Arctic Trip - Day 7 (Northernmost IKEA and Swedish Burger!!)

Oh man, Marpigz not blogging as often as she used to!! Number of bloggie entries has been dwindling since 2007 she thinks!! Had been reading Marpigz old bloggie entries and am glad she kept records of her daes and thoughts, amongst xperiences etc... :)

Anyw!! Dec 2010 is long gone and yet, Marpig am stil having cold fingers and toes!! Worse, shez stil on her Arctic Trip?! OMGosh!! Chop chop, kali pok!!

Picking up from where she slept (literally) in Day 6...
is the pic above to suggest continuity. A fresh dae ahead of sm travelling and visit to the Northernmost IKEA!! :D

As it was, therez no morning bus to the border of Finland and Sweden but no worries!! For pple who knew Marpig, these 2 sentences hold (pretty) true!!

1) Ths just happen when Marpig is ard
2) Therez always a solution, no matter how (in)sane it can be with Marpigz spontaneity

And thus, Marpig and PS were on the road again (sounded so cool!!) after bf in a pre-booked taksi to Tornio/Haparanda!!
During the 30mins drive to the coach station at the border, 1 could stil catch a glimpse of the morning setting sun (how ironic)
Closer and faster!! Ah~~ power of digital SLR!! :P
And then the moon had risen too!! Talk about seeing 月亮, 太阳, 星星 al at the same time!! Wherez the 星星 u asked? Marpig am sure 100% of u wil say Marpig is the 星星... right?! Kao. 就知道!! :P

After 30 mins, they finally arrived at the border!! To refresh yr memories, Tornio is the Finnish side while Haparanda belongs to the Swedish
... ... coach station didnt look like itz open... ...
... ... coach station SERIOUSLY didnt look like itz open... ... notices written using alphabets but in languages which Marpig noe naught. Hmm... told u ths just happen when Marpig is ard!!
Yup. Coach station was not opened, cos itz a sundae!! Ho hum. However, therez stil a few pple coming and waiting. 珠子 told Marpig tt although the office was not opened, therez stil gonna be coaches + she booked the tickets (although didnt receive them, only had the receipt for the driver later!!); the coach operator would not sell Marpig the tickets if there werent gonna be coaches

But to be doubly sure, Marpig braved the cold and popped over to the petrol station next door to:

• Confirm tt therez definitely going to be coaches
• Change sm loose lollies for the public lockers to deposit barangs @ the coach station while they go IKEA
  
• Bought a cuppa kopi O for PS (Marpig dont want anyth but must buy smth for asking question and changing loose lollies mah!!)

After depositing their barangs in the public locker (surprisingly big enough for Marpigz backpack, PSz lugg etc!!) itz time for a walk ard the massive retail park!!

Not sure if all of u are familiar with retail parks but they are essentially like HUGE industrial parks in terms of landspace, with lotsa warehouse kind of shops, flagship shopping centre and supermarket, restaurants, cinemas, etc ttz away from the city. 1 definitely finds them in Europe and AmericaIn Marpigz research for the trip, one of the 25 thingies was to have Swedish burger, Max!! And look wat they found!! But nay, they only went in to take a look since lunch would be in IKEA and dinner would be Max!! :D__

It was a leetle walk via a subway to the northermost IKEA. Along the way were thick, white and undisturbed snow. Being Marpig, she couldnt resist doing a snow angel!!
Notice how deep the snow was?! But when Marpig lied down, she didnt sink too much. Guess shez not TT heavy afteral!! :P
Snow angel!! *Ding ding ding!!* Accomplished another 1 of the 25 thingies!! Albeit it looked like a super "gan chiong" angel, from the way the wings "flutter" hahahahaha

And now!! Presenting the northernmost IKEA in the world!!!!!!!
:D Just another IKEA actually, since watever they sell was xactly as 1 could get in the UK (checked and confirmed) In fact, ths arent 100% made in Sweden even in this Swedish IKEA. For xample, the ornamental lights which PS bought are made in China and... PS, hope u r reading this; they are much cheaper in the UK!! :P

