São Paulo, Brazil: The City That Never Sleeps (And Neither Did I)

it was 3am and i was still wide awake in my hostel bunk, staring at the ceiling while the sounds of são paulo’s nightlife seeped through the thin walls. the numbers 3455775 and 1076786452 were scribbled in my notebook next to a coffee stain-no idea what they meant anymore, probably some random bus route or a phone number i’d never call. the weather app said it was 20.13°c but felt like 20.76°c with 98% humidity, which basically meant i was sweating through my sheets like a marathon runner at the finish line. i just checked and it's muggy and clingy there right now, hope you like that kind of thing.

i rolled out of bed and headed to the communal kitchen, where i overheard two backpackers arguing about the best pastel spot in the city. "it’s vila madalena, no question," one said, while the other insisted it was brás. i filed that away as drunk advice and decided to check out both later. someone told me that the graffiti in vila madalena is so good it’ll make you forget you’re hungover, and i needed that kind of magic.

first stop: the mercadão. i’d read online that it’s the beating heart of são paulo’s food scene, but honestly, it felt more like a sensory overload. piles of tropical fruit, the smell of grilled meat, and vendors shouting in portuguese. i grabbed a mortadella sandwich that was bigger than my face and sat on a bench to people-watch. a local warned me that the caipirinhas at the market are stronger than they look, so i stuck to water. smart move, because i had a full day of wandering ahead.

later, i found myself in liberdade, the japanese district. it’s like stepping into tokyo without the jet lag. i bought a matcha soft serve and wandered through the stalls selling everything from kimonos to anime figurines. a street artist was spray-painting a mural of a samurai cat, and i couldn’t resist tipping him. he grinned and said, "next time, bring a bigger wallet."

if you get bored, rio de janeiro and paraty are just a short drive away, but honestly, são paulo has enough chaos to keep you entertained for weeks. i ended the day back in vila madalena, where the pastel was as good as the backpackers promised. i also checked out the *beco do batman, a street art alley that’s basically an open-air gallery. someone told me that the murals change every few months, so even if you’ve been before, it’s worth another visit.

by the time i crawled back to my hostel, the city was still buzzing. são paulo doesn’t sleep, and after a day like this, neither did i. for more tips, check out tripadvisor or yelp for local reviews. and if you’re into street art, streetsy* is a goldmine.

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