Brazil Biz Trip (July 2019) - Closing

This will be my last post on Brazil. The whole experience would not have been possible if I haven't decided to take a chance and change my job to join Daimler in 2018. My German colleagues from my ex-company call it the 3 pointed stars. I never knew the logo of Mercedes Benz was a star back then. I joint the company specifically just to get a chance to work in South America, and I am really grateful for that experience. 

I worked in a plant, not a office, in Brazil. It is about 45 minutes outside of the city. Inside, it's like a huge community! There is a merchandise shop there where you can get some souvenirs too! But everything was so expensive there. Probably because it is, after all, a luxury brand. I was really tempted to get the jacket that has the Mercedes Brand and Petronas on it, cause Petronas is a Malaysian brand. Plus, it was in minty green too! But it cost over SGD100, so ....

One day after our workshop, my colleague gave us a tour of the plant. He took us on a walk around the area, and I was amazed how huge it was. There were roads leading everywhere. It has it's own petro station, and round about, fire brigade, a few canteens etc. 

We saw some vintage car in a garage that was off limits. I managed to only took a peak at it. 

And there was even a stream cutting through it.

There were humongous trucks driving around. This one looks like Optimus Prime, except it's Mercedes Benz, not General Motor! hahahaha. 

I also spend a lot of time drinking espresso after the daily workshop. It was a nice way to relax and catch up with colleagues or with my boss before headed off work.

To end the album, here's a photo of me with two giant trucks in the show room opposite from the building where I work.

Here's a group photo of the team that started the project in the requirement workshop.

And the IT team that took us out for local lunch one day. 

Thanks Brazil! You have been wonderful! Hope to visit you again someday!

The End!

Brazil Biz Trip (July 2019) - Shopping in Johannesburg Airport

Continuing on with our shopping post, the last stop for shopping was at the Johannesburg Airport during transit. I have changed some African money to spend here, 100 dollars to be exact. So I have to prioritise how I want to spend it. Well, I got myself 1 Gin kit that comes with 1 gin and 2 cocktail cordial. I haven't started drinking them yet, but that cost quite a lot. I wanted to get more flavoured gins, but I was out of cash. With whatever money I have left, I used it on souvenirs that would go back to charity. So on top, a RhinoForce bracelet for the animals. I thought they look cool, and it was something that I would wear. 

The other item I got for myself was of course, Nelson Mandela's souvenir book.

It's made out of recycled paper, and the profit goes back to children's education. To me it was a book of souvenir, that I landed in the land of Mandela. I use it currently to record nice quotes or saying from the books I read. The small book almost cost me 16SGD! But hey, again, you only live once!

Brazil Biz Trip (July 2019) - LIberdade

Wow, I can't believe I left out Japan town. It was one of those places I was so looking forward to visiting cause I thought it would be full of Japanese products there. Well, I wasn't exactly right in that assumption. It was more like a mixed of Japanese, Chinese, Korean town.... But when we landed, we landed in front of a Cathedral, so we went in to take a look again. 

I guess it was Sunday? Cause there was a mass on. It was a smaller church by the corner of Japan town, just right before you walk in to oriental city. 

The buildings around Liberdade is Asian influenced, mainly Japanese. Brazil has the largest Japanese immigrant in the world, so there is a significant Japanese population here. Even in the office, one of the colleagues we work with has a Japanese surname. 

One of the unique thing to see here is the Torii traffic light. You can only find these here and no where else in the world. How cool!

The street lights are also asian influenced. I wonder how they look at night. Maybe red in colour? Haha. 

There was a Japanese Garden in the middle of it all, and we went inside to have a look. 

As shown here, it was very crowded. And it was also very small. There wasn't much to see really. Totally not impressed by it. 

There is a super big Torii gate in the center which looks pretty impressive. 

Here's another view of it.

And the bridge connecting two sides of it. You can seem more graffiti below. And along both sides of the bridge, people were selling their wares. Kinda like a street market.

My boss insisted that I have some sushi while I was there. And because he is vegetarian, I could only bring him to a fusion restaurant to have my sushi. He had some fried noodles, and I ordered the above. They were terrible! The salmon was dry, and the rice too packed and tasteless. I struggled to finish these. Nope! Next time, only have sushi in Japanese restaurant!

Brazil Biz Trip (July 2019) - More Fun Shopping

This post is just odds and ends of things I also got myself in this trip. The above is I assume, some turkish sweets? I got these at a shop near the central market on our first Sunday there, and it was quite cheap and tasted so good! Super sweet! I tried to buy more then next time I was there, but the shop was closed. I don't really know what these are call, but I would eat them again without a doubt.

I got these boxes of kitten from Japan town Liberdade, and it reminded me that I've totally forgotten to blog about our trip there! So there will be a back dated post after this one to fill that in before we wrap up this album. Anyway, a Japanese lady sold me these, but she couldn't speak Japanese....

I got some cheese snacks to munch at home. Very "jelak" after eating a few. 

