Sept 13: Chinese BBQ

Today we are invited to my uncle's house for a BBQ!

BBQ is a new concept for Chinese people. It is also a luxury reserved for those rich enough to live in a house - can you imagine what your apartment would smell like if you light a BBQ in it?
My uncle's house is located in Sakura Garden, a development in the suburban area Xin Zhuang. In the 80's, Xin Zhuang might as well be timbuktu to Shanghai people. It was considered remote countryside. As rapid development gobbled up land in Shanghai, the city started to expand at an alarming pace. Farmland in nearby suburban areas were converted into residential and commercial developments. The municipality followed up with infrastructure improvements. Today there are enough residents in Xin Zhuang to warrant a subway line leading directly to it from centertown Shanghai.

We left at 9 AM via Subway Line 1. There are altogether 8 subway lines connecting different areas in and around Shanghai. Line 1 passes near my parents' apartment and its final stop is Xin Zhuang. It only took us 20 minutes to get there. The subway was crowded on this Saturday morning. There was barely enough room to stand.

We walked out of the subway station into the blazing sun. The weather is unseasonable hot and humid for September. But neither the heat or the humidity deterred the bustling crowd around us. From the subway station, we had to take a bus to get to Sakura Garden. Most of the well-maintained developments in suburban Shanghai have their own buses that travel back and forth between the subway station and the community. When we got to the bus terminal, we saw at least 4 different buses, each with the name of the development written on the front. The ride is free - it is part of the real estate contract between the buyers and the developer. We were lucky enough to arrive just in time for the next bus or we would had to wait for half an hour.

When we got to my uncle's place, they were busy preparing for the barbeque. As I mentioned before, a Chinese barbeque is quite different from what we are used to in Canada. My cousin Martin was trying to pierce squid tentacles onto a skewer when we arrived. The big kitchen table was already covered with food: little purple yams, eggplants, onions and peppers, chicken wings and seaweed. My aunt has gone to the club house for some entertainment program organized for the residents of the development. Each development has a posh-looking club house. It is usually the most impressive-looking building in the entire development and located right in front of the main entrance. It caters only to the residents of the development and contains various entertainment and fitness facilities. The club house in Sakura Garden has a theatre. My aunt was the lead singer for that day's performance! Since there are many retired people in the development, these activities provides a good venue to help them kill time.

Unfortunately, before Martin and I could run to the club house to cheer on my aunt, the program had ended and we met my aunt halfway. She was followed by my other uncle and his family (wife, daughter, son-in-law and grand-daughter). We started our barbeque.

My uncle's barbeque stove was not powered by propane - it was known as a Hibachi. Martin and I waved two pieces of cardboard paper violently over the charcoal, trying to start a fire. We were not too successful. Cherry's husband Cai came to our rescue. Cai is from a neighboring province of Shanghai and grew up in the countryside. Starting a fire is a piece of cake for him. Besides, he is an athelete and a phys-ed teacher. His stamina and strength put us to shame. He took over the fan and with several powerful waves, there was fire! Of course, Martin and I both inhaled a good dosage of smoke.

Martin and Cai were the main chefs for barbeque - it is indeed a task for men. I have always thought there is something very sexy about a man doing a barbeque. Even the meekest and mildest man looks manly when he is barbequing because makes him look a bit like a caveman! Martin and Cai didn't let us down - food started to arrive at the table quickly.

I hate to report that most of the food were pretty tasteless (the picture to the left shows my cousin Cherry displaying a chicken wing). Clearly my uncle and aunt have not mastered the technique of marinading. There was no oil or condiments on the many species pierced onto the skewers. As a result, things burned easily and didn't taste that great. I noticed the popular practice is to pour a lot of HP sauce on the barbequed products before you eat them. I stuck to orange juice and peppers after a skewer of very dry seaweed and tough squid tantecles. But it was obvious that all my relatives enjoyed the non-marinaded food as they were eaten up quite quickly. Guess what was the most popular item? Bacon! They were the biggest bacon I have ever seen - easily 3 times the size of a piece of Schneider's bacon. "Bacon crisp" is an unknown concept. My aunt simply made the bacon pink before she served them, wrapped in a piece of Boston lettuce. Surprisingly, Boston lettuce was a novelty. Chinese lettuce is very similar to the Romaine variety we have in Canada - actually the only variety worth eating since all other lettuces are just water without much else in it. But since Boston lettuce is rare and looks really pretty and clean, it was the highlight of the barbeque. I didn't want to tell them that it is a nutrition-poor vegetable - why dampen the spirit?

As we sat around a long table eating away underneath a new tent that my uncle's neighbor just bought, many neighbors walked by. My uncle and aunt get along really well with all the neighbors. One of the neighbors bought a tent the day before and generously gave it to my uncle for the barbeque. He said he wanted my uncle to test it out. When my uncle gave him good feedback about the tent, the neighbor beamed and said he would go out and buy another one that day. There was going to be a neighborhood barbeque party in 3 days: a birthday party for that neighbor's one-year-old grandson. The neighborhood holds a party every month. When you live that far away from your family, your neighbors become your family.

I also noticed how affluent the neighhood was. 3 groups of neighbors passed by when we were eating. First came a couple in their 40's. The husband went to fetch the car - a Volvo SUV, while the tall and pretty wife stood waiting with her little white Bichon. Then came 3 well-dressed girls in their 20's, piling into a large Nissan. Then came the "tent neighbor". He has a chemical factory in the countryside and is extremely successful. His wife, a lady in her 60's, was a submarine weapon designer. They were taking care of their two grand children (having a second child will bring monetary penalty but money clearly is not an issue for this family). The whole development is full of rich Chinese people, some much richer than most of the Canadians I know. It is a scary sight to behold - because I also see a lot of people in Shanghai with little to live on.

Just when all of us were stuffed, my aunt's shrimp delivery arrived. She had ordered live Taiwanese shrimps from a nearby market. The delivery was late but she accepted the order anyway. I helped her skewer the shrimps and felt extremely cruel. The shrimps were all still alive. As I tried to put them on a skewer, they struggled with their distinctive bright yellow legs. I had to give up after a few - I just couldn't do it any more. I didn't have any shrimps. If we had to slaughter our own food, most of us would be vegetarians.

After the meal, we helped clean up and then checked out the many interesting things growing around my uncle's house. Climbing high onto the tree in front of the house is a silk gourd vine, full of gourds. Silk gourd is native to eastern China. It is 15 to 20 inches long, slender and light green in color. It has a pale green flesh and a delicate taste. It is perfect in soup or omelettes. We looked at the silk gourd growing on top of the tree. It was almost as high as the third floor.