Another th to note ttz probably different from the IKEA in the UK (and mayb other parts of the world?) is the super efficient and automated conveyor belt for trays, glasses and plates!! Send them all str into the kitchen!! Therez also racks for pple to sort their beer/soft drink glass bottles!! Totally love their recycling 精神!!Lunchtime!! PS had vege(?) crepe which came with 1 potatoe (how farny), salad and carrot cake (or similar?) while Marpig, who already had in mind, wat she wanted for lunch in IKEA, even b4 this trip started, had~~
Meatballs in gravy with cranberry sauce and potatoes!! Also got a local ale which made Marpig high, as al 1/2 pints do!!
再来一个大特写!! :D__ WAH~~~~~~ :D Marpig dont take beef but therez the odd and rare occasions of sm game meat (like reindeer!!) and meatballs!! The meatballs tasted great!! Then again, Marpig am easily contented and she didnt have meatballs b4 to compare with. Stil!!

Anyw, being 1/2 drunk, Marpig could not rem wat xactly happened after lunch. Main th was, they got onto the coach to Lulea!! :D
Once again, Marpig must say she likes taking coaches. Cheaper and Europez coaches are really gd, not like lapan lapan *winked at Beenie* Think for most of the trip, Marpig and PS fight it out in Scrabble on their NDSs again!! :D

And now, the horrible th Marpig did, which she mentioned in Day 6. The story went when Marpig visited the toilet on the coach and flooded it. Wel, flooded the bowl to be xact. She flushed, but it wouldnt work properly and so she flushed and flushed again and it stil didnt work. By then the water in the bowl + the diluted u-noe-wat just started fillng itself up... to the tipping point (literally!!) tt when the coach made a turn, the water ALMOST spilled over!!

*quickly went out of the toilet and pretended nth happened* :P
(Kor lian the person whoz gonna clean the toilet... Marpig really didnt mean it!! Ths just happen when Marpig is ard!! :D)

Finally by evening (?), they arrived in Lulea and dumped their barangs in Amber Hotel... B4 getting a map and going out to:

1) Get PS sm medication @ the pharmacies
2) Buy water
3) Shopparound @ Lulea city centre (went into a sports shop, 1 of the few shops tt interests Marpig)
4) Grab Max for dinner!!
Think they were too hungry which was why they literally chiong into the rest!! Max is totally different from al the unhealthy burgers in the world!! Watz the appeal... erm... healthy? Environmentally frenly? Local Swedish fast food chain? (Dont rem seeing MacD in Sweden...)They dont pre-prepare the burgers and let them wait for foodies to come. Instead, they 现做现卖, used wholemeal big buns, ful slice of cheeses (MacD, noe this!!), fresh oil, non-processed meats from dodgey origins and blah blah blah
"Nagot gott till maten?". Translate - Have u got them yet? (as if!! mayb nearly!! hahahaha) Of cos, therez the usual (unhealthy) treats, which, when taken in moderation, are ok lah!! :P Milkshake!! (Beenie!! Letz go for avocado milkshake at Beach Rd hawker centre when Marpigz back!! :D__)

Referring to the set menu 1 photo above, think PS had the "Delifresh kycklingmal" (translate - Delifresh chicken meal), complemented by a pack of sliced apples

And as usual, Marpig documented her meals in great details!! :D
Marpig went for the "Kycklingmal Classic" (translate - Chicken meal classic!! So!! Kycklingmal is chicken meal... :P), ChilliCheese (jalepenoes, see closeup!!) and a choc sundae!! OMGosh!! Al tt @ 9 or 10ish pm? hahahahahaha 不管啦!! :D__

And so, Marpig gobbled Day 7 (up :P) and also made a very obvious point (bold and in red, noticed it already?!)

