A Photo and a Request I Never Thought I'd Have To Make

In keeping with the thrilling nature of the last post, I thought I'd start this update with the view from my hotel room in Qingdao (which I have now learned is pronounced "Chingdao", incidentally). The hotel was a complete unknown, so we weren't sure what to expect-- but it has been a lovely surprise. I'm kind of sad we only get one night here since I actually got my first full night's sleep in the giant king size bed here. (Nothing beats jet lag like sheer exhaustion!).





I'm told the ocean is around here some place (apparently the Olympics sailing competition is supposed to take place here) but I've yet to see it. The hotel is very new, and the word "eager" doesn't quite seem to do the employees here justice. I think we had a team of 7 or 8 checking in 3 of us yesterday. I thought one guy was going to try and hold my hand on the way to the room just to make sure I got there safely. It was a bit like being in a parade.


And now on to the request:

To anyone who will ever be on a long haul flight (say from London to Hong Kong, for instance) in the near or far future: Please, please, PLEASE leave your pants on. I know the airline gives you a blanket-- but that is for putting OVER your clothes. It is not, I repeat NOT for wrapping around your waist like a bathroom towel so that you can prance around business class like you are at toga party while your jeans sit crumpled up on the floor by your seat. And if you ARE going to use your towel for the aforementioned unspeakable purpose-- do NOT make the change while standing IN your seat, and do NOT adjust your blanket while standing in the aisle to get a "tighter wrap"-- because you are involving innocent parties across the aisle and giving them glimpses of things (such as tighty-whities) that they would rather not have! And you will make them take pictures of your jeans crumpled up on the floor (that don't turn out very well since they can't be obvious and use their flash lest they reveal themselves to be the type of person that takes pictures on planes) and post them on the internet!