Indranil’s phone was stolen during Rio Carnival, on February 9, 2025.
I (Pubali) am going to describe exactly what happened: occurrences leading up to the incident, how it happened, what we needed to do at the time, and especially, the impact of the incident on both of us.
❗️ If your phone was just stolen in Rio de Janeiro, and you are feeling perplexed on what to do next, read this for the exact next steps.
You can always come back here to find out how we know what we know.
In my head, I have written and re-written this article a dozen times. But today, almost one year after the incident, I hope to get this story out, NOT to dissuade anyone from visiting Rio de Janeiro, but for these two reasons:
✅ To set expectations for travelers that things can happen when traveling: This was our first (and only so far) brush with crime in ~8 years of traveling in Latin America, but it did happen. Hope other travelers who find themselves in similar undesired situations can take something out of how we dealt with our situation.
✅ To inform our families and friends: That’s right! Nobody in our close circles knows about this incident yet, except my (Pubali’s) brother, and later on, one friend of ours.
Food for Thought: Before starting the personal account, I feel the need to request you to NOT treat this story as a “Latin America is not safe for travel” narrative. This incident could have happened anywhere in the world.
We personally know of people whose valuables were stolen in France and Spain. But people do not go about labeling those developed countries as “not safe for travel”. So, let’s please try to avoid doing that for the developing nations as well. Thank you!
For the record, we have never seen a city like Rio and, after many visits to the Marvelous City, it still remains one of our top 3 cities in Latin America.
Now, let’s start the story.
A Slow Sunday Craving
It was a Sunday morning. Our plan was to go out after breakfast, to check out a Bloco.
Blocos are street parties, usually free to attend for anyone, where people gather, on the streets, to drink and dance along with live music. These street parties form a big component of Rio Carnival festivities. The blocos are also moving parties, that is, they shift from one location to another. There are usually hundreds of blocos happening all over the city, over the few weeks of Carnival.
Indranil and I are not party people, but we are curious about cultures. So, drinking and dancing on the streets with thousands of strangers are not our vibe, but we do want to take in the experience, as observers.
So, we wanted to go see a bloco or two.
But that required some social energy.
And we had already exhausted a fair bit of our social batteries through the week, experiencing other activities in Rio de Janeiro, including watching a FLA-FLU Derby football match at the Maracanã Stadium the night before, followed by watching the Carnival parade technical rehearsals of the Samba schools at the Sambadrome.
So, we woke up that morning, craving for a slow Sunday. You know, the kind of Sunday, when you don’t need to go anywhere, don’t need to get anything done, and you can just take it easy.
The Doubts and The Decision-Making
Could we go to a bloco another day? We asked each other.
But going to see a bloco was not just something we wanted to do for ourselves. It was also part of the field work for our blog post on Rio Carnival.
We cannot (rather, do not) write about some activity if we have not experienced it ourselves. Because of the Carnival, it was also time sensitive.
So, it was decided. We were going to a bloco that Sunday, although what both of us really wanted to do was stay in bed and cuddle.
Now, there was another decision to make. Which bloco to go to?
There were many happening all over the city, of different scales, from small neighborhood parties to megablocos that attract hundreds of thousands to more than a million people and are often studded with celebrity performers.
Needless to say, with such massive crowds, megablocos require more energy and vigilance on the attendee’s part.
When we did not even feel like going out, but were still dragging ourselves out for field work, it was an easy decision to make, for which bloco to go to.
We settled on one megabloco! It was happening in Centro.
My logic was that we may not have the social battery bandwidths to attend too many blocos; so, if we are going to go, let’s go to a big one!
First Impressions at the Megabloco
Because of all the road closures due to this Megabloco in Centro, our Uber driver was thoughtful to drop us at a strategic location at one of the road intersections so that we needed to walk only a bit to join the party.
It was around 10:30 in the morning. Arriving at the starting location of the Megabloco, we actually felt pretty good about our decision.
We had planned to be here in Rio de Janeiro at this time of the year for the Carnival. So, let’s experience all that Rio Carnival is about!
Massive crowds were expected to gather. But the area looks greatly organized, and secured with heavy police presence.
We felt confident. We felt safe.
There were thousands of people on the street, including families. Everyone seemed to be in a jovial mood, ready to party all day (correction: all month) long.
Indranil and I were happy! We were happy to see so much joy around us.
Observing the music and dance and the moving vehicle of the live music performers, Indranil and I walked along one side of the street.
We walked very close to each other, with our hands rigidly placed on our respective pant pockets that contained our phones.
Those Few Seconds
Suddenly, a group of 4-5 men, seemingly in a great rush, surrounded Indranil and me, and pushed the two of us apart from each other.
