When the start of my annual holiday to India last month coincided with the kick-off of the World Cup, more than a few of my colleagues were envious.
There's a fortune to be made (and being made) on how to deal with the Chinese. They are a peculiar lot, foreigners coming to China to work, for business, or simply for a visit, are told.
Will gay marriages be made legal in China? Will euthanasia be allowed? Will there be a "go slow" in the "go out" campaign?
China, you have to admit, is a great place if you're a smoker.
Starting today, the silly season will be upon us, seriously. Those who haven't left to join their families for the annual family reunion dinner tomorrow are on their way and those who get in their way, watch out.
The size of China's economy in 2004 was about 15 per cent higher than previously estimated, it was announced last month mainly because the contribution of the robust services sector had been largely underestimated.
When I was going home to India last year, I called up my mother to ask if she wanted anything from Hong Kong.
Now that the silly season is well and truly upon us and is soon slipping away it might just be the reason to ruminate on what's really silly happening around us.
There's a story about Zhang Yimou, the acclaimed Chinese film director who also happens to be my favourite, applying for a US green card only when his daughter needed to get there for her studies and promptly returning it when she got there.
Each time I dine out with Chinese friends, I'm appalled at the amount of food that is wasted. The only conclusion I can reach is that either they've been starving for ages or hibernating for decades, from the winter-means-cabbages-only era.
During an extended visit to Beijing two winters ago, I needed medical attention for - I thought - a tummy ache.
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