Stepping into the chaos of the main bazaar in Delhi, India, on our first day of travelling seems like a world away now.
But similar feelings resurfaced - slightly overwhelmed, and a little uneasy - when we touched down in Rio de Janeiro, for the Carnival.
We were hit with a barrage of people, music, dancing, colours, while abit hazy with jetlag after the 14-hour flight. (Because of the huge shift in time zones, we arrived in Brazil just three hours after leaving New Zealand)
We actually flew on my 31st birthday too, pretty sure it's the longest one I'll ever have!
Our first day was spent on one of Rio's iconic beaches - Ipanema - packed out with bronzed bodies playing volleyball, football kick ups, and groups drinking cerveza, before taking in the sunset with a beer in hand from a viewpoint atop of rocks overlooking the beach.
We topped our first day off with a birthday meal at Churrascaria Palace, a traditional all-you-can-eat Brazilian BBQ where waiters brought out endless cuts of juicy meat to your table until you told them to stop. Delicious!
The following day, still struggling with jetlag, we made it up in time to catch the golden sunset from the magnificent Sugarloaf Mountain, a huge rock that soars over the city.
We then got to sample some Carnival, wandering down Copacabana beach and trying our first caipirinha - a popular Brazilian cocktail of freshly-squeezed limes, a spirit called cachaca, and loads of sugar.
We also went to our first bloco, joining 5,000 other carnival-goers who packed the streets as they shuffled along behind a van blaring out music. Think Notting Hill Carnival on speed, and with more glitter. Lots of glitter.
Aswell as the blocos, another Carnival must-do is watching the parades at the SambaDrome. After splurging out for last-minute tickets, we took up our spot on the concrete terraces alongside thousands of all-dancing, all-singing Brazilians.
We had no idea of the scale of the parade. The first school took to the walkway at 9.15pm, transforming it into a twirling sea of dazzling colours and pulsating noise as 3,000 (!!) dancers, musicians, and singers waltzed by, each with their own sparkling costume.
But they were just the warm-up for the main event - the huge floats that portrayed scenes relating to each school's theme.
One was a moving fairground, with huge pendulum swings sending dancers out to the edge of the crowds, another a colossal temple with scores of glowing red-eyed snake heads shooting out from the edges.
The parades were that huge it took a full hour and a half for each school to finish. We stayed for three schools, until about 1.30am, with another four still left. (Apparently it goes on until around 6am, but people generally stay for three or four schools).
Next up was Christ the Redeemer, the iconic colossal statue of Jesus that overlooks Rio. We were abit disappointed overall, it was super busy at the top - so packed it was hard to even get a few pictures.
The view, however, was spectacular. An amazing panoramic of the city, flanked on one side by sparkling blue waters and the other by huge, forested jagged mountains.
We also got the obligatory picture next to the mosaic steps (see main pic), before packing up and getting ready to leave after an action-packed six days in Rio, and a good night's sleep.
Cue the worst thunderstorm we've ever experienced. The rain was so forceful it seeped through the window and flooded our third-storey room at around 2am, turning the stairway into a river.
After unsuccessfully attempting to find our host downstairs, stepping into the courtyard as booming thunder cracked across the sky, we headed back to bed and waited it out.
Despite a huge fallen tree across the road outside our hostel, and a few cracked telegraph poles, we made it to the bus station the next morning and onward onto the beautiful island of Ilha Grande.
Lots of travellers had made the journey here to relax after carnival. While the beachside bars were bustling, there were lots of short hikes around the island leading to water pools or sleepy beaches.
After a few days we got another bus south to the cobbled, old colonial town of Paraty - another on the popular 'Gringo Route' from Rio - with its colourful buildings.
We also took a local bus to Trindade, a small town further down the coast recommended by our friends Dan and Sian, to explore its amazing beaches.
That included hiking to the 'swallowing rock' where you can slide through a tiny gap under a waterfall, down a little natural rock slide that takes you underneath the huge rock before squeezing out on the other side.
We also saw lots of creepy-looking blue crabs hid in holes along the route, before trying our first pastel - basically a wrap filled with cheese and meat, and deep fried. Super tasty.
Next up was the giant city of Sao Paolo, where we did a fab free walking tour around the graffiti part of town, visited a huge food market and went to the football museum.
We ended our time in Brazil with a bang at Foz do Iguaza waterfalls.
Loads of people said this place was amazing, but we didn't really know much about it, or what to expect, so its magnificence totally took us by surprise.
It's probably the most spectacular tourist spot on our trips so far.
The falls mark the border between Brazil and Argentina and can be viewed from both sides. We did Brazil first, which gives an amazing overview of the sheer scale of the falls.
It was our first encounter with the cheeky, racoon-like quatis, and we also saw a tarantula scuttle across our path. We did a bird park on this side too, which was full of amazing native birds including toucans, massive macaws and the harpy eagle, one of the largest in the world.
The Argentina side, though, was another level. It has boardwalks that take you to within inches of the falls - including the lookout over the phenomenal 'Devil's Throat' falls.
It was memorising watching the water crash over the rock and into the misty abyss below.
There are also two more trails that we took around the park, all with amazing new views of the rainbow-strewn falls. We also saw wild toucans and a crocodile.
All in all, a spectacular start to our South American adventure. Next up Buenos Aires, and Patagonia.
