Yes, the roads in Sweden that I’ve seen and driven on are definitely of the highest quality in my experience. And the spectacular scenery along the roads, in summer, took my breath away.

It can be nice even in winter. I remember driving back to the in-law’s house after visiting the wife’s grandma in a small town, after dinner. Most of the time, we were the only one on the road. As the headlights piercing through the darkness, with the field and birch forests covered in snow, ignoring the cold reality outside, it was quite but felt so idyllic and peaceful.

Had a similar experience on that trip to Linfen two weekends back. The expressway between Yuncheng and Linfen was brilliant (and nearly empty, which made it even better), and I was very pleasantly surprised- although in hindsight I should not have been, I mean, having lived in Taiyuan and spent an awful lot of time on the expressway between Taiyuan and Beijing, I was already well aware that Shanxi has great expressways. But I did notice the tolls, and they made me glad to not be driving my own car- or to not even have a car. Actually, those expressways remind me- in terms of quality at least, not tolls- of the highways I travelled in Sweden, which, until I met my wife and started spending large amounts of time on Beijing’s Badaling Expressway, were the best roads I’d ever seen. Definitely better than anything New Zealand has to offer.

And Xu Wei is awesome! Definitely one of my favourites, especially 《礼物》.

‘Scuse the English, typing Chinese on the computer I am forced to use for the time being is not convenient. It’s possible, but hopelessly time-consuming and frustrating.

咳，老婆喜欢发号施令，偷懒、怠工都不行。。。

嗯，Be a gentleman, help your mom carry the bags，嫂子真懂事，好媳妇啊