China's Polar Land

You know call us crazy, but when Jo was here visiting after the exams, we booked ourselves a trip to Harbin, china's polar land. It was impulsive, a little rush and yes, in January, right smack in the peak of winter. We heard so many horror stories of nose dropping, pee freezing, but still we went against the odds and queued for train tickets in the freezing cold.

Having gone through the tedious and almost impossible task of getting tickets (especially so during the chinese new year holiday), i came out of it with lots of tips to share. For anyone considering going free and easy in china, please just go follow a tour group (at least during major holidays). Travelers interested to find out more on how to go about buying train tic, pls just drop me an email with your questions. Technical details can get quite boring.

1 hour plus plus wait

We only managed to buy one way tic to Harbin with no guarantee of a train back. But Jo was very garang, and in the name of being spontaneous, we bought the tix, packed our little bag, and was ready to leave the next day! And so began our 3 day adventure in Harbin!