Sunday, October 25, 2009
Auroras, sometimes called the northern and southern (polar) lights or aurorae (singular: aurora), are natural light displays in the sky, usually observed at night, particularly in the polar regions.The aurora borealis is also called the northern polar lights, as it is only visible in the sky from the Northern Hemisphere, the chance of visibility increasing with proximity to the North Magnetic Pole, which is currently in the arctic islands of northern Canada. Auroras seen near the magnetic pole may be high overhead, but from further away, they illuminate the northern horizon as a greenish glow or sometimes a faint red, as if the sun were rising from an unusual direction. (Extracted from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurora_(astronomy))
We'll be going to Alaska to see these northern lights aka Aurora Borealis in winter!!! Fairbanks is supposed to be one of the best place in the world to see these celestial displays of colors in the night sky, so we'll be staying at one of a hill top lodge with 2 huge windows facing the north for 3 nites. We can actually see the Aurora Borealis while we are sleeping if it really occurs!! That's so nice~ Hehe, that is IF we can tahan the sub sub zero freezing temperature. I tink the cottage- like lodge will be very cozy with its own kitchenette so that we can cook our own meals in the lodge, then we can save a bit on dinner costs...I think the temperature will be so freezing that I will just stick my butt in the lodge all day lor..heheh
We have to stay in such ulu places at the hill is because these northern lights can only be seen in places far away from the city lights, where the sky is completely dark. This means the long winter nights are the best time. The bad thing is, temperature at Fairbanks is an average of -40 degree celsius at its coldest time. NEGATIVE 40S!!!! Wahhhh...really cannot imagine right now...not even sure if my weak and frail body can tahan such extreme temp...but we really want to see the northern lights though:) and it is such a rare chance we can make this trip to Alaska. So we definitely need to do some physical conditioning before we embark on this physically straining trip... Macham go to north pole and stick our Spore flag lidat!! But I think temp in Fairbanks is even colder than the north pole, cuz Fairbanks is located in interior Alaska, so I really dun know how we are going to adapt to the cold... It's so cold that our bare skin cannot come into contact with any metal surface in that freaking cold temp, cuz will easily get frostbite, wah~ So scary! Will be getting thicker gloves and face mask soon...
Most ppl will think that we are siao to visit Alaska in winter, where it's at its coldest, and not many tourists dare to venture out in such chill. However, the Aurora Borealis make us choose winter over summer in Alaska, although this period is definitely breathtaking and super popular with tourists. But going to Alaska in summer is also super expensive, cuz all lodgings and flights jack up their prices, and it's going to be so packed with ppl, we wun get to enjoy the raw beauty of Alaska. So we finally decided on winter, and I thought it's quite sweet to spend a quiet white xmas together as well...Also considered as an early bday trip for Cha...(althou Cha's the sponsor, hehehe)
The next activity which I'm very looking fwd to is dog sledding lor...macham like the "Eight Below" movie; we will travel the snow covered Denali national park with the dogs!! As the snow is too thick for any car to go thru, the only means of transportation is via dog mushing...really cool! The trainer will train us how to mush dogs then each of us will lead a team of sled dogs to travel around the park!! Wow...really exciting, but again, I doubt my ability to communicate effectively with the dogs, scarly the dogs never listen to me, and throw me over, then sian liao...
We will also spend a few days in Anchorage before moving to Seattle to visit the famous Pike Fish market and celebrate the new year towards 2010!! =D
1:10 PM
