The Eyes in the Sky @ Hanoi

Being the capital of Vietnam, I had expected Hanoi to be filled with towering skyscrapers across the landscape but what I saw when the plane cut across the layer of thick cloud was expansive, agricultural land dotted with villages and towns.

To be fair, the airport was not exactly within the city centre and required at least 40-minute car ride. Nevertheless, looking at the land from high above was still an amazing as it reminded me of a miniature diorama. 

Assuming this was a hypermarket, which would have been common as a large commercial space serving villages / towns within a sphere of more than 50 kilometers; a closer look revealed the key word. Toyato.

Next door neighbor was Honda! That explained why the cars at the car park were all lined up so nicely, and segregated by colors. Guess the region concentrated on the automotive industry.

Coming from a city that's also a country, it came as a shock when I realized that families would bury their loved ones within their own farmland. In Singapore, it would always be cemeteries or columbarium. Such scenes were common in China too. 

Departing from Hanoi; the sky was still cloudy and gloomy although towards the last few days of our journey, the temperature hovered almost towards the 30 degrees Celsius. We missed the first day in Hanoi, when it was a cool 20 degrees Celsius.

Sun was out; reminding us that we would be going back to Singapore where the sun would always shine upon us. Interestingly, Singaporeans are one of the world's greatest lovers for air-conditioning. So much for being an island state with plenty of sun. 

Hanoi getting out of sight; it was with a heavy heart as this meant that my vacation was ending. On a positive note; the longer I stay away from work, the more emails I have to respond to when I am back. Sad life but no choice given that we need money to survive in our little red dot.

Going into the thick layer of cloud that literally stayed permanently above the city almost throughout my seven-day visit; allowing only the sun to peek through in the last two days. 

Finally the blue skies! Do you know we have not had a single glimpse of the blue, blue sky ever since we landed in Hanoi seven days ago!?! 

Let's check out the time-lapsed video! 

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Click here for my Week-Long Itinerary to Hanoi - City of Lakes @ Vietnam

Eyes in the Sky @ Singapore (From Ho Chi Minh City in November 2022)

Even though this wasn't my first flight back to Singapore after the pandemic, it was another arrival route to Singapore's Changi International Airport, which provided higher elevation over parts of Southern Malaysia and two of Singapore's prominent islands.

This almost unrecognizable isle is the third largest for Singapore; known as Pulau Tekong, it's exclusively used by the military and over the years; had undergone major reclamation. I can still identify the building that I stayed at as part of the mandatory national service for male Singaporeans. 

Pulau Ubin, the green oasis in the middle, is Singapore's fourth largest island. Twice the size of the tourist-famous Sentosa, it is one of the places I love to bring my overseas friends to! It was in the news recently due to a drowning incident at one of the island's quarry lakes. 

Proximity of all three islands; Pulau Tekong, Pulau Ubin and the main Singapore Island; latter of which is Singapore's largest. Bet many Singaporeans don't know that the main Singapore Island is also known as Pulau Ujong, which means Island at the End! 

Eastern part of Singapore Island, where you can see the entire Changi International Airport, including the up and coming Terminal 5! As you can see, the airport's space would literally double after the completion of the new terminal. Hope I will still be alive to see its full glory! 

Singapore Straits that's like a carpark for marine vessels! 

Quite a sight to behold; is there any places in the world that's like this? 

Flying towards the Indonesian island of Batam before u-turning to land at the other runway of Changi International Airport. This was one of my favorite spot in the air, where you can take in the entire stretch of East Coast, plus the central business district.

Zoomed in with settings adjusted to show you iconic landmarks like the conservatory domes in Gardens of the Bay, Marina Bay Sands, Singapore Flyer etc. 

Time-lapsed video for the landing!

Click here for my 6 Days Itinerary in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) - Pearl of the Far East @ Vietnam

The Eyes in the Sky @ Ho Chi Minh City [Vietnam]

It's always an exciting affair to travel on a plane but more so when it's to a country for which you have never stepped foot on for the past few decades of your life! 