"How are you going to get that gourd?" we asked.

"This is what I call retirement entertainment." uncle proudly claimed.

He brought out an apparatus that amazed all of us. It is a special pair of shears tied onto the end of a very long bamboo pole. The shears are operated by a long string. If you tug on the string, the shears will close. Then he gave us a basket tied to the end of another bamboo pole. One of us held the basket directly underneath the gourd while uncle pulled the string. Voila - a fresh silk gourd. Uncle picked about 8 of them for us to take home. They were so fresh and delicious!
Beside the silk gourd, a vine with feathery leaves and pretty star-shaped flowers caught our eyes. Uncle said he didn't plant it. A bird probably dropped some seeds under the tree. The vine grew very fast and was flowering profusely. I took some seeds and hope to grow them next year in my own garden. Although looking at the delicate leaves, I wonder how it will stand up to the vicious Canadian earwigs and other pests. The picture here shows two fully-grown silk gourds as well as a pretty little red star-flower and its delicate leaves.

We spent the rest of the day there. Martin, Cherry, Cai and I went to an abandonned fitness club and played a game of badminton. Of course, Cai beat us badly. He would easily win even if he played against all 3 of us at the same time. The elders (uncles, aunts and parents) sat around and chatted. We were also eaten alive by mosquitoes.

We didn't get away without getting fed one more time. When dusk fell, uncle made his famous fried onion noodle, served along side some Russian soup. Again we were stuffed.

It was my first Chinese barbeque experience and it was unforgettable. Apart from the food, I got a glimpse of how the upper-middle-class live in China. They are catching up really fast with the upper-middle-class of the developed nation and probably will surpass them soon.

Sept 18 - Sanya Dining

We have a saying in China: food is heaven. For those of you who know me well, I am the living example of that saying. That's because I inherited it from my dad. My dad is great cook and a fussy eater. When he travels, his biggest problem is always finding food that lives up to his standards. I had an earful of his complaints when he spent two months in Ottawa: cucumbers were too large; tomatoes were tasteless; beef and pork were frozen instead of fresh; even the stove was not perfect - it was not a gas stove. Knowing my dad's idiosyncracy about food, I paid special attention to food during my hotel research. Numerous on-line postings gave Horizon a high score on food - it was the main reason why I chose the hotel. I was anxious to find out if the on-line comments were accurate.

Our first meal was breakfast on the morning after our arrival. It was a buffet. I have tried many breakfast buffets. The Westin Hotel in Ottawa is a favourite spot for Kenny and I in the winter for breakfast buffets. When we go to Barbados, the Hilton is our favourite buffet place. But both places pale in comparison with the Horizon. The breakfast buffet is held in the coffee shop in the hotel. Don't be fooled by the name "coffee shop" and start visualing a Starbucks-sized estalishment. The coffee shop in the Horizon is a huge hall with marble floors built on an elevated platform. It is surrounded on three sides by beautiful trellises and a lotus pond. We chose a table underneath the trellis beside the peach-blossomed lotus flowers, where we could see the sea just beyond the coconut trees surrounding meadow in front of the coffee shop. As soon as she saw up approach the table, a waitress came over and asked us if we would like coffee or tea. All the waitresses are dressed in a type of local attire, have the same hair style, pleasant-looking and extremely helpful. There is never a chance for used dishes and utensils to pile up on your table - the waitresses keep a close eye on what you no longer need.

The food was amazing both in variety and quality. Coming from a country that greatly respects multiculturalism, I could really appreciate the care that was taken to please people from different parts of the world. There is always a Japanese hot dish of some sort - vegetable teriyaki or meat teriyaki; several south east Asian dishes - Malaysian chicken curry, Thai Tom Yum soup, Indonesian beef, Singapore fried rice noodle; an section dedicated to Mexican food - tortilla chips, cooked ground beef, guacomole, shredded cheddar, tomato and lettuce; complete selection of western-style breakfast items - bacon, sausages, ham, omelette made to your liking, fried eggs, fresh-baked goods, stewed tomatoes, home fries, toasts and jam. The juice bar offers interesting choices, including mango juice and papaya juice. Fresh fruits are different from what we are used to in Shanghai - fresh papaya everyday, star fruit and the sweetest canteloupe. Surprisingly there is also a yoghurt and cheese bar. I tried a piece of brie cheese - not bad for Chinese cheese.

But my favourite spot in the whole buffet, by far, is the Chinese table. It is located right at the entrace of the buffet. You can get plain congee, black rice congee, Japanese miso soup, Korean miso soup, Vietnamese sweet and sour soup, soy milk and all the congee fixings - a variety of Chinese pickles, deep-fried peanuts and fermented bean curd. Everyday there is an offering of 4 different dim sum items, lotus cakes, Japanese steamed eggs, shrimp dumplings, fried noodles, fried rice, spare ribs with black bean sauce, etc. However, the spot that I visit most often is the Cantonese congee station. Cantonese people are known for their ingenuity when it comes to food. Cantonese congee is one of their famous inventions. You start with plain congee and add an assortment of meat and dried food, then flavor it to your liking. The best combination, in my opinion, is liver with fish. I know most of my North American friends would be frowning severely by now but if you haven't tasted liver and fish congee, you absolutely have to give it a try! The chefs at the congee station are quite skilled. The fish and liver are made to perfection. They always add some ginger slivers to take away the fishy taste before they start. And I would add green onion, coriander, dried seaweed flakes, chili oil and just a drop of soy sauce. I converted mom and dad on the first day. The three of us take turns going to get our fish and liver congee while the other two eat the freshly-prepared fare. The congee chef is also in charge of blanching fresh veggies. We always complete our breakfast with a plate of fresh-blanched bokchoy or Chinese lettuce. The result of our breakfast buffet is that we didn't need any lunch for the four days we stayed on the island.

As one could guess, the specialty food on the island is seafood - probably caught from the body of water 100 yards from our room. We had nothing but seafood for four days. It was difficult for mom because she prefers meat to seafood. But it would be silly to choose meat over seafood when you can have such fresh seafood! We were adventuresome, we had seafood in two of the many restauratns in Horizon, one restaurant near center town and one restaurant (if you can call it that) on a dilapidated boat! Some restaurants are so clean you can eat off the floor. On the other hand, the boat restaurant we went to made my hair stand up on their ends. It was absolutely filthy. Although the food tasted alright, I was half expecting getting poisoned any time. But I wanted to experience how local people dine so we stuck it out. In the end, nobody got sick. The format of the seafood restaurants are all the same. When you walk in, you see a wall lined with fish tanks. Different marine lives swim/crawl around in these tanks. You would pick what you want and how much you want. The waitresses will kill the seafood in front of you and weigh them. The killing part is quite difficult for me. So much so that I stopped choosing fish after two meals. They kill the fish with a baseball bat. At least you don't have to knock the clams and the shrimps with weapons. The different types of shell fish are most delicious. My favourite is something called mango clam. Its shell is shaped like a mango and has a touch of mango-color to it. Here is picture of some clams, shrimps and crabs.

