Day 1
I can't believe how freaking cold it is! You smoke without a cigarette, glass become opaque in the day and people are wrapped in more layers than rice dumplings. Guess what? It's not even the coldest yet! Day 2 and 3 are estimated to be the worst torture that we have bestowed upon ourselves but I pray to just survive today!
What was I thinking, coming to a place like this? Well, despite having to endure the negative degree Celsius weather, the place does show off its beauty to the fullest. Snow, a rarity in Singapore, is everywhere. The whole place coated by tiny frozen water droplets. It is breathtaking. Of course, I'd be able to soak in its glamour much better if we had better protective gear so we went to buy them at a "convenient" store. Yea. That HELPS.
Food! China's food is not bad and they have rocking xiao long bao. But airplane food.... Well, the fact that it is called "airplane food" speaks for itself.
Anyway,talking about painstakingly enduring the cold, my family had to also endure the pain in the ass that is the Shanghai customs. Apparently, the customs required us to pick up our baggage and check them in again during transit at shanghai although the label shows that they would be directly transferred to harbin. Owells, our luggage got flown over and touched down at about 11+pm (sky was pitch dark at 5pm). May tomorrow be of less hassle, less cold and more fun.
Oh, I got to admit, I miss him a lil bit. :)
Day 2
We are on our way to stay at a home in a village where the scenery is said to be awesome. The scenery on the road is quite breathtaking. Conifer trees and bare trees dot the sidewalks with snow as a constant solid background. It's too bad that the glass is frosted so bad that you just see white and brown blurs. You can only witness this beauty through the front windshield that is heated to prevent the frosty phenomenon.
Omg. We went horse sleigh riding and it. was. fun! The horses were hairy gigantic beasts that were more muscular than any guy I've seen face to face. We set mini fireworks off and it was almost a complete success if nothing did hit my face -.- We also went snow sliding. It's kinda like what we have in snow city but so much more fun. I had a blast.
Snow along the road was shin deep. You think you'll be fine stepping on it, only to find out that you fallen into its cheeky trap. You lose your balance and seek refuge with your other feet. The snow mocks you as you once again fall for the very same trick.
It is part of the experience we paid for to get "robbed" and see how robbers used to live in holes in the snow. I was fortunate enough to be the chosen one, amongst the vast number of people, to be pulled off and held hostage with a knife at the back of my neck. And how much more luck can you get to be the chosen one twice? I whined during the second time and the "robber" laughed before letting me go.
The whole place was like Narnia before the siblings came but with a joyous atmosphere. It was as if a authoritarian mine took over and dictated for all things to be white and brown. You see colour only when you look into the frozen pond, which is surrounded with more snow. It is interesting to see how different the result is when tiny water droplets freeze together and when tiny frozen water droplets clump together.
As we approached our destination at the top of the mountain, the severity of frost was evident. Fog formed from my breath was freezing up on my glasses. It was almost impossible to see where I was going. Snow was almost as tall as I was. Just as I thought we were never going to find an oasis of heat, we reached our destination. The people were lovely and they taught me how to make dumplings from scratch. Awesome. Maybe I'll make some for him next time...haha...if I succeed.
Day 3
Note to self: sleeping on a hardwood bed is not a fun experience.
I woke up with a aching pain in my back and probably slightly swollen eyes from the lack of sleep. The temperature is about 28-30 degrees below zero but it felt warmer than yesterday. This is probably because I am slowly getting accustomed to the weather. After washing up with icy cold water, we head out to play in the snow.
The snow was more than waist deep and a funny sight to watch one try to get up after falling in. We rolled around in it, throw snow whatever-shapes at each other and took photos like our lives depended on it. My glasses frosted so bad, I ditched them. My eyelashes were dotted with ice droplets from my breath. I have become one with the snow.
Yea, of course that is only my own thoughts. The weather thought differently and brought upon wind. Wind is a terrifying element that shows as much mercy as a tornado does to a herd of unsuspecting cows.
We spent the rest of the day traveling towards Chang bai shan. Omg. It was a literal pain in the butt. I slept through all that I can and was left with counting the minutes on the bus. Today is officially the longest one yet.
After 10 hours of a grueling ride, we finally reached out hotel. The comfortability of the rooms makes it so worth it. The toilet was just plain bliss.
Day 4
It snowed!!! Omg you have no idea how excited we were. It was awesome. Snowflakes brought me into a korean drama and I found myself sticking my tongue out to taste nature.
We ventured to the top of the mountains as the snow grew heavier. In case you are wondering, snow does come down as huge white balls. The tiny almost-microscopic flakes flies everywhere like a lost bumble bee till it finds the best flower to reside on. Wind grew stronger and snowflakes quickly became bullet pellets that I fear.
It was crazy at the top. The wind was merciless to the point that I felt like a human kite on a string. You were blown to whichever direction the wind permits and you lose most control of your feet. It wasn't long till I found myself on all fours.
