I got scammed in Rio.
Though prior to the trip, I already got a handful of heads up that Rio can somewhat be notorious on tourists; especially solo travelers. I had friends from Cebu who got robbed, mobbed and harassed in Selaron (a popular tourist spot) in broad daylight. Yun cover photo ko, yan yung Selaron. Robbers took their passports as well, thus destroying their onward plans in South America. As such, I was double cautious all the time. Opted to stay in Rio for just two nights. My only priority was to visit the Christ Redeemer Sanctuary and I am done. See my Christ Redeemer blog post here.
Despite all the warnings, I still got scammed in Rio. Guess what? By an Uber driver. During my ride from the airport, I paid the driver with local currency-cash. But as soon as I was dropped off, I received a notification from Uber, saying that the most recent ride was charged to my credit card. It still puzzles my how the driver changed the mode of payment after the ride, since these choices are done by me, prior to the ride. I immediately made an incident report on this. However, i cannot use the app while the investigation is going. At di ko kaya yon! I needed a legit booking app more than ever in Rio. As such, ni let go ko nalang. doble tuloy kita ng driver sakin. Good thing it only happened once.
Another inconvenience I encountered in Rio was that all my Visa/Mastercard Credit and Debit Cards got declined immediately on my first attempt to swipe for food at Rio airport. The cards were from Eastwest and BPI, both local Filipino banks. I reported the incident to Eastwest Bank online support, yet they could not find any errors, saying that my cards have always been ready for international use. Meanwhile, BPI online did not respond to me. These cards worked well with other countries though. So yun, ni-let go ko na. Total, 2 nights lang naman ako sa Rio.
I had a friend who traveled to Rio na din (for work) pero never naman daw nagka problema credit card nya. However, Citibank at HSBC daw dala nya that time. As such, baka nga yung local banks ko lang ang nag-drama for the eme.
Isa din sa di ko nagustuhan sa Rio is dirty at daming homeless na high on drugs sa daan. Though galing naman ako sa Pinas so these street views should not be new to me. Pero malala talaga dun. O baka kasi sa old/historic district ako nag stay. kaya yun. Oh well. Isip ko nalang minor inconveniences lang ito compared sa iba.
Despite all the inconveniences, I must also acknowledge that Rio is a visually stunning city with its evident colonial architecture influences, as well as its surrounding hills, beaches and ocean. The panoramic views from Sugar Loaf and Christ Redeemer Shrine in Corcovado are amazing.
I joined a Free walking tour once again with Guru walk during my first day and here are some random shorts around the old/Historic quarters of Rio:
Dami murals and splash of colors sa streets nila.
Spent a nice afternoon at Confeitaria Colombo, Rio’s oldest cafe & best dessert around! Cafe Colombo had been operating since 1860. I must also highlight that coffee in Rio is sooo Good! Brazil produces a variety of specialist grade, single origin coffees with a high-quality taste with notes of cocoa on their latte (a local barista told me this).
Ok bye. Thanks for reading.
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