My most satisfactory dining experience is the seafood hotpot in Horizon. It was a beautiful night. The sun has set and the sillouette of the coconut trees was dark against the deep blue sky. The seafood hotpot is served on a large paved square beside the sea, under large coconut trees. Since it was the slow season, there were only 3 groups occupying the large square where seafood hotpot is offered. We had the full attention of many beautiful waitresses. They brought a large pot filled with nutritious broth (Chinese ginseng, red dates, ginger and other good stuff were brewed in it) and placed it on a stove in the center of the table. We were free to order anything we would like from a large menu - shellfish, fish, shrimps, crabs, meat, veggies, etc. As our food arrived, we cooked them ourselves in the pot to perfection and then dip them in a sauce we mix ourselves from some twenty condiments. The only thing they didn't allow us to cook were the shrimps. The shrimps were still jumping around and if we cooked them ourselves, we probably would have been scalded from the splashing broth. Everything was amazingly tasty because they were so fresh. The service was out of this world. Our waitresses were so attentive and pleasant I almost wanted to take one home with me. Here is a photo the three of us waiting for our hotpot meal and a picture of our selections.

All in all, dining in San Ya was excellent, especially its seafood. For those of you who might travel to San Ya and decide to stay at Horizon, my advice is that you will be more than happy if you just dined at the restaurants inside the hotel. You will receive great value, outstanding service as well as a tasty meal. Whatever you do, do NOT go to a dilapidated boat and eat there. I have tried to live like a local person and only came to realize that I am after all, a tourist.

Sept 17: Paradise in Horizon

Last year, when "The Bucket List" became a box-office hit, many people started to write their own bucket lists. I did one, too. One of the items on my list is to travel with my parents to a beautiful destination and give them an unforgetable experience.

Thanks to a generous breathing space between my old job and new stint, my dream is coming true. Last night, we flew from Shanghai to San Ya, a coastal city in the southmost province of China - Hai Nan Island.

The flight was only 2 hours and 40 minutes and relatively smooth. Nevertheless, flying is still a novelty for my parents. They have worked very hard all their lives and they belong to a generation that does not know the meaning of "vacation". I can count their trips in my 38 years of life on one hand and still not use all the fingers. They spent their honeymoon in Han Zhou (two hours' train ride from Shanghai). Mom traveled to Europe for work once. In 2004, I invited them to visit me in Canada. That was dad's first ever plane ride, at the ripe age of 61! Last year I sponsored their trip to Hong Kong - it was dad's second plane ride from Hong Kong to Shanghai (they were too frugal and took the train on their way to Hong Kong). So this flight is dad's third big experience. My heart melted when I saw my dad glued his eyes on any objects outside the cabin window for almost the entire trip, trying to spot city lights and marveling at the clouds we flew through. The Shanghai Airline offered good service and surprisingly good food, maybe I was biased because they served Chinese food.

We arrived at San Ya at 8:50 PM. A wave of hot and humid air welcomed us as we exited the aircraft. It felt almost exactly the same as Barbados, only hotter. The airport was quite simple compared to the ultra-modern Pu Dong Airport in Shanghai. It also adopts open concept - fresh air and no air-conditioning. I didn't mind. The air felt soothing on my parched skin from the flight. I have always loved hot weather anyway.

As soon as we walked out of the arrival door, I spotted my name, written in very large characters on a placard held by a man in a colorful Hawaiian shirt. He was our driver. I have arranged to have the hotel send us a car. The driver was very friendly. He has a slight accent similar to Cantonese, which dad and I had no problem understanding (we both speak Cantonese). He took our two bags and led us to a very clean-smelling Volkswagen Passat with leather interior. Our San Ya journey started.

The shadow of palm and coconut trees moved past our window at a comfortable pace. Speed limit is 80 km/h. The moon is still almost perfectly round (2 days after the Chinese moon festival) and bathed everything in a mysterious silvery light. Since the airport is 35 minutes away from the hotel, we had time for a nice conversation with the driver.

Mom started with the question that has plagued her for more than 2 weeks. According to Jucelino Nobrega da Luz, a 47-year-old Brazilian teacher and clairvoyant, China (in particular, San Ya) will be hit with a 9.1 earthquake on Sept 13th, causing a catastrophic tsunami. Ever since I proposed our trip to San Ya, mom has been focusing intently on news report every morning to see if an earthquake had hit San Ya. It didn't help that relatives and friends were calling her up, questioning our decision to travel in such "trying times". I didn't pay too much attention to the prediction and insisted on our original plan. Traveling to San Ya has been a dream for my mom for the longest time. I am not about to let a rumor/prediction jeopardize the precious chance we have. So mom eagerly asked the driver about the prediction.

The driver laughed, "Sure, there are people who believed it. Some of them have fled to the mainland to escape from the disaster. Most of us Hai Nan people are not responding."

"Aren't you worried?" asked mom, not willing to give up.

"Not really. If death is in your destiny, then there is really nowhere to hide. And what's more, just think about it. If a tsunami hits and wipes out all the people in Hai Nan, you will die with another million people by your side. Wouldn't that be cool?"

The driver's unique viewpoint cracked mom up. I was most thankful to the driver because his interpretation enlightened mom a bit, which I wasn't able to do before.

We drove through a few small towns. The island was quiet at that time of the night. There weren't that many cars and almost no pedestrians. We only drove past one location where people were gathered around some dinner tables and chatting. We could see the sillouette of meandering hills against the night sky, beyond the vast rice fields on both sides of the road.

We finally arrived at our destination - the Horizon Resort and Spa. It is located on the best real-estate San Ya - Ya Long Bay. Ya Long Bay boasts beautiful beaches and calm sea, cradled by a ring of hills rising above the sea. There are quite a few hotels to choose from in Ya Long Bay. I chose the Horizon after a lot of research on-line, reading travelers' comments about the many hotels there. I have to say my research paid off.

The hotel was built 10 years ago so it has a longer history than many other hotels in the Bay. In recent years it went through an expansion and is now divided into two zones. Zone two is the new addition and much more modern than Zone one. The two zones have separate entrances. Again the entrance of Zone two has more grandeur than that of Zone one, including the lobby. We checked into our room, a deluxe suite with sea view.

