Sapporo

Last minute packing, minimal to no sleep (because it always seemed like a good idea at the time) and airport food is the proper way to begin any travel out of the country. This time, I'm somehow wedged between seven other friends, sitting on a bus at 3am, wondering why on earth am I ever allowed to go anywhere without parental supervision, especially if the places I'm going to does not consider English as their national language.

And yet somehow, about 18 hours later, there I was running up and down the corridors of a hotel in Tokyo ringing doorbells then running off to hide behind a vending machine while struggling to breathe and laugh at the same time with Desiree. And another number of hours, plane flight and bus ride later, there we were in Sapporo. And it was snowing a ridiculous amount. Trudging through the snow with our luggages must've looked miserable to the locals.

I spent the next day exploring Sapporo with Jenna. Reading maps with a bunch of Japanese characters was difficult so we decided to just go wherever. Our first stop was the Sapporo Snow Festival. How can a bunch of frozen water be sculpted so perfectly and precisely in such a grand scale?! We also could not help but ogle at all the little kids bundled in clothes like little penguins wobbling around in groups waiting to go on the ice slides. SO. CUTE.

Then we went shopping and the shopping centres felt so endless. Everything was so bright and colourful and the workers there kept greeting us and saying something we didn't understand every few seconds to the point where we didn't know whether they were talking to us so I kept awkwardly side eyeing them, not knowing whether to acknowledge them over and over or not. Everyone here is so nice and friendly though.

Evenings in Sapporo looks so magical. Nights in Sapporo during winter aren't as magical (to me) because of the amount of the bloody snow that fell and coated us. Wearing a parka with a hoodie that literally covers half my face was only slightly advantageous in this weather. I've never wanted to be indoors more than I did in that moment. And yet I still wanted to buy a small tub of ice cream from the convenience store. How could I say no to trying sakura flavoured ice cream?! (And I also could not say no when Jellee demanded me to get out of the shower so I could try her rose flavoured ice cream...)

Even though we technically only had one full day to get ourselves acquainted with Sapporo, I think it was enough for me because snow is so bloody cold to the point where my body temperature dropped so low that when snow fell on me, it actually stuck to my skin and did not melt. I do love winter, but I guess I found my limit of what's considered a pleasant kind of cold.

PS. I know this is a very delayed post and I haven't posted anything in a while. New uni and course happened so I've been super busy. I have a lot of travelling posts to catch up with and books I've been reading so stay tuned, I suppose?

Knapsack

One of the things I've always wanted to do is to live near the typical American woods with woodland creatures bouncing around and hearing the slow current of a nearby creek and a woodpecker hidden in the trees while I stroll down a worn path. Like just imagine all the animals you'd come across - Squirrels, bunnies, raccoons, deers, foxes, hedgehogs, owls and beavers... I AM EXCITED JUST THINKING ABOUT IT. I don't know if these kind of places exists, but it seems to in kids' cartoon shows. I will even become an animated character if I have to just to experience this.

We woke up still undecided of whether to Orange or Blue Mountains. In the car, we still had no idea where to go. Then finally at the last turn, we decided to head off to Blue Mountains. I guess the Australian bush is the closest thing to the American woods.

We stopped by Knapsack Bridge because we've never been and was curious of what's there. The area is now an abandoned railway station with a bushwalking track. The first thing you'd notice when you get out of the car is the cacophony of birds and insects constantly screaming. At one point it got so loud that it reminded me of mockingjays from The Hunger Games trilogy.

My fitness level is shamefully nonexistent so I was panting and crawling up the stairs after less than a minute of walking. Apart from the constant fear of getting an asthma attack, which I don't have asthma in the first place, I had to also worry about my camera, my bag and the uneven steps with no handrails with the constant unsettling thought of falling over the edge and deep into the forest floor. I kept telling myself I would start going to the gym, but I think my need to sit in front of my laptop, watching British YouTubers all day, overpowers every other need.

Wentworth Falls was our next stop. Another walking track meant another lot of unfulfilled goals made to myself. "I can't breathe. I think I need to go to the gym. But wait, how much does the gym cost? What? I'm not paying for that. Why would I go pay to sit and touch and run on other people's sweat? Isn't that unhygienic? Will people judge me if I lie on the floor after thirty seconds on the treadmill?"

Last stop was The Three Sisters at Blue Mountains. We didn't do much because by the time we got there, the tourist activities were closing. It was still a really fun family road trip though and worth the long drive!