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Bon Journal

Reverse jetlag

My long haul trips in the last few years have always been across the Atlantic, and the sort of jetlag I get when I return to London knocks me dead during the day. Coming back from Hong Kong this week, I'm up early in the morning. Without the usual afternoon nap (such is the custom in Taiwan), I am asleep by 9 pm.

These last three weeks have gotten me into the habit of taking a nap right after lunch. The hot weather makes it compulsory.

I also acquired some other habits. I got used to eating out, for good food was available everywhere for a fraction of the price I can get here. In London's Chinatown, I suffer from not speaking the kind of Chinese or English that the Hong Kong waiters and waitresses are used to. As a result, I never feel like a first rate guest.

The silk duvet I bought in ChongQing (Chung King) lures me to bed. It's also a fraction of the mulberry silk duvet I had bought from and returned to the Canadian company in March. [Not STG 100 but RMB 500 = US$ 61=STG 40.] Thank goodness for that! Although the cotton cover and stitching may not be as fine or delicate, the inner silk is the real thing.

And so I vacillate between getting up early in the morning and resisting against temptation to take a nap or visit London's Chinatown. It's a pain having to cook every meal at home. I'm also subconsciously resisting the urge to return to my normal life in London. Why? Oh - it was so nice to return to my roots. It was wonderful to speak Chinese for three weeks, without an interruption in English. We Chinese are a collective bunch - how did I ever manage to break out of the groupie feeling?

7 June 2002 Friday