Shenzhen - Window of the World

We decided to day trip to Shenzhen one weekend. We may not have chosen an appropriate time for the trip because, it was an overcast day. It rained for most part of the day, but in spite of the rain, we had a lovely day at Shenzhen. We went to 'Window of the World' - a beautiful way way to see the world in a couple of hours. 

Window of the World is a theme park where you can see round 130 replicas of monuments. historical heritages and famous sites from around the world.

 The park has a monorail service which helps you to get an overview of the park. (The monorail was a good way to see a large part of the park, especially since it was raining quite heavily when we got there. It is also quite convenient, if you have elders with you and don't want to walk about too much).

 Windows of the World has replicas / miniatures of the Eiffel Tower, Taj Mahal, White House, London Bridge, Buckingham Palace, Pyramids and the Sphinx of Giza from Egypt, the skyline of New York, Niagara Falls and may more.

 The replicas are built n the ratio of 1:1, 1:5 and 1.15.

 The view of the city from the top of the Eiffel Tower.

 There are rides  (a boat ride with a drop near the Niagara Falls replica, camel rides, one can also take an elevator to the top of the Eiffel Tower) one can opt fro in the park. These rides may cost around 15 - 20 RMB (not included in the entry fee). 

Hong Kong - sky100

It was a regular Sunday evening and 'The Husband' & I decided to visit sky100. It is an observation deckon the 100th floor of the International Commerce Centre (ICC), the tallest building in Hong Kong. 

Sky100 offers a 360 degree view of the city.

The observation deck also has a cafe/bar called Vista. You can enjoy a drink or two and soak in the views.

You can book tickets for sky100 online on their website or purchase it from the counter at the venue. It's open from 10 am to 9 pm (the last entry is at 8pm). 

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)