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Bar Contest

Last night I had a couple of Singha, my well loved refreshing drink besides Bintang. Today I recognized that Singha in cooperation with Lonelyplanet is seeking Your favorite spot to hangout and cool down. So vote for your favorite watering hole! To bad that the "erotic knucklebone lady" from the night hawker in Sala Daeng Rd. is not listed.

Sao Paulo Love

Since the end of the 50's, when Brasilia became Brazil's capital, São Paulo replaced Rio de Janeiro as the cultural capital of the country. Bands, journalists, authors, everybody comes to São Paulo to see and to be seen. They say São Paulo is a city that can never stop, but that's not the whole truth. It's the people of São Paulo that don't want to stop. That's why this city has so many clubs, bars, restaurants, theatres and thousands of other attractions open 24 hours. There must be something in the water. Or it's the polluted air... Who knows? The fact is that São Paulo gives you an unquenchable thirst for pleasure. And that's why there's always something to do and somewhere to go, especially at night. São Paulo is an ugly city, be aware. But for those who LIVE this city, ugliness is actually part of its beauty. The crowded streets, the prostitutes and brothels and the decadent aspect of its streets and buildings in downtown - this and much more can make this city even more delightful if you're not afraid of taking a walk on the wild side.
Places to stay:







































Hotel Fasano, Hotel Emiliano and Hotel Unique are indeed the places you should think about while staying in Sao Paulo. Nevertheless these Hotels are quiet expensive. As a perfect alternative I would recommend the Grand Hyatt. Go for the Club rooms as they are worth every "Dinger" spend extra. The rooms are simply nice decorated and the bathroom is just amazing. The service received in the Grand Club lounge is top notch. This is indeed a very good place to hang out and eat and drink (free of charge!) before leaving for your night time program.
Nightlife:

I would recommend to start with a couple of drinks in one of the many bars in Vila Olimpia and Vila Madelena. One of my favorite places is indeed the Skyebar located on top of the well known Hotel Unique. The Service is pretty slow and prices are more on the higher level but the view is just amazing.
Later on I would recommend to go out for dancing in one of the many places like d-edge, Clash Club, A Club or Milo Garage. There are many more, so keep your eyes open!
Shopping:
Simply the whole area of Rua Oscar Freire! For sure this is a posh area, but nevertheless a lot of fun and simply wonderful to walk around even so you might not buy anything. To be honest- shopping in Hong Kong, Singapore or Bangkok is a better idea as you will safe a lot of money!
Places to See:

If you have some more time I would recommend to have a brief look into the MAM while stroll down Avendia Paulista. If not have a look from outside as the many other wonderful buildings for example the Copan building and Edifico Italia. The Edifico Italia offers a restaurant and a bar on the top floors with perfect views, but they do ask for a cover charge for the bar!
The Sao Paulo Jockey Club is the best option for a relaxed sunday. It is free of charge, but even if they would ask for money the atmosphere is worth every penny spend. Grab a beer, coffee or on of the delicious snacks at one of the bars in the main hall and take a seat on the tribune to watch the race and the people. If you are looking for a substantial meal go for one of the restaurants.
If there is no race there is another outdoor option- the Parque Iberapuera. This is a very similar Park to NY's Central Park. Besides the recreation areas there are cultural events and exhibitions halls like Auditorio Niemeyer.
Transport:

If you wanna use public transport, Sao offers an extensive subway and bus network where you pay per use. In general I would rate the subway system as reliable, cheap, safe and clean. During weekdays you might need hours if you take a bus due to the traffic jam. Taxis are a must at night and if you share the price with your friends its not that expensive. The service is always good but most of the taxi drivers won't speak any word english and they seem to have problems with the queer crowd.
Money and Costs:
Sao Paulo is indeed not cheap compared to other places in Brazil and worldwide, but there are much more expensive places around. I would say it depends on your budget and how many Cremant you need while staying. Some of the small bars and cafeterias offer some small finger licking dishes, beer and coffee for just a few bucks. So you won't be hungry or thirsty. Nightlife is as elsewhere more of less expensive. Bring your credit card for Skyebar.
Keep in mind that Sao Paulo is not a tourist place to hang out, but you will find everything a urban guy might need.
If you are on a shoestring try out Couchsurfing. Even if you don't need a place to stay- most people are really helpful.
Stay tuned for more in depth reports on Sao Paulo

Wanna join?

There are marked the stations of my recent trips. Indeed I will return soon- so it would be nice if I could catch you up for a Cremant or just a coffee. Feel free to show me your maps!

Cars on Sale

As you might read in my recent post- the world is changing as I do! If somebody is interested in one of my Cars- please drop me a line! I know the pictures are not that well- but the cars are in good condition with original caribbean sound system!!!!

Lazy Sunday in Sao Paulo

I just had two nights in Sao Paulo, but I am impressed what the City has on offer. Well I went out on Saturday night with my fellow friend Ipanema Fred and for my lazy Sunday program I made an appointment with Corcovado Jack and Copacana Else to meet them once again. After a delicious breakfast @the Grand Club Lounge I left for the Sao Paulo Jockey Club. This was my very first time visiting horse racing, but I loved it from the very first minutes. The whole scenery- like the location itself as well the people are unbelievable. From your seats you see the whole racing area as well as the skyline of “Brooklin”. Nevertheless Copacabana Else did not feel as comfortable as me and Corcovado Jack- so we had to leave early for our next destination. The Parque Ibiraquera is like the Central Park for NYC- people go there especially on weekends to relax and do some sports. I would rate this park as well as the Jockey Club as top notch places in Sao for a lazy Sunday program. As I won a quiet huge amount of “Dinger” I invited the others for dinner. I had chosen a rustic restaurant in one of the arty quarters of Sao. Go for the baby beef- it was brilliant like “the” lemon flavoured meat in Athens! The whole area is even on Sunday evening busy- and I thought about some clubbing as well. But due to the fact that I had to leave to the airport I skipped this for my next visit scheduled next year at least.
Stay tuned for more lazy Sunday reports all over the world!

