After thoughts of my epic 49 day adventure #4

#4: Northern Lights

Despite having spent six months in winter in Sweden, one of the favoured destinations for viewing the Northern Lights, I have never seen it throughout my entire time when I was there. Perhaps I knew that it was an indulgence that a poor student like me could not afford back then. However, I cannot remember how seeing the Northern Lights got on my bucket list and I started trying, first in Finland and this time round in a more remote place, Iceland.

I would say that I did see the Northern Lights on a few occasions on this trip but what I saw was very different from what I had imagined or seen in photographs. Those bright green patches that seem to be dancing in the sky seems to be a luxury of a cameraman or photographer. Perhaps the weather was not good enough or perhaps I was not lucky enough. There were days when the sky was cloudy but activity was high and there were days when the sky was clear and the activity was high, and also a day when the sky was cloudy and activity was moderate. All in all, I now know how the Northern lights are like but the next time I chase after the lights, I will make sure I camp in a cottage and wait throughout the night just like the days when I used to camp and wait for stars or shooting stars. :)

The saving grace from Northern Light hunting was that I saw a sky filled with stars while in Iceland and caught two shooting stars. It happened so quickly that I did not have the time to make a wish but I am still a happy girl with this episode. After all, the last time I saw a shooting star was in 2007 in Halong Bay. How time flies.

All in all, to say I am not disappointed about this whole Northern Lights saga would be an understatement of how I felt because I spent a bomb on all these tours. However, I do not have any regrets about embarking on it because seeing the Northern Lights is always something special, no matter how strong or weak the activity is! :)