Day 5 to Day 7 - 25/3~27/3 - Lapland!

We woke up early in the morning, all pumped up and excited. For this Lapland trip, it would be only Reko and I going. In other words, its our time alone together! =D

We went back to the Helsinki-Vantaa airport, but this time we were checking in to the domestic flight section. It's all very new to me, because I've never taken a domestic flight before. Well if it was a domestic flight in Indonesia or China, I think I'd be half scared to death. But thankfully, this is Finnair, an airline which Reko trusts, and honestly I think it's quite reliable.

Even though it was only an one-hour trip, they had prepared snacks onboard the plane. It was just rye bread with margarine and cheese, but it's better than nothing! Besides, it's healthy food (although I hate rye bread 'coz it's so hard!), so no complaints from me! Well, not much anyway... besides the rye bread, that is. =x

In no time, we reached the small, unassuming Ivalo airport, where we grabbed my bag, and boarded the cab, which Reko's mom had booked to drive us to the cabin (and back to the airport on the third day). It's like, having a personal chauffeur, you know. @_@

Lapland is a huge place, and the town (or village, to the Finns) we were heading to is called Saariselkä. My first impression of Lapland is that... it's very cold, it's almost forever windy (those who had been to winter countries would know just how cold it can be with strong winds blowing all the time), and it's very white. There's just so much snow piling up everywhere!

After sitting on the cab for about 30 minutes or so, we finally reached our little log cabin! And what a sweet, 2-storey log cabin it was! It was way too big for just two people, but yet it felt cosy at the same time. Spacious TV room with a nice fireplace, long dining table, DVD player, cable TV, a fully equipped kitchen, a laundry room, three bedrooms in total, two toilets with shower heads on each level, a huge shower room with an electric sauna room in it... oh my God. We were like little kids, so amazed by the whole log cabin that we took lots of photos, check out all the wardrobes and cabinets one by one, explore every room and every corner... This log cabin is the best travel accomodation I've stayed in, so far. Of course, well, look at the hefty price that came with it, but it was absolutely worth it! I just couldn't thank Reko's mom enough to fork out such a generous amount of money just for Reko and I to enjoy ourselves in Lapland.

I can't really describe how great the log cabin was, so enjoy the photos below! Psssst, some photos are taken after we came back from the village's supermarket, so don't mind the food if you spot them! XD

Whew! That's a lot of photos huh! Anyway, after we put down our bags and explored the cabin, Reko then brought me to the village's "central", where there are supermarkets and other restaurants, and of course, ski resorts and hotels. However, our cabin was situated quite far away from the central, so it was about a 20 minutes walk from our cabin.

I know it sounded silly, but I was still pretty fascinated by the amount of snow on the ground. Also, it was so windy and cold there in Lapland, that my ears were constantly numbed by the wind, even tho I had my beanie pulled down to cover them.

At the village's central, we leisurely strolled down the shops and restaurants hand in hand, enjoying the fresh air and quietness, despite there having a lot more tourists compared to in Helsinki. Most of them were armed with their ski equipments, and sunglasses. We didn't take up their husky rides or snow-mobile rides because they were just way too expensive. 100 euros for a huksy ride per person for an hour?! No way, thank you very much. However I did came across a very cute polar bear plushie, which I nearly bought, if not for the fact that it'd be too big for my suitcase...

After a while, our stomachs protested as we didn't have lunch yet, even though it was already about four in the afternoon. We picked an Italian restaurant for lunch, and he ordered his "make-your-own" pizza, while I get my shrimps pasta. Okay, perhaps my expectations were a little bit too high, but... wouldn't you expect big shrimps in "Shrimps Pasta"? But no, the shrimps in my Shrimps pasta were... tiny. Yes, tiny. Much like our dried shrimps in Chinese dishes. T-I-N-Y.

I guess they don't have Tiger prawns in Finland.

Well, anyway, did you notice that usually you felt very cold after a nice, warm meal in an air-conditioned place? That's because all your body heat goes to your tummy during digestion (or so Reko said anyway). So imagine us, after having our lunch in that nice, warm restaurant, we stepped out into the cold winds again... and I was almost freezing. It felt so many times colder than it was before we went in for lunch. *shivers* That's something that I really needed to get used to in the future. >_>

Then, we headed to the supermarkets to get food for our supper that night, as well as for breakfast for the next two days. We bought a couple of sausages to barbeque over the fireplace for supper, and milk and cereals for breakfast. Reko got himself some Finnish foods as well, and of course, two huge bottles of his favourite Pepsi Max. We managed to get ourselves some instant coffee-mix by Nescafe too, since I don't really like those coffee made from coffee machines. And we were all set to go back to the cabin.

Once we were back, Reko started to busy himself with the fireplace while I checked myself into the shower room. When I came out all fresh and clean, the fireplace was already nicely lit, and with the room lights slightly dimmed, it gave a really great, romantic ambience.

