*DAMN R6
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| My 8 hours Sao Paulo Trip by *DAMN Mauti 10.10.2004
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On 16.9.2004: 4:00pm:
...Ring, Ring...
Mauti: Hello?
Oskar, chief of the small transport company I work from time to time: Do you have time? In 2 hours your flight to Sao Paulo takes off.
M: Hu? You are kidding!
O: No, no my former chief at DHL just called me that he needs a guy that escortes a package to Sao Paulo.
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After receiving some information about the pay, a promise that I don't deliver drugs, I said YES, I do it! I took some clothes and already drove to the Vienna Airport, where I got my package, a business class ticket for 3400 Euro(4080 US Dollar), my pay and some printed instructions.
13 hours and 12000km later I arrived in Sao Paulo at 5:00am. The value of my package was 360 Euro(432 US Dollar), so I could go through the green channel(nothing to declare), well the customs officials got me out and asked me to open the package. So did I, and further showed them the invoice papers. They ignored them and just told me that I have to pay a 300 Euro fee(360 US Dollar) to get my complete package back. I was a bit "He??? What's going on here", I asked for a reason and suddenly none of the customs officials could speak english anymore. They gave me a paper with the amount that I should pay at the next bank. Oh well I went ahead, where I should meet my brasilian DHL contact person. After explaining him the situation, and calling the chief of DHL Brasilia, a sent broker paid the fee and I could deliver successfully the package. I asked Rachael, the broker, why we have to pay this fee? Her disillusioning answer was "There is none, that's the way it works!" A bit Wild West in South America!
Oh well I had 6 hours left until departure so what could I do, when I'm already in Sao Paulo. Rachael was so kind and offered to bring me to downtown Sao Paulo. On the way she showed me a little bit of Sao Paulo and told me a lot about the culture and the daily life. The only thing I can say - it's so different from anything in Europe, it seems the only rule is there are no rules. Crazy, but very cool. The only thing that reminded me at good old Europe is that almost all cars are european brands, because they produce them in Brasil for South America. At downtown I said good bye to her and was walking through downtown. Yeah, little Mauti in Sao Paulo. 25millions inhabitants, quite big if you know that Austria has only a population of 8 millions. 4 hours sightseeing and a cup of coffee later I negotiated with a group of taxi drivers for a flat fee to the airport. Since they couldn't speak a word english, I warmed up my spanish, which is quite similiar to portoguese. 2 hours later I was sitting again in my airplane for 13 hours and 12000km. A crazy, well paid, and very fun trip I can only recommend everyone. Very nice city.
Some impressions:
   
From left to right
1.) I have never seen so many cars at once. It seems the whole city is built on cars.
2.) Typical for Sao Paulo. The newest buildings, and skycrapers and and inbetween total wrecked houses.
3 + 4.) Some impressions.
  
5 + 6.) Mauti in the jungle. The parks are just left over rainforest. Extrem beautiful and so absurd. One minute ago you were on a mainstreet with thousands of people and then you suddenly can't see anything else than rainforest. Very cool.
7.) A very nice school, in downtown Sao Paulo, probably only for the rich.
 
8.) Back at the airport.
9.) My passport: entry 17th september 2004, departure 17th september 2004, lol!
Bye,
Mauti
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| SUPPORTED BY |
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© by *DAMN Mauti a.k.a Clemens Mautner Markhof, Salzgries 17/11, 1010 Vienna, Austria; Phone: +43-676-6158786; Thanks to PlanetRainbowSix a division of Game Spy Networks for hosting and supporting us. All rights reserved.
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