i am home in 1piece

i managed to skate, decently :p

and no broken bones, sorry to disappoint!

hah!

reached Aviemore!
while the rest of the girls and boys went down to rent the ski suit and fix the boots,
the 4 of us kept warm in the bus, as we were done. = ready. all prepared.
;)

u kid me not!

we were excited to 'roar'!!!
i dont know about the rest, but i was really eager to go up! ehee

view from the base,
from the carpark, where the coach dropped us.

Cairngorm Mountain

our funicular ticket
they have thought of everything.
an elastic thin string is attached to ticket so that we can strap it around our neck ;)

over there, it says there at the bottom of the ticket, Cairngorm National Park.
so it is actually a national park? hmm..i didnt know that :)

honestly, i dont know anything.
i just signed up when i knew about this ski trip!

oh darn! i forgot to take picture of the loch! :(

had to wait for 15 minutes for the next funicular to chauffeur us up the mountain!

this is the Ski binding.
they as tall as me!!
the length depends on the size of your feet i presume.

the ticketing booth

thermometer

it was -1 celcius at the Base/carpark

they had googles
and i regretted not bringing my shades :(

captured from the funicular

that's Neil.
my instructor :(
there were 3 instructors
Sammy? and Stuart

love Stuart
lucky to those that got him
he teaches really well!
i keep look at them (his group) and try to glean what i can
heee

this is Stuart.

thanks to Chris, photo above courtesy of him 

the 'teaching ground'?
sorta like a place where they teach beginners like us :)


weather was bad so we coulnt take the lift :(
i was a little crestfallen.
see the hanging pole?
that is the thing that is suppose to lift us up.
im not quite sure how it works to be exact.
hear Stuart mentioned a little about stepping onto something,
could be tough and if u cant fit into something and steady yourself,

they would not allow u to go on it.
i find it challenging! and the more i want to give it a try!
:(
aihhhh
all because of the weather
skiing is dictated by weather, says Stuart.

:))one-to-one lesson

beautiful aint it?look at this photo carefully

then this

and finally this!

so u can imagine how bad the wind blew!

could really blow you away.
no, im serious. it did blow us away.
u cant stand still,
not even if u managed to dig your toes in the ground.
HORRIBLE

snowboarders! :)
huh?
leopard-print pants?
opss..i was caught in the act

the instructors will only coach us for 2 hours.
after that, Neil, my instructor, was VERY KEEN to come in and have a cup of hot drink
-_-
sigh

so here we go, the cafe.

sandwiches
i was eyeing the SALMON MAYO, £2.85
:(

macaroni & cheese
michelle! :)) and her lunch!

chips and cheese macaroni

food here is not cheap

settled for a cup of hot chocolate in the end..
the plain one some more :(
cheaper ma :p
ahahahah

Kelvin is rich :p
hence he could afford to lavish himself with hot chocolate with mallows & cream £2

cute boots! they were very tiny! :)
initially i thought i would need this type of phua chu kang boots,
but after speaking to Huikuan (she skii-ed during the Xmas hols),
she said we would be putting on our boots before we go out in the 'snow', as in, stepping on the snow.
pardon me, not being articulate.
im actually incapable.
sigh

karen's chips! :)
finished my hot chocolate within few blinks.

u know, there is no such word as SIP in my dictionary.

i cannot sip. i GUZZLE!

*shakes head*

anyway, i went for a soup after that! comes with a roll and butter:)
soup of the day : lentil and vegetables £2.55

name of cafe/restaurant : The Ptarmigan
love butter!

curi someone's snowboard!

like what Huiyen said,

u will be a snowman if u stand out here for 1 hour

flora was pretty reluctant to get a photo.
i had to pull her. sorry
hee
think she looks cute with the skii suit/jumper! :)
this is where we 'park' our skii poles and all before entering the building, which houses the cafe, souvenir shop, toilets and etc.

it says here on the board, temperature -1?
but outside i heard Stuart saying it was -11!

by the way, this is like SCUBA DIVING!
u have to refer to the board before each dives :)
it tells u vital info


after lunch, this was what we did!
it was too windy to go out!
*pouts*
adel,christine and karen

plus, we were too comfortable with the temperature in this cosy hut :)


*ahhhhh*

and that's our hiding place, the building on the left ;)

grrRRR

weather gets harsher after lunch

the funicular!

the track

3pm
pro skiiers
all 20 plus of us!

this is where the rest rented their suits
£10 per suit
boots and other equipment are included in our package, £62

i complained to mom yesterday that i was broke this week.
i have easily spent over £100 in the span of just 5 days? :(
mom was really sweet and comforting.
she reassured me that it is alright and supported me to go for the trip!
thanks mum!

mum has always, in fact, never deters me from going to places:)
i feel blessed

saw this on our bus ride home :)
can u make out the words?
Garfield House Hotel
would like to pay a visit to the hotel one day :p
wonder how it would be like
the decorations and all :)
i have a soft spot for the lazy cat
*grin*
no idea why, but i suppose it often reminds me of childhood :)

haha!
the reason i post this photo is to show u what i had!
i only had a set of longjohn, the green one is my best longjohn.
ive kept it in my luggage all the while.
cause i know this would be able to keep me really warm and i wont be needing it in glasgow or UK.
and i was a little worried about the cold in the mountain as i do not want to be restrained by the weather.
hence, ive chucked in the Strathcyle hoodie, a turtle neck wool top, a longjohn-pants, a wool shawl, and a jeans into my bag this morning.
just in case :p
as i really do not know what to expect.
have to BE PREPARED!
:)

anyway,
so in total, i only wear 3 layers! 2 as you have seen in the photo, and my brown jacket!
im realy glad of what i own
blessed in fact

as for the bottoms,
only the green longjohn and the thick pants.
didnt rent anything
hence, ive saved £10!
wheeee

other than that,

i wore my North Face white shawl, which looks like a towel. *blek*

dont mention about it.

the price still hurts till today.

nevertheless, it surprised me by keeping me warm.

i was also worried about the pants after interviewing huikuan last night.
she rented a skii pants as it is waterproof.
it would be better if your clothing is waterproof so that u wont die of hypothermia :p
im not exaggerating!!!!
:p
many die in the mountain due to this! says Neil!

wait, im suppose to have a photo with Neil, i think it is in Kelvin's camera.

i was again glad that my pants is warm! so means i only had 2 layers at the bottom!

the fall out for the day is,
this is also tips for use in the future.

get thicker gloves.
the skii type would be perfect.
i left my thermal gloves in malaysia :(
and wear thicker socks. for more support and comfort :)

oh! and try to avoid beanie if possible.
hee...cause it would be blown away

my hood was a blessing. my jacket,
cause i dont have ear muff. i thought i would lose my ears :p
they would harden and fall off :p
aahahahaha

i kind of lost my nose and fingers for a wee bit when we were out on the mountain
ahahahahha

really couldnt feel anything!

all in all...

i would like to say that....

i want to go skiing again!!!!!!

im ready for Switzerland!!!

and well, if you want to say that i am perasan!
i dont care!
cause i want to say that i did a pretty good job today!
i can skii!!
im a happy nut!!

strange,

i feel peculiarly bahagia today

mmm...tomorrow is an important day

i shall hit the sack now

will be back again tomorrow!

:)

gnite

adieu