[top photo: An ice kota, or teepee, found in a sports compelx in Oulu, north Finland. Sip coffee in the shade while laughing children play around in the snow.]

By Debbie Yong

Someone from my travel group exclaims: "It's minus 20 degrees outside and they still want me to get naked."

It is a chilly late February night in Lapland, Finland's northernmost region. We are inside Jussan Pirtti, a cosy loghouse restaurant by a lake in Yllasjarvi, a small village in Yllas, West Lapland.

Ms Johanna Koivumaa, who manages the loghouse and runs travel company Yllas Adventures, announces that it is time for sauna, or steam bathing, and its highlight: a skinny dip in a frozen lake.

Sauna (pronounced sao-nah) is a centuries-old tradition originated by the Finns.

"We Finnish people like to go naked, but there are towels and slippers if you like. Maybe you need to run if you are not used to it," she says with a cheeky grin, pointing at a small red hut about 20m away across a plain of snow.
Sauna is traditionally done before dinner but this is a smoke sauna, not the compact electric one found in Finnish homes that takes just minutes to heat. It takes about six hours to fire up the coals to the ideal temperature.

It costs €180 (S$353) per person to use the smoke sauna and €12 to use the electric one in Jussan Pirtti.

The fastest way to cool down is to run out of the sauna to make 'snow angels' - lie in the snow on the ground and flap your hands to make wing-like patterns.

Next comes a heated outdoor hot tub: It is a holding place where you ready yourself, helped by several bottles of beer or cider, to make a quick jump into the pool, a man-made hole in the frozen lake.

After briefly thinking about dying from hypothermia, I crouch on the lowest rung of a ladder that extends into the lake, with the water coming up to my chin. The dip lasts about 10 seconds and it feels like someone is pressing many glasses of ice water on my skin. Amid the teeth-chattering, I do not think about much else.

You may not be able to feel your legs for a while after emerging from the sub-zero water.

The sauna and cooling options should ideally be alternated regularly and preferably done sans clothes, though most of us took the swimsuit option.

This far north of the world, snow falls as early as October and does not melt till May. March and April are the best months to visit as temperatures are not as harsh as in January.

Most of the activities in Yllas are scattered around the two sleepy villages of Akaslompolo and Yllasjarvi.

For ski enthusiasts, the Spa Hotel Yllas Saaga is a good sleep option. Room rates range from €75 to €180 a night, depending on the season.

Another attraction in Lapland is husky sleigh riding. Travel company Snowfunsafaris in Akaslompolo organises visits via snowmobile to Yllas Husky farm, which has 100 Alaskan and Siberian huskies.

A husky sleigh being steered by dogs. Husky sleigh riding is a tourist attraction in Lapland, located in the northermost region of Finland.

A 21/2-hour programme, including a 10km ride ride on a sleigh led by five to 10 huskies, costs about €109 per person.

Safaris, or extensive trips covering greater distances with overnight sleeps in wilderness huts, can also be arranged. Prices start at €550 for a two-day 170km drive.

Similarly, do not miss out on a reindeer sleigh ride. Though much less elegant-looking than they appear on Christmas cards, these creatures run rather fast.

At Sami's Reindeer Farm in Venejarvi, roughly a 20-minute drive from Yllas, a 5km trail through icy forests costs €30 per adult and €15 per child.

Of course, no trip to Lapland would be complete without a mention of the aurora borealis, or the Northern Lights.

In search of this mystical natural phenomenon of dancing lights in the sky, I head to Saariselka, another village 30km east of Yllas, for a night's stay at Hotel Kakslauttanen.

The hotel is famed for being the first to construct glass igloo rooms in 1999.

Owner Jussi Eiramo created the igloos to give people a warm place where they can lie down and watch the swirl of green and blue waves across the clear night sky.

The igloo rooms (€166 per night per person) have tiled floors and each comes with a toilet and sink but no shower. Common showers and sauna are a 10-minute walk away.

Besides the igloos, the hotel also has six ice rooms where you can spend the night sleeping in warm reindeer fur-covered sleeping bags for €184 a night.

The Northern Lights can be spotted from September to April. Though I arrive in March to stay in an igloo, it is a gloomy, cloud-covered day and I do not see the lights. What I see instead are falling snowflakes which form a delicate pattern on the igloo just above our heads.

Each of the 20 glass igloo sleeps two people and costs 332 euro per room per night. Snuggle under the blanket in the heated room and watch the dancing northern lights above leave green and blue trails across the sky.

En route to Helsinki, the capital of Finland, a 12-hour drive south from Yllas, stop by the city of Rovaniemi to visit Finland's most famous export - Santa Claus.

Not only does he really exist, he can be found at two locations within 10 minutes of each other.

Santapark is closed when I visit, but I hear that the cavernous theme park is packed with jolly tots at Christmas time. It costs €10 per person to enter, while a family ticket at €30 admits two adults and two children.

Santa Village is a collection of shops where you can buy touristy souvenirs of the plump white-bearded man in all forms, from chocolates to clothes for dogs.

The village also houses Santa Claus' Post Office, where about 700,000 letters addressed to Santa arrive each year from more than 150 countries.

Visiting Santa in his office in Santa Village is free, but cameras are not allowed inside. They want you to buy an A4-sized cardboard-framed instant photo of you sitting next to him for €25.

Santa has been doing so much giving, I guess it is time he took something in return.

debyong@sph.com.sg

This article was first published in The Straits Times.