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!