I arrived at the Sao Paolo Guarulhos airport early Monday morning after a relaxing 10 hour flight made more comfortable by the added bonus of extra leg room.

Passport stamped, bag collected and off I went to find a bus to take me into one of the biggest cities in the world. The public bus was jam-packed with people returning from flights and those who were making their daily commute.

I'd read about the huge congestion problems Sao Paolo has before I came out but this was something else. Everywhere I looked was an endless stream of winding roads with various modes of transport crawling along making their way into the centre of this widespread concrete jungle. I guess it's to be expected with a population of 22 million people!

I got talking to a couple of friendly Brazilian guys who spoke broken English but turned out to be very helpful.. they gave me directions for the metro which I needed to use to get to the area in which I was staying.. Vila Madalena, a bohemian neighbourhood home to many quirky bars, restaurants, street art etc, likened to that of Greenwich Village in New York City.

The metro was extremely busy as expected so I was very conscious of the notorious pick-pockets knowing I was an easy target with 'tourist' written all over me. Nevertheless, the metro was super efficient and easy to navigate so I arrived in Vila Madalena around mid-morning.

I think the realisation of where I was only set in as I exited the subway.. I was greeted by glorious sunshine and temperatures in the late 20's. However, I didn't enjoy the 15 minute uphill walk to the hostel though.. I was a very sweaty mess when I had finally reached my destination for the next 3 days.

I was a little early to check in to the Hostel Brasil Boutique so I chose to sit at the bar and cool down a bit. I'd literally only been sat down for a minute when a familiar sounding voice from across the bar says 'where you from mate?' I'd flown half way across the other side of the world and the first person I meet is a guy called Spencer from Manchester! Crazy! Then an hour later I met a guy called Jack from Bolton.. unbelievable! It's supposedly rare to see other UK backpackers in Sao Paolo and I certainly haven't met any other British people over the 3 days I've been here so it's even more surprising that we were all in the same hostel and from the same area back home.

I spent a good few hours getting to know them both before I checked in, took a much needed shower and then headed out to grab some food in a nearby Chilean diner where I had some tasty Empanadas while soaking up the local afternoon vibe.

Jack and Spencer had been telling me about the street parties that had been taking place around the city or 'Blocos' as the Brazilians call them, where the streets are blocked off and a huge parade passes through while everybody parties. They are a common occurrence around this time of year before and during the Carnival's in Brazil.

A few of us had arranged to hit one of the Blocos that evening in downtown central Sao Paolo where I was told it could be potentially dangerous.. but I was game.

Spencer, Jack, Sebastian (an Argentinian), Nico (a Belgian) and myself came out of the downtown metro station where we walked into a chorus of samba drums and the passing parade. The streets were packed and full of people dancing, drinking, chanting and following the parade down the road.. oh and a lot of men dressed in some crazy, unusual drag outfits and make up, even elderly men!! Shocked, bemused and not knowing where to look I was told it was part of their tradition. Funny though. However, the vibe and energy that was being created under the watchful eye of the cities skyscrapers was fantastic and I felt in no danger at all. Crazy, unusual experience!

We sank quite a few beers at the Bloco and then carried it on back at a bar near the hostel. Somehow I'd managed to keep going for 36 hours with barely any sleep but it was worth it.. my first day in Sao Paolo was a great way to start my tour.

I woke up the following morning feeling pretty refreshed despite being woken up in the middle of the night by some horrendous snoring by the guy sleeping below me.. the joys of hostel life! Lucky I had some earplugs.

After making my breakfast, Tuesday morning/afternoon I slipped into an unknown and extremely rare territory for myself.. I became an 'arty farty' type. Don't laugh!

Nearby the hostel is a small collection of back streets named Beco do Batman (Batman's Alley) where street artists come to express their spray painting skills over the walls. It was quirky, kind of cool, decent to look at but 15 minutes was enough for me. Onto part 2 of 'arty farty' day...

I jumped on the metro to Paulista Avenue which is a huge long road with tall city buildings, banks and an ongoing supply of high street shops. But I wasn't going to shop, I was going to the Sao Paolo Museum of Art (MASP) which was on the same Avenue. Why? It's supposed to be one of the cities highlights and it was free on a Tuesday so like a true traveller I took advantage of it.

The building itself was pretty cool, the museum was raised up on pillars so you could walk underneath it. Anyway, in I went. I wandered around a bit, stopping every now and again at various paintings, stroking my chin and politely nodding when actually I didn't have a clue what I was supposed to be thinking or what I was looking at. I did get to see some famous artwork though by the likes of Picasso, Van Gogh, Renoir and Monet so that's pretty cool. I gave it a good half hour and then headed back to the hostel after tucking into some dinner on the way.

I got myself back on track when Jack and I decided to go and watch the Champions League games in a few of the bars in Vila Madalena around 5pm which turned into a good booze up in between watching the footy and getting to know one another. We came back to the hostel and hanged out around the bar with the rest of the South American's who were showing off their samba dancing skills.

I hit another hotspot of the city on Wednesday, this time with Jack.. Ibirapuera Park, where I managed to fit in a workout too. It was an hour long walk through noisy, dirty traffic in the searing heat.. not a good combination when it's just under 35 degrees so it was a big relief when we finally arrived at the park. It was absolutely beautiful.. numerous gorgeous looking lakes, winding paths with the backdrop of the city behind.. but it was the peace and calm that was most noticeable. It was so nice to be away from the hustle and bustle of the dirty traffic.

Body weight apparatus were scattered around the park so in between walking and admiring the beauty of the park I could workout a little but it was tough in that heat!

After a few hours we walked back through the vehicle fumes to the hostel. We had only been back a half hour before a huge thunderstorm came over which was loud and relentless for a good few hours! This is apparently normal for the climate in Sao Paolo, however it caused massive floods in part of the state.

The thunderstorm subsided leaving the temperature much cooler which was a relief. Jack and I watched some more Champions League football in a bar but returned pretty early. It was my last night in Sao Paolo but I had to get ready for my journey over to Rio de Janeiro in the morning which is an early start of 6.30am.

I've had a great start to my trip here in the crazy, bustling city of Sao Paolo. The city is far more friendly than I was anticipating due to the horror stories I'd heard before coming away. It is a notoriously dangerous place to be at times but fortunately I didn't come across any.. just a lot of warmth and friendliness from the Brazilian people here.

I loved my short time here at the Hostel Brasil Boutique. Only small but a nice and friendly environment where you felt safe and part of a community. I'm a little sad to be leaving as I started making genuine bonds with some great people.. but unfortunately that's the nature of travelling.

Rio de Janeiro in the morning.. its Carnival time!!

xx