Skiing in Lake Songhua and New Years in Phuket

I went straight to Shenzhen Bao An airport afterwork on December 19th and caught a flight to Changchun.  I stayed a night there at the ATour Hotel next to the train station.  While there I enjoyed some local food and nightlife.  The weather was frigid and dry.

I took the metro to Haley's Club for some drinks.  I was not able to really spend much time there before my presence as a foreigner drew some unwanted attention.  By no means was it confrontational but I just wanted to be left alone.  I had two drinks and then walked back to my hotel. 

The next morning I caught a high speed train to Jilin where my hotel had arranged a ride for me to Lake Songhua Ski Resort.  I arrived at my hotel, dropped off my luggage, and joined my hotel host to pick up ski-rentals.  Later that day I did some night skiing. 

On the 21st I hit the slopes for most of the day.  Pausing only for coffee, drinks, and snacks.  That was pretty much my routine for majority of the time until the 24th.  On the 22nd I went to the resort's night club, called Hot Time Club for some drinks and dancing. I also got a massage and enjoyed the spa on the 23rd.

When I left on the 24th I was very satisfied with my ski trip.  While it was not as spectacular as my first time in Lake Songhua back in 2022 it was still fantastic.  The biggest contributor to this feeling was that in 2022 there was more natural snow, but this time it did not snow until the 23rd.  As such, only 75% of the trails were open this time.  It is still a great mountain and I enjoyed a variety of trails ranging from green to black.

On the 24th I got a ride back to Jilin where I took the train to Changchun and then a taxi to the airport.  I arrived back in Shenzhen somewhat late.  I stayed in Shenzhen on Christmas day, repacked for my next trip, and on the 26th I met up with my friend JJ for our flight from HK to Phuket.

We arrived in Phuket and immediately walked from the airport to a dispensary.  We burned down a joint and then parted ways to call it a night. 

When I checked into my hotel, Perennial Resort Phuket, there were some issues.  First they had a hard time finding my reservation.  Then, after inspecting, my room I found some issues with security and cleanliness.  I ended up requesting a room change.  They upgraded me to a superior villa.

After breakfast on the 27th, JJ and I met up and hung out.  We mostly spend the day relaxing by the pool at our hotels and going to the beach.

JJ and I did not link up on the 28th.  I just spent the day chilling.  The hotel tried to get me to go back into a standard room. I refused.  They offered me a studio villa, which would have been even better than the superior villa, but out of principal I refused because I did not want to change rooms again.  It rained that day, which was refreshing, and it brought out some bugs and birds that I was very happy to see. 

On the 29th we got ribs in Patong at Naughty Nuri's and then walked around and hung out on the beach.  Later that evening we booked a tour for the 30th.

JJ and I took a tour on the 30th to Phi Phi Islands.  I had been before but I enjoyed it like it was my first time.

The 31st was just spend relaxing.  

On the 1st I picked Faye up at the airport.  On the 1st and 2nd her and I mostly spend the day relaxing. 

On the 3rd Faye and I got out and about and went to the beach and then went to Phuket Town for some thrifting and dinner. 

On the 4th we met up with JJ again and flew back to HK.  He took the earliest boat back to Shenzhen but since we had checked baggage we had to wait. 

Since returning from Phuket the countdown has been on until the Chinese New Year Break.  

Today, Sunday January 25th, was the CNY celebration at work. Here are the videos of some of the performances.  

I won a Osmo Pocket 3 camera and full creator kit, which is pretty cool.  I was hoping for a better prize (like one of the iPhones) but this was still nice.  I will need to buy a waterproof housing for it if I want to use it like my go-pro and in the coming week I will play around with it to see what it is capable of.

In two weeks Faye and I will be going to Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Grand Canyon West, Lake Havasu, and Joshua Tree National Park with various stops in between.  It will be our first time in these places and her first time in the US.  I am excited but also anxious and worried.  With the state of things in the US I have some concern for our safety.

I am looking forward to a great year filled with experiences and adventure.  So far it has been a good start. Faye finally decided to quit her job at the end of February so she is in the process of applying and interviewing for a new one.  Have been supporting her in various ways through the process.  

To wrap this up I want to wish all my readers a happy and healthy new year. 

To close the post here is a picture of a bird that I think is a red whiskered bulbul, Pycnonotus jocosus.