Our suite is located on the top floor (7th) on the northwest wing of the Zone two compond. The rooms are larger than any I have seen in North American hotels. The bedroom has a king-size bed on which you can gaze at the sea while lying down. The living room is attached to a big balcony. The sea is directly in front and to the right of the balcony. Underneath the balcony there is a great view of the beautiful garden in the centre of the hotel. To the left is some high hills enshrouded in clouds. The suite is very well-equipped with all kinds of amenities, including a PC with a thin-screen, unlimited Internet access, washing machine, a kitchen, robes, beach sandals, two big-screen TVs, double sinks, huge tub, rain-forest shower, a walk-in closet and separate AC control in each room. It even has a sewing kit! The sofa in the living room was already turned into a bed upon our arrival - I requested that because I knew we would arrive quite late. Even with the sofa bed, the living room still doesn't look crowded one bit. Both rooms have large windows. The windows in the living room is a full-length one, providing an unobstructed view of the gorgeous bay.

View from our balcony

We were so tired last night from our flight that we simply fell into our comfy bed and slept. This morning I woke up very early. It was only 4:23 AM. I had left the curtain open in the living room and I could see lightnings piercing the early dawn sky. Surprisingly there was no thunder. I got up and walked onto the balcony. The sea was calm. Small waves broke at shore and formed a neat white line, singing a pretty little water song. I dozed off listening to the waves and when I woke up, it was bright daylight and Horizon's charm was in plain view.

As the sun moved higher in the sky, the color of the sea started to change from light grey to light green to emerald to blue. Mom has never seen the sea before and she was mesmerized by the view and kept returning to the balcony to see how the ocean has changed.

The garden underneath our room is lush with palm, banana groves and many other medium-height tropical trees. The growth has been planned and trimmed carefully to cover up the little paths in the garden leading to different destinations in the hotel. In the center of the garden there is a two-level 2000 square-feet swimming pool. The water is not too deep - only 1 meter so non-swimmers can float around without any concerns. There is also a sea-water pool. Water is pumped from the ocean everyday to fill this pool. It is ideal for people who are not great swimmers and afraid of waves.

In the following days, we would find many other pleasant surprised the hotel has to offer apart from those that we could see from our room. Although I am frequent traveler to Barbados and used to believe that the Carribeans is a tropical paradise, I now have to admit that people in San Ya has caught on - Horizon is indeed a paradise.

Mom and dad relaxing on the beach

Sept 13: Gym with a view

Every morning, like many retired people in Shanghai, mom and dad go to a nearby park to exercise.

The park they go to has a pretty name - Spiritied Stone Park. I am not sure where the name comes from. I did not find any spirited stone, although there are indeed some beautiful stone mounds in the park. Stone mounds is one of the unique features of Chinese gardens. They come in variable sizes, from as small as a fridge to as large as a small hill. Unlike the big, round and clumsy boulders we see in Canada, these stones have the most interesting shapes. They have sharp corners and edges, large holes and crevices and almost impossible curves. They owe these peculiar shapes to thousands of years of water-erosion. These stones are excavated from mountains that rose above sea-level during earth's movement. They are heavily used in gardens of eastern China. Su Zhou, a city two hours away from Shanghai by train, is famous for its gardens with stone mounds. In some of Su Zhou's most outstanding gardens, one could easily believe that the stone mounds indeed have their own spirits - they look like they are from a different world.

I always think of parks in Shanghai as gyms with a view.

Most people in Shanghai live in small apartments. Green spaces are limited in this city of concrete. Thus public parks become a favourite destination for retired people when they do their morning exercises. Public parks are built and maintained by the municipality. They are usually quite large. The Spirites Stone, for example, spans 58 hectares and costs 1.8 billion RMB ($250 million CAD) to build. It is listed among the top 10 public sights in Shanghai. Since it is situated among the densely populated Zha Bei district, it quickly became the favourite exercise destination for retired people.

The park opens at 5 AM and closes at 6 PM. To encourage usage from retired people (who usually has limited income), entrance into the park is free before 8 AM. After 8 AM, one need to purchase a ticket for 2 RMB ($0.3 CAD). Needless to say, on the morning I go with my parents to the park, I have to get up at 6 AM.

Mom and dad quickly found their usual spot - on a small path in front of Paris Wedding Photo Studio, underneath the heavy shade of some euclyptus trees. This is "their spot", where they do their exercise every morning. Their routine includes the popular 18 Ku Fung movements and two different versions of Tai Chi. Regular morning visitors to the park all have "their spots", places that they claim unofficial ownership. It is a big no-no to invade someone else's "spot".
When dad pressed the Play button on the little tape recorder they brought with them (for playing exercise music and instructions) and started their Kung Fu movements, I decided to explore the park by taking a run through it. That's when I realized it is a gym with a view. And what a view it has!

In the center of the park there is a large man-made lake surrounded by weeping willows. The morning mist suspends over the lake like the finest fabric. The Fruit Mountain lies on one side of the lake. It is a small hill covered with fruit trees - persimmons, oranges, loquats and pomegranates. Earlier in the season these trees were heavy with fruits. The other side of the lake is the marshland. The reeds that were cut down last winter have grown to almost 9 feet and form a natural barrier for the marsh. Lotus blossoms, pink with tender yellow in the center, quivers in the morning breeze. The entire park is covered with trees and flowers I cannot name, even though I took a horticulture course two years ago. Our horticulture teacher told us that some large astroids fell across North America and burnt away many flora species. That is why Asia has many more flora variety compared to North America. Some of the plants in the park have a name tag, showing their genus and species as well as common name. One can easily spend an entire day learning about these trees.

The lake Twin lotuses

The amount of wildlife in the park is also surprising. One would expect, in a city as crowded and polluted as Shanghai, there will be almost no wildlife. But that is not true at all. I saw at least 5 different types of birds - tiny sparrows, mourning doves and 3 birds I have never seen before. The lake has a permanent inhabitant - a tiny white egret. It always waits patiently beside people who are fishing, hoping to get a scrap of food when small fish are caught. Mandarin ducks swim in pairs in the lotus pond. Apart from these free souls, in one area of the park right beside a beautiful stone bridge, there are many caged birds. I counted 15 cages. They are all birds of a feather - Painted Eyebrows. Painted Eyebrow is about the size of a Canadian robin and grey in color. Its most remarkable feature is the beautiful white marking around its eyes that slants upward (like a true Asian beauty). The marking looks so perfect that it trumps any painted eyes I have seen in fashion magazines. Painted Eyebrow is a songbird. It has the most incredible singing voice. To train a Painted Eyebrow to sing, you would put it next to a bird that already knows how to sing. That's why they are alwasy seen in groups. I stood beside a group of 4 cages and examined closely one of the birds. It cocked its little head and studied me for a minute. Then it started to sing - it was the most beautiful music I have ever heard. The chorus of the 15 birds was very impressive.

