Another March, another year...more adventures to come

So tomorrow will be March 1st which I have generally used as my anniversary date of living in China although even that might not be quite right.  Reason being I started with this company on December 1st.  I just didn't move to China until the end of Feb and then moved in from there.

For the sake of this post, congrats to myself, it's been three (generally speaking) great years!  Lots of challenges and adventures thrown into the mix for sure.  Plenty of travel to new and exciting locations as well and more than my share of learning has been accomplished, just not the language part, that seems a lost cause for me!!! :)  

Tomorrow on day 1 of the 4th year I get to experience a new "first".  Tomorrow will be my first trip to India!  After plenty of Visa headaches I finally picked up my passport this morning and can officially jump on the plane tomorrow headed for Delhi.  Saturday will be spent in Agra near the Taj Mahal and then back to Delhi for work on Monday.

Stay tuned to see how this adventure goes....

Harbin Ice/Snow Festival - Day 2

So day two began, much like day one ended - COLD!  Thankfully we were staying in a nice hotel in Harbin with one of the best features is the hot water didn't take long to heat up.  It was hot right away and much needed after even an hour outside!

On day two we ventured to the snow sculpture portion of the trip, which was amazingly even more stunning than the ice sculptures.  It didn't hurt that we had clear skies making the sculptures just pop!  Then again the clear skies made it darn cold.  But before that we head to see some fun...

This old man is cleaning the pool the old fashioned way, with a small tool.  But he isn't cleaning leaves and other debris, rather he is cleaning it of the rapidly forming ice...

Up for a swim anyone?

About 30 people took part in the event with hundreds more watching on with camera's to see these crazy folks go for a quick dip in the pool made in the middle of the river.

The first snow sculpture we saw give you a bit of an idea of the size.

Complete with a dance/show for a little bit.

This young Chinese kid was my favorite!  It took him maybe 3 minutes to take this photo.  Why?  Because he had to get everyone lined up perfectly.  He kept giving directions, checking the sun, moving people this way and that.

More frozen fruit on a stick anyone?

Our customer who was riding the tractor.

One of my local colleagues taking it all in.

If you can figure out how this was built please let me know.  I doubt it was done with a full ball of snow and then the insides were removed...but if not, then how?

Enormous!

Someone is always watching you!

And someone is probably laughing at you too!

Cinderella...

A view of a few adventuresome folks on the river, ends our time at the snow sculpture park.  Now on to a different sort of park.

The aptly named Tiger park, home to about 1,000 tigers. 

A little play time for two of them and a little business being done by the one in the back!

Lunch time!

You were able to buy live chickens, goats and even cows to feed the tigers.  Unfortunately thanks to a communication error, our van didn't get this opportunity.

I guess this is where they sell the tourist crap but I just enjoyed the sign...

And this one.  Two spelling mistakes in one sentence.  Gotta love the "Chinglish".

The end of the day brings some rest and cocktail hour.  At the ice bar no less!

More from the ice bar

This sums it up well...ice, ice bar, great hat on myself and the tiger!

The temperature INSIDE the ice bar!!!!!!

Harbin Ice Festival - Day 1

My bucket list while living in China is getting depleted and this was one of those activities that depleted it.  I've always wanted to go to Harbin and the ice/snow festival.  You maybe have seen a power point that floats around every now and then on the festival.

Simply put, bundle up as it gets damn cold!  Temps close to -30 degrees means lots and lots of layers.  Harbin is a northern China city of about 9 million people about 500km's from the Russian border.  So city wise you see lots of Russian influence in terms of buildings and even a bit on the food. 

The ice festival is GIGANTIC in terms of size.  Everything is made of ice, some of it many, many stories tall.  It's just amazing to think of the work that goes into it every year. 

One of the entryway's to the Ice festival

This was our group huddling up before entering the official areas

Yup all ice!

Frozen fruit on a stick anyone?

Unfortunately there is no way for a photographer of my skills to capture the true depth and enormity of the ice spectacle.

Guess who?  Gotta love the very warm Russian hat!

Beautiful!

There was a group of cartoon characters and people singing and dancing to "Gangnam Style"

If you look up and a bit left of center you will see the actual moon.

Me and my Harbin Beer!  Ice cold just like I like it!

The Angry Birds section.

Your truly in an Angry Birds costume.  Best part was watching the 20 or so Chinese folk taking my picture after they finally got me into this thing!

Awesome!  Next update our visit to the Snow Festival the next day as well as a trip to the Tiger park!

Christmas/New Year - Vietnam (Part 3)

Next stop on the tour, Nha Trang.  About an hour flight north of HCMC right on the coast.  The plan?  Beach, sun, relaxation, etc.  Nha Trang is relatively small beach town supposed to have the best beaches in Vietnam and have a great nightlife.

On arrival, pretty darn good...

Slightly overcast skies but not a bad view from the hotel...

The view the other direction...

Decent looking pool

Cold beer!

We were always searching to get 5 people on a scooter captured on camera but sadly while we saw it plenty the best we got on camera was 4...

Gotta love the guy sanding/cutting wood right next to the fresh vegetable market.

Still doesn't do the scooters justice, but you get the idea.

Not the most functional bicycle but pretty cool.

Seafood cooked on the ground anyone?

Just away from the resort area was a very impoverished neighborhood.

The Sailing Club, right on the beach where we celebrating New Years, with a few thousand of our closest friends.

Complete with a traditional Chinese lion dance

And a crazy man doing a fire show

Happy New Year everyone!

All in all the weather turned poor in Nha Trang which made it for a very sleepy stop on our trip.  Lots of rain kept us pretty chilled out.  Thankfully the new years celebration was free of the rain.

Bottom line is I love Vietnam but am not likely to return to Nha Trang.  There are plenty more places to visit in the future!