Harbin Winter Vacation

Earlier this month I flew to Harbin with my sister. Why? I, myself have no idea. On a fine day, the temperature would be around -22 degree Celsius. Not that it feels less colder. There's no such thing as taking a stroll down the avenue. I can only walk for 10 minutes before rushing to any shops that I can find and pretending to be interested in the items they're selling. And you have to keep your hands (already in gloves) in your pockets all the time. Once I did the mistake of buying a souvenir and I had no choice but to hand carry it to the hotel. It was the worst 15 minutes of my life.

When you're done with the Ice & Snow Festival, you can either take the cable car or walk across the frozen Songhua river on foot. Choose the later. It's so much fun. And it's free.

 Moonwalk on Songhua river, checked!

I think the highlight of this trip is the visit to the Siberian Tiger Preserved. The picture doesn't do them justice. They are so big that if you put your arms around their belly, your fingers won't be able to meet.

The best time to visit is when the feeding time. Not because they fights for food. It's because the noises they made. It's unnerving to hear them roar and growls.

A white tiger.

 I forgot what the name of this creature is.

 This is a Liger. Lion + Tiger = Liger.

Jaguar. I don't know if that's a frozen drools or just his whiskers. But he's sure looks funny with that.

I only manage to take a few photos because as I have said before, it's a torture to take your hands out of your pockets (where it's nice and warm).

I'm suppose to keep this secret but I won't be able to move on with life so long I keep this to myself. So here it is. Ready? I didn't visit the Ice Festival. The one with colorful lights at night. I know. It's the biggest flops in the history of holiday vacation. Who missed the Eiffel Tower when they're in Paris? Who missed the Ice Festival when they go to Harbin? Apparently, I do.

Why?

Because it's freaking -35 degree Celsius in there!

2014

When I started this post the clock shows 1.11am and the date is 1/1/2014 at the bottom right corner of my laptop. What a nice coincidence.

Anyway, I know this post is long overdue. And I has been off the radar longer than I anticipated. I was caught off by the waves and sort of drifted along with it for a moment. A pleasant moment, if I may say. It was not hard to sever connections with the outside world. I terminated my tv's paid channels the moment I realized that I haven't seen the remote control for more than a month. Which was not lost, by the way. It was still where it was supposed to be. Under the coffee table. Immaculately covered in dust (cleaning is not the issue here). I guess I just lost interest in tv. Yeah, just like that. Puff.. and it's gone. Even now, I still don't have the desire to turn on the tv.

Things I've busied myself with lately. Reading. That's it. I read a lot of books. But I'm not as intellectual as you think. No. Most of the time (99.9%) I read fiction. And 98% of it was romance. I'm a woman, it's only normal to read romance novel. While we're on this topic, I want to point out that 50 Shades of Grey is definitely not my kind of cup of tea. I prefer Judith McNaught, Lisa Klepas, Linda Howard, that kind of taste. Yeah, I have a sweet tooth. But I can understand why that book intrigues most people. Just like the forbidden fruit. Or when you are told not to enter that particular room. Or to not push that button. I grew up in a house where disciplines were enforced by punishment. To go out and play before 5pm or come back after 6pm will earn you a flogging. Or fail to do your homework will also get you flogged. And so is late coming home from school, fail at tests, caught lying, fight with my brother and the list is long. Saying a vulgar word will get you a slap on the mouth, though. Let me clear one thing, even with all that, I never hated my father. He was my rock. I understand his ways. And look where it got me today. Anyway, what I'm trying to say, flogging is not fun. Pain is not fun. Degrading another human being is not cool. I miss the days where the romance book cover was anything but a man's abs.

In 2013, my goal was not to succumb to materialism. Well, I failed. I bought the new iPhone 5s. And the new iPad mini. Now, I got 2 iPads. Then I bought 2 more iPad for my mom and my niece. I spent a lot but saves only a little. So, this year is going to be different. I mean, the goal is still the same but I'm going to make a difference. I'm going to pull through until the end. Yeah, that's how excited I am about 2014.

1. I'm not going to spend even a cent on gadgets.
2. By the end of 2014, I will have 20k in my savings.
3. There will be only 2 holiday trips this year.
4. Before the year ends I'm going to weigh 30lbs lighter than I am now.

I think that covers what I want in 2014. Oh, I assure you I have no doubt of achieving it all. I did get rid most of my debts in the past year, didn't I?