Harbin Ice Festival 2016 - Day2 pt2

From Harbin Daowai Mosque, we took a cab to the Sun Island, the location for the Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival. The taxi cost us CNY85. It should have cost less than that (oh yes, we have done our homework via the internet) but the taxi driver brought us the long way (saja tau! :P). Not only that the taxi driver insisted that the festival entrance are only opened at 5pm… which was ridiculous as again, of course we have done our homework. He also tried to cheat us by selling expensive tickets… pfftttt!! He was on the walkie talkie all the time which was really suspicious… and he ended up dropping us at a snow amusement park or something which is definitely not the place we want to go! (we suspected he will get $$ by sending us to that place) Bengang la jugak… so kami masuk balik taxi tu and insisted he sent us to the location of ice festival! And he finally give in and sent us to the correct location. Sampai jer… terus keluar tak mo bayar dah! Tsk tsk… susah betul… dah la ada communication problem (he can’t speak English)… macam ayam ngan itik jer bercakap… haha!

But hey…. We are finally here!!! 

Harbin Ice Festival 2016! It’s like a dream come true to be here! It was missarably cold… -26C you all!! The most extreme weather I’ve ever experienced! Beku kaki tangan satu badan!!! -.- 

But the experience…. PRICELESS!!!

Entrance fee is CNY300 per head.

The Festival, established in 1985, is held annually from January 5 and lasts for over one month.

This place is huge!! and cold… extremely cold indeed… brrrrr!!!!! It's amazing to see all those huge ice sculptures! 

Ni kes tak tahan sejuk… tutup satu muka… lol!

And they told me 'kalau sejuk suruh jer Razak peluk' Heh!! :P

I could not describe the feeling of being here. Feels like dream comes true… and at the same time wishing I was somewhere else with warmer temperature! :D

The cold was super extreme! It was sooo cold to the extent that I could not feel my fingers and feet! :P

The only person among us yang champion tahan sejuk!! :D The rest of us like… "Jom la masuk panaskan badan" - every hour! :D

There was a small closed area that exhibit colored ice sculptures… 

But outside… you can only see whites all around the place during day light...

Okay… warming up time! A cup of coffee at the pizza hut restaurant in this area. 

And in case you're wondering… nope, there are no halal pizza here :(

Drank coffee with the buns that we bought at the halal bakeries this morning, alhamdulillah. Cukup la untuk memanaskan badan… haha!

This place is so huge! It's a super cool (and super cold) place to wander around... we made sure to glance around at all the awesome ice and snow sculptures, walk to the top of an ice castle, or take a quick ride down the ice slides (okay... only Mr Hubby did this! The rest of us refuse to get our butt cold on the ice slides Lol!). 

At the back is the ice sculpture of Hagya Sophea in Istanbul

Sitting on the ice… kalau tak lapis with my winter jacket… mmg confirm sejuk b*nt*t! :D

There was a huge slide at the back for those who wants to play… 

Ni posing perasan ala2 ice princess konon lol! :D

Tried to take lots of pics at this place but it was seriously not easy as all our fingers were numbed due to the extreme weather! 

Could not hug the huge ice! :D

Sunset in Sun Island in Harbin is awesomely breathtaking! 

The locals were enjoying ice-skating and some winter sports here

Mr Hubby and the arctic fox 

It's getting darker, and the ice has transformed into colored ice! It's just amazingly beautiful! 

Muka tension kesejukan lol!

The view is simply ah-ma-zing!!! Subhanallah… 

Okay… warming up time again.. :D

Then sambung exploring this wonderful place.. 

The locals just love this caramelized fruits! It was sold everywhere in Harbin.

Took taxi back to our apartment - CNY100 (no meter)... Hmmm.... kena tipu lagi lah ni.... tapi dah sejuk kejung ni... malas dah nak argue.... bayo jer lah :P

Overall of today's trip, I enjoyed the ice festival very much despite the numbed feet and fingers... huhu!

*** to be continued ***