Shanghai, China

Saturday, February 20th

This is my last entry to the blog. I’m writing in the air as we are on the first of our three flights to get home.

When we awoke this morning and looked out our window we were amazed at the sight of Shanghai. It is a beautiful city with a skyline that just might be better than Hong Kong’s.
We took a taxi to the Mag Lev (the magnetic levitation train) and then took the fastest train in the world to the airport. It was an effort as we had to deal with our luggage every step of the way but Bill was thrilled to be on that train. There were no elevators so we used the escalator to transport our four pieces of luggage plus our carry-ons. I was at the top of the escalator and Bill sent luggage up to me, one piece at a time. Fortunately, no one else needed to use the escalator at that time. We then got into the station and three attendants carried our bags. It was like airplane travel was 40 years ago. The train went 431 km/h (approximately 270 miles an hour) and each car had its own speedometer. The train rides about 10 mm above the track, floating on air. We were at the airport before we had a chance to settle in.

We are leaving Asia with a wonderful impression of the people and their culture. For the most part, they are very friendly, helpful and really good looking. The Asian people like to have their picture taken with Westerners. We have posed for quite a few, two the most memorable was a young man on the train that wanted to pose with Bill while flexing his muscles and then a young girl at the train station being urged on by her father. The children are absolutely adorable. We’ve had a wonderful time and, once again, I’m very glad we took this cruise but it will be the last one for us.

Two of the photos Bill is uploading are of the Speedometer on the train and the Pearl Tower which has a roller coaster inside and a glass floor on the top of the building. You step out of the elevator and look down. We didn’t have a chance to do that.

We’ve had a great trip but we are really looking forward to getting home. It has been a whirlwind!

We are sending this from the Seoul, Korea airport terminal while waiting for our second flight.