Zhoumo kuaile!

It's a long weekend here in China. Thursday was Labor Day and the Government gave employees Friday off too so they could have three days off in a row. But Sunday is a work day, making next week a six-day workweek. All Chinese holidays, by the way, work in the same way. The system, to my foreigner mind, is flawed. I don't get it and I don't like it. Isn't working on a Sunday sacrilegious or something? Give me one day off and don't mess with my weekends.

In other, more exciting news, Mike is getting the first part of his dive certification done this weekend (thanks to Padi-endorsed Big Blue). I joined him in the pool yesterday to get my certification refreshed and I was a pretty happy to be breathing underneath the water again, if only in an indoor swimming pool in Shanghai.

A couple of weeks from now, we'll be exchanging the pool for a sea or an ocean in a tropical destination -- or so I'm told. Remember my mystery trip? Here are a few more clues I've received since then:

• Our layover is in Hong Kong. 
• We're staying in a hotel that's not part of a major chain. 
• Our return is a red-eye. 
• It's a country Mike has not yet traveled to (so it could be Thailand since I went there without him). 

Any other guesses? Help me out!