~ 看见它仿佛小时候的童话就活在眼见 ~
Aurora Borealis, a phenomenon we chase, yet shunned by the locals in the past who believed that spirits cast these lights (dance of the spirits).
Said to be best viewed under a clear sky in high latitude, we decided to step foot in the Artic Circle! The Arctic Circle is one of the five major circles of latitude that mark maps of the Earth. It is the parallel of latitude that runs
66° 33′ 39″ (or 66.56083°) north of the Equator
(Source: Wikipedia).
Lapland which lies within the Artic cirlce is the least densely populated province in Finland.
We decided to catch the aurora and have some winter fun in
Rovaniemi!
Rovaniemi, Lapland's energetic capital is also the official hometown of Santa Claus. Here, one can experience the midnight sun (24hr sunlit day) during summer, and polar night (24hr sunless day) during winter. Temperatures in Lapland can drop to a freezing -30!
How To get To Rovaniemi from Helsinki
Getting to Rovaniemi is relatively easy as there are various options such as car (14hr), bus (14hr), railway (9-12hr) and flight (1hr15mins) .
Having been through 9hrs of bus journey twice in Japan, I don't exactly relish the experience. And sometimes a flight is cheaper compared to railway. International/ domestic departure in Finland is automated and efficient.
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| Finnair Airport Bus from Central Railway station |
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| Helsinki Airport Terminal 2 |
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| Terminal 2 |
An hour flight with
Norwegian Air brought us to our destination. Norwegian Air made me realise how advanced in technology they are! They provide Wi-Fi, sandwiches and drinks onboard- FOC (can't understand why budget flights in Sg have to charge for food!) Service onboard was perfect too. They upgraded us to the emergency exit so we have extra leg room :)
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| Approaching Rovaniemi. 果然很美啊！白茫茫的一片！ |
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| 棉花般的云海 |
Lapland- Rovaniemi
Rovaniemi airport is small, and we don't have to stamp our passport so departure was swift.
A -20 wind chill and eye-blinding whiteness greeted us upon our exit. The view was exhilirating! It's no wonder that Lapland is a winter wonderland! And, this was just outside the airport! I cannot wait to see what lies 3hr north of Rovaniemi!
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| Welcome to Rovaniemi! Winter greeted us once we exited the airport. |
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| Our faithful Toyota (no winter tyres =>.<=) |
To escape the city lights of Rovaniemi, we rented a Toyota (GPS includ.) from
Scandia Rent for 2 nights. After several minutes of searching in the fervent cold, we were so thankful that the car is pre-warmed up with its engine and lights on!
Car Rental is Highly Recommended if traveling north! ^^
- You are able to stop along the way to enjoy the scenery, and visit any photogenic spots on impulse.
- The National Park is off the beaten path.
- If you join a husky safari tour, they do provide transport but it is just from the city centre to the husky farm and back. For aurora viewing, it is best not to stay in the city centre.
- You can visit Santa Claus village, snowmobile safari, husky safari and Rovaniemi city centre, at your comfortable pace.
- You can drive around the city centre to look for yummy Lapland cuisine and bars!
- Be brave, drive your car out into the wilderness (with GPS, you can anywhere), park at any empty slot, switch off the engine and look at the sky. YOU WILL BE AMAZED! The entire galaxy will twinkle at you. The silence of the wilderness, albeit scary, will prove to be a very very different experience.
Off we zoomed on the highway for 3hrs towards our destination:
Hotel Luostotunturi located near the
Pyhä and Luosto National Park, with occasional stops along the way to snap pictures of the great wilderness.
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| Christmas tree laden with snow |
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| Frozen snow-clad lake. |
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| Cute red wooden houses. |
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| 好清静哦，我的心情也变的很平静 |
Watching the evergreens decked in white whizzed past, memories unfold like pages in the wind.
After 3hr+ of driving, we finally reached
Hotel Luostotunturi! If you drive, ensure that you'll reached your destination before sun set, else it will be pitch dark along the highway. The highway is single lane, at most double. So, we have to be extremely careful when overtaking. According to the hub, it can be quite difficult to control the steering especially on snowy roads.
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| Everyone's wearing PVC or snow boots, we wore leather boots, and that's the worst decision. 很很冷！ |
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| Our Nordic cottage style room |
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| View outside our room. Everything is covered in snow! |
After chilling our ears and digits in the room, we were ravenous! Dining options were limited. Either the hotel's restaurant or the 1-2 cafes opposite our hotel. Unless you want to drive another 10s of km to search for an alternative.
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| Menu at hotel's restaurant |
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| Lapland Cider Beer & My wine! Europe made me addicted to the meal+alcohol combo! |
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| French escargot with rye bread. Escargot sauce is not bad: buttery with garlic fragrance. Escargots: Tasted abit ''wild''. They have the ''muddy'' taste. I am okay with them though. |
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| HIGHLIGHT! Reindeer meat with salmon! The meat's texture is similar to that of beef, but it has a stronger game taste. I ordered medium-rare, and I love it. |
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| Sea bream with beetroot. I still can't appreciate beetroot in its raw form. The fish was crispy and tender. |
Snowmobile Safari
After a sumptuous 'lunch/dinner' at 3pm, the sun began to sink into the horizon. And, I was getting sleepy... 1 disadvantage traveling during winter is that, you will feel listless, or is it just me? We booked a snowmobile safari with
Lapland Safari tour situated opposite our hotel.
Cost about 100+ euro per pax for 2 hours. Note that they charge by per pax.
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| Knee-deep snow! |
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| 4pm and its dark |
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| Treacherous looking machine. Lets go! |
One of the most exotic and memorable experience!
Revving the engine into wilderness under the starry Lappish sky in search of the Aurora.
Our team had 8 pax, and you are supposed to drive your snowmobile after a 10mins safety briefing!
I volunteered to be the pillion-rider, until the hub went into an ''accident''. He rammed straight into the snow and woods, and we had to spend almost 20 mins in the dark trying to lift it out!!
I had to take the scary reins after that. It was quite hard to control the direction at first, and you have to go fast if you do not want to be left behind. It was scary being the last one as it was pitch-dark and images of wolves and bears didn't help. So! I sped at 60km/h.
The clouds refused to leave the sky, so we couldn't see Aurora.
The ride will be exhilarating, this I promise you!
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| The revving engine that punctured the wintry silence. |
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| Cloudy night so no Aurora. 我会再来找你的！ |
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| My snow angel! hehe! |
The fun and thrilling ride lasted for 2 hours, with a 20 minutes break where we get to chat with the guide, drink warm berry juice and enjoy the calmness of the Arctic Night...
