a queen bed and a single inside them these numbers will be the same higher up. Past information said 9th floor and above is what's needed. I agree that on the 10th you could see everything. Right over to the Biz hangers. Being Domestic you just have Azul Gol and Latam as being one of the better Airports for Biz. 48 hours is well enough time for being here. On day 2 you start to drop aircraft a lot. 

For the room itself it's what you expect from an Ibis Hotel. Basic in other words a fridge, a TV but that's it. No sink plug. In fact the Hilton was the only hotel with a sink plug and tea/ Coffee facilities and a TV. Windows are not double glazed so you will hear aircraft thrashing away as well as the traffic below. Except for Breakfast which was OK we went over the road each night to an Aircraft themed Restaurant called the Boteco 737. It's right over the road from the Hotel and you cannot miss it. Staff were very friendly and we had one who spoke English . They had an English menu  and the food was top notch and cheap. Locals eat there and 3 TVs that play just football matches but not loud.. It was the best place we ate on the trip. 

Part 2 of the trip will be posted shortly but I took a few shots I took at the two Sao Paulo Airports for you too see.