The day before I flew to Shanghai, Hurricane Katrina went through Kingston and took out our backyard umbrella. I didn’t hear about the devastation in New Orleans until I was in Shanghai. I thought it was just your average August hurricane.
There were a lot of great things about life in Shanghai:
-no tipping
-no sales tax
-cheap taxis
-available, affordable Cuban cigars
-a knock-off market where you could buy all the brands: Louis Vuitton, Rolex, Gucci, Ralph Lauren, Cartier, Tag Heuer, Mont Blanc, etc. – all fake, of course, but who can tell?