Harbin

1/19/10

Me standing in front of the Forbidden City sculpture. SO COLD!!

This entry is going to be short because let’s face it, I don’t really feel like reliving my time in Harbin. Seeing as I was nearly in Russia in mid-January and that my number one fear is being cold, I was in quite a pickle. I warned my travel mates, Josh, Becky, and Hallie that I was probably not going to be the nicest person on this trip. They all lied at the end and told me that, “I did great.” Hah. Good liars…

So this is what we did (as a shiver consumes my body while thinking back to the trip):

-We woke up early on Friday morning to head out into the cold. I noticed that I could only be outside for no more than 5 minutes at a time. This was when I found that the left side of my hair had frozen. (This meant there were frequent, short stops in souvenir shops, KFC, McDonalds, etc.) Buff-o-Meter: Uncomfortable

-We took a horse-drawn carriage ride around a frozen lake, which was interesting. B-o-M: Mildly Uncomfortable

-We ate lunch at a little Russian Restaurant where we warmed up. B-o-M: Comfortable

-Strolled over to St. Sophia’s church. The Russian architecture was quite impressive. Thankfully, this was the only point in the day when we were in the sun. B-o-M: Slightly Comfortable and enjoying myself.

-Peeked in a ‘UAS Bucks Coffee.’ That name is all sorts of wrong. Enjoyed a hot coffee and the blood started flowing again. B-o-M: Happy and Warm

-Set out for the real deal, The Harbin Ice Festival. We got out there and popped in and it was seriously breathtaking. The sculptures, buildings, and lights were incredible. And I lasted 7 minutes. B-o-M: Pretty Uncomfortable...Really Uncomfortable.

-We were at the Ice Festival for a total of about 3 hours. Our time was spent taking pictures, going down ice slides, being cold, and camping out in the little huts they had set up around the place. Overall feeling on the B-o-M: Seriously, seriously cold. Never want to feel that coldness ever again.

Long, frigid story short: This was a once in a lifetime trip. Once in a lifetime means it won’t ever happen again. And I’m 100% OK with that. The Ice Festival was amazing and I couldn’t be happier that I got to see it with my own eyes. However, Northeastern China in the dead of winter is not the best idea for someone like me. I’m glad Hong Kong is the last stop before we return home so I have some toasty memories of China.

It’s freezing: Tianqi henleng