Wanderlust: March 2017

Woke up the next day and we drove to the train station to drop off our car.

Here's the boy looking smug as we were waiting in the cafe for our bus to arrive.

En route to Levi.

Simply stunning. Being a tropical girl living in Singapore, it's so rare to see such a beautiful snow-covered sight.

I left the boy in the hotel while I went out to snap pictures.

I could stay here forever...

While waiting for our van to pick us to our glass igloo, we filled our tummies with two huge pizzas.

Actually, there was a miscommunication. The waitress said we could order 2 different toppings of pizzas so we asked if it was like half this and half that and she said yes, but when the food came both of us were shocked. It was gigantic! We took away some.

By the time we arrived at Golden Crown Levin Iglut, it was already dark. I couldn't film much from the outside.

We got igloo number 1. It was the nearest to the reception, but thankfully it wasn't noisy or anything.

One of the main reasons why we chose Finland to be our honeymoon destination was because of the glass igloo. It's like a tick off the bucket list.

I know many of you may think why didn't we choose Kakslauttanen instead as it is more famous. Firstly, Golden Crown Levin Iglut has a toilet and shower within the igloo itself. We didn't have to go to the reception to bathe. (plus point)

Secondly, the igloos look cleaner.

Thirdly, the beds are joint together, not apart.

We were really hoping to see the aurora, but it was way too cloudy that night.

For your information, there's no wifi nor television in the room. We had a really relaxing time there.

The snow-covered trees outside our igloos looked like huge cauliflowers.

Breakfast for the next day is already prepared in the room when you check in.

Our glass igloo from the outside.

The igloos were situated rather close to each other, we were warned beforehand not to loiter much outside other people's glass igloos for privacy purposes.

Mornings in the glass igloo.

Waking up to winter wonderland.

We could see the frozen up river from our igloo when it started turning brighter.

Fantastic view for breakfast. I could lay here all day with this view right outside my igloo.

It was really an amazing experience, even though there was no aurora sighting.

Checked out and headed to our next hotel, Best Western Levi.

View from our balcony, facing the ski resort. We even had our own private sauna in the toilet.

The first day was spent exploring the town.

Initially, when the boy told me that we were going to spend 5 days in Levi, with only a couple of hours of day light every day, I thought we were gonna be very bored, but I was proven wrong.

Bear in mind that we only have a few hours of day light every day, so the activities that we planned out were spread out over the span of five days. We wanted something relaxing too, since it was our honeymoon.

For our second day in Levi, we went Icekarting. We paid EUR$55 per person for this.

We had so much fun drifting on the ice. The tracks were made by pouring beer on the ice by the way.

During our pit stop, we had a cuppa warm berry juice each as we sat on these reindeer rugs.

Everyone felt more confident after the pit stop, we accelerated more, drifted more and started crashing into the snow. It was such an experience! This was the boy's favourite activity.

Levi Market for grocery shopping after.

Nili-Poro serves reindeer meat cooked in various methods.

We were famished (or maybe greedy), so we ordered three dishes.

First up, reindeer stew.

Reindeer meatballs. (I prefer Ikea's.)

Last but not least, the star dish, reindeer roast with garlic potatoes. This was absolutely divine. We went back for this another day because it was that good.

The interior of the restaurant which suited the menu well.

Morning walks the next day.

Christmas came early.

Meet fat "Olaf", built by the boy.

I was really excited about this. Tundra Husky Safari. We went for this as we read online that the huskies were all pure bred. We booked the 5km Husky Safari, which cost about EUR$95 per person.

The closest we got to meeting husky pups. There were actually new borns, but they were only three days old, so we were not allowed to see them yet, a pity.

Never imagined that we would be doing this so soon. Dream come true.

The huskies were extremely ecstatic before the safari started. To be honest, I was a little intimidated. They were barking, growling, snapping and jumping around. While we made our way through, I was kinda afraid that they would pounce on me. Ours was the first sleigh, so we had to walk through many of them. The safari owner did tell us that they are excited to start, hence we should only pat them after the safari is over and when they have calmed down.

The boy stood at the back and steered, while I laid in the sled with my toes freezing in the cold. They do give a blanket, but I was still freezing. Here we are in the teepee hut, roasting our sausages. Did I mention how good they were? The boy had like six of it and of course paired with warm berry juice.

The best part of the whole experience was getting up close and personal with the huskies.

They had a reindeer farm too, where we were able to feed the reindeers.

Look at his eyes, so eager to eat.

This big boy gave me a big hug.

I wuv you.

They had two huts. One was husky themed and the other had a more ancient feel.

We arrived back in town about 7pm and we went to King Crab House for dinner.

This was one of the best meals we've eaten. We ordered a set and a main course.

My main course, fresh melt-in-your-mouth king crab legs in coconut thai sauce.

The boy was given king crab legs and he had a choice of three dipping sauces to choose from. One of it was also coconut thai. But I believe that was my favourite.

We always make it a point to visit a top rated restaurant on tripadvisor for every town/city we visit.

On the fourth day, we went horse back riding through the woods. These gentle giants are Icelandic horses. Mine kept nudging me when I was holding her reins and bringing her across the road.

It lasted for two hours, where the guide was on her own horse as well and we followed along behind in a row. We paid EUR$70 per person.

How gorgeous are you.

We went through the forest, where we did a little trot and I was terrified of falling into the snow. Then we went high up into the mountains, into thigh-high deep snow (for the horses). Our guide snapped this picture of us. I know I look like a dumpling (I had like 5 layers on, including their overalls), it was -15 degrees celcius that day. My friends couldn't recognise me from this picture, they thought that the boy was taking a picture with the guide or something haha.

We decided to try out cross country skiing. It was really exhausting even though there were tracks to follow, you really need arm muscles for this. I couldn't even pull myself up a tiny slope, the boy had to push me from behind. It was hilarious. We wanted to rent it for 3 hours, but after 1 hour, we gave up.

Since we didn't manage to sight any aurora, we contemplated on going snow walking or another husky safari and we decided on the latter. This time, later at night and with a guide steering the sled. It was an impromptu decision, we were lucky that we managed to book it.

We booked the 20km husky safari, which was EUR$180 per person.

I'm so glad we came. Look at these alaskan malamutes, so charming! My heart melted when I saw them, so much fluff.

It was actually our best chance to see the aurora that night as the sky was clear, but unfortunately, we didn't manage to catch any again. When I was lying in the sled with the boy, riding through the dark woods, it was really pretty romantic. When we came to an open space with a perfect view of the sky, we saw the milky way. It ended our night perfectly.

The owner made us some pancakes over the fire, jam or cream for your toppings, your choice.

This is what happens when you have a snow ball fight in your balcony.

Woke up bright and early for the last day in Levi for our snow mobile adventure. We paid EUR$109 per pax for the snow mobile and a reindeer ride at the reindeer farm.

Game on faces.

All geared up for the adventure.

I tried filming him, but it was really bumpy and unstable and my hands were freezing from the cold. Apparently, the driver doesn't feel that cold as there's heat coming out from the handles.

Arrived at the reindeer farm for our ride, which was pretty mediocre. Plus, I was freezing. It was -23.6 degrees celcius that day. Doesn't help when the wind keeps blowing when you're riding the snow mobile.