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We are back in Shanghai....got home about 1:00 this afternoon. We were greeted by Xiao Zhang and a very clean house. The kids waisted no time getting their laundry to her so they would have clean clothes tomorrow to take with us to Beijing.

We had a great time in Hong Kong. It was hot but to my surprise much cooler than Shanghai. We saw blue sky and white clouds. Everyone spoke English which made life very easy. Overall I would say that Hong Kong is much much cleaner than Shanghai and felt more like "home". It was a very pleasant break!!! I can't wait to go back again...it is just a two hour flight from Shanghai, Abi and I think we could fly down and back in one day and do some serious shopping!!!

We took a three hour tour the first afternoon we were in Hong Kong so we could understand the layout of the city and become familiar with the "points of interest". Hong Kong is very "international" and we loved it!!!!!! There were Western style shopping malls, good food, wonderful views, and fresh air....sounds weird...but after living in Shanghai...blue sky and fresh air is such a wonderful sight. Oh....and did I mention it was very clean??? Hmmm...I wonder if I would think it was a clean city if I had not been living in Shanghai for the past 6 months???? The city has many different "mid-level" walk ways and outdoor escalators to make it easier to cross the busy roads and to get up the steep hill. We found the walkways a little challenging because they go in and out of different buildings and it was not easy to see if we were taking the right walkway. We walked in circles a few times and back tracked through large office buildings and one incredibly huge mall. But...the malls and buildings were clean and so were the bathrooms!!!! AND....the bathrooms had toilet paper!!! Small conveniences bring such joy!!!

When we got back to Shanghai today we stopped at Pizza Hut for lunch. I was quickly reminded that we were back in Shanghai when our waitress could not understand what we wanted to order. AAAhhhhh...I think it was a little depressing for all of us.

We are going to get some rest this afternoon, pack tomorrow, (Tim has to work most of the day), and then muster our energy and enthusiasm to make our trip to Beijing. I have heard that Beijing is very different from Shanghai.......Shanghai is the "international" city. But...Beijing has been making a lot of improvements for the Olympics so we may be pleasantly surprised. One thing for sure.....we are sooooo excited to see Kim when we get to Beijing. I think Tucker is counting the seconds!!!!

This is the latest in "fast food" in Hong Kong. In the food court at one of the malls we ordered "pepper steak" and rice. The steak and rice were served on a sizzling hot plate and the meat cooked as we turned it on the plate with chopsticks. We all thought it was wonderful.

This is the Hong Kong sky line from the top of Victoria Peak. We took a taxi to the top of the peak, eat dinner, and then road the tram back to the bottom after the sun set.

Tucker and Abi at the top of Victoria Peak with Hong Kong harbor in the background

Sunset from Victoria Peak looking West

We found a shopping mall...sort of by accident....on Sunday morning. The mall was in and area called Mongkok on the Kowloon Peninsula. The interesting thing about this mall were the escalators and the "spiral". The fourth floor had a four story atrium AND a four story escalator. You could expedite your trip to the top of the mall by way of two-four story escalators...4th floor to the 8th floor and then again from the 8th floor to the 12th floor. There were smaller escalators to individual floors and then you could "spiral" your way to the next floor by way of an upward walk-way.

This is one of the crazy stairs in the Mall in Mongkok. The stairs were illuminated with rainbow lights that changed colors.

Crazy kids (all three) on the escalator.

The "family" on the outdoor mid-level escalators....it was really hot and steamy on this escalator.

Night time in Hong Kong. I really liked the signs in Hong Kong....they hang over the street which is very different than Shanghai.

Very "cute" red taxis everywhere. Abi thought they looked like "Harry Potter" taxis.

Sandpan Boats

The tall building on the left is the IFC building. It is taller than the JinMao in Shanghai so it must be the 3rd tallest building in the world.....I am guessing this little factoid.