What I found most interesting in the park is the people. The average age of park visitors in the morning is probably around 65. Unlike in the gym, here you can see so many different activities. Group activities include fan dance (dance-like movement decorated by colorful Chinese fans), Tai Chi, ballroom dancing, badminton, sword dance, bamboo bell dance (manipulation of an empty bamboo bell with very long string to make whooshing sounds), jogging and other martial arts. But the individual activities are more interesting. I learned the following forms of exercises that morning:

- walking backward while stretching your arms in all directions

- walking forward and backward while singing at the top of your lung

- rotating your body and let your arms flap violently against a big tree

- running with sideway steps

- hopping forward

- hanging on a tree.

It was a true eye-opener. Compared to the limited activities in a Canadian gym, a visit to the park is most entertaining. And I am certain if I should stop someone who was doing a funny-looking exercise and ask him about it, I would get an earful of the benefits and origin of the exercise. After all, who says exercise is only about running and lifting weights?


Fan dance Dad and myself at "our spot"

Sept 7: Eat, drink, uncles and aunts

Today is my reunion day with dad's family.

My mom and dad were born in the 1940's, long before the one-child policy came into effect in China. Mom has 6 siblings, two of which died in enfancy. Dad has 7, two of which also died prematurely. This was the typical family size for that time in history. I have always secretly blamed my lonely childhood (I am an only child thanks to the one-child policy enforced to control the exploding population in the 1970's) on the vigor of reproduction in the 40's. Sometimes I muse upon the implication of the one-child policy. For the next generation, many family concepts that we take for granted will disappear forever. There will be no uncles, aunts, nieces or newphews. I consider myself lucky to have so many of these family relations.

The reunion commenced at the famous Sun Ya Cantonese restaurant (my dad's family was originally from Canton) on Nanking road. We decided to do Dim Sum that morning. Unlike the laid-back Canadians, Shanghai people usually gather for Dim Sum at 8:00 AM in the morning. I managed to extract myself out of bed in time for the gathering. The Dim Sum at Sun Ya is so good that the restaurant does not take reservations. It operates on a first-come first-serve basis. To ensure we get a good table, dad left at 7:30 AM to secure a place. When mom and I arrived at 8:15, dad was sitting proudly at the best table in the whole place. Unsurprisingly, all the tables were occupied.

After 8:30, my relatives started to arrive gradually. Only 3 of dad's siblings live in Shanghai. One lives in the nearby city of Hang Zhou, a beautiful place that is known as "Paradise on Earth"; the other lives in Lan Zhou, the capital of the remote Gan Su Province. Dad's first younger brother came with his wife, daughter (my cousin Cherry), son-in-law and grand-daughter. The second younger brother came with his wife and son (my cousin Martin). His younger sister came with her husband and to my pleasant surprise, her son Ning. Ning lives in Beijing but happens to be in town for business that very day. His flight leaves Shanghai at 3:00 PM that afternoon and he decided to come for Dim Sum. I haven't seen Ning for over 20 years! I only remembered him as a little cute 6-year-old. I was almost shocked to see what a handsome stud he has grown into!

I presented each family with a gift bag filled with Canadian goods. This is a typical Chinese practice. You never go to someone's home empty-handed. And if you are coming home from a faraway place, you never come without bearing gifts. Even though there is almost nothing one cannot find in Shanghai, it is still essential to bring gifts from Canada. Finding gifts in Canada without the "Made in China" label has always been my biggest challenge. This year my gift bag contains 1/2 pound of Canadian ginseng, a box of 3M non-scratch ScotchBrite (made in U.S) and a bag of Campino candies(made in Germany). With a procedural "Oh, you shouldn't have brought gifts for us", my uncles and aunts happily accepted the gift bags.

Then came the feast. One can hardly imagine how delicate real Dim Sum can be without experiencing it in a true Cantonese restaurant. The true variety of shrimp dumpling, a staple in North American Dim Sum, has extremely thin skin and is only half the size of its American namesake. Most of the dishes we ordered cannot be found in a North American Dim Sum house. To name a few:

- Thin rice cakes filled with savory vegetables

- Green tea crisp with a peanut and sesame filling

- The best beef ball I have ever tasted, steamed to perfection on a napa cabbage leaf

- Tender beef patty wrapped in a thin pastry, sitting in a delicious broth

We managed to polish off the entire table of food. It was worth getting up early. After breakfast, I was invited to visit the homes of my uncles and aunts. It was an eye-opener.

The concept of home has changed drastically in the past 30 years. In the 1970's, almost nobody owned a home in Shanghai. Most people lived in apartments belonging to the States. Rent was ridiculously cheap . I remember we used to pay 5 RMB (about 0.8 Canadian dollar) a month for our bachelor pad. Compared to my parents' joint monthly income of 70 RMB, it was a sizeable chunk of expense. Privately owned apartments start to become popular towards the end of the 80's. People's income increased considerably and the State encouraged workers to purchase their homes. The trend developed at an alarming pace, leading to excessive activities in the housing markets for the past 10 years. A large portion of the housing market is accounted for by investment in real estate. Realizing the huge gain one could garnish from buying and selling houses in an overheated market like Shanghai, some people would take on several mortgages simultaneously. The fast and brave became rich.

The first apartment we visited belonged to my aunt. She and her husband live in Shanghai in spring and summer and return to Canton (southern China) during colder seasons. They have a pleasant two bedroom apartment in Pu Dong. Pu Dong literally means "East of the Huang Pu River". Huang Pu River is connected to the famous Yangtze River just before it empties into the Yellow Sea. The river run through Shanghai and divides it into Pu Dong and Pu Xi (literally means "West of the Huang Pu River). The name Shanghai used to refer to Pu Xi only. Whenver you see a movie depicting Shanghai in the 20th century, you can be sure that it took place in Pu Xi. When I was growing up, Pu Dong was covered by farm fields. If you are from Pu Dong, you are a farmer. Towards the end of the 20th century, Pu Xi became saturated. There was literally nowhere to grow. Farmlands were taken over and the meaning of Pu Dong changed quickly. Unlike development in Pu Xi, which was strained by the limitation in infrastructure, Pu Dong has the look and feel of a modern city with wide roads, ultra-modern highrises and well-planned green space. Today Pu Dong is the the "in" thing for Shanghai. My aunt's apartment is located in a nice neighborhood called Picturesque Garden. The apartment is bright, cheerful and well laid-out. In a tiny garden in front, pomegranate was blooming and tiny oranges were forming on the tree. My aunt bought the apartment 4 years ago for about $60,000 CAD and it has tripled in value since.

