It was freezing. And haven’t been one to have seen falling snow before this, I ventured if something like that would happen from my local friend.

She sniffed, an incredulous expression dealt to my suggestion. “It hasn’t snowed in over 50 years!”

Oh well.

But a few hours later, heading back to the hotel, she exclaimed that I must be blessed. I asked for snow, and drifting down like soft rain… was snow. I was happy of course, but also disappointed. It was nothing like what I had imagined. It seemed so… ordinary. And unlike the flakes I see in videos.

If only I knew. When I woke the next morning, the streets and trees were a blanket of white, and soft snow came down, landing on people and umbrellas. I jumped out of bed a little too excitedly – but hey, at last, real snow!

But my wish got a little out of hand. The snow of 2008 became a regional calamity, as the precipitation stalled local traffic and operations. Worse still – it was right before the Lunar New Year period.

Find out what happened to my trip when the weather went wintry, with my article for Expedia here.

First published: Expedia