January Travels

January was an amazing start to a new year. Going from freezing temperatures of -31 degrees to stunning weather of 30 degrees. Travelling has given me many incredible and exciting opportunities to meet new people from all over the world, explore new cultures and put me on a good path to finding out about myself. A chance I wish all of you will have one day. 

My exams ended on the 5th of January and a few days after many scholars were packing their biggest jacket and warmest clothes to prepare for our newest adventure. But first came an 18 hour overnight train from Tianjin (天津) to Harbin (哈尔滨), China’s largest city in the northwest. What an experience! However definitely not as bad as you think. The beds were comfortable and everyone was pleasant. 

We finally arrived in Harbin, we were all kitted to manage the subzero temperatures yet as soon as I stepped off of the train I had a sudden chill through my body. We spent the next four days in what felt like the Artic so we kept as busy as we could to distract ourselves from the temperature. We went to the cities number one tourist attraction - ‘Harbin Snow and Ice Festival’. Surrounding the beautiful hand made sculptures and buildings were ice activities, stalls, reindeers and huskies and many more wonderful sights. The day after we also went to a nearby Tiger sanctuary. It was exhilarating because I hadn’t appreciated how magnificent these wild animals were until they were so close. 

To contrast with Harbin, myself and three other scholars jumped on a plane and headed to the Indonesian island Bali (巴厘). Over the nine days we stayed there we had the chance to island hop to Gili Trawangan, an island so small that we cycled round it in just 2 hours. We also visited many cities in Bali, where we soaked in the sun, culture, cuisine and of course the shops.

After the stressful exams we found it very fitting to go to a religious temple to pray for good grades and luck. At the temple, we saw Buddhist buildings, many people praying but also some monkeys - who are allowed to roam freely among the visitors.

But even after all the travelling and exploring, the end of January was the most exciting time of all - I was coming home to Scotland for 3 weeks. So after an 11 hour flight, a 6 hour connection wait and another 2 hour flight, I finally ran through Edinburgh airport with all my luggage to see my mum, stepdad and my best friend standing there after the longest but most eventful 5 months of my life. They'd even brought me Irn Bru.

谢谢，再见。柯丹