Sexy nights

Sao Paulo is the place to be in Latin America these days. People tend to say it is like NYC, but I never trust these people say Paris of whatever…Nevertheless Sao Paulo is indeed one of my upcoming favourite places to life. I had never felt that extremely comfortable within a couple of hours in one place as in Sao. The city is extremely huge and maybe for most fellow travellers not the place to be, but the city offers everything an urban guy might need. Paulistas are people who are living their live and this is a compliment! On my recent trip to good old Europe I flew into Berlin to be part of or just see how the well discussed Berlin lifestyle looks like. To be honest I guess people in Berlin compared to the Paulistas are trying to be something- just show off to be something special. Sao on the other hand is as his counterpart NYC a multicultural place to life- open minded, multi ethnic, sophisticated areas to shop and dine out, down to earth areas to life as well as the biggest Gay parade in the world. I went there not to attend the Gay parade, but to smell the dust of the night. Sao as well as Jakarta are pretty famous for their nightlife. As in Jakarta you start your night out for example in your Club Lounge- have a couple of drinks and enjoy the views all over the City. If you are looking for a more sophisticated place to hang out before heading to a Club: join the crowd @the Skye bar on top of Hotel Unique. To be honest there is a lack of service but the views over the city are well worth every “Dinger” spend. Stay with a Chandon Brut and you will have a pleasant evening. For all the sexy guys on you- take a look to the black skinned dishwasher lady- lovely! In the Skye bar I met Ipanema Fred- he is also a well travelled friend of me and a pretty good guide to show me around Sao’s nightlife.
Taxis are a reliable form of transportation also in Sao- but Paulista taxi drivers seems to be to have a little homophobia. I went to a venue- recommended by wallpaper guide, while the taxi driver described the place as a GLS (gay lesbian sex) place. I tried to stop the conversation to him saying that I am a gay oriented Jewish guy- but he did not understand me as my Portuguese is not as good as his Spanish.
Well I reached the “GLS” Club and to be honest I thought about a sexy night out like in Jakarta, but I went with my “fast pussy cat driver” and Ipanema Fred back to Hyatt after a couple of hours.

Stay tuned for more sexy night reports all over the world!

Travel the world

I had never understand people travelling abroad to just find the same fucking stuff like back home. I am not talking about luxuries things regarding the comfort everybody might think to need. Its more about the “way of travelling”. As you might know in my point of view backpackers are nowadays often nothing more than package tourist in theirs “alternative” 20ies. But today I would like to focus on the well aged world traveller, On my recent trip I stayed in different hotels and got the chance explore the “American way” of hospitality. Last night I stayed at a Mariott Hotel- to make a long story short, nothing to write home about. But the people are worth a few lines. Please- why are you travelling thousands of miles to find them same boring rococo style as back home in Kansas? The other experience I made a couple of weeks ago in Rio’s Sheraton. I read a few reports about this hotel before booking in. People wrote about the “bad” location right in a Favela. Indeed it is far away from being surrounded by a Favela. There are a few houses around not looking like the well taking care off garden houses like in western cities but that’s it!
The very same people hanging out @ the lobby, doing a organized city tour, taking a couple of pictures to say they had been to Rio. Come on- stay back home and take some pictures from the worldwide web- I will attach some for you!
Stay tuned for more reports on world travel!

Rio de Janeiro

Rio is one of the places on earth you had to travel at least once in your life- its like for Moslems to head to Mekka as for world wide travelled guys like me. The whole City gives you the James feeling right from the moment leaving the plane. Indeed Rio is a tourist City but nevertheless I would say there are a lot places to hang out with the cariocas. On my second days in Rio made a long walk by all the famous beaches and meet up with Ipanema Fred. First I thought I will stay with him just for a couple of Caipirinhas but he is indeed a entertaining guy. So I decided to spend some more time with him. Ipanema Fred is a Jew grown up in Germany- but he is looking for a more relaxed lifestyle, so he is travelling a lot and stranded for a couple of days in Ipanema. Besides the beaches the main attractions of Rio- namely the Christ the redeemer and the sugar loaf are pretty touristy- they are a must for each visitor. If you will get the chance do not miss the Christ statue at night- you will have a wonderful view all over the amazing city.


Stay tuned for more “my view” reports on places to be!

Bring half the clothes and twice the money!

James is still alive. Sorry folks for have not written since a long time, but it is not always easy to find the time to keep u fellow travellers up to date. I do write you on my way back home, but nevertheless I would like to give you an idea of my recent trips. The last weeks I had been in Latin America and in Brazil I meet up with my friends Corcovado Jack and Copacabana Else. I know them since a long time and it is always a pleasure to spend some time with them.

I flew into Sao Paulo but decided to head to Rio as I had never been there. Another reason was indeed to meet up with Jack and Else. To be honest- Rio was amazing! Corcovado Jack and Copacabana Else are extremely relaxed after two or three Caipirinhas (very famous drink in Brazil), so we had lot of fun. Rio is indeed “the” beach town on the globe and the Cariocas are pretty relaxed. I did not meet “Steinbeisser” but got the chance have some pleasant nights with Jack and Else- they are also kind of bity…

Stay tuned if you wanna know who is Ipanemema Fred!

Brazil

In a few weeks i will fly into Sao Paulo as well as Rio de Janeiro for a couple of days- just a short trip. If anybody is around there it would be nice if we could meet or if u have any ideas what to do over there, please drop me a line.
Stay tuned for my report on traveling brazil.