Shanghai, China

My last stop on the Asia tour of October, 2010 is Shanghai, China.  I was supposed to continue on to Beijing (for a second time on this trip), but managed to postpone those meetings, so I could return home.  After almost three weeks on the road, I'm ready to return to the U.S.

Here in Shanghai, I was lucky enough to stay at the Grand Hyatt hotel, which is located in the Jin Mao Tower:

Before the Taipei 101 was built (see here), this was one of the tallest buildings in the world.  It still holds the record for having hotel rooms at the greatest height in the world.  To give you an idea, my room is on the 77th floor ; )  The lobby of the hotel is actually located on the 54th floor of the building!  The interior is pretty amazing.  This short video clip should give you quick idea of what I'm talking about:

The view from my room is also outstanding.  My first night here, the clouds surrounded the highest floors of the hotel, making a view almost impossible.  Tonight, the clouds are a little higher, providing a breath-taking view of other skyscrapers in Shanghai:

You have to remember that those other buildings are HUGE.  It gives you a little perspective as to how tall the Jin Mao tower really is.

For my last night in China, I was fortunate enough to go to one of my favorite restaurants in Shanghai - Din Tai Fung.

This is a famous chain of restaurants in Taiwan, China, Japan and Los Angeles.  They specialize in dumplings.  Wonderful, delicious, delectable dumplings.  Here are a couple of items that I ordered:

Steamed crab meat and pork dumpling

Black truffle and pork dumpling

It was another fantastic meal.  It makes up for some of the crappy meals in China, where you can't figure out how to order, and there aren't any English-speaking waiters ; )

That's it for this Asia tour.  Tomorrow, I have a couple of meetings and then I'm off to the airport.  Another 22-hour journey back to Austin, Texas awaits!  I can't wait to see my family...