Rockin' Rio!: Sunny Days and Bossa Nova Nights

As oceanfront/seaside meccas go, frankly, I'd rather be where I am right now, in quirky-beautiful Tel Aviv, with its blindingly white buildings, hot guys and ridiculously warm and friendly people. But Rio is not without its considerable following -- and charms, some of which I attempted to capture in the second of my six travel essays for the Bangkok Post's the magazine.

Life’s a beach. So goes that old tropical cliché, the one most likely to evoke vivid images of endless summers filled with lazy days and sultry nights. It’s the ultimate bacchanalian fantasy where everyone lives for long weekends spent on the shores of paradise, watching cold waves roll over warm sand while roasting under a red-hot sun. In those wildest dreams, life’s a beach indeed.

And in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, that holiday reverie ventures breathtakingly close to the realm of reality.... (Click here for the rest of the story....)