Listening to the pre-trip food-poisoning, bug-eating horror stories, I expected to lose weight. But far from the miracle Dexatrim solution I'd envisioned, my recent vacation in China proved to be an incredible culinary adventure.
China is far more modern, clean and sophisticated than I ever imagined, at least in the cities. Its citizens are warmly hospitable and enthusiastically curious about Americans. But they don't drink wine. Beijing and Shanghai had wine bars, but I didn't spy many Chinese filling the seats; beer is the alcoholic vice of choice. Since you can't drink the water and many restaurants on the tour (we opted for a guided trip) offered it gratis, I downed more beer in two weeks than I have in a year. Tsingtao mostly, but the city of Chongqing brews an eponymous wheaty grog that I miss.
This article appears in May 13-19, 2009.