Ice & Snow World

As if to repeat yesterday morning, we explored our neighbourhood to start off the day. We found the old Jewish area where Jews from Russia and Europe settled to escape persecution.

We didn’t have many things we wanted to do today, as we planned on saving some activities for when Mark (a friend living in Beijing) gets here to join us. So we went back to yesterday’s place to check out a little bit more about the Samsung S4 phones. As it turns out, some are dual-SIM while others aren’t. And I specifically want dual-SIM ones (which are not available with the real thing).

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: Inside the “new” Synagogue, which is now a gallery.

: There is an ice maze in the pedestrian mall.

: There is an ice maze in the pedestrian mall.

: Snow buildings like these look like white concrete from a distance and tend not to impress at first.

: Harbin’s pedestrian street.

: St Sophia’s Church.

: Old Jewish buildings.

: Old Jewish buildings.

: Stalin Park again, on a clear day.

: Boats on the frozen river.

: Snow stacked up on the fence pillar.

: Ice on eyebrows and lashes.

: Steam from sweet potato being baked.

: Not a teabag but a heat-producing bag containing black stuff (gunpowder? LOL?) which keeps the toes warm.

We rested in the afternoon and while playing with our phones, noticed that the weather was going to be cloudy and colder tomorrow. We agreed that it would be better to go to the Ice & Snow World tonight just in case it got unbearably cold.

The hotel had a shuttle service to the venue. As we went down to reception around 1630, there were people waiting for the shuttle. We enquired but there was no room for us, so we took a taxi with a couple of other people.

It wasn’t that straight forward actually … the taxi-driver didn’t want to use the meter so charged us an inflated rate (which was OK shared between 4 pax). Then he took us to a tour agency to buy the tickets (at standard price) and dropped us off into a tour queue. He gets CNY10 per head but we knew that … so why not! We waited briefly for a full complement to form a tour group before going through the turnstiles after which the tour group dispersed.

The site was large, full of colourful illuminated ice buildings plus a handful of ice-carvings. There were some performances in warmish buildings. We avoided the ones which we had to queue for and walked straight into an enjoyable one which had North Korean skaters.

Naturally, it was bitterly cold again. We needed warm refuge … sounds like the story of our lives in Harbin. At our first warm-up stop, we met people from the hotel who took the free shuttle. They had only just arrived whereas we had wandered around for some 40 minutes already. Plus they had waited in the lobby for about 45 minutes already when we met them initially.

At another rest-stop on site, we learnt that a huge bowl of instant noodles is CNY20, just like a small cup of coffee. And it provides warm sustenance to both of us, rather than having to pay that kind of rip-off price for two cups.

We called it quits before 2000 and joined the taxi rank just before the queues built up. The short queue in front of us cleared quickly and we were in a warm taxi back to the city centre. And for the first time in Harbin, the meter was used! I guess, the pick-up point was well policed by the authorities unlike when once is hailing a cab from the street.

We were dropped off near the dumpling restaurant from our first night … the one that didn’t have tea. Well, tonight they didn’t have pan fried dumplings, grilled aubergines or broccoli. It was the same rude waitress as before. We didn’t quite believe her so we walked out and explored. There weren’t many choices available and some were full or closing. We ended up eating at Yoshinoya in a mall before retiring to the warm comfort of the Ibis.