Cruising along Hong Kong

Hong Kong is surrounded by over 250 islands and one of the best way to explore these islands is to charter / rent a 'Junk'. The term 'junk' was initially applied to traditional Chinese fishing boats, but now refers to  any motorized pleasure boat.

It's a good idea to hire a junk on a Saturday, so you have Sunday to rest before you start your work week.

 Boats / the junk can either pick you up from the Central Pier 9 or the Kowloon Public Pier. 

We had the opportunity to be on a junk this weekend. We started from the Central pier and headed east towards Tai Long Wan, Sai Kung. It took us roughly 2.5 hours to get there. There are many other islands that you will cross on the way. You could stop to explore those too.

Tai Long Wan has four beaches along the bay - Sai Wan, Ham Tin Wan, Tai Wan and Tung Wan.

While it's lovely to swim on the beaches in Tai Long Wan, one has to careful as the water has jellyfish. It might be a wise idea to carry a jellyfish sting relief ointment / spray with you.

Things to carry with you on a junk: Swimwear, Sun Tan Lotion, Extra pair of clothes, camera, food and plenty of water.

Vietnam (Hanoi & Halong Bay)

We decided to visit Vietnam for the Easter break. We shortlisted Hanoi and a cruise in Halong Bay for our short trip to Vietnam. As luck would have it, our flight to Hanoi was late by over five hours and instead of reaching at 6:30 in the evening, we reached our hotel at midnight. That wasn't really a great start to our already short trip, but little could be done about the delay. 

Hence, Day 1 of our trip was spent at the airport and then just crashing at the Hotel in Hanoi. We stayed at the Rising Dragon Legend Hotel. It was a very simple hotel with no frills but an extremely friendly and helpful staff.

Day 2 started with a three hour drive (along green fields and a clear blue sky) to Halong Bay for our cruise. 

This is our lovely cruise 'Legend' waiting for us to come on board.

 Our Beautiful and cozy room / cabin on the cruise.

 Once on board, we enjoyed a scrumptious meal (The meals on the cruise are mind blowing. It is heaven for non vegetarians and especially sea food lovers.) Then just relaxed on the sun deck with some wine and enjoyed the serene view.

 The cruise also offers various activities like kayaking and a bamboo boat ride to see the floating villages and markets in the bay. 

 Day 3 we were taken to explore the largest cave in Halong Bay. 

 That's the cave up there!

 The view of the bay from the top of the cave.

On day 3 we were back at our hotel in Hanoi by around five in the evening. Since most of the museums and temples close by that time, we couldn't explore those. We instead spent our evening watching the famous water puppet show.

(Apologies for the bad pictures of the water puppet show)

Hanoi has a night market, which is must visit for all tourists. The night market starts at seven in the evening to midnight. Its a street filled with tourists sitting on the sidewalk and enjoying some local beer / drinks and yummy Vietnamese food.

 These are called the 'Tornado Chips'. They are yummy and a real good accompaniment for your beer. They also sell delicious Spring Rolls (which we had ordered, but gobbled them down before I could take some pictures)