From Geneva to Tokyo

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Leaving Geneva I witnessed some stunning views of the nearby snow clad Jura mountains as we began our one and a quarter hour flight to London Heathrow's new Terminal 5. Then, after a short stay, I took the twelve hour flight to Tokyo.

As we flew past the north pole, the British Airways flight attendants pointed out to us the Northern Lights which we could see from the left of the plane. This light or ‘aurora borealis’ (named after the Roman goddess of dawn, Aurora and the Greek name for north wind Boreas) is a natural light displayed in the sky which is normally observed in polar zones. While the colour can be green or red, tonight the light was white in the form of a large arc. The Cree (or indigenous people in the far north) call this the Dance of the Spirits.

Now, in Tokyo, I am uploading this part of my blog at the airport internet cafe, while I wait for the bus to take me to my hotel. Both planes on which I travelled her were less than half full, probably because the tourist season in Europe is at an end, prior to winter's arrival.

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