It was an exciting journey right from the start due to the crappy timetables of the public transport in Finland. It was crappy because they were not very frequent, causing the planning to have little room for error. However, they were mostly on time.
First stop, Rovaniemi! That's the 'capital' of Lapland, and it's home to Santa Claus Village. And of course, Santa Claus 'lives' there.
Bus 8 goes from the train station to the village
Giant snowman at the bus stop
Inside the village, it's Christmas all year round
Arctic Circle
Crossing to the north
Welcome to the Arctic Circle!
Disappointing, can't see the dogs cos it's closed
Waa!! So cute!! Compensated for the lack of HuskiesIt's just sitting at the entrance of the gift shop/cafe. Extremely tame. Let me pat it's head also. So nice... But it looks so sad outside. We were walking around in the shop when the shopkeeper called it in. The dog responded immediately lor.. Then they disappeared into the kitchen. Think it's time for it's lunch.
We went to queue up to take a picture with Santa. Queued up for probably 45 min before it was our turn. Should have went to queue when we arrived lor. It took place in a studio, and everything was prefessionally done. I heard from Alan (from Hong Kong) that he could speak alot of languages, including Mandarin and Cantonese. This Santa that we met could only say Xie Xie...... He's a fake!! Anyway, the experience was nothing special la. I don't understand why I would pay to come here for this. And I have no idea why I paid 7 EUR (willingly) for this beautiful photo. I've become a tourist who willingly allows himself to be carrot-headed. But the photo really nice la. Very rich colours.
Must say again, nice photo
We went to queue up to take a picture with Santa. Queued up for probably 45 min before it was our turn. Should have went to queue when we arrived lor. It took place in a studio, and everything was prefessionally done. I heard from Alan (from Hong Kong) that he could speak alot of languages, including Mandarin and Cantonese. This Santa that we met could only say Xie Xie...... He's a fake!! Anyway, the experience was nothing special la. I don't understand why I would pay to come here for this. And I have no idea why I paid 7 EUR (willingly) for this beautiful photo. I've become a tourist who willingly allows himself to be carrot-headed. But the photo really nice la. Very rich colours.
Must say again, nice photo
Santa's main post office
Seems real to me, but who so bo liao really send letters here?Got to rush to the train station after this. Damn, we had to pay an additional 3 EUR for the tickets because we bought them on the train, when the office was open. Didn't know of such a rule lor. Sian.
Kemi - Ghost Town (nobody one lor)
Kemi - Ghost Town (nobody one lor)
Church in Kemi
Heading to the snow castle
Mini snow castle spotted along the way
7 EUR to enter this place
Children entertainmentSurprisingly entertaining
Bowling game
Pic of the sky, while waiting for Li Kang and Li Xing to slide down
They've got these beautiful sculptures and carvings all over
Hotel rooms in the castle
tiny rooms, like igloo lor
perfect fit
There's only a bed in each room
There's even a chapel in there
The Snow Castle attracts alot of children
Nice...
Bar in snow castle
Menu (with flash)
Actual look of the menu
Lego man sculpture!
We talked about food on the train ride back to Oulu. Must go to China one day to try out all the good and cheap food. But Singapore's food is still on the top of my list.
We also decided to eat at Hai Long (that famous Chinese Restaurant in Oulu) on Monday. The buffet lunch costs EUR 8.90, from 1100H to 1500H. So we would treat it as a farewell lunch for Li Xing, when he goes back to Tampere. Actually, the farewell idea is an excuse. The buffet is primary, his leaving is secondary. Haha..
