A White Christmas @ Cairngorms National Park

After two long weeks of sleep-deprived days, cramming 4-months' worth of lectures into my head, spontaneous naps, procrastinating and basically highkey stressing for finals, it FINALLY came to an end (for now). Honestly, the struggle when you're already in the Christmas & holiday spirit but you got finals to get through first was a wee (very) annoying and depressing. Ya feel me?

ANYWAYSSSSSS, since finals was out of the way, it was time to FINALLY.......DO....my laundry (lol). And yes of course, plan an awesome winter break trip! If only it was easier said than done. I was so fickle minded as part of me wanted to chase the sun and be somewhere tropics-ish whereas another part of me wanted a true winter experience as I have never had one before. As you can already guess by the title of this blog post, I chose to embrace the beauty of winter and go on an active escape!

Why the Cairngorms?

A trip to popular cities like London, Amsterdam, Barcelona.. heck even Dublin sounded so much fun but idk about you guys, but I personally felt that cities like these are better explored during spring or summer. Plus, those who are close to me knows that I'm a sucker for the outdoors and nature. I wanted to be away and among the mountains, walk through trails, hike (if possible) and be in awe of Mother Nature in all her glory. And that's exactly what I did in the largest National Park in Britain, The Cairngorm National Park.

How to get there? So my friend, Noelle and I took a train from Dundee to Aviemore, a small town situated within the national park itself. The journey was roughly 3 hours with an interchange at Perth and amazing sceneries along the way. I love how places are easily accessible by the rail here and also the fact that dogs are allowed on board (#YuvTheDogStalker). We stayed throughout our trip in Mackenzie's Highland Inn at Aviemore.

The moment I entered the Inn, I squealed in excitement as I saw a furry adorable cuddly St Bernard. I COMPLETELY LOST IT GUYS! I just wanted to hug & cuddle him and never let him go. (more of him in my vlog below)

*HYPERVENTILATES*

OMG ASDFGHJKLWNDNDY!!

Okay back to the story

So the weather for a couple of days consisted of rainy showers and NO SNOW which made Yuv a sad child. Apparently the snow melted off just two days prior to our arrival...thanks a lot lady luck. Anyways we didn't let that stop us (well, partly thanks to my friend's 'pep talk' bout rolling with the punches?). We rented a bike from Bothy Bikes on our second day and cycled around town and along the highway which wasn't sucha bright idea lol (I'm too young to die hahah). We ended up making a detour to eventually realize that there was a designated cycle trail that we somehow missed along the way (LOL!). Despite the off and on light rain showers, it was a fun bike ride which gave us both sore butt cracks at the end of the day.

Came across so many pretty views but I couldn't risk my phone/camera getting wet. And THIS is why I should have brought GoPro!

I honestly felt like I was in a Hallmark Christmas movie set in this small, quaint, picturesque town surrounded by snow-capped mountains. There was a Christmas parade later that night which to our surprise brought a sudden surge of crowd of more than 200 people out of nowhere. WHERE DID ALL THIS PPL COME FROM THIS SMALL TOWN?! It was pretty lit though with performances, santa on his sleigh with ACTUAL REINDEERS (watch it here) and fireworks. A couple of hours later, THEY ALL DISAPPEARED :O

Postcard from Aviemore by yours truly!

Santa & his reindeers just speeding away. He is probably excused from getting a speeding ticket.

Me wishing for a white Christmas.

We had a very eventful Christmas. It started off with us going to Glenmore Forest by cab and then went exploring and walking around Loch Morlich. It was so calm and serene despite the misty weather. The clear and calm waters reflect the mountains around, and the clouds (tho there weren't much to see) in the sky, creating a beautiful mirror image.

Will be back here soon to get a better view minus the fog.

Honestly almost everywhere in Scotland looks like a dreamy painting

What did the duck say to another duck in a hurry? "I'm going as QUACK as I can!" Get it? Get it? Okay I'll leave now

I honestly don't know what we were looking at. It seemed like a cool pic to take at that moment (lol).

The next stop was Loch An Eilein, another beautiful lake hidden in the Rothiemurchus forest. I loved the trekking trails in this forest and would most definitely go for a longer trek when it's not so cold (lol). What's extra special about Loch An Eilein is that it has a mysterious castle ruin on a little island in the loch.

This castle ruin is about 900 years old. Amazing

Look at how clear the water was. ALSO, note to self: NEVER dunk your hand into a freezing cold water when you are already cold (LOL).

Noelle and her Celtic hood blending in with the surroundings :P

AND THEN CAME SNOW...

It was MAGICAL AF. It started snowing overnight in Glenmore and we were up by 7am to get ready to make our way to hike and see Reindeers! I was as happy as a kid on Christmas when I saw snow and experienced snowfall for the first time. *cue song- Chanda Chamke*

A DREAM COME TRUE

I waited "patiently" for the troop to start hiking @ Cairngorm Reindeer

After waiting for almost 2 hours (cos we were there way too early, playing with snow), it was finally time to hike up the mountains to chill with Santa's helpers. Once again, I'm going to let the pictures do the talking.

Is it just me or everything is just extra magical with snow?

My toes were freezing but that was the LEAST of my concern haha. Every turn was a photo opportunity!

Can I just camp here forever? I promise to bring warmer socks lol.

After 30-40 mins of our short hike, I saw Santa's herd from afar *squeals in excitement*. We were first briefed on how to approach them and we were left free to roam around with the reindeers and feed em.