We had such an amazing time in Japan, but now we are back on the water and will be arriving in Shanghai tomorrow.

The kids were excited to reconnect with their ship friends to share stories of their individual travel adventures. I like this in between time to learn more about the places we are going. Do’s, dont’s, cultural norms and tips for travel. We will have a day in Shanghai before the kids and I head to Beijing. We will go to the Great Wall, Tiananmen Square and explore the city for a few days before flying to Hong Kong to meet back up with ship. Our friends the Lee’s back in Seattle, lived in Hong Kong and have made some hot spot recommendations for sights, sounds and most importantly food spots!

The water here in the East China Sea has gotten very smooth and changed color from a deep blue to a more light green. There is also much more to look at. Cargo ships and fishing boats are seen several times a day which may mot seem like much, but considering we didn’t see anything for days on end while crossing the Pacific, it seems like a traffic jam.

We still have some planning to do for future ports, mainly India. We have a good chunk of time there and want to find that balance of seeing enough but not seeing so much that we kill ourselves running from one thing to the next. It’s going to be cold in China (about 20F), but last weather report for India was in the high 90’s. We are set with plans in Vietnam and Myanmar.

Traveling this direction is excellent for sleep. We keep gaining hours as we go and the lack of jet lag is awesome. You can really hit the ground running and not fight the urge to take a nap.

Off to study hall for the kids and India research in the library!