Our Post-Christmas Celebration at Nanshan Ski Resort

Valentine, me, and Marl at Nanshan Ski Resort

Yesterday was one of those days that started off wrongly but ended up really great. I wasn't feeling so well, but made it a point to go on with the plan because Marl has been very excited about it since last week. We woke up at 7AM and took the breakfast buffet.

The jinx started when I left both of my iPhone and Blackberry in the hotel. We were already in the taxi when I found out about it and it was too late to go back to the hotel. All the information about the Nanshan Ski and the booking number for shuttle bus ride and tickets were all in the SMS on my Blackberry. I felt soooo bad and sick but we had to move on. But seeing the long traffic going to Wudaokou, where we would be meeting up with our friend Valentine and taking the shuttle bus from, we opted to take the subway train. But since I didn't have my iPhone with me (where I have the Beijing subway app), we took the wrong line. I got really confused and my mind just stopped to work and I was already getting frustrated as we transferred to 3 different subway lines just to get to Wudaokou. We were scared to miss the shuttle bus because we'd be left with no choice but to waste all our effort of waking up and going through all the hassles and stress.

But it started to get better when we met up with Valentine, who looked so radiant morning. Her smile and soft-spoken voice that was filled with excitement turned everything around. And I knew then that everything would get better. And yes, we were able to catch the shuttle bus!

The shuttle bus ride was around an hour trip to Nanshan Ski Resort and we had to pay RMB 20 each for a one-way trip. When we reached the ski resort, we got all excited and we even bought gloves to get ready for some action. But we encountered another dilemma: we would need to deposit RMB 400 for each person and we didn't bring enough money for that! Ridiculous! Good thing that Valentine could speak Chinese and was able to call her friend to find out about it. Turns out, we'd only need pay individual deposit of RMB 200 + RMB 120 for a 2-hour skiing and ski equipment rental. Oh, plus RMB 10 for the locker. :)

This was my second time to ski. My first skiing experience last Winter with my friend was so much fun though I did some tumbling stunts most of the time (view the funny video HERE). Well this time wasn't different at all. I struggled with my Lumix camera (attached to a vanity monopod) most of the time because it wouldn't fit perfectly in my jacket's pocket. But I did try the slopes twice - and I fell twice! LOL! My camera ate some snow and I was thinking, "Oh, my camera will hate me today!". After a bad fall on my second try, I felt a cramp on my right thigh and hip so I decided to just give it up. I took off my skis and just walked all the way down the hill. Marl did some tumbling stunts, too, and so did his Sony Alpha camera. LOL! On the brighter side, Valentine certainly enjoyed it and surprisingly, she is a natural skier, although it was just her first time to ski. As for me, it's not a sports for me. Nah-ah. I'd rather go bungee jumping. And hello?!?! I'm not a sports type of a girl. I've always had great compliments that I'm the girl that can do almost everything. But now they can finally rejoice and add, "except skiing". LOLLL!

Anyway, after skiing, we had lunch at the restaurant there. We all looked exhausted and tired. I surely got tired from "Rolling In The Deep" hahaha!!! We took a taxi to the bus station at RMB 30. Another blooper that happened was we hopped in on the Bus 980 which would take us to back to Beijing. We had some moment of confusion as to how much we'd be paying for the ride. We thought it's RMB 40 per person. It took around 2 minutes until we finally understood that it's actually RMB 14 per person... and it was sooooo funny to hear and see how relieved the whole bus was when finally understood. Hahaha! We got off at a subway station and just went back to the hotel at around 4PM. But I couldn't rest because I have lots of inquiries regarding the Wondlan products. Geeezzzz!

I really had soooo much fun spending time with Valentine. She's like a sister to me and we will surely miss her and her radiant energy. Watch out for our cool photos and fun video. I can only edit the video when I'm back in the Philippines. Busy packing now. Three more days left in Beijing. No, three more nights and two more days... Time flies soooooo fast!!!