Sao Paolo, Brazil\u00a0 <\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
One of the most populous cities in the world, with one of the worst traffics in the world.\u00a0 It was just as crowded as I remembered, and just as alive.\u00a0 Not too far from the green, lush and well-maintained Jardim neighborhood, the seemingly endless, tightly packed and dilapidated \u2019favelas\u2019 vividly exhibit the stark social contrasts that are present in most of the developing countries.<\/p>\n
Brazil, as one of the BRICs, is one of global markets of explosive growth, and it shows.\u00a0 There are more cars, more opportunities, more excitement and more pride in the people of the city.\u00a0 The cab driver shows how he regularly uses the \u2018Waze\u2019 iPhone app to stay abreast of traffic jams and accidents, and to connect with other drivers \u2013 yes, while driving.<\/p>\n
The Daredevils of the Road, however, are the motorcycle riders.\u00a0 The natives have a much more derogatory name for them.\u00a0 These guys do play with their lives, with one finger on the horn; they whiz past you, weaving in and out of the traffic, whether it is standing still or moving steadily.\u00a0 They will deliver their packages to their destination, come hell or high water.\u00a0 Take that, Dominoes!<\/p>\n
And what can you say about Brazilian steaks?\u00a0 Flavorful, tender and juicy.\u00a0 Every bite is a treat.\u00a0 Accompany it with the side orders, especially the delectable bite-sized cheese roll, and you would not want to stop.<\/p>\n
Buenos Aires, Argentina<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
Driving through the shimmering lights of downtown, it is evident why Buenos Aires has been compared to Paris at night.\u00a0 The wide main road is brightly lit; the buildings have a very European, particularly French-influenced architecture, complete with the false balconies that are not very practical, but so beautiful to look at.<\/p>\n
The massive opera building glitters like a diamond among the other structures.\u00a0 A ray of light shoots up in the sky from the Obelisk not too far from the opera, shouting to the world \u2018Buenos Aires is here!\u2019\u00a0 Walking distance from the Obelisk, you can stroll through the Theater district.\u00a0 Live venues line both sides of the road, one right next to the other.\u00a0 Flashing, multi-colored grand marquees invite you to enjoy the latest shows, or you can spend some happy moments in the casino at the end of the street.<\/p>\n
From there, it\u2019s a short walk up to Puerto Madera, a two-kilometer strip dotted with excellent restaurants and office building, on both sides of the water inlet.\u00a0 Sit back in one of the excellent steak houses to enjoy a leisurely lunch, or a very late dinner \u2013 they stay open well past midnight, and hours seem to just slip away as you observe tourists and natives alike strolling up and down the street, relaxed, arm in arm, talking and smiling.<\/p>\n
The Brazilians and the Argentinians have an on-going rivalry for who has the best steaks. \u00a0As far as I am concerned, both of them are winners. \u00a0So enjoy the superb steaks, and be prepared to give a diplomatic answer depending on where you are.<\/p>\n
Mexico City, Mexico<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
Landing in the new terminal in Mexico City was an unexpected, but very pleasant experience.\u00a0 The facility, amenities and the staff were all world-class.\u00a0 The immigration process was smooth, and the inspectors were courteous.<\/p>\n
Going through customs is still luck of the draw.\u00a0 Press the button when you hand in the customs form, and if the red light shines \u2013 you lose.\u00a0 You get to open all your luggage and have it thoroughly inspected.\u00a0 If you are lucky, you\u2019ll see the green light and breeze through customs.<\/p>\n
At around 7am, the drive from the airport to the newer development of Santa Fe area is almost two hours because of the early morning traffic.\u00a0 The neighborhood of Santa Fe has blossomed into a very modern and cosmopolitan center, with a number of upscale restaurants \u2013 including nothing less than an English pub, and a park with a modern mall underneath it.<\/p>\n
An interesting idea is the \u2018Dinner in the sky\u2019 experience.\u00a0 The eating space is a large metal table set up like a bar with fixed chairs, covered by a red canopy.\u00a0 The entire \u2018restaurant\u2019 is hoisted up into the sky with a large crane.\u00a0 That is right.\u00a0 You can enjoy your dinner up in the sky, which I am sure was not what 77 Bombay Street had in mind when they wrote their hit \u2018Up in the Sky\u2019.\u00a0 All in all, the experience in Mexico City was quite pleasant.<\/p>\n
All three cities reinforced my conviction that the world out there is waiting to teach us about life.\u00a0 There are sights, smells, tastes, risks, and delights in each new place, and in each locale we revisit.\u00a0 We add to our humanity, and add to the collective experience of humanity when we partake in the feast of life.\u00a0 So happy travels and travel happy!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Sao Paolo, Brazil\u00a0 One of the most populous cities in the world, with one of the worst traffics in the world.\u00a0 It was just as crowded as I remembered, and just as alive.\u00a0 Not too far from the green, lush and well-maintained Jardim neighborhood, the seemingly endless, tightly packed and dilapidated \u2019favelas\u2019 vividly exhibit the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zulfiqarblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zulfiqarblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zulfiqarblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zulfiqarblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zulfiqarblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=100"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.zulfiqarblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":101,"href":"https:\/\/www.zulfiqarblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100\/revisions\/101"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zulfiqarblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=100"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zulfiqarblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=100"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zulfiqarblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=100"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}