Prologue: Dawn in Montpellier
It was dark when we left our apartment at five in the morning, a Wednesday in mid-July, this time of year already warm even in the early morning. Daysacks over our shoulders, we walked our rolling luggage across the white tile of the nearly deserted Place Comedie to the taxi stand by the Opera House. Annie had arranged for a private taxi to take us to the airport – we were departing too early to take the shuttle bus. A long day ahead: Montpellier to Paris to Shanghai to Chiang Mai. Our driver was waiting, and the first leg of our trip began in a new BMW, a collection of leather and engineering whose price I reckoned could support our family for two or three years. A car is nothing more Continue Reading