Last week I revisited young adult fiction, a genre I hadn't read in decades.I learned of Shanghai Shadows (Holiday House, 2006) by Lois Ruby last year when a friend was preparing for a trip to China with her 9 year old daughter. She asked friends on Facebook for names of … [Read more...]
Air geisha
If this 1969 ad from Japan Air Lines seems outdated, think again.My favorite part of the ad reads:... you'll always remember the way you got to Hong Kong--if you let us take you there. For the service on Japan Air Lines is legendary--starting with the classic bow of the … [Read more...]
Les grandes dames
I love old colonial hotels. While I've only stayed at two--the Eastern & Oriental (E&O) in Penang and the Peace Hotel in Shanghai--I've been fortunate to dine in several: the Raffles in Singapore, the Peninsula in Hong Kong, le Grand Hotel d'Angkor in Siem Reap, and the … [Read more...]
Postcard from Taiwan, 1965
Last year I came across this postcard from my grandparents to my great-grandma. They sent it from Taiwan in 1965. In the postcard, my grandma wrote to her mother-in-law:We are here at airport to leave free China. Just said goodbye to Judy [my mom]. She goes to Manila this … [Read more...]
Book of the week–Mr. Ding’s Chicken Feet by Gillian Kendall
Over the weekend I read Mr. Ding's Chicken Feet: On a slow boat from Shanghai to Texas (University of Wisconsin Press, 2006) by Gillian Kendall. It's a short read, about 240 quick pages and kept my attention from start to finish.Kendall wasn't the first 30 year old American … [Read more...]