. . .or is it Thursday? Or is it. . .? Urgh. Flying around the world sure messes with your head.

Happily, lunch at the Takashimaya Crystal Jade cures any kinds of head-messing. That’ll be a bowl of chili oil beef la mian, a plate of xiao long baos, maybe some yang chow siew mai, and some of that unusual bean curd skin–soy bean–preserved vegetable combo, please. And a glass of sweet, sweet watermelon juice, thanks very much. Mm-mm-good.

The damp tropical air’s already making the pages of my magazines limp and curly, and the large white tiles of my bedroom floor are, just as I remembered, still pleasantly cold to the touch. Late this afternoon we had a great thundering rainstorm. From an upstairs window I watched the raindrops splatter on the red clay tiles on our roof, and beat against the rattan blinds. It’s good to be home again.