Xiaoyu is the name of my lady friend in China. She lives in the south in Nanning, the largest city in Guangxi province. We have been writing to each other for about seven weeks now, emailing pretty much every day. Her English is very limited but I can see that she is doing her best, what with not having much time and no internet connection.

It's hard to say where things might go. I haven't been short of a date this year and there are other options perhaps easier than doing it the hard way. And this is, relatively speaking, the hard way. Even though we are slowly building a small body of knowledge about each other (being at an advantage language-wise, she knows more about me) it will still be a huge leap into the dark if I fly to see her early next year. There are a dozen or so photos exchanged, what we have written about - but no telephone or skype-style communication.

But I'm up for an adventure. Since returning from Japan six years ago, my life has been pretty staid. If you'll excuse the glitch of a marriage breakup, somewhat routine and safe. You know, I'm not one for straying far from my comfort zone. And this is, undoubtedly, straying.