The second apartment belonged to my first uncle and was only minutes' drive away from my aunt's place. It is a one-bedroom apartment with a long skinny yard behind it. My uncle and aunt almost never use the place as they had moved in with their daughter Cherry - a common practice in China when grandchildren come into the picture.

We piled into three cars and drove to Cherry's home next. Cherry's home is in a much posher development. You see, unlike Pu Xi, Pu Dong was developed mostly with private money. Large developers would buy a piece of land in Pu Dong and build a neighborhood. Most of these neighborhoods are gated communities with anywhere between twenty to hundreds of apartments buildings each. My aunt and uncle's apartments are considered close to moderate standard. Cherry's apartment is in a neighborhood called "The Prospering Tang Dynasty". She lives on the first floor of a 3-story building. There are only 6 apartments in that building. Her apartment has 4 bedrooms and looks almost like a bungalow in North America. It is bright (an essential characteristic for modern Chinese homes), spacious and well designed. Unfortunately, is it extremely cluttered. From all the homes I have visited in Shanghai, I think interior design will be the next hot industry, if it hasn't already taken off.

We had a good time watching the performance of Cherry's 3-year-old daughter. Cherry's husband Cai is a phys-ed teacher in a university. His strong physique contrasts sharply with Cherry's delicate frame. Apart from his teaching job, he also runs a consulting business on the side. He showed me a beautiful yoga mat that his company is exporting to Canada. As I guessed, the manufacturing price is one sixth of what I would pay in Canada. Taking a second job is non-optional for Cai because of the large mortgage he must pay on the house, the car loan (a Volkswagen station-wagon) and high expenses for raising a child in modern-day Shanghai. Cherry works for a Japanese company in the Shanghai Stock Exchange and brings home good pay but Cai is still the main bread-earner of the family. Cherry's parents live with Cherry and takes care of the grand daughter when her parents go to work. This is a very common mode of operation for Chinese people. In return, their children will take good care of them when they can no longer look after themselves - or one should hope.

Cai served us Kung Fu tea, which was extremely aromatic. The visit was very pleasant despite the occasional lecture I get on how I should also consider having a child very soon. Privacy is still a luxury. Your business is your elder's business. They have the right and privilege to ask you anything they want and give you instructions on all matters of life. I am proud to say I have perfected the technique of deflecting any probing questions with humorous retorts and ignoring all instructions that I consider irrelevant.

Cai was a warm host and insisted on taking us to a restaurant. Thus, two hours after polishing off a table of Dim Sum, we found ourselves sitting in a new seafood restaurant in Pu Dong. Cai disappeared after making sure we are seated comfortably and went to order food. I sent my mom after him to ensure he doesn't order too much. That proved futile. The second feast started. Food was excellent but there was too much of it. We left quite a bit - it is not a bad sign. If we ate everything, then it would indicate the host was too cheap and didn't order enough.

With full stomachs, we continued our home-visiting journey. The next place is my second uncle's second cottage. My second uncle is among the fast and brave who became wealthy with the housing boom. The took out a $100,000 CAD mortgage on their apartment when the housing privatization first started. At the time they were laughed at. "Do you really expect to pay off a large mortgate like that with your salary?", people asked. Well, those people had to eat their words soon for the price of their apartment shot up fourfolds in a very short time. They used the apartment as a collateral and arranged a mortgage to buy their first real house (houses are called "cottages" in Shanghai). When the price of that house tripled, they followed the same approach and bought their second cottage. All this occurred in less than 15 years.

My uncle's second cottage is in a development called the Reading Town. I am not sure why it was named after the town of Reading in Britain. I was even more perplexed by the big slogan engraved on the exterior of the sales office: Do not, for a repulse, give up the purposes you resolved to effect. Would Shakespear turn over in his grave if he saw this? My impression of the development can be summed up in one word: packed. Roads, or more appropriately, lanes, are very narrow and could barely fit two cars. The driveway leading to the garage is the length of half a car. Houses are so closely packed that you cannot stretch your arms straight if you stand between two. Rooms are also small. My uncle's house was unfurnished and unfinished - bare concrete everywhere. He rents it out to six hi-tech workers. Since the place is unfinished, he has little concern that it would be wrecked by the six tenants. I could visualize how crowded the rooms would be if they were furnished. Despite the posh looks of the exterior (houses on the block never repeats in their exterior design), I do not find the living space appealing. However, with the prospect of a new hi-tech district directly across the main highway outside, one can expect the price of these houses to go through the roof in short order.

I was most pleased to see the intricate models displayed in the sales office all have a little Prius parked in the garage! Unfortunately, that was the only time I would see a Prius in Shanghai. I was rather disappointed. Shanghai could use more Prius - the air quality needs improvement badly.

The last stop was my uncle's main residence - his first cottage. This is a house situated in a development called Sakura Garden. Sakura is the Japanese word for cherry blossom. Sakura Garden is a Japanese development. It has all the signs of a well-cared-for neighborhood. Green space was very well maintained and landscaping was beautiful. My uncle's house is a four-storey mansion with too many bedrooms. A nice breeze passes through each floor and carries with it the fragrance of unknown flowers outside. There is a garden outside of respetable size. My aunt had diligently planted many vegetables. Silk gourds sent their vines over the wall and fruits hung low with little yellow blossoms. Aunt told us that it was a bumper year for the grapes but birds ate most of them. The sprawling living room and kitchen occupied the first floor. Aunt and uncle live on the second floor. My cousin Martin has the third floor and the loft is dedicated to the Mahjong crowd (a popular Chinese gambling game).

As I lazed around on the couch, admiring the prosperity of my aunt and uncle and concluding that Shanghai people are richer than Canadians, my aunt proposed dinner. Cherry and I exchanged a look of despearation and horror - we were still trying to recover from the first two meals. Well, it would be rude to decline the invitation. So I put on a brave face and walked into the third restaurant of the day. Kenny used to say: if you eat Chinese food, half an hour later you are hungry again. The statement may not be entirely true but I have to admit the food was so good that even with a full stomach, I was impressed with some of the dishes, like:

- Papaya with two-colored terrine

- Special tofu from Horse Bridge Town

- Red dates and lotus seeds marinated in syrup

When I swallowed my last bite with much effort, I swore I had eaten enough for the next week. But everybody else looked normal - I guess as the Chinese saying goes: food is heaven. My relatives are living this motto today!

