Tuesday, April 7, 2015

Crave for Outdoor Excitements (YH #4)

                                                                                            Attribution: Yusuf Hashim
Image: The Aurora Borealis - posted by
Yusuf Hashim on March 30, 2015 (here) 

This is Modern Day Explorer #4
Modern Day Explorer #3 (here)

Yusuf Hashim says:

When most of us go to places like Iceland, foremost in our minds is to experience the Aurora Borealis or the Northern lights, These last three nights, Miss Aurora has been especially hyperactive, stimulated perhaps by the presence of about a dozen red blooded Malaysians, and one Singaporean,warming the cold -4 degrees Celsius Icelandic nights. Its not only been cold but its been snowing rather heavily the last 36 hours, making everything, including the roads and the glaciers in this island of Fire and Ice, completely white.

For the scientifically inclined, Aurora occur when highly charged electrons from the solar wind interact with elements in the earth's atmosphere. Solar winds stream away from the sun at speeds of about 1 million miles per hour. When they reach the earth, some 40 hours after leaving the sun, they follow the lines of magnetic force generated by the earth's core and flow through the magnetosphere, a teardrop-shaped area of highly charged electrical and magnetic fields.

As the electrons enter the earth's upper atmosphere, they will encounter atoms of oxygen and nitrogen at altitudes from 20 to 200 miles above the earth's surface. The colour of the aurora depends on which atom is struck, and the altitude of the meeting. The colour is green when they hit oxygen molecules up to 150 miles in altitude. It is red when they hit oxygen, above 150 miles. When Nitrogen is struck at altitudes below 60 miles, the colour is blue. Abov 60 miles its's purple or violet.

For the more romantically inclined like me, Aurora is simply the Roman goddess of dawn, In the Northern hemisphere its called Aurora Borealis. In the southern hemisphere, they are called Aurora Australis   More of Yusuf Hashim (here)

F for Faraway Places

Hank’s buddy, Yusuf Hashim is still proudly holding the flag up high. A modern day explorer he holds dear the feelings of freedom of choice and is happily gallivanting across the globe. The last we hear he is in Iceland leading a group of 13 photo enthusiasts all over the icy landscape. An accomplished photographer Yusuf relayed beautiful pictures to accompany the account of his travels. Yusuf has already documented these rare pictures in several books and these are available online. Yusuf is one fine guy who has pushed the spirit of adventure several notches higher from levels of our student days at the Royal Military College (here) decades ago!

Faraway places
Beckon to rekindle the
spirit of travels

Endurance called for
off-road encroachments which are
the more exciting

The tough and tumble
are for ‘tourists’ who crave for
outdoor excitements

For Blogging from A to Z - F and
Kerry's hosting of Tuesday Platform at
Real Toads

25 comments:

  1. This was blogging at it's best Hank. I enjoyed the read very much. Well done.

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  2. Standing under the Aurora may overwhelming for a mere tourist, Hank. I love this entire posting.

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  3. That would be amazing to see. Although rough conditions you have to endure to get a glimpse.
    Ever been traveling with him, Hank?

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    1. No, Alex not just yet. Perhaps later. In fact Yusuf opens participation to any one who desires to go along. They can be total strangers to start with but later after the journey they became good friends. The current group comprises a dozen Singaporeans.He takes small numbers of of say 4 units of 4x4 apparently!

      Hank

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  4. The best sights and experiences are often found off-road and one does require a certain amount of fitness to go for it. When one looks at these pics, it makes one want to travel and see it for oneself. I loved this poem because I agree with what it's saying, directly and well said. Thanks for sharing the photo, Yusuf's post and the poem.

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  5. He must have seen a lot as he travels the globe.

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  6. Good post, great photo. Good luck with the A-Z.

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  7. Interesting info, amazing picture and I admire that kind of adventurousness and fortitude.

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  8. Oh, this makes me want to travel somewhere I've never been before!

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  9. I so enjoyed reading this, Hank, armchair traveler that I am. I lived up north one winter and remember one evening when the sky was the most amazing green. Did not get to see the aurora though.

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  10. Far away places have a charm of their own.

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  11. I often long for faraway places myself, Hank. A good choice for 'F'.

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  12. Thanks for the info you shared. Definitely a world away.

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  13. a nice little poem F; in your conversations reveled, your use of the word 'gallivanting'
    stopped me in my tracks for i alway used it and heard is as local jargon never stopping to look it up; nice to meet it in an international stage

    have a creative month

    much love...

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  14. The poem, the back story, and your links, all made me nostalgic for my own little bits of gallivanting, long ago. :)

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  15. Oh my gosh I love that picture! I've always wanted to see the Northern Lights in person! New Follower!!

    morgankatz505.blogspot.com

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  16. Faraway places often call my spirit..I have always wanted to see those northern lights. This was an interesting post, Your buddy has a free spirit.

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  17. Oh, I love the picture and all that you shared! I remember seeing them in Alaska-amazing to witness this magic~

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  18. One day, I hope to see the aurora borealis. The photo has me thinking of ice pops melting in the sky.
    The View from the Top of the Ladder

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  19. Hi Hank - good to meet you .. and I'd love to do some more trips and especially see the aurora borealis - one day! Yusuf sounds like a great traveller ... and a good friend .. I hope you spend some time with him in some delightful new part of the world. Cheers Hilary

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  20. Great stuff, keep up the magic!
    Jeremy [Retro]
    AtoZ Challenge Co-Host [2015]

    There's no earthly way of knowing.
    Which direction we are going!

    HOLLYWOOD NUTS!
    Come Visit: You know you want to know if me or Hollywood... is Nuts?

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  21. The sight of Aurora Borealis is what I would crave for more. Lovely, Hank!

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  22. I have seen the aurora borealis a couple of times, but neither occasion was very spectacular not like the one above.

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