I saw a variety of Kit Kats at the supermarket and got myself some. I always thought only Japan has the most unusual Kit-Kat flavour, but those that are found in Brazil aren't too shabby either! I especially like the passion fruit Kit Kat which is kinda tangy. I just don't like it that it comes in white chocolate for all three packs.

More and more granola. I guess I got around half a dozen pack or more. And they lasted me for almost half a year! All gone now.... Wondering where I can buy them again. Or should I consider making them on my own? I saw some Youtube channel showing you how to make your own granola....

Above are my frozen microwave meals that I tried there. Can't remember which ones were nice. They were all very cheesy. Each pack is around maybe 3SGD? Cheaper than having a meal outside.

Brazilian flavoured Nissin noodles. Saw these in a grocery shop near my hotel and decided to try them. Super salty! But interesting I guess. 

We saw a guy demonstrating how to use the above nail decorator in Japan town. It was so fascinating that I decided I want one. It was only like 1SGD or something. My boss decided to get a kit for his daughter too and paid for mine. 

So this is what I did when I got back to my room. Pretty neat huh? And then I remembered I don't have a nail polish remover! And I still had to go to work the next day! How unprofessional! Lucky for me, it wasn't a Japanese company!

I got some cheap singlets from the hypermarket too. The left one especially says "Brazil" on it makes a nice souvenir. I used the other one as a yoga tee. I wanted to get some zumba clothes, but somehow, that didn't happen.

Lastly, I got myself a pack of toys from the central market area, at this budget shop. These are made in China, but it cost only SGD15 for the whole set, and I really like it. I was walking past it a few times and thinking whether I should buy it since it's such a non-practical item. Well, I got it. After all, you only live once, right?

Brazil Biz Trip (July 2019) - Shopping Summary

I think it would be easier if I did a summary of all the things i got via a "Tray-Summary". So let's start first with happy juice! Cheers to life! Assorted beer for my daily after dinner drinks! My favourite was the Imperio Gold. I love the bottle, love the taste, love the price of it. It kinda taste like shandy, but lighter. It's just a nice carbonated drink with low content of alcohol. Corona was also nice and light. Sol was a bit bitter, and 51 was the most high alcohol content and most unpleasant to drink!

I got myself some cooking ingredient that are relatively cheaper there: vinegar balsamic, mustard, risotto, coffee, and granola. I love the granola there. I buy one pack almost every time I go out. So many flavours, so cheap as compared to Singapore! And so yummy to eat as a meal. The minion pack are cream cheese I wanted to give to a friend but forgot, so now they are used as bun fillings for my sunday baking. Top right is the peanut snack that is super addictive. And top left is some juice water my colleagues love. I don't know why I bother buying them these, it's so heavy!

More granola, and coffee. I found some Ethiopian coffee at Carre Four so I got those for my husband. I also got some liver paste, and some chicken seasoning, just to try. 

More and more granola. I don't think I can ever be sick of granola. And 8 packs of chocolate. I've since finished them all. They are delicious! And comes in so many flavours too! Some salami and honey mead for my husband. Honey mead is a kind of alcohol made from honey, i think. It taste really nice when they let me try it at the market, and they were quite cheap. so I got 4 for like maybe 10SGD? They are still sitting in my fridge. I guess my husband isn't too interested in them. 

Brazil Biz Trip (July 2019) - Shoe Shopping

Here is one thing that I would probably never have to buy again - Slippers! Every time I come to Brazil, I get go home with two pairs of slippers. There are so many varieties available. You don't even have to go to a high end store like in Singapore to buy Havaianas or Ipanema. The picture on top was taken at a hypermarket. And best of of all, the slippers are really cheap! On my first trip, I got them for like 20SGD per pair, but on this trip, I got these for less than 10SGD per pair. 

Here are the two I got this trip, the middle one a Havaianas, and the right one a Ipanema. The green one is my Malaysian Flippers. I love slippers! They are cheap, non-slippery, and last forever! They are also wonderful in rainy countries as they dry easy, and easy to pack with you anywhere. I always, ALWAYS bring along a pair whenever I travel. One reason is, my wear a size 4, and it's not easy to find a shoe that small for adult. So even when I am in Japan onsen, I wear my own slippers even if they provide free slippers in the ryokan. 

Anyway, these are my very first pair of Ipanema! They are so bright and colourful and so beach-cy! 

I also love this pair of Havaianas as it looks more formal, plus the colour and design is so pretty. I'm not a shoe kinda girl, but these are so cheap that I couldn't help myself by buying them all! My favourite is still the original ones which I got on my first trip here. 

At the airport before departing, I saw these key ring version of Havaianas, and since I have some left over cash, I decided to buy two, one for me, and one for my project team mate in Singapore. Just as a small token of remember our project here. These are so cute!

As I spend a lot of time in the supermarket, I also took some photo of interesting things in it. For example the beer fridge above is so cool! Wish they have these here in Singapore!

Some of the supermarkets are so big it has its own cafe in it. Here is one of them. My boss treated me to cake and coffee while we took a rest from shopping. I love grocery shopping in different countries cause it gives you a glimpse of how the local people eat, as well as what are the things they use. Will show you more of the things I got for myself in the new few post.