.::. Kiruna .::.
It was my first time traveling alone and I struggled for quite some time, trying to envision myself going all the way there, trying to anticipate what I would feel. It was the 3rd time I'm booking tickets to Kiruna, and for some reasons, my travel companions always couldn't make it last minute. I really thought hard, because it's a 22 hour train ride from where I stay and it's so cold up north, easily -25 degrees. I'm not afraid of being alone, but when it comes to traveling alone, I'm most concerned about safety and logistics! There's the part where nobody could take care of your stuff for you or being all alone and lost when it's so freaking cold.
I decided on going in the end, because I've been wanting to visit the ice-hotel for years! I'm afraid that I might not have time when school reopens as this semester is very packed. I would really leave Sweden with regrets if I came here and didn't visit the ice-hotel! Thus, I arrived 'home' in the morning after 11 hours on the plane and hopped on the train to Kiruna in the afternoon for another 22 hours on the train. It was rather tiring though.
I decided on going in the end, because I've been wanting to visit the ice-hotel for years! I'm afraid that I might not have time when school reopens as this semester is very packed. I would really leave Sweden with regrets if I came here and didn't visit the ice-hotel! Thus, I arrived 'home' in the morning after 11 hours on the plane and hopped on the train to Kiruna in the afternoon for another 22 hours on the train. It was rather tiring though.
It was cold, but the weather is alot better, no more snow storms and train delays! I slept a whole 12 hours on the train. Afterall, I need all the energy.Despite being prepared for the cold, I was freezing when I got down the train. The wind was rather strong. Maybe because it is the 2nd day I'm back in Sweden after 3 weeks in Singapore's tropical climate too. For a moment, I felt rather lost. The place was pretty much desserted, without people in sight. I'm armed with the map to make it to my hostel, but there were no road names. All I see is heaps of snow everywhere. Roads are different from those on the maps as they only clear some roads of snow for people to walk. Alas, I managed to find my hostel not long after and deposited my bag while I made my way to the ice-hotel.
I spent the whole afternoon at ice-hotel. It wasn't that big, but the suites were quite beautiful. I loved the church and some of the rooms. But after the whole afternoon outside, I was quite cold by the time it was evening. I couldn't believe that I was finally there. The whole idea of building a hotel using ice and snow, and then having it melt down in summer and rebuilt again in winter fascinates me though I'll never want to sleep in there!
One of the bad thing about traveling yourself is that you can't have many pictures of yourself. I can totally imagine posing for all sorts of pictures if I were with my friends!
I went back to the hostel early and rested since it was so cold and desserted outside anyway! I was staying in a 4-bedroom dorm with another dutch girl. She was also traveling alone! We had dinner and tea together before she went to chat up others while I went online and went to bed at 9pm.
The next day, the tour guide picked me up at the hostel and I started my 2 day tour. We drove about 30 minutes out of the city to a small camp to change into snow boots and snow pants. There was another group of 6 french and german students on the same tour. Thankfully, they were nice and I didn't feel left out.
We got ready and helped to lead the dogs out to an area where they can eliminate and prepare for dog-sledging. It was quite saddening for me, to see them being locked in boxes just slightly bigger than them all the time. They were howling and dying to get out. When we let them out, they eliminated and was dying to run. Maybe the dogs are so obedient and willing to pull sledges because they've been locked in for so long and were dying to get out and run. *sigh.
Dog-sledging was fun! Especially when you were standing behind and 'driving' it. We had to step on the brakes to control the speed and to make sure that the line joining the dogs were taut to prevent any accidents. We went on for about 30 minutes before we reached the camp site which was near the intersection of 2 rivers, which were half-frozen. It was beautiful!
It was a very traditional camp site. We had to saw firewood for the fireplace and get water from the river. We BBQed sausages in this small hut with a fire burning and had lunch in the kitchen, the only small hut which had heating. The tour was quite cheap actually, but we were taken care of by an indigenous Sami guy who was probably not socialized enough or too proud and rude. It wasn't really that bad, but it's just difficult to be relaxed and enjoy around him. He says things which makes you roll your eyes all the time.
