A note to Friends of the Blog: our photo posts seem to be getting blocked by the Great Firewall on their way to tumblr’s servers. We have an idea for a workaround, and text-only posts seem to be working. But in the interim, no cause for alarm on account of the lack of posting, and forgive us if we end up with double posts or half posts or whatever. Normal posting should resume by 19 or 20 November as we move into south-east Asia.

I am convinced it is actually safer to jaywalk in Shanghai rather than wait for a walk sign at a marked crossing. When you jaywalk, you are attentive to all the traffic, whereas at a crosswalk you can be lulled into a sense of false security. Mostly, Shanghai car drivers will stop at a red light if they intend on driving straight through. However, they certainly don’t stop (or even slow) for pedestrians when turning right on a red. And no one on a motorbike even thinks of stopping.