Therefore, I kept shifting between looking at my watch and then the view outside to check when the sight of land would appear underneath us, as the plane flew across the vast Gulf of Thailand. 

Flew past a few rivers and according to Google Maps, I think they are Hau River, Co Chien River, Ham Luong River and the famous Mekong River. The ancient Chinese always believes that water brings wealth and to me, it brings food as I noted the many agricultural lands! 

This should be the Cape of Dong Tranh; took me a while to find out where exactly I was from Google Maps. Don't you find it fascinating!? I really love Google Maps! 

Judging from the timing and the buildup in houses instead of farmland, the plane should be within the boundary of Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC).

Strangely, I wasn't all that impressed; nothing particularly stood out like a humongous temple, towering buildings, designer structures but I figured it has to do with the direction I was facing. 

With a population of more than nine million people, I was expecting a lot more skyscrapers in this largest city of Vietnam. In comparison to Singapore, our residents number about 60-66% of HCMC but our land size is only about 30% of HCMC.

This was what greeted me when the plane was about to land; the buildings were in a tight squeeze and I was wondering where the roads were! To a certain extent, I understand why people prefer motorbikes in Vietnam; definitely easier for navigation! 

6 days in Ho Chi Minh City and I am leaving with a much better understanding of the country! The buildings were not all homogenous, especially when you are much closer to them, and the roads were pretty wide. Nevertheless, the buildings were still packed together like sardines.

Flying past the many river tributaries at Vietnam; can't wait to be back in HCMC again to be honest, despite a greater love for Bangkok. 

Click here for my 6 Days Itinerary in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) - Pearl of the Far East @ Vietnam

The Eyes in the Sky @ Krabi [Thailand]

I happily blogged about day one of my Krabi trip without realizing that i have missed out one posting; the eyes in the sky which is literally photographs taken when i am in the plane!

The bird's eye view of the land beneath us has always been spectacular and i pray for a window seat every single time i check in to the airport; yes, i am too stingy to pay extra for a specific seat.

What i love to do after downloading the photographs to my computer is to open up google map and see if i can identify the places via their satellite view! It can take me ages sometimes as i have to pick my brain on the path undertaken by the pilot and it can be confusing!

This was easy to find; Krabi Power Plant.

Pilot was flying above the mainland instead of by the sea; the latter would have resulted in more scenic photographs as the former was just filled with swathes of greenery, likely palm plantations and / or agricultural land.

Although i lived in the village when i was a kid; i doubt i am able to get accustomed to kampong life should i need to retreat to non-urbanised district as I dislike squat toilet, scared of the dark and display high sensitivity to the surroundings! 

In addition to the noticeable descent; one hint that you have reached Krabi would be the line of islands appearing on the horizon of our left.

Nuea Khlong, a district near the Krabi Airport and the one that stands out from the photo would be the 12-storey pagoda on the left which belongs to the Chengchui Chosukong Shrine.

Time lapsed video taken of the landing!

The pictures before the above were taken when we landed at Krabi International Airport from Singapore and the photographs henceforth were shot on our way back to Singapore!

Again; the Chengchui Chosukong Shrine and the limestone hills dotting the landscape.

That glow on the horizon was mesmerizing and as it was only about 4.30 pm; i was wondering if there's any strange phenomenon happening at that area.

From the above picture, it's almost like the islands were mountain peaks with thick, pillow clouds shrouded around them! I can recognise one of the islands which has that iconic chicken head-like natural structure.

Guess it's the angle of the sun which is shining on that particular patch of the sea. While it looked stunning for us on the plane, i wondered how would it look like if you are on any of the islands hit by the rays?

Low tide! I have always wanted to walk all the way to the water edge when it's low tide as the things to be found can be a lot more interesting which might include seashells and other marine creatures. 

Last two photos of the glowing sea! 

Click here for the 

itinerary of my 4-day visit to Krabi