Our wait at Sydney Airport for the very first flight of our fourth trip to China and our first trip to Central Asia and Pakistan was again exciting - and as usual very pleasant. Our first destination was the lovely Shanghai where we would spend two full days before heading off to Urumqi in the far north-west of China, and then through Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, back into far west China and then along the Karakoram Highway into northern Pakistan. Our feelings were still a mixture of excitement and trepidation. But once again there was little point in feeling apprehensive. We were on our way. And there could be no going back.

We love everything about the flight to Shanghai from the first drink in the Sydney Airport Lounge to arriving in the exotic and exciting city of Shanghai. Just embarking on the aircraft is stepping into a Chinese capsule. Even though we were still on the ground in in Australia, everything Australian was gone and we were for every purpose back in China again. There were as usual few foreigners like us and all the work we had done to date in getting this trip together was forgotten as we sank into the bliss of a few drinks and, as usual, an excellent flight with China Eastern Airllines.