By LAWRENCE TAN
If sleeping on chunks of ice in a suite
that incidentally is also carved out of ice does not quite cut it for you, how
about lumping in a trip to outer space as part of your stay?
Sweden’s famously transient Ice Hotel has
just been named by Virgin Galactic as one of the five “Accredited Space Agents”
(ASAs) to offer space tourism, if everything goes according to plan 2012.
The latter is of course the brainchild of
flamboyant businessman and entrepreneur Richard Branson. The company, which
announced the launch of WhiteKinghtTwo last July, will be the spacecraft
provider while Spaceport Sweden will provide the infrastructure, services and
adventures for space tourism.
Staff from Ice Hotel will undergo training
under Virgin Galactic to equip themselves in general spaceflight technology,
g-forces, medical issues and the Virgin Galactic experience. Flights are
scheduled to depart from the LFV-Kiruna airport in northern Sweden, with
tickets for the first trips starting at US$200,000.
Now all that’s left for you to decide:
uncovering the myths of winter season’s aurora borealis or taking off for the
midnight sun of Swedish summer? Tough choice.
Image of Ice Hotel courtesy of Big Ben Productions ©ICEHOTEL
Ice Hotel Travel, Jukkasjärvi