so he is flying in coach and he expects seats to be wide, doors to be twice normal height and baggage to be delivered on a trolley directly to the taxi stand.... do you think this is thailand??

we are glad that you have returned safely, without being detained, and look forward to a fun weekend upcoming at the Boston GTG and to your soiree on friday nite...

Glad you made it home safe & sound. See you soon.

Up early, one last swim in the pool. An advantage to this is that on the plane from Beijing to Shanghai, my shaving cream exploded and the steam bath afterwards softens the whiskers.
Went for a long walk in People’s Park. There were many people ballroom dancing at the back of the Meridien, just off Nanjing Lu. In the park, we saw an elderly Chinese man giving martial arts instruction to a westerner. The older man moved with grace and fluidity. The westerner did not. Also saw a performance of singers next to MOCA. The kids were having a great time on the rides in the amusement park section. Close to Nanjing Lu west, there were hundreds of single page flyers attached by clothespins to bushes. We asked a man what they were. He said that they were flyers posted by parents seeking mates for their children. He read us one of these, single man, university grad, handsome. A phone number was given at the bottom. We did see a number of Chinese people examining these flyers. The man said that other parents would take note of the information and relay it to their children.

One thing I noticed was that all the westerners that we saw that were under 35 years old were there on business. Those over 35, on holiday.

Easy check out. The cab ride to Pudong was thrilling. He went at warp speed. A couple of close calls. Easy check in. We met a young guy in line that had been in Shanghai doing lighting for a Broadway type show. He said the Chinese people love Broadway musicals and there’s lots of work. He said his housing was paid for and he got 400 RMB per diem.

Easy flight back. Plane was half full. Unfortunately, I can report that a giant panda does not fit in a supine position on three seats across.

Welcome back
Timely reports EKS eat your heart out. :)

BRILLIANT report.....

Welcome back, safe and sound. I hope you at least brought back a few recipes. We expect perfect soup dumplings will be flying out of your kitchen after just one or two tries.

Welcome home!

Panda, you might have been more comfortable in your speedo
sleeping across of three seats, yes, we all missed you and enjoyed your report. I bet the cats missed you too.

What a great read, thank you.
How was the air quality?

brilliant??? not so sure.....remember the lack of some descriptions, like dumplings for one ...

guess what he just told me he is cooking for dinner....you guessed it: I T A L I A N....... worms with red sauce...

Thanks everyone (well almost everyone) for your kind words.

The air quality was just fine. No problem whatsoever. I brought advair just in case, but we never had any issues. There was no smell in the air and our eyes did not water. Having read J. Maarten Troost's book about China, we were prepared for the worst.

The cats missed Beth a lot. Their opinion of me is unclear.

We saw them making dumplings and it's not something that would be easy. They roll the dough and snap off appropriate amounts with a quick motion. The filling is placed in the dough and off it goes.

Your cats made dumplings?

When to China Town tonight and for dessert bought a Moon Cake.
Thought of you, it was delicious.

Welcome home!

How are te cat-made dumplings? Can you bring some to the GTG?

Enjoyed riding along on your trip.

Please post video of cats making dumplings on You Tube.

see others pick up easily on errors or poor expression....

what stuffing do the cat's use in theirs' ? cat nip

The cats making dumplings is top secret. Only a few select pandas are allowed to see this mysterious process. It would cause quite a stir, if it became well-known. However, it should be obvious that the clever crimping on the top of the dumplings cannot be made by the human hand. Count the number of crimps. More than five. A dew claw is needed.

Jet lag had me up at 3:00 a.m. this morning.

What planet have I been on? How is it possible that you have finished this report..the usual time from arrival home to completion is approximately 361.2 days.

You are screwing up the average and putting pressure on the laggards.....

Welcome back from Tuscany Madam!