Wednesday, January 31, 2018

Highlights of 2017


And just like that, the first month of 2018 is officially over! Before I lag too far behind with my yearly tradition, here's a list of significant and memorable moments that happened last year.

Tuesday, January 30, 2018

I'm joining the Spartan Race!


Up until now, I still can't seem to wrap around my head the fact that I'm joining the Spartan race this February! Thing is, I haven't been training the way I'm supposed to and now I'm scared. And nervous. I don't know how I will get through it on race day! 

I asked around, read some blogs, and watched videos to give me an idea what happened at the Spartan race last year. I can't climb a rope nor do monkey bars so that's already a total of 60 burpees I have to do. Every obstacle you can't finish, you have to do 30 burpees. There are more than 20 obstacles in the race and I'm positive that I won't be able to do at least five. So that means.... I have to do AT LEAST 150 burpees.   

Been going to the gym on a regular basis now so I hope everything will work out well in the end. Wish me luck on race day!

Thursday, January 25, 2018

Harbin Day 5


Now back in Beijing for a day of shopping! We went to The Plaza and the Silk Market to do some shopping and had wonderful Chinese food for lunch where they serve the best dumplings. We stayed at Marco Polo Parkside Hotel and our rooms were spacious and super cozy. We would have wanted to stay longer in Beijing but since we availed the services of a travel agency, we couldn't change the itinerary and flight details. Before we knew it, it was time to go. The trip was super enjoyable, and the memories I made were one-of-a-kind. Plus, it was my first time to see snow!

Definitely looking forward to my next trip in March!

Sunday, January 21, 2018

Harbin Day 4


Up early today to ride the snowmobile to Yangcaoshan mountain. The ride was exhilarating and scary because of the unexpected twists and turns! It was so much fun! The view up the mountain was amazing, definitely worth suffering the cold for. Lol.

We rode the snowmobile again going down the mountain and had to walk the entire stretch of China Snow Town to get to our hotel taking photos along the way. We then checked out from the hotel, had a quick lunch, and rode a bus going to Mudanjiang Airport for our flight to Beijing.

Sunday, January 14, 2018

Harbin Day 3


After breakfast, we checked out from Sheraton Hotel in Harbin and went on a 6.5-hour bus ride to China Snow Town stopping by a ski resort along the way for lunch. We were informed by our tour guide that we would be walking the entire stretch of China Snow Town for 20 to 30 minutes in the freezing cold with our luggage in tow to get to our hotel. Surprisingly, the walk wasn't as bad as expected. Although the cold was sometimes difficult to bear, it was quite fun actually! The houses and shops looked adorable with snow covering their roofs. It was interesting to see street vendors selling frozen fruits and ice cream no longer needing a freezer-- the goods were just placed on tables! 

We arrived at the hotel late afternoon and had little time to go around the village before dinner starts. We still did anyway. Lol. 

Thursday, January 11, 2018

Harbin Day 2


Now this is when the fun begins! This day was pretty exciting because our itinerary was packed with lots of places to visit. But before going anywhere, we had to have our winter gear ready. Apparently, everything we brought from Manila weren't enough for Harbin's subzero temperatures. We had to make a quick stop at a local store selling winter clothes to buy thicker ones. 

We then headed to St. Sophia Cathedral (this used to be an Orthodox church and was now turned into a museum), had lunch at an Irish restaurant, visited Sun Island, dropped by the Harbin Opera House, enjoyed a hotpot dinner at an ice room at Shangri-la Hotel Ice Palace, and went to the Grand Ice and Snow World.

Tuesday, January 9, 2018

Harbin Day 1


I noticed I haven't posted photos for most of my travels last year (Bali, Cebu, etc) so I want to make sure I post about my Harbin trip this time. Sorting photos take forever and editing them one by one is sooo time consuming that I'd rather lie in bed and watch Supergirl or HTGAWM. Eventually I decided to post photos here without editing them cause I'm just too lazy. Lol.

Okay, so on to my trip: we spent the first day of our trip in airports. There is no direct flight to Harbin so we had to take a connecting flight via Beijing. We had a lot of time to kill at Beijing airport so I took the liberty of walking around the huge airport. Saw some interesting things here and there (indoor garden anyone?). The day was exhausting but hey, at least we arrived safe and sound!