Indranil ended up a few steps ahead of me, and those men seemed to block any way of us getting closer towards each other.
Those Few Seconds: Pubali’s POV
I am a woman who grew up in India and have lived in big cities of India, navigating public transports and crowded places on my own, from a very young age.
So, like most women from my country, questioning and resisting to male touch in crowded places come to me as a reflex, and I am conditioned to distinguish between bad touch and good touch.
And here I was, attending a festival in a sexy city in Brazil, in a crowded place, where a few shirtless men pushed and shoved against me, yet, NOT in a way of sexual harassment?
I knew something was off.
I grabbed on to the phone inside my pant pocket with all my might.
“Phone sabdhane” (“Take care of the phone”), I wanted to scream to Indranil. But I didn’t.
In just a few seconds, all these men disappeared.
Indranil and I could now easily walk towards each other, nobody blocking our way anymore. It didn’t even feel that just a few seconds ago we were thrusted apart from each other, forcibly by a group of men. Everything seemed all clear now.
Relieved to be able to get closer to Indranil, I looked at his face, only to find despair. “I don’t have my phone”, he said, pointing to his pocket zipper that was left open.
Those Few Seconds: Indranil’s POV
The second Indranil and I got pushed away from each other, his first thought was to look back to check if I was okay.
Although he himself was pushed by those men, coming from India, seeing his wife being pushed and shoved by 4-5 shirtless men, Indranil’s all attention was centered on me in that moment.
He wanted to check if I was okay.
He wanted to check if I was safe.
He didn’t think of anything else in that moment, except his wife’s safety.
Then suddenly, all these men disappeared, opening the path for us to move towards each other.
Indranil reached out to his pocket to check his phone. But it was too late.
During those few seconds, his hand might have slipped from the pocket for a split second, when someone from that group of men would have taken the phone.
They did not take anything else. They opened just one pocket zipper that had the phone. His other pocket with some cash and one card was left intact.
We met and Indranil looked to me with despair on his face, and said, “I don’t have my phone”, pointing to his pocket zipper that was left open.
📱 Learning: When attending Rio Carnival, keep your phone inside a money belt and wear that money belt hidden beneath your clothes.
If you are going to experience this festival, read our guide on How to Stay Safe during Rio Carnival.
Phone Stolen: It’s A Thing in Rio de Janeiro!
If you have ever done any research for a trip to Rio de Janeiro, you probably already know that stealing phones is a thing in Rio. Almost like a skill!
We realized this long before we ever stepped foot in Rio for the first time in 2023. Not because anything happened to us, but because of the sheer number of people warning us to take care of our phones when we arrive in Rio.
All kinds of people, Brazilians who we had met while traveling in other countries, as well as travelers from other countries who had been to Rio, gave us this tip, that we had to be extra careful of our phones.
Even when we landed in Rio before the Carnival, a fellow passenger getting off from the same plane welcomed us to his city Rio de Janeiro, and warned us that we should be careful with our phones.
It is a known fact that pickpocketing, stealing, and even robbing, not just tourists but as well as locals, of phone is quite common in Rio, and this reaches a peak during the busy period of Carnival.
Just that, we did not expect it to happen to us. Nobody does.
➡️ Related Readings:
After the incident, when we went to the local police station to report it, this theory was again validated. The police station was crammed with people, mostly locals. Almost ALL OF THEM had come to report their stolen phones!
Because the station was so busy, one of the police officers suggested us to go the Tourist Police Station because that station handles tourist cases on priority and also, they would have English speaking staff.
So, we went to the Tourist Police Station. Yes, there were lesser number of people, and all tourists. And why were they there? To report their stolen phones!
You get the drift. Now, back to the story, right after when Indranil found out that he didn’t have his phone.
📃 Do not forget to purchase travel insurance for your trip. We use:
- Heymondo Travel Insurance (get 5% discount, auto applies), OR
- SafetyWing Nomad Insurance
* Discount not applicable for US residents
Our First Reactions and The Mad Days that Followed
Realizing that those 4-5 men surrounding us, pushing and shoving us were just a setup attempting to steal our phones, and that Indranil’s phone was gone for real, we channeled our focus on chalking out the next steps.
Mentally, Indranil was already at a low. All kinds of thoughts kept crossing his mind. Questions, doubts, ifs and buts.
“I keep making these damages for us. I lost the drone. Now I lost my phone.”, he kept blaming himself.
“We are physically unharmed. We are safe. And that is important.”, I assured him.
We agreed that we could take the time to remorse and reflect later, but at that time, we needed to focus on taking actions.
