Three full weeks since I last wrote something, so it's high time. Starting with the things freshest in my memory: I had my first go at wake boarding yesterday. It was nigh on impossible to get going (i.e. to get the boat to drag you out of the water) and everything hurts today, but it was great! The weather is really nice now - down to mid to late 20s and lower humidity. The water temperature is also down to about the same level, so it's a bit more refreshing that it was. With the winter closing in (!), the open air swimming pool across the way is only open during the morning in November and is then closed until April.
A couple of weeks back I had my first work trip to the Mainland - Shanghai and Beijing in quick succession. It's funny to think that they both feel like quite well trodden territory now and it was great to meet Terence and Nikki for a drink at a Peruvian place in Shanghai. Beijing was more polluted than I'd seen it before. It's reputedly the worst its been since the Olympics (when they created rain to clear things up a bit). It was really easy to spot: just looking at the hotel window you could see it clearly with the sun trying as hard as it could to get through - and largely failing.
I got back from Shanghai just in time to go to Sun Yat Sen the opera - the man who holds the distinguished position of being regarded as the father of both Taiwan and Mainland China - work that one out! It was the first Western-style opera written in Hong Kong and the first ever Western-style opera with Chinese instruments. For good measure, it was also banned by the Mainland - apparently talk of revolution and democracy doesn't go down so well up there.
Ah, Matt's calling on skype...
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