First Impression of Rio de Janeiro

I spent three full weeks in Rio de Janeiro last August. I am always skeptical about a country's scenic view. For me, Indonesia is the most beautiful country. I have yet to visit places that could match Indonesia's scenery but Brazil is truly beautiful.

You just gotta believe me. Rio is awesome.

This picture does not do the justice, but still

I was greeted by an amazing view even before landing in Santos Dumont Airport.
Learning from my lesson, please try to get in to Rio through Santos Dumont (SDU) rather than Galeao (GIG) because of the super duper strategic location (right in the heart of the city) and the unbeatable scenery. You can literally walk from the airport to Lapa or Centro area.

Then I checked in to Prodigy Hotel, right next to the airport. The location is just very convenient, it is literally next to (or even part of?) the airport. Just walk, no need taxi or whatever. You can leave your hotel room 30 minutes before the take off time, you will still make it.

More reasons to choose SDU are because they have a very good money changer in the mall next to it, no 'premium aiport rate' and no need to worry about not having Reais with you. Also they have some fastfood chain restaurants like Burger King and Subway so you do not have to stress about what to eat as soon as you step in to the city. Other parts of the city is also easily accessible by VLT and metro station is just 10-15 minutes walk from the airport.

The view from the rooftop is just... Perfect.

I can wake up everyday with this kind of scenery.

My first impression of Rio de Janeiro was too sweet that I almost forgot it took 41 hours trip for me to get there...

More from Rio later!