Førstesekretæren ved thaiambassaden i Oslo forteller her i en kronikk om hvordan han fikk sansen for nordlyset. Det hele startet på sosiale medier i Thailand – da en populær flyvertinne la ut et falsk nordlysbilde.
Førstesekretær Supachoke Yensuang (37) tilhører en ny generasjon diplomater. Han er venner med mange thaier i Norge på Facebook, og følger med på hva de gjør – ikke for å spionere, påpeker han, men får å bedre kunne ta seg av dem når de trenger assistanse.
Det var via Facebook han ble kjent med Noi, som formidler nordlysturer til Tromsø. Dermed gikk en av Mr. Supachokes drømmer i oppfyllelse. Les de morsomme betraktningene til den nyankomne thailandske diplomaten her. Han skriver på engelsk, så vi har beholdt originalspråket:
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My Northern Light Dream Comes True
Back in December 2016, I was working in what you Norwegians would call Åsgard—the world famous island province Phuket! I really enjoyed the assignments there, but I knew that in 2017 I might have to move to some country in the Western World. In hindsight, there was a sign that I was destined to come to Norway. That sign was the Northern Light. Here is the story.
In December 2016, there was hilarious news story in Thailand about a famous air hostess who got caught photoshopping herself to boost online followers. One of her most famous photos was with the Northern Light.
Air hostess' fake photo with Northern Lights created much buzz in Thailand last year.
It was kind of trendy on Facebook at the time to photoshop oneself travelling around the world, especially with the Northern Light as background. Hence, I also came up with my own photoshopped version of my experience with the Northern Light, and it was popular among my Facebook friends due to my superb Photoshop skills.
I think that my photo is cursed. It might have made Odin cry. Hence, for some superstitious reasons, I was sent to work in Norway in June 2017. I still had no idea why I was sent here. Then, I thought of the photo and realized that I had one unfinished business. I was sent to Norway with a purpose and one purpose only, to take a picture of me and the real Northern Light!
Mr. Supachoke's own fake photo.
I have made friends with a lot of Thai people as part of my assignment in Norway. I have become Facebook friends with many of them. It is not that I want to spy on Thai people’s Facebook, but as part of my job to take care of them, I look in my newsfeed at what they post, to see how my fellow Thai citizens in Norway are doing.
It is amazing what the newsfeed on Facebook tells me. For example, in the summer and fall, Thai people here liked to go picking wild mushroom. In October, I started to spot a new trend. It was the photo of green Northern Light. I saw many Thais posted these photos, so I knew that the time had come to fulfill my destiny.
I started by sending a message to Khun Noi, a Thai lady in Tromsø who organizes Northern Light hunting trips. I asked her which days I should go. She sent me the Northern Light calendar, which indicated which days the intensity of the light is high. It was on October 18–19 that I should go to Tromsø.
So I took a vacation on October 18–20 to fly to Tromsø. The Northern Light forecast is not the only thing you have to look for, by the way. The weather forecast is equally important. I totally forgot to check that, so on October 18 it rained all day and night. It was a disappointing day.
However, I was lucky that on October 19, it only rained during the day, and the sky was clear at night. Therefore, I was able to see the Northern Light from downtown Tromsø. It wasn’t what I expected though, because it was white! It didn’t look green as in the photos I saw. However, when I took the photo of the light, it turned out to be green. I guess human eyes cannot separate different colors. Professional camera and tripod are something you really need for this trip.
Mr. Supachoke experiencing the Northern Lights in Tromsø. (Photo: DK Thum Zen).
We went from downtown Tromsø to the open area close to the airport to take photos with the Northern Light. Afterwards, we went out to some place totally dark and surrounded by mountains with snow. It was very cold, but this was where I could see many amazing Northern Light shapes and colors.
I was told that there are nine levels of light intensity. That night it was around the second or third highest level. I could capture the light with not just the green, but also the red and blue colors, which are quite rare. I was fortunate enough to see the Northern Light dancing like a curtain moved by a strong wind all over the sky. It was avery surreal experience for me.
I feel fulfilled and my mission here is completed. On my way back on the plane from Tromsø to Oslo, all I could think of is that these amazing photos would make Odin proud!
Supachoke Yensuang
(Thailands Tidende 15. desember 2017)
