The Frozen North

It seems fitting that on a 93 degree day I talk about our adventures in negative 13 degree weather!  Way back in January we headed to Harbin, China to see the Ice festival with my friend and her family. Unfortunately this was my least favorite trip we have taken...possibly the worst trip of my life, but that seems extreme. Anyway, plain and simple it was FREEZING! I don't think I can truly explain how extremely cold it was in Harbin.

A night market near our hotel.

Night market.

Walking street right outside our hotel.

I had seen pictures of the Harbin Ice Festival and added it to our list of places to visit while we are living here in China. So, when my friend asked if we wanted to join them on a weekend trip to Harbin I immediately said, yes!

While researching the city I noticed that people mentioned that it was cold and to pack many layers. We had thick coats, lots of thick socks, gloves, mittens, scarves, blankets, hats and thermal underwear. But it was not enough! I will admit that it was a colder than normal weekend everywhere in China. It was -25 Celsius (-13 Fahrenheit). It was hard for me to enjoy most of the activities that we did because of the cold.

Ok enough with the whining about how very cold it was. While we were there we visited a Siberian tiger park. This was an interesting visit. It wasn't like visiting a zoo in the USA, but it also wasn't what I was expecting. We were crammed into a non heated bus with bars on the windows. Then we were driven around the park to look at the animals. Most of the animals were able to roam free, there were a few at the end that were in smaller enclosure/cages. There wasn't anyone guiding the drive through the park, just a drive from one gated area to the next with a stop so we could take pictures. Towards the end there were some tigers that were eating chickens. After exiting the bus there was a barred pathway that we could go on. On this section of the park you could pay to feed the tigers live chickens. I have heard that there are options to feed them larger animals as well, but I didn't see this.

The main event in Harbin is the Snow and Ice World. Snow and Ice World features full sized buildings made of 2-3' thick ice from the Songhua River. There were many sculptures as well as a few slides. Now that I have experienced this I know that visiting Harbin would be been much better without Baby O. It is more suited for kids twelve and older.

All of the brightly colored ice buildings were neat to see, but we ended up only staying in Snow and Ice World for about thirty minutes. It was just too cold for the kids and us really. We had to wait in a very long line for the bus back to the city. Baby O cried, I cried, it was terrible!

We had some time before our flights on our last day in Harbin so we walked around an ice sculpture park that was near our hotel. It also had a slide and an ice bar that was open in the evening.

Our trip didn't end on a very good note either. Our flight had been canceled, but we didn't realize it until we got to the airport. We did get a flight that day but it didn't depart until 9:30pm. We had six hours to hangout at the airport before getting to go home.

Unfortunately we didn't have the best experience in Harbin. But I think we were unlucky to visit when it was very cold throughout China. I hope that this wont dissuade anyone from visiting. I just recommend packing what you think you'll need and then pack a few more items to keep you warm, just in case :)

USA Trip Recap

For the month of December Baby O and I were in the USA, J was there too, just not as long. It was a very busy trip! I took about approximately six hundred photos (not including pictures on my cell phone). I could bore you with several posts including an excessive amount of photos of Baby O, but instead I have narrowed it down to ten pictures to (kind of) sum-up our trip.

Wine tasting with some of my best girlfriends.

Playing with cousins at Great Grandma's house in Missouri.

Waiting to get pictures taken with Santa.

The Seattle Science Center.

Disneyland!!!

Brunchin' with the ladies.

Ok, I know these pictures do not do a very good job of showing what we did, but they are some of my favorites and I had to narrow it down! Here's what else we got up to while in the US: spent time with great friends, had many Christmas celebrations, got together with our PEPS group, visited J's family in Missouri, and spent a few days at Disneyland.

Visiting an Organic Farm

In October we went to an organic farm with some friends. There is a grocery deliver service that we use out of Shanghai, Kate & Kimi. There are some imported food that we can only get through this service and they also put on community events. Unfortunately most of the events are in Shanghai so we are unable to participate.

The farm visit started with a picnic lunch and a little talk by a couple of the farmers. Kate & Kimi provided sandwiches, and the farm provided a fresh salad. It was all very delicious. After our lunch we got a tour of the farm.

Baby O with his friend L.

As usual L and O were very active and N looked at them like they were crazy.

We saw where all the fruit and vegetables are grown. We also got to see the animals that live/work on the farm. There were chickens, goats, pigs and a couple of dogs.

Vietnam: Ha Long Bay Cruise

One of my favorite parts of our trip to vacation to Vietnam was the two day/one night cruise that we took around Ha Long Bay. I wish that we could have gone on a longer cruise, but the duration was perfect for Baby O. I don't think he enjoyed the lack of space to run and be free.

Our trip started with a four hour long van ride from Hanoi out to Ha Long. This was the worst part of our two day trip, but we all made it and I don't think the other passengers hated us.

Our boat was the second one back, the Paradise Peak.

Our room.

The view.

More of our view as we started our cruise into the bay.

While we were on the boast we participated in a few of the activities. We went swimming, for a boat ride, I took a early morning Tai Chi class and went for a "hike" through a cave. There was also a cooking class that we could have done, but Baby O was napping so I read on the terrace while J got a massage.

Making friends everywhere he goes!

This is the cave that I "hiked" through.

I highly recommend taking a cruise on Ha Long Bay if you are in Vietnam. The view were beautiful, food delicious and very friendly people.

A Picture a Week | 40-50/52

Obviously I am a little bit behind on writing so here are a bunch of pictures of Baby O.

My favorite sous chef!

All bundled up in Harbin, China

Helping our Ayi clean up.

Snuggling with mama.

Checking out the fish on Bali.

He loves dip! (aka ketchup) Some times he likes to put it on like lipstick.

Scooting in the living room.

DIGGERS!