Migratory birds seem to have it all figured out: in the winter
when it gets cold, they pack up and fly south to warmer
climates. Unlike my feathered friends, when the cold sets in, my
winter jacket comes out, and I begin a four-month stint of
brooding and whining about Beijing temperatures.  Last year,
after seeing a flock of birds heading in more equatorial
directions, I, too, decided to follow that animal instinct,
flying south to Hainan, China's tropical island province. It was
my Christmas present to myself a nice gift basket of beaches,
sunshine, clear skies, palm trees and good food.  Hainan, which
sits across from Vietnam, has historically been a backwater for
the Chinese mainland, reserved for the likes of exiles. Today,
the island is undergoing a rapid transformation from
uninhabitable and remote to posh and hospitable. In the past few
years, as part of the Chinese government's initiative to turn
Hainan into the "Hawaii of the Orient," money has poured in for
massive construction projects on everythi