Before long, it was dark and we went out in search of norther lights. We lay on the snow for awhile but decided to head back when it was getting too cold. Only 2 french guys decided to venture out somemore, and they were the only people who spotted nothern lights for 20 minutes or so that night. *sigh! The rest of the night was spent chatting and going out again in search of norther lights. I gave up at midnight and went to sleep in the cold Lappish hut. It was rather cold inside despite the fireplace but thankfully, it was warm in the sleeping bag.
We got ready and helped to lead the dogs out to an area where they can eliminate and prepare for dog-sledging. It was quite saddening for me, to see them being locked in boxes just slightly bigger than them all the time. They were howling and dying to get out. When we let them out, they eliminated and was dying to run. Maybe the dogs are so obedient and willing to pull sledges because they've been locked in for so long and were dying to get out and run. *sigh.
Dog-sledging was fun! Especially when you were standing behind and 'driving' it. We had to step on the brakes to control the speed and to make sure that the line joining the dogs were taut to prevent any accidents. We went on for about 30 minutes before we reached the camp site which was near the intersection of 2 rivers, which were half-frozen. It was beautiful!
It was a very traditional camp site. We had to saw firewood for the fireplace and get water from the river. We BBQed sausages in this small hut with a fire burning and had lunch in the kitchen, the only small hut which had heating. The tour was quite cheap actually, but we were taken care of by an indigenous Sami guy who was probably not socialized enough or too proud and rude. It wasn't really that bad, but it's just difficult to be relaxed and enjoy around him. He says things which makes you roll your eyes all the time.
Before long, it was dark and we went out in search of norther lights. We lay on the snow for awhile but decided to head back when it was getting too cold. Only 2 french guys decided to venture out somemore, and they were the only people who spotted nothern lights for 20 minutes or so that night. *sigh! The rest of the night was spent chatting and going out again in search of norther lights. I gave up at midnight and went to sleep in the cold Lappish hut. It was rather cold inside despite the fireplace but thankfully, it was warm in the sleeping bag.
We woke up early for breakfast the next day. The germans wanted to go skiing, so we put on rather traditional wooden skiies and went out 'skiing'. It was more like cross country skiing, not the traditional ski resort downhill slopes. I was so clumsy on my skiies and the route was uphill! We were skiiing uphill in the forest covered in thick snow and I kept sliding down. I gave up after like 200m, after I fell and seriously thought that it was dangerous. I might just fall backwards and roll down the hill, hitting god-knows how many trees!
3 other guys who weren't good at skiing headed back with me. It was dangerous for beginners like us and we were sweating buckets, not having fun at all. We ended up following another trail and hiked instead. It was beautiful, the surrounding area. We walked in thick snow to get better views and angles for pictures. Luckily we had snow boots and snow pants on and had no problems even when the snow was up to our knees! Those guys were actually quite nice and looked out for me, I'm thankful to have met nice people on this solo trip.
3 other guys who weren't good at skiing headed back with me. It was dangerous for beginners like us and we were sweating buckets, not having fun at all. We ended up following another trail and hiked instead. It was beautiful, the surrounding area. We walked in thick snow to get better views and angles for pictures. Luckily we had snow boots and snow pants on and had no problems even when the snow was up to our knees! Those guys were actually quite nice and looked out for me, I'm thankful to have met nice people on this solo trip.
After spending the whole morning outside, we tried ice fishing. It involved drilling a hole in the frozen lake so that we can put our fishing line into the water through the thick ice. It was no fun at all, because we jolly-well know that there was no fishes at that area. We basically squatted there, holding the fishing rod in the cold wind and took pictures. The german guy described it the best - "Fishing is boring. Ice-fishing is cold AND boring.'
