Robyn Eckhardt writes: Early tomorrow we head to Taiwan for two weeks of work, play, and - from what I've heard - fantastic food. It will be strange to be in a primarily Mandarin-speaking environment again. Since leaving Shanghai in late 1998 I've returned to China only once, for a very brief visit (in 2001). China and I did not part on good terms (if you've lived there you might know what I mean), but long before I fell in love with Southeast Asia I was a 'China person'. Lately I've been feeling its pull. I expect Taiwan to be nothing at all like greater China, but I see this trip as a ...