This is a day for eating, drinking and house showing. There is much prosperity in Shanghai and people are enjoying their lives, at least my relatives are.

Sept 6: How to tame a jetlag

Any overseas traveler understands the pain of jetlag. Shanghai has a 12-hour time difference from Ottawa. I always joke with my mom that if I drill a hole from my house through the center of the earth, I will pop up in their apartment in Shanghai! All kidding aside, what this means is that day and night are completely switched between the two cities.

According to a scientific research I read, it takes 1 day to adjust for every hour of time difference. Thus, theoretically it takes 12 days for me to become normal again when I go home. From my personal experience, this estimate is only slightly overstated. It usually takes me about a week to fully adapt to the local time. This is a real drag because holidays are generally too short in length. My trip to Shanghai never exceeds 3 weeks. I hate to sacrifice an entire week just for the jetlag.

Then I read an article on how to tame a jetlag. The trick is to switch to the other time zone days before the travel. I decided to give it a try.

5 days before my departure, I started to stay up later and later each night, until I got to 2 AM. I would also get up late in the morning. This was easy to do because I no longer had a job at that time. When possible, I sneaked in a nap here and there to simulate sleeping during night time in Shanghai. During my 28-hour transit, I operated on Shanghai time - sleeping during the day and staying up at night. Of course, this would be harder to do with an economic fare. The advantage of an overseas flight is that the crew usually shut all the windows, completely obliterating the distinction between day and night. Whenever I woke up and felt I couldn't sleep any more (because my body is still trying to operate in Ottawa time), I would take a Melatonin to coax some sleepiness from the pineal gland. It worked quite well.

Although I did not get a continuous block of 8-hour sleep, when I arrived in Shanghai at 10:20 AM, I had accummulated about 7 hours of sleep time. I managed to get through the entire day without much fatigue - thanks to a cup of Starbucks in the afternoon. It has been a week since I left Ottawa and I had almost no jetlag this time.

I am happy and proud to report - jetlag could be tamed indeed! All it takes is a bit of planning and perseverance.

Sept 5: Home finally

After a 5-hour wait at the Incheon Airport in Seoul and a 1.5-hour flight, I finally stepped on the piece of soil that originated me. Shanghai Pu Dong Airport was recently expanded for the 2008 Olympics. My plane arrived in the new Terminal 2 which is not fully used yet. I cleared customs and picked up my luggage with little fuss. Upon exiting the barrier, I immediately spotted my mom's anxious face. I guess my MBA program took more out of me than I realized for it took my mom a full 3 seconds to recognize me. She later told me that I looked much thinner. Dad was there, too. Of course, being the typical Asian dad and the typical male, he hides his deep love for his daughter with almost no direct eye contact, only a heart-felt smile that was impossible to contain. But I, being the Canadian-modified Chinese daughter, didn't give him the chance to hide. I put my arms around him and gave him a huge hug. I could tell my dad's heart welled with pride and joy at that moment.

The airport looked surprisingly empty for a city with 20 million people. I mentioned this to mom and dad. They both laughed:"Just wait until you see what it is like when we get close to the city."

We waited for a taxi. I saw many vacant taxis but mom wouldn't let me take it.

"Look at the license plate," she said, "It stars with BX!"
"What's wrong with BX?" I asked.
"That means it is a privately-owned taxi."
"Versus what?"
"Versus a legitimate taxi company."
"And what's wrong with that?"
"They cannot be trusted. I have read many horror stories about them."

Dad and I could not persuade mom so we just stood back and watched her negotiate with the taxi control personnel until she got the taxi she wants, from a legitimate taxi company Da Zhong.
As we drove out of the airport, I thought I would get my information from a second source. I asked the taxi driver about the BX license.

"Is it true that the BX taxis cannot be trusted?"
"You can say that." the driver puts it politely, "some drivers 'modify' their engines so that the meter turns faster. And because the cars are privately owned, there is no mandatory inspection. In the company I work for, cars are inspected every 4 or 5 days to make sure thre is no funny business going on. So it is safer to stay with a known company."

After about 5 kilometers of easy traffic, the roads start to jam up as we approached the city. Driving in Shanghai is not for the faint of heart. Nobody signals. You do not need permission from the driver in the next lane if you decide to change lane all of a sudden. Just crank your wheel hard and force the nose of your car inches past his. The agressiveness is universally displayed and accepted, sometimes not without a honk to show disapproval. I found myself closing my eyes several times and praying as our car moved within inches to the next to make a maneuvre. I am certain there is no emission control in Shanghai when I witnessed some of the black smoke escaping the exhaust pipes from big trucks. There is nothing like exhausted-scented air to bring back a flood of memory for Shanghai.

When we drove over the Lu Pu Bridge, the driver pointed out the site for the 2010 World Expo. In an open field not far from the Huang Pu River, an army of cranes extended their long arms into the grey sky. I have no doubt it will be an impressive event, much like the Beijing Olympics this year.

Traffic was very heavy on the way home. There are real-time traffic condition displays on the city's main highway. The display reports the road condition through colors. Green means traffic is moving well; orange means crowded condition; red means deadlock. We saw several patches of red and orange on the display on this Friday afternoon. Our taxi crawled along slowly and a fine drizzle was coming down.

But nothing could dampen my spirit - I am home.

Sept 4: The lap of luxury

It is effectively Sept 4th, although it felt very much like a never-ending yesterday because it is 2:39 AM in the morning. The wait at O'Hare Airport in Chicago was very long. I arrived at 5:45 PM and my flight to Seoul wasn't schedule to leave until 1:00 AM. The check-in counter for Asiana Airlines doesn't open until 9:00 PM. There is nowhere to go in Terminal 5. Besides the uninteresting food court, the only other entertainment is the duty free shop. Maybe the U.S. economy is to blame, I found the selection of cosmetics in the duty free shop very poor. Since I didn't have a boarding pass, I couldn't buy anything anyway.

I spent most of the 3 hours chatting with my new-found friend, a 17-year-old girl from Wisconsin named Christin. Christin is a sweet girl with dark hair and bright eyes. She is en route to Russia on her third Rotary exchange. I was a bit sheepish to admit that I knew almost nothing about the Rotary Club so Christin gave me a crash course. I will always be able to spot them now, from their unique blazer decorated with many pins from countries all over the world. Christin's first two Rotary exchanges were completed in Japan, for about 10 days each time. But this time she is going to a small town in Siberia for 11 months! Looking at her eyes brimming with enthusiasm, I have to admit that youth is a fabulous thing to have!

Finally the Asiana Airline counters opened up. Eight ticket agents assumed their positions simultaneously and bowed to us who were waiting in line. A good culture that speaks both team spirit and courtesy. I did notice that many agents are not Korean - the one who helped me is from Lebannon. However, they all greeted customers in Korean.

