Quick note from Shanghai

Just a quick note from Shanghai – we stopped here overnight after a 13-hour (!) flight, and are flying out to Urumqi right after lunch. We’re staying in a four-star hotel, which means INTERNET ACCESS in the rooms! I’m not used to traveling in such luxury. Usually I duck out to an Internet cafe in some hole-in-the-wall right around the block from my backpacker hotel, but here I am in air-conditioned (!) comfort. I is happy.

I’m still not sure about the group tour format – I am having to suppress my urge to go out and explore the city on my own – but I suppose I need to give it a fair chance. Thus far it’s mostly meant being herded around like lemmings, but perhaps it will get better with time. Or not. I intend to enjoy myself, either way.

I knitted like a maniac on the plane flight, and have knitted one entire sock and 1/4 of the second. I expect to finish the second sock today, as it’s a 5-hour flight to Urumqi.

One minor, but amusing note: the traveling tiger (who is, natch, with me on this trip) met a MOOSE yesterday! My brother, whose website is The Meandering Moose (it runs in the family, I guess), brought his little meandering moose along on this trip two, so the moose and the tiger hung out for awhile.