Day 1, 09Apr2010
This was our first time on a SilkAir A320 jet. We were warmly received by the crew, and I like to specially give credit to Miss Dawn Koh and Capt Tan Boon Poo, both whom added their personal touches of welcome to us. The flight meal was a delectable set of mushroom omelettes.

Arriving at Shenzhen, we stepped out of the airplane and were greeted and by cloudy weather with cool air of 20 degrees Celsius. Miss Cai ( 小蔡 ), our tour guide from Foshan ( 佛山 ) city in Guangdong, picked us up to bring us to Express Holiday Inn situated along Gui Yuan ( 桂圆 ) road in Luo Hu ( 罗湖 ) district, the central zone in Shenzhen. Not more than 30 minutes after checking in, we left the hotel and began our own free and easy walkabout.

This being my second time in Shenzhen, I very quickly found my orientation to the surroundings. We took a leisurely stroll to Dong Men ( 东门 ), our Orchard Road equivalent, which was about 20 minutes from the hotel. Thanks to the cooling weather, the walk was very enjoyable.

Lunch was at a Hong Kong styled teahouse in Dong Men. We shared a roast duck udon with soup, dried beef stew noodles and porridge with frog leg, then finishing off with a mango sago pomelo dessert. While I was getting the bill, Mum had a chat with the girl at the entrance whom received us into the restaurant. Before leaving, she gave us a token that waived the toilet entry charge for us.

We continued the walk till Le Yuan ( 乐园 ) Road, or famously known as Seafood Street ( 海鲜街 ), located about half a kilometer from Dong Men. I stayed around this area on my first trip to Shenzhen so this long walk was akin to reliving the old memories and also creating new ones at the same time. I decided that we would come back here for dinner the next day.

Dinner was in a busy Xiang Cai ( 湘菜 ) restaurant near our hotel, it served delicacies from Hunan ( 湖南 ) province. We decided on a less meaty diet, and ordered a fried baby brinjal and steamed fish with soy sauce, both very gratifying to our stomachs.

Reaching the hotel around 9pm, Mum decided to call it a day. I took shower and went out again to explore the late night sights of Shenzhen.

I came back after midnight, and mum was already asleep. I set the alarm at 730am and tucked in around 2am.

Day 2, 10Apr2010
I slept better than the day before, but woke up automatically earlier, before my alarm rang. Breakfast was an east and west buffet spread on level 2 of the hotel.

We were given a half day city tour starting at 9am – it included visiting 3 places of interest. I caught Miss Cai sitting outside enjoying the cool breeze on this yet again cloudy day. We waited together for the driver who arrived at 9:30am.

Our first stop was Shenzhen International Garden and Expo Park. It had a long flight of stairs leading to the top, which we slowly walked up. As an avid runner, I told Miss Cai that this place would be ideal for joggers/runners. The place was filled with families and children on a school excursion. It started to drizzle when we reached the top, but due to mum’s foresight, she had brought along an umbrella so we did not have to run down the long flight of stairs. Next, we visited a silk/jade shop and a traditional Chinese medicine hall – common places for every major city tour in China.

Lunch was in a restaurant popular for tour groups. We were served roast duck, omelette, soup and steamed prawns which were delectably juicy.

Our last stop was the state mangrove area connecting to the sea. Miss Cai told us that Hong Kong would be visible on a clear day, but we were contented to have walked along this breezy and greenery spot.

I requested to be dropped in Luo Hu train station, and we made our way back to Dong Men via the metro. We patronized the same Hong Kong teahouse yesterday and this time tried the sesame paste with dumpling and mango sago pomelo (again).

Eugene, a Singaporean friend in Shenzhen, called and told me he had just returned from Guangzhou. We arranged for dinner in Le Yuan.

At first, we could not decide which restaurant to patron. Everywhere was more crowded than the day before, filled with visitors with Hong Kong and of course, locals. Eugene said we would be lucky if we could get a table in an hour, but we got one in 45 minutes! We feasted on the special black pepper stewed oxtail, claypot brinjal and fried chicken. After dinner, Eugene and I then headed off for a massage at his friend’s outlet located in Vienna hotel while Mum went back to the hotel. I returned to the hotel around 2am, and mum was asleep. I quickly packed the luggage and got into bed 15 minutes later.

Day 3, 11Apr2010
We woke up around 7:20am. I nearly dozed off in the breakfast table while waiting for mum to finish eating. Our checkout time was 9am and so there was no time for us to do any last minute shopping.

Another cloudy day, we enjoyed the cool air for one last time before heading to the airport. I slept most of the way on the flight back and only woke up during meal time.

Here is to thank Class95 and SilkAir for giving us this joyous trip.