Taking the train in China is a relatively cheap, convenient, and low-carbon way to travel. One oddly enjoyable part of train travel is shopping for snacks before the trip so you don’t have to buy the expensive and unappetizing train food. This is the one time that I have no qualms about eating instant noodles and processed, packaged snacks. In preparation for the 18-hour (actually, 20-hour due to delays) train ride from Shanghai to Shenzhen, I bought a seemingly harmless package of dried seaweed. When I spotted it in the grocery store, memories of childhood flooded into my mind – the puckering feeling of the salty, dried seaweed as it touched my tongue, the flood of flavor as it melted onto the roof of my mouth, the spiciness that lingered on my lips after the seaweed had disappeared into my belly – and I had to have it:
