I've fallen behind...

And I don't think I'm going to catch up, but I will try to lob a few highlights at you.

When last I wrote, we were in Suzhou. That morning, we went to the Humble Administrator's Garden. A beautiful garden of water, plantings, rocks and buildings, it had been divided into three parts when Humble's kid lost it gambling. Not a problem for us, as after Liberation openings were cut into the dividing walls.

Watch for us on MTV Tibet! While we were sitting in one of the little open air pavilions, we were approached by a young guy who through our tour guide assured us he was soon to be a rock star in Tibet, and wanted to film us with him for inclusion in his video.

Whaddya mean, you don't get MTV Tibet? I thought everyone did.

Even better, we had a little girl cute enough to be one of our own granddaughters walk up to us with a cheery "Hello" as her mother asked if we would pose with her for a picture.

We could have stayed in that garden all day, but we were instead off to Shanghai.

On the way, we stopped in the river village of Tong Li for a gondola ride through the canal. The women who rowed for us didn't speak a word of English. Nice ride, though, and a picturesque spot. At one point we watched a man carry a strainer of beans down to the canal, wash them in the murky water, and carry them home. Things are different here.

We are presently in the Shanghai airport, waiting for our delayed flight to Yichang, where we board the boat for our cruise down (up?) the Yangtze River. I think our thoughts on Shanghai are going to have to wait, except to say that words alone can't describe it.

Enough for now. Remember, emails should be sent to my office email address.