Tourists visiting Brazil for the World Cup are advised to pack a bathing suit, sunscreen, and a whole lot of cash.
Home to some of the world's most expensive restaurants and hotels, and with some prices rising more as the opening match approaches, Brazil will shock those visitors whose idea of a tropical paradise is paying $1 for a beachside beer.
Instead, Brazil is often the land of the $10 caipirinha (the sugar cane-based local drink of choice), the $100 risotto and the $1,000-a-night hotel room, prices fueled by many of the same imbalances and government policies that have restrained economic growth in recent years.
Even by European and U.S. standards, prices for basic items are often staggering.
In Sao Paulo, a bustling business hub that is surrounded by some of the country's largest coffee farms, an espresso often costs twice as much as in Lisbon, says Paulo Duarte, a pharmaceutical consultant who splits time between both cities.
"It's absurd," Duarte said. "We're talking about one country that produces coffee and another that imports it."
High prices are nothing new in Brazil. The country has a long history of economic instability and runaway inflation, which topped 2,400 percent a year as recently as 1993.
Inflation these days is much more manageable, running at about 6 percent a year, though that is still high by international standards. Sao Paulo, for example, is the most expensive city in the Americas and the 19th most expensive in the world, ahead of New York and London, according to a recent survey by the Mercer consulting firm. Rio is among the world's 30 most expensive cities.
One reason prices are so steep is because the cost of doing business is so high, thanks to a mind-boggling mix of taxes, import tariffs, bureaucracy and poor infrastructure that can make Brazil a difficult place to operate.
Economists have a name for that: "Custo Brasil," or "Brazil Cost." It can make goods manufactured 30 percent more expensive than those produced abroad, according to a study by the industry federation of Rio de Janeiro.
Making matters worse, production costs have climbed in recent years with rising wages and energy prices, while government policies aimed at bolstering household consumption have driven up prices at the cash register.
Even for tourists with some money to burn, creative solutions are often called for.
Dimitar Bogdanov and Simeon Vassilev, a Hungarian couple who visited Rio de Janeiro for the first time early this year, paid the equivalent of $100 for a risotto at one of the city's chic restaurants. But they decided to alternate their big nights out with simpler spots, and managed to spend "only" $30 at a per-kilo buffet place where you pay by the weight of your serving.
"Some things are way overpriced but some others are cheap compared to Europe," Bogdanov said, recommending that tourists splurge on Brazil's famous rubber flip-flops, which can retail for $24 overseas but cost as little as $8 here.
路透社建议因世界杯出巴西旅游的游客带上泳衣，防晒霜和大量的现金。
拥有世界上最贵的餐馆，酒店，并且随着比赛的临近一些价格还在上涨，巴西会使那些想在热带天堂花一美元买一瓶海滨啤酒的游客震惊。
在巴西，凯匹林纳鸡尾酒（选择当地的甘蔗调制的）一杯10美元，意大利烩饭一份100美元，酒店一晚上1000美元，价格上涨是由于相同的失衡，并且近年来政府的政策抑制了经济增长。
甚至是按照欧洲和和美国的标准，这里的物价也是很惊人的。
在圣保罗，繁华的商业中心周围环绕着巴西最大的咖啡农场，一杯特浓咖啡的价格的是里斯本的两倍，圣保罗杜阿尔特（Paulo Duarte）一一位医药咨询师，经常往返巴西和里斯本。
他说：“这很荒谬，巴西是生产咖啡，而里斯本是进口咖啡。”
在巴西，高物价并不是什么新鲜事。有很长一段时间巴西的经济不稳定，通胀失控，1993年高达2400%。
近来通胀更好管理，每年通胀率约为6%，尽管这仍然高于国际标准。比如说，根据美世咨询公司最近的一项调查，圣保罗是美洲物价最高的城市，世界上第19贵的国家，远远超过纽约和伦敦。里约热内卢也跻身于全球最贵30大城市。
巴西物价这么高，其中一个原因是商业成本很高。成本这么高是由于有令人难以置信的多种税费，进口关税，官僚主义，以及基础设施很差使得巴西不适合做生意。
经济学家称它为“巴西成本”。根据里约热内卢工业联合会的一项研究，这使制成品产品比国外生产贵30%。
更糟糕的是，近年来生产成本上涨和工资和能源价格上涨，然而政府政策旨在提高家庭消费，这也就推高了消费价格。
即使很多有钱的游客，也会想法省钱。
来自匈牙利的夫妇Dimitar Bogdanov 和Simeon Vassilev今年初第一次来到里约热内卢旅行，在一个很别致的餐厅，花了100美元吃了一份意大利烩饭。到了晚上他们找一家便宜些的自助餐厅，按重量收费，“只”花费了30美元。
Bogdanov表示，巴西物价特别贵，但是也有一些会比欧洲便宜一点。他向大家推荐了巴西著名的橡胶人字拖，在海外卖24美元，但是在巴西只有8美元。