We brought lots and lots of DVDs there, since it wasn't wise to venture out to the streets at night as it's almost totally black out there, except with some lights from certain cabins. So we stayed in and had our very own Death Note movie marathon. XD Our supper was just BBQ-ed sausages, adn that itself was a "hot" experience. Yes, I know it sounded romantic to BBQ sausages over the fireplace with your partner, but in reality, do you know how hot it felt when you are sitting next to the fireplace?! In the end, Reko took pity on me and took over my sausage, helping me to BBQ it together with his. Haha! But yeah, it was a nice warm feeling, eating the sausage that Reko had BBQ-ed for me and watching movies with him at the same time, till almost midnight.

Second Day in Lapland

We woke up today, all revved up as Reko had promised me that he'll treat me to some very nice exotic Finnish food. We set out pretty early, as he said we might need to "walk some distance" as that restaurant was "on top of a mountain". I should have taken that as a warning, really.

After we walked for quite a while, he said, "Hmm... I'm not too sure which is the walk path up there... I think we better stick to the road that I'm familiar with." Okay, sounds fair enough, until I realised that the road he was "familiar" with is actually the car route. All right, nothing wrong with walking on the roads, sharing the road with cars, but... car routes are known to go round and round up mountains... which meant that we would be walking some unnecessary miles... or something.

Okay, never mind, I guessed. And so we walked further down... and only after walking for 15 minutes or so, he said, "Oh, we'll turn right in front." All right, and we took the right fork.

And I blinked. The road in front of me... stretched to nowhere. I can't even see where it ends! To make things worse, cold and strong winds were blowing right in my face.

At this point in time, I started cussing a little bit.

Not much. Just a little.

And so, we walked. It was an uphill "climb", and imagine walking uphill on those treacherous roads in winter. Those who live in winter countries will know this: The roads are often slippery under all that snow, because there's ice on the road, and after the snow settled on it, you wouldn't know that you'll actually be stepping on ice, instead of those normal gravel roads.

It was a slow, tedious process. We tried to walk on the road itself, as the sides of the roads were usually more slippery. But we had to walk to one side when there were cars. Thankfully, very few cars actually were on that route, so most of the time we were able to walk without any distractions.

As we got a little higher, the wind became stronger and soon I felt my earlobes going numb. No matter how low I pulled my beanie down, it just didn't help. In the end, Reko had to help me get my hood out from my winter jacket's compartment and only after I pulled that hood over my head, my ears finally were saved. That hood is good! Although I look like a retard with that hood over my head, it totally protected my ears and blocked the wind. So... only my face was under the mercy of the wind.

After about 30 minutes on that route, I started cussing a lot more. I asked him just where the restaurant was, because I just couldn't see anything on top of the mountain, 'cept some antenna thingy poking out from the top. That was it, he said. It's where that antenna was... and trust me, that antenna looked freaking small from where I was at that time. Which meant... we were still very far away from our destination.

I'm pretty sure I sweared louder and louder while clutching his hand tighter as the "climb" was taking a toll on me.

Despite how difficult it was, I must admit that the scenery was breath-taking.

If you ignore the constant strong wind blowing at your face, it's actually quite a surreal experience. Snow that's untouched around you (no one in the right mind actually will walk up there, besides us), open grey skies up above, mountains everywhere but all very far away... it's a very, very unforgettable scenery and experience. Except for the wind. It's unforgettable... but for another reason. >_>

All right, if you don't believe me when I said about "strong wind", look at the above picture. It did resembles how it looks like in desert where sand dunes are created due to the strong winds that constantly blow across all the sand, right? So, replace "sand", with "snow". Snow is not as soft and fluffy as what you thought. Depending on the weather, ice can be pretty hard and grainy. And trust me, the snow up there was not really soft. It's more like those ice in ice-blended drinks back home. So, can you imagine how strong the wind must be in order to create that kind of "snow-dunes"?? *shivers*

And like what Reko pointed out, the colder it is, the lesser vegetation there is. True enough, the higher we went... oh, there were no more trees. It's not even about being "lesser", but... there's totally no trees anymore.

After about 40 minutes of cursing and swearing (and of course, gasping in awe at the beauty of nature right in front of my eyes), we reached the restaurant, which was literally at the peak of the mountain. FINALLY!

The restaurant was surprisingly crowded, with plenty of people pausing in the midst of their skiing session for a quick lunch. (Oh yes, there's ski routes up the mountain, which was so far away from the main car road that we didn't see any skiers at all while on the way up.)

I think we were the only two dumb people who walked from the bottom of the mountain up. Via the car route too. -_-

For some reason, milk is the usual beverage that Finns take with their meals. Coffee is an "after-meal" beverage. But it's good that I love milk, and Finns are the healthy lot who actually have non-fat milk in their supermarkets!

Anyway, that glass of milk was mine, and Reko ordered hot chocolate.

After we wolfed down those bread (we were hungry!), our main course came. =D

Mwahahaha.... it's reindeer meat with mashed potatoes!

( I can hear my sis screaming again in the background, "Oh my God, you ate RUDOLPH!" -_-;; )

It's the restaurant's "specialty", and I must say, it is good! The reindeer meat was cut very thinly, and even though it had quite a heavy smell (much like mutton), it tasted surprisingly tender and nice, though a tad salty, probably due to the chef adding lots of salt to cover up the heavy smell/taste. It's a little bit oily too, but if you can overlook that, the meat together with the mashed potatoes was just a heavenly combination!