We had lunch after that and it was time to go. We went back by snow mobile this time round. I've no idea what's so exciting about snow mobile. It's just like a sturdy motorcycle which goes on snow. We drove really slowly for safety reasons since we had a load behind, but you could easily go more than 100km/hr on it. I didn't like it, because it was noisy and smelly - you could smell the diesel smell all the time. The scenery was beautiful when we drove back, as the sun was setting.
That marked the end of my first solo trip. We went back to change out of our snow boots and snow pants before going to the supermarket. The tour guide sent me to the train station where I waited for my train and another 22 hour train ride back 'home'.
I must be alittle crazy to go all the way there alone right after a 11 hour flight. I'm not sure what made me do it, but I reckon that if you want something enough, you would push aside all fears and obstacles to do it. I went knowing that it was a very safe place with virtually no crime (nor many people). I'm not sure if I'd dare to travel around Europe alone though, where there are many not-so-safe places. It's not worth the fear and risk.
When I was back in Singapore this time round, I met my (ex)mentor of my previous job. He is a very knowledgeble and optimistic man. He told me that we should try to move every few years, to experience new things and not stay stagnant in life. Pulling yourself out of your comfort zone to experience the unknown and different things takes courage, but I think it's essential to stimulate your senses and explore yourself.
I was reading Elizabeth Gilbert's book - 'Eat, Pray, Love' on this journey. This book is very much about the spiritual journey of a woman in search of herself. The boyfriend bought this book as a birthday present for me (because I chose it), and it is the perfect companion for this trip. When you are alone on such a journey, you seem to think of things which you wouldn't think of when you're going through life's routine. I thought of so much, I think I found myself and what is important to me.
I am blessed.
Like the book which Jo gave me for Christmas, I am 'conjoyed'. In 'The Geography of Bliss' by Eric Weiner, he said that there is no english word to describe this kind of happiness. It is the combination of 'contented' and 'joyful'.
I am conjoyed! Very conjoyed.
Thank you, for giving me this and everything.
We had lunch after that and it was time to go. We went back by snow mobile this time round. I've no idea what's so exciting about snow mobile. It's just like a sturdy motorcycle which goes on snow. We drove really slowly for safety reasons since we had a load behind, but you could easily go more than 100km/hr on it. I didn't like it, because it was noisy and smelly - you could smell the diesel smell all the time. The scenery was beautiful when we drove back, as the sun was setting.
That marked the end of my first solo trip. We went back to change out of our snow boots and snow pants before going to the supermarket. The tour guide sent me to the train station where I waited for my train and another 22 hour train ride back 'home'.
I must be alittle crazy to go all the way there alone right after a 11 hour flight. I'm not sure what made me do it, but I reckon that if you want something enough, you would push aside all fears and obstacles to do it. I went knowing that it was a very safe place with virtually no crime (nor many people). I'm not sure if I'd dare to travel around Europe alone though, where there are many not-so-safe places. It's not worth the fear and risk.
When I was back in Singapore this time round, I met my (ex)mentor of my previous job. He is a very knowledgeble and optimistic man. He told me that we should try to move every few years, to experience new things and not stay stagnant in life. Pulling yourself out of your comfort zone to experience the unknown and different things takes courage, but I think it's essential to stimulate your senses and explore yourself.
I was reading Elizabeth Gilbert's book - 'Eat, Pray, Love' on this journey. This book is very much about the spiritual journey of a woman in search of herself. The boyfriend bought this book as a birthday present for me (because I chose it), and it is the perfect companion for this trip. When you are alone on such a journey, you seem to think of things which you wouldn't think of when you're going through life's routine. I thought of so much, I think I found myself and what is important to me.
I am blessed.
Like the book which Jo gave me for Christmas, I am 'conjoyed'. In 'The Geography of Bliss' by Eric Weiner, he said that there is no english word to describe this kind of happiness. It is the combination of 'contented' and 'joyful'.
I am conjoyed! Very conjoyed.
Thank you, for giving me this and everything.
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