When the long wait was over, I finally got to see Asiana's first class cabin. Let me just say that I fell into the lap of luxury.

The first class cabin is located in the nose of the airplane (Boeing 747-400), right behind the cockpit. It is a spacious room with 10 seats, four single seats along each side of the aircraft and two joint seats at the back of the room. Each seat is angled at 30 degrees to the cabin windows. The actual seat resembles a huge armchair with high raised back to provide privacy. The angling design also creates a lot of counter space for anything you need to have at arm's reach during the long flight - books, magazines, drinks, personal-care kit, etc. About 3.5 feet in front of the seat is a cupboard space with a thin-screen entertainment unit for each passenger. When the "full-flat" button is pushed, the foot rest and arm rest extends and the back reclines, stretching to a true flat bed. I dream of the day when every single passenger can have a seat like this. Flying could be so much more pleasant if that happens!

As soon as I boarded the plane, I was given some comfy lounging clothes to change into. To be honest, I thought the clothes resembled Mr. Spok's costume in Star Trek but they were warm and soft indeed. I was also handed a pair of red cushy slippers and a Bvlgar personal care case. Since there were only four passengers in the cabin, the stewardesses lavished attention on us. Apart from being beautiful, they are always beaming and eager to help. That is the general impression I had with all personnel I have met along the way for Asiana.

The route spans 6544 miles and is 12 hours and 48 minutes in length at about 500 miles per hour. As soon as we reached cruising altitude, a meal was served. The presentation can rival most of the good restaurants I have been to in Ottawa or elsewhere. Taste is also very good for airplane food. Feeling rather adventuresome, I had caviar for appetizer and Bi-Bim-Bam (a traditional Korean dish) as my main. The stewardess was very kind and volunteered to mix my food for me when she found out it was my first try of the dish. It was delicious! Unfortunately I was full very quickly after eating half of my main course and I had to decline dessert.

The entertainment system was on-demand and all-encompassing. I managed to watch the Chinese movie "Warlords" that a few of my friends were raving about. I was amused to see their Classic selection of movies included "3 Days of the Condor", Kenny's all-time favourite! I must say whoever put together the program has good taste. I had the opportunity to sample some traditional Korean music and was also interested to find a CD called "Stops Crying". It is an album of soft baby songs with heartbeats. Now that is an idea! I cannot wait to tell my friends who are new moms this year.

I could have stayed up all night playing with the entertainment system but I used some discipline and managed to get 5 hours of shut-eye. I have to be ready for whatever is coming tomorrow...

Sept 3: Journey to the other side of the world

The beginning of each journey is always the most exciting part for me. Nothing has unfolded. All surprises, pleasant or not, are still hatching in their secret shells. What is to come? For the next six weeks, as someone whose mind is relatively free (as I am officially unemployed right now), I shall eagerly await each day and be open to whatever mystery the universe is ready to reveal.

I left Ottawa during its "unofficial summer". We had a cold and rainy summer in July and August. The beginning of September brought hot and sunny days - the first time we actually felt the presence of summer in the city. Saying goodbye to Kenny wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. Being the great husband that he is, Kenny kept reassuring me on the way to the airport that we are only going to be apart for 26 days and an exciting time is waiting for me in Shanghai. I couldn't think of a more precious quality in a soulmate - someone who is always capable to showing you the silvering lining, even during the most severe storm.

The first leg of the journey is from Ottawa to Chicago with United Airlines. The U.S. security wasn't half as bad as I thought. The only difference between the U.S. security and the Canadian one is that they scrutinized my check-in luggage for a full 10 minutes (I half expected some questions about the 5 pounds of ginseng I bought. The largest ginseng must resemble weapons of minute destruction under an X-Ray. But the question never came). I also had to remove my shoes. I really didn't mind that - I actually wanted to leave my shoes off and walk around bare-feet! What a free feeling that would be.

Despite the thunder storm that was looming over Chicago, the flight was quite smooth. The turbulence didn't even spill a single drop of wine from the glass that belonged to the lady next to me. I arrived in Terminal 1 in Chicago and found out that I need to depart from Terminal 5 - the International Terminal, which is in a completely separate building. The walk to the train station was a long one but not boring at all. The tunnel is decorated with funky neon strands resembling waves of color. I simply stopped on the automatic sidewalk and enjoyed the light - of course, I was the only one stopping. Everybody was rushing past me and looking back curiously. Seriously, next time you are in an airport, just try to observe how many people are stopped on the automatic sidewalk. My bet is none.

Walking off the train into Terminal 5 was like walking into a different world. All of a sudden, I was surrounded by a population made up mostly of visible minorities. Asians, Middle Easterns and Africans. The caucasian race is outnumbered here. Interestingly, I feel much more at home in this terminal than anywhere else. The terminal is crowded - the first reason why I felt at home (Shanghai has a population of 20 million). To my disappointment, the food court in Terminal 5 served surprisingly non-international food. At first I was lured by a poster that said "Visit our Food Court". It featured a beautiful picture of sushi and teriyaki. My mouth started to water. But guess what is available in the food court? Here is a running list:

Lou Mitchell's Express (wraps and coffee)
Gold Coast Dogs (you can guess what they serve)
Pizzeria Uno
McDonald's (with the biggest crowd of customers) and
Parade's Bar

No sushi, no teriyaki, not even a lousy Manchu Wok. I washed down half a tuna wrap with a cafe latte. That will have to do until I get my yummy ration from Asiana Airlines.

The airport has wi-fi access in all terminals. Having never tried wi-fi in an airport, I tried to connect. The redirect page took me to Boingo Hotspot. I found out that a 24-hour day pass cost $6.95. That is not an unreasonable charge for access. But I didn't buy it, for two reasons. One, security. I am not sure how secure the wi-fi access is in an airport. The intro page said nothing about security and I had no interest in having my laptop hacked into. Two, convenience. The last thing I am going to do is to sit in a crowded terminal food court, pull out my Visa card and enter my credit information on a webpage for a bit of Internet access. During our IT Management course at Queen's, the professor talked about infrastructure as one of the building blocks for new technology. I couldn't agree more. There are wi-fi pockets all over the world. Wouldn't it be great if they are somehow connected? Paying one amount to your trusted service provider will allow you to use wi-fi anywhere in the world. I am sure that would be attracive to frequent travelers. For the non-travelers, again, paying a fee to your service provider allows you to use wi-fi services in specified locations. In today's world where fraud is becoming more rampent, trust and security has to be the top concerns in technology consumers' minds.