After a horrible experience of being "pushed around", we went on to look at the waterfall. If you think watching free flow of water pouting down from a great height is flabbergasting, just imagine the stretch of water frozen stiff. Yet, water underneath is still pouring so you see this magnificent ice sculpture with the trickle of water sounds.
After enjoying the weather, we went for some hot stuff- BBQ Lunch. It was fun and awesome. The one downside I'd say is that most of the food was spicy and I ended lunch with a very very sore mouth. When lunch ended, we pretty much had nothing on anymore so we went shopping and that's about it.
Day 5
Skiing! We went skiing today and it was awesome for those who actually have a flair for the sport. I had nothing more than a tiny speck of natural talent. I skied, tumbled, rolled, fell and enjoyed making all sorts of shapes with the snow. Hahaha. My butt hurts even now and I thrashed my sunglasses. Thank god I chose to wear my contacts rather than specs today. Skiing. Is. Tiring.
After trying to use the hand and leg muscles that I do not possess, we went for a treat at the spa. It was so awesome. Awesome awesome awesome. For the first time, we are experiencing heat here. It was fun as we played games to get ppl to go into the cold pool haha. It's funny to see others squirm.
I texted him yesterday night and it felt good ^^ awww...
Day 6
Today we did a little exploring at the Chao Xian Zu's place. Their customs are very similar to the Koreans even though they are from china.
After which we went to Wu song dao for another night on a charcoal bed. Food there was good and their fish was great. To think the fish was from the same river as the diner that we went to a few days back. The only difference was the fish at the diner were 5 times bigger and definitely much more expensive.
It seems as though we were cursed. We went to Xue Xiang at its coldest, we went to Chang Bai Shan when the wind was at its peak and now we are at Wu Song Dao on the coldest day it has ever experienced. I do hope charcoal is enough to keep us warm. The good news is that there is wifi and I found myself whatsapping away with him.
It was an eventful night as I saw my glass fill up time and again with wine and beer. We chatted through the evening till we had to shut up because the owners had to sleep.
Day 7
The charcoal was nowhere enough and we woke up with a lousy start as the water taps stopped working. My deduction is that the water probably froze inside. We ended up having to scramble for any water we have with us to wash up.
It was too early to wake up. I couldn't believe that I was waking up at times earlier than when I had to for school. But the scenery was magnificent. The trees were white with ice and snow. This is a sight you don't see when the sun starts to rise.
We took a boat to sail across the river. The icy cold river. You could see the boat breaking through the ice leaving chunks of white rocks floating in the midst of the transparent waters. At the snow covered island, it was tiring to even walk on as snow was shin deep. It was a pain to raise and step and raise and step. A good morning work out that I didn't sign up for. It was just an awesome view to see the sun rise there. Just awesome.
When we got back, our feet were freezing and our hands were numb but our complains soon faded as we saw a monk come in. He had stepped into the water and the water froze. It had to be extremely hard to struggle back to the home motel. Without proper gear, he had caused his limbs bad protection from the cold. Everyone was busy rubbing snow on his hands and feet to save them. If they cannot be saved, he was facing amputation. His limbs were white. Totally white with no signs of blood flow. His skin was peeling and it just looked painful. Fear coated his face as he thought about any unpleasant outcomes.
I looked back and realised that I played with the water as well. Itchy legs decided to test the ice and it went click click click squish. That was when I went shit... Thankfully, no water seeped in and my feet are perfectly fine if not feeling the minus 30 deg cold.
As we exchanged final goodbyes on whatsapp, I left for Harbin once again. It is said that this time, Harbin is even colder than places we've been to. I hope I can make through this merciless winter.
Day 8
So you would think that we wouldn't dare go near waters anymore after yesterday's incident. Well, we went to have fun not by, but on, the Wu Song river today. It was frozen stiff and you could see ships parked right beside where you were playing.
There was a gigantic ice slide, some weird sitting-down dragon-ski, top whipping on ice and winter swimming. Omg, you should have seen those guys in their swimsuits jumping into the water that was simultaneously freezing up into ice. It was a nice miniature themed park.
After the enjoying ourselves at this miniature themed park, we went on to play at the ice castle. It was beyond magnificent. The whole place was carved with ice. You slide on ice. You drive on ice. You climb on ice. You walk to ice.
You may think that ice itself is enough to create this dreamy vision of the place. Now imagine light in those ice. Imagine coloured lights that gave the whole place life and vigor. Awesome awesome awesome view.
Day 9 & 10
Shopping all day!
Day 11
Time to get back to Singapore. I'm filled with mixed feelings. Two days ago, I was missing playing at the beach. Now, I don't even know if I can survive under the air condition there.
It is cold traveling to the airport at 4+am in the morning. We tried to put on lesser clothing on so as to attempt to survive the first heat wave at Changi. It is a sleepy nolstalgic morning.
