Im finally in Miami!

 

The journey here was pretty easy. 6 hours from Rio Preto to Sao Paulo. Then an hour to the airport where I waited about 2 hours for the flight. I had R$20 left so decided I had to spend it so went to get some food. I figured maccas was a good option because I havent had it that often and wanted to try a new burger, the Big Tasty. I ordered just the burger not a combo and was expecting it to be maybe $7, it was 17!!! It was big, but not that tasty.

 

The 8 hour flight to Miami was ok. Before I boarded the plane I was questioned maybe three times about the contents of my bags and wether I had packed it myself, had anyone given me anything, had the contents changed in the last 10 minutes, blah blah blah, and then I was stopped again for a passport check while walking down the boarding ramp and then at the entrance to the plane I was stopped again. This time my hand luggage and laptop bag was thoroughly searched, I was scanned wit hthe metal detector wand and even had to take off my shoes for inspection. One word, ridiculous!

 

The plane was a Boeing 777 which is a bloody long plane! The 1st class and business sections were very fancy. Each person with thier own personal space, able to rotate their chairs to face any direction. Who knows what else. Walking into the economy class was a bit depressing after the glitz and glamour of the fancy sections. Instead of 4 or 6 to a row the economy class had 10 to a row! It looked more like walking into a cinema than an plane.

 

My seat was a window seat and right near the kitchen/bathroom area so I was kind of closed off from the rest of the cabin. There was a fella sitting in the isle seat saw I figured I was in for a rough ride as there really wasnt much room. But once I stowed my luggage in the overhead compartment he got up and walked further down the plane, never to return. So my flight was quite comfortable after all. Two pillows and blankets! =)

 

The customs officer at Miami International was a funny bugger. He couldnt understand why anyone, especially an Australian, would want to come to Miami. He suggested I was better off going to New Orleans, that Miami was a slum but high priced living and no real worth. Lets find out I thought.

 

Today is my third day here and im just about to have lunch. The hostel is great. The rooms are clean, the bed is comfortable enough and each room has its own bathroom so stays quite clean. So far the only bad thing about our the room has been the big fella from the Czech Republic that snores so deep its like having a sub woofer in the room. A thunderous snore that has made 3 of the other room mates find a new room! Thankfully I have earplugs for this exact reason and sleep soundly.

 

Mmm tasty pizza for lunch!

 

Staying here is very different to my stay in Copacabana becasue there are so many people staying here. Its always busy with people coming and going, checking in and checking out.

Breakfast lunch and dinner are all provided which is a godsend. No need to buy food! The meals are decent enough and you cant complain about free food. I havent been up early enough for breakfast yet but the lunch and dinner is pretty good. Its been pizza for lunch and a stir fry for dinner one night and burritos the other.

 

I went for a run along the beach around 7pm last night and noticed some cop cars on the beach. Somone had been shot earlier and so the cops had a section of the beach taped off. A few people from the hostel said they saw the guy just lying there covered in blood. Pretty terrible!

 

After my run I chilled here at the hostel which is what I did the previous night too. Each night is a different club outing which you get VIP entry to as a part of the hostel. But there is a cover charge and the drinks are very pricey, im trying to save my money...

 

I decided to go to Mangoes with a few people last night and it was amazing. Its a two storey building that stretches pretty far back. There are two rooms upstairs playing hip-hop but I didnt really check them out. The ground floor is a buzz of entertainment. The main bar in the middle has a wide bar section at the front where dancers continually get up and dance. Every new song brings out new performers. There were a couple dancing salsa, wearing fancy outfits and busting out crazy moves. Three muscle men jumped up and busted out moves that reminded me of the backstreet boys, the girls liked that. A Michael Jakson dude got up and did all the moves. He was really good and the second track two more guys jumped up wearing scary costumes and they danced to thriller. Then inbetween all these were the bar girls and waitresses who would jump up for a song too. All the bar staff wear these tiny outfits and all are absolutley stunning!

 

It was a great night out that ended back at the hostel were we sat around drinking and chatting till about 5am. Crazy times!

 

My plan for the next two weeks is to wake for breakfast, hit the beach, come back for lunch, hit the beach, come back for dinner then see where the night takes me. The easy life hey? There is a beach party on now so time to hit it...