Ouch, ouch, cough, splutter

Week one comes to a close. No sooner had 'Tarquin' and I flown to Taipei that we caught their local brand of cold - shivering and coughing for the entire week. A bit of a drag, given that we landed on Monday night, flew out to HK on Wednesday, Shanghai on Thursday, with Tarquin going back to London today and me flying back to HK tomorrow for a couple of days. I have slept and sweated out the fever, but while the coughing has slowed down, my voice is getting extra gravelly, as it begins to wane - just what I need for another week of meetings in HK, Shenzhen, Guangzhou & Beijing before I return to London. Arse.

Watching: Thomas Keneally interviewed by Michael Peschardt on BBC World

Writing: '1700 & Rising' and editing some of the back catalogue

Restaurant recommendations in Shanghai: Jade Garden in Pudong, and the excellent Crystal Jade in Xintiandi. I'll take 'Shaggy' there when I return on the 22nd.

Shanghai bars: tried Bar Rouge - a bit dead on a Friday night compared with our usual haunt, the Glamour Bar.

Lamenting: the fact that Shanghai has few voluptuous women wearing the qipao (maybe I have been watching too many Wong-Kar Wei films recently), even though it has to be said that the stick-slim women of Shanghai still look damn attractive.