And from there on, not just that day, but for the next few days, it was a whirlwind of to-dos and email exchanges.
From going to the police station to file a report and following up on that, from getting to block SIM card while managing time zone differences to trying to remotely protect the data on the stolen phone, from filing insurance claim and doing all the paperwork to setting up a backup phone for Indranil, our days were just busy.
But we did not forget. We could not forget that day, that moment.
Does Monetary Loss Hurt?
This is a monetary loss that we had not factored to take in.
Indranil’s iPhone was also one of our primary devices for taking photos and recording videos. The phone was an essential component of our work setup.
Yes, monetary loss hurts, but…
But the Damage Runs Deeper
Over the next few days after the phone was stolen, we continued to carry out the tasks that absolutely needed to be done.
But somewhere along the way, we got exhausted.
Every now and then, in my mental vision, that moment surfaced, when I first saw Indranil’s face of despair that day.
For Indranil, it was the moment he first realized that his phone had been stolen from his pocket.
We continued with our days like normal. We smiled, we laughed, we loved, we went out, but the visions kept appearing and pulling us down.
We were still a few weeks away from the main Carnival event in Rio, the Samba schools’ performances at the Sambadrome. We also had plans to visit another city for the Carnival before returning to Rio for our night at the Sambadrome. And in total, we had more than 2 months of travel left in Brazil.
We already had our tickets for the Sambadrome, and we had a tentative itinerary in place for our 3 months slow travel in Brazil.
But our energies were drained out.
We craved comfort.
Carnival in Brazil demands great amount of energy. We wanted to feel all of that, but in our headspace, we just wanted peace of mind.
Although not fully convinced myself, I proposed, what if we cut short the rest of our Brazil trip after attending the Carnival parade at the Sambadrome, and go to Costa Rica?
Tendency to Blame Yourself Vs. Finding the Strength to Move On
After the phone was stolen, once we took care of the immediate action items and when things started to settle in, our minds popped more questions.
We craved a slow Sunday that day, then why did we decide to go to the bloco?
If we had to go to a bloco, why did we start with a megabloco? Why didn’t we go to a smaller neighborhood bloco?
We are part of a travelers’ group in Rio. Why didn’t we connect with other travelers and plan to go to the bloco in a group, like many others did?
“Why did my hand slip from over the phone pocket even for that split second?”, thought Indranil.
“Why didn’t I scream ‘phone sabdhane’ to Indranil even when I wanted to?”, I questioned myself.
We started blaming ourselves for the decisions and choices we made.
We spent too much time thinking about what could have happened.
Then, one day, it struck us that this was not helping us in any way. On the contrary, this mindset was just hampering our possibilities of enjoying Carnival, Rio de Janeiro and Brazil to their full potential.
I said, “Let’s stop blaming ourselves. We were just victims of a crime. They did the wrong thing. Not us. So, we will not let it spoil OUR time and mood.”
We gathered the strength to pull ourselves together and move on.
Moving on
We continued to experience Brazil, as planned, enjoying everything for ourselves, as well as doing the field work for our travel blogs about Brazil.
Without any hint of hesitation, and without feeling the sad need to leave Brazil for peace of mind, we went about doing all of these:
Went to more bloco parties in Rio de Janeiro! This time, smaller ones, and honestly, liked them much better than the megabloco.
Signed up for a cultural walking tour in Rio, that helped us place this gala festival of Carnival in the context of Brazil’s African heritage.
Took the bus from Rio de Janeiro to travel to Belo Horizonte and experienced Carnival in Belo Horizonte. Went on a 2-day trip from Belo Horizonte to the beautiful town of Ouro Preto, and experienced Carnival there as well!
Returned to Rio by bus from Belo Horizonte to go see the Special Group performances of Rio Carnival at the Sambadrome.
After the Carnival was over, NO, we did not leave Brazil immediately.
We continued to travel in Brazil and went on to explore Paraty, São Paulo and Florianópolis, all by availing long distance buses and local public transports.
We ended up traveling in Brazil for a whopping 85 days (90 days max allowed on our tourist visas), and this period turned out to be a significant chapter of our 2025.
Looking back, that incident of Indranil’s phone being stolen still does feel like a scar. But we have moved on from that chapter. Yes, there may be times when we feel a little heavy about it, for example, today, re-living everything in my mind, scene by scene, for writing this piece.
But we are glad that despite the initial shake, the incident COULD NOT make a dent in our enthusiasm for travel and our passion for exploring Latin America.
And so, after ~3 months in Brazil and then spending a few months in Costa Rica, we picked our next destination: Colombia!
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