Last day in Shanghai. Our day started out with a delicious breakfast on the street of various kinds of dumplings as we explored the streets, lanes, and parks of the French Concession area around where we are staying. This is an old area and has lots of parks and green space and is a very desireable part of the city to live in. The parks are well used and we saw tai chi, ballroom dancing, opera singing, and a variety of games all going on in one of the larger ones. For lunch we had duck tongues - who knew that they would have so many bones! We then made the 11/2 hour trip to the airport on the very crowded subway, but this time I managed to avoid being trampled - but that's another story! We are now homeward bound.

As we reflect on our amazing seven week trip, we agree that Tibet was the highlight. The culture and scenery there were incredible - from the Jokhang temple with people circulating the square spinning their prayer wheels, to the immense Potala with all its riches, and the awesome Himalaya mountains in the snow - but we fear the Tibetan culture will soon be extinguished by the determined Chinese. Bhutan was a pretty and peaceful country but after Tibet seemed very tame - except for the roads! Experiencing the colourful festival in the dzong as well as the night spent at our guide's home were some of our memorable experiences there. Myanmar was like going back in time and interesting historically with sites like Bagan and the fascinating way of life on Inle Lake and in the hill tribe villages. The corrupt political situation in Myanmar was frustrating to see as it is holding the country back so much. Once again we feel so lucky to have seen these wonderful places and, as always, it makes us appreciate how fortunate we are to live in Canada.