As unhealthy as it might looked (and sounded), I promised myself that I will be back again. =D I must have that dish again. It's just too good!

After lunch, we went to the souvenior shop that was just right next to the restaurant to look for some souveniors. In the end, I bought a pair of mittens for myself, made from real reindeer skin! It cost 30 euros, but it was totally worth it because it really kept my hands warm! Unlike those normal leather ones that my mom loaned me... my fingers were almost frozen when we were walking up the mountain. I also bought a Lapland tee for my dad, and some wooden reindeer keychains for my relatives and colleagues.

After gathering all the stuff that we bought, we mentally prepared ourselves for that cold, long walk down. Well, at least I was sure that walking down is gonna be way easier than walking up, right?

When we were about to begin our "descent", a bus rumbled up in front of us, and a ton of people came down the bus with their skis. Suddenly, I was filled with hope that the bus would be able to bring us back down to the bottom of the mountain.

I pushed Reko to go ask the driver, and sure enough, the bus actually made round trips going from bottom of the mountain to the top, and back. And the best part? It's FREE! I huffed and puffed at that fact while on sitting comfortably on the bus, all the time glaring pointedly at Reko, who obviously tried his best to avoid my killer glares. Hmpf! Made me walk uphill for nearly an hour, when there is a free bus up!

But oh well, the walk itself was an experience, albeit an extreme one... XD

The bus dropped us off at the village central, and we went to buy more sausages for our "BBQ-Over-Fireplace" dinner. And yes, dinner was BBQ-ed sausages again, while watching more DVDs! (No wonder I got fat after the trip...)

We went to bed with quite a heavy heart, because we knew that we would be leaving this nice and uber quiet place the next day...

Third Day in Lapland

After cleaning up our box of cereals for breakfast, we dumped all the used plates, cups and cutlery that we had used for the past two days into the dishwasher. We started packing up, and we were all packed up, before realising that we had almost two hours to kill before the car would be here to pick us up. I wanted to view the spectacular white snow again, so I lifted the curtains to glance out, only to realise that snowflakes were piling up on the window pane.

It actually took me a few seconds to realise that, it was snowing heavily!!

I was so excited that I immediately ran to the coat hanger to don my winter clothes so that I could go out and play in the snow. I had some difficulty opening our cabin door, as there's quite a lot of snow piled up at the front porch already.

It was fun, fun, fun! Although it was snowing a little bit while I was in Helsinki a couple of days ago, it just cannot compare to this. It was snowing pretty heavily, and the strong winds made it looked as if it was snowing horizontally. XD I didn't even need to tilt my head up and the snow was hitting my face head-on. xD It just felt... surreal. I just stood there, gawking like an idiot at the deep foot prints that I was making on the fresh snow on the ground, while savouring the sensation of snow hitting my face. It was awesome!! Reko was almost laughing at my enthusiasm and excitement when he helped to take photos of me playing in the snow. He even recorded a short video clip of me walking like a penguin in the deep snow. XD It was just so fun, and words simply just couldn't describe how amazing it is to experience real, heavy snowfall for the first time in my life.

Too soon, much too soon, the clock hit twelve, and we had to leave the cosy, warm cabin and the lovely, quiet, snowy place called Lapland...

For more pictures taken during our Lapland trip, please click here.

It was another one hour flight back to Helsinki, and right after we put our stuff down at his house, we went out again. XD It was to run some errands for his mom, and well, Reko wanted to show me their local supermarkets in Kerava too. So hand in hand, we went grocery shopping. =P

Their supermarkets were huge, with long stretches of freezers with just cheese, another long aisle of sausages, a whole big section of different bread, and another whole stretch of freezers with margarine. Haha, I was impressed by their dairy variety, really. We went from aisle to aisle, and as usual, I was trying to look out for familiar brands. It's nice to see some brands that I know being available in Finland as well.

And when we were at the noodles section, I saw something that made me squeal. (Yes, it was as embarrassing as hell, but I did squealed out loud.)

Yeo's. It's Yeo's. It's YEO'S, for crying out loud!

What is Yeo's doing in Finland, and what does Yeo's got to do with instant noodles?! We all know that Yeo's is a beverage brand here, but... instant noodles?! Am I hallucinating?

But Yeo's it is... and next, guess what I found?

It's Koka! Haha, and their packaging has Chinese/English words, together with Finnish! Now, that's what I call "international branding". Ha ha! I felt a wee bit proud when I saw the Tasty Singapore logo behind... ^_^ Oddly enough, Yeo's instant noodles don't have that on their packaging.

Trust Singapore brands to bring "convenience" to other parts of the world... (or as Reko would put it - unhealthy meal solutions for lazy people... xD)

Just two more days, and we would be on the plane back to Singapore. A part of me was missing my own spacious bed and my own computer, but I was already getting used to the quietness of his house, the weather, their food, and the solitude...

Day 8 - Day 10: Wrapping Up The Trip >>