Next up, b4 Marpig shares bout the UNESCO place she visited in Lulea on Day 8, she wil reveal the "亲密"关系 she has with Beenie!! OMGosh!! Scandalous!! :P

Arctic Trip - Day 6 (A Day of Travelling)

发生什么事?! How come Marpig didnt blog for almost a mth?! Guess it must have been the "supermoon" on 19th April (都是月亮惹的祸!! :P) or tt shez burned out working + chronic stomachache AGAIN

Anyw, letz do sm warm up b4 Marpig get on with Day 6 of her Arctic trip which was pretty boring as it was a dae of travelling: Snow Village > Kittila > RVN > Kemi

Warm up numbero uno: Watz common btw Winnie the Pooh and Jack the Ripper?
Warm up numbero dos: Why is 6 afraid of 7?
(Answers at the end!! Heheheheh:D)

Continuing from the night when Marpig slept in an igloo al by herself and deleting lotsa photos, she woke up ard 3+am and grab her barangs and walked back to the warm room along the (literally) icy cold corridors

Back in the room, Marpig dozed off on the bed. Apparently, PS was awake and took photos of Marpig, the sleeping beauty. Would have gladly uploaded photos of Marpigz 美丽的睡姿, if itz not bcos PS hasnt passed Marpig her photos :S

Anyw, think Marpig woke up eventually ard 5+am and both of them started gorging on cup noodles whilst playing Scrabble to pass time, since bf was not until 8am. The 4 Dutchmen also came back to the room ard this time and Marpig offered them instant soup and even made a cup for 1 of them. Itz really just Marpig being frenly to strangers but also bcos she wanted to xpend the instant soup sachets as much as possible!! :P

And then, @ 8am...BF!! Yumyumyumyumyum!! :D__
As mentioned, day 6 was pretty much a dae of travelling. Hence, following the same route back, Marpig and PS took the taxi (driven by the super-frenly aunty) to Kittila in order to catch the coach back to RVNWhile waiting for the coach to arrive, Marpig took the pic above to make an obvious point :P Travelling in the north is like being in a BIG refrigerator. Oh no, a BIG freezer!! So fun!!
Coach finally arrived and it took us al the way back to the coach station. During the journey, think Marpig devoured quite a bit of the dark choc which PS bought :D__

The train station wasnt particularly near to the coach station (itz not a given anyw). Can be reached via foot but since it not xactly as the crow flies, they took a short taxi trip to the train station to catch their VR train, departing @ 6pm for Helsinki, via Kemi
Blimey!! Itz already super dark by 4ish pm!! Spot the moon?
朦胧的夜色~~ Smhow, Marpig felt almost like WWII, taking trains in such a setting, more so with the common sight of soldiers taking the trains too. Oh, although therez heavy snow, public transports stil operates fine and no delays!! How impressive when compared to the UK!!As it was, the interior of the train to Helsinki, via Kemi looked like the 50s. Even the usual foldable tables in front of the seats in modern trains need to be manually "bolt-on" (notice the white plate-looking thingy slotted @ the back of seats) Or maybe itz just 少见多怪!!

After 1hr 39mins on the VR Express 266...
... they finally reached the quiet Kemi town!! Nth much bout this town really, xcept tt itz located at the mouth of the river Kemijoki which runs to RVN as wel. In addition, therez the Snow Castle of Kemi which is the worldz biggest snow fort rebuilt every winter. The town is also home to the only Chromium mine in Europe

Think itz just Marpig; she likes the feeling of travelling to places unknown, quiet, "lonely", off the beaten tracks, etc. Almost like the train stations in Spirited Away!! :D hahahaha *自我陶醉*
Most commercial trains carry containers with watever goods, hence, itz a rare sight to see trains carrying carriages full of logs. Or perhaps, Marpig should be less urbanised!!
Pic above is not smth of importance; xcept tt itz PS trying to make a point bout the only time when Marpig wasnt promptly dressed properly when shez outside. Duh. :P
Above was the simple and cosy room in Hotel Merihovi which they retired in after an entire dae of travelling. Much to Marpigz "surprise", or rather, wat she had xpected, there was no morning coach to the Finnish/Swedish border town of Tornio/Haparanda!! Hooray!! She could put her contingency plan to action!! Marpig 临危不乱, 真不愧是 cool as a cucumber!! Mua~~hahahahaha :D

And this ends day 6 of the Arctic Trip, which was pretty boring, if itz not for the split-sec shock tt Marpig received when she realised therez no morning coach. Yeah yeah, it doesnt sound like a big deal now but itz smth then hor!! Coming up next on day 7 wil be much more happening + Marpig did a very bad th... (not on purpose!!)

Answers for warm ups:
Warm up numbero uno: They have the same middle name
Warm up numbero dos: Bcos 789

Did u get the joke?! :D