When asked if she would recommend the experience to others, she says yes, but with some caution. It’s not for the fainthearted. You really need to have to have that spirit of adventure otherwise it could get uncomfortable and monotonous pretty quickly. She adds emphatically, “It’s very expensive, and it takes a lot out of you to do it. And if you do have the will, then you must do it, and soon, because I don’t think these expeditions will go on forever. The Antarctic perhaps 30-40 years, but the Arctic, especially Greenland could disappear much sooner.”
For intrepid travellers looking to see these places, Radhika offers helpful pointers. Do your reading, but also pay careful attention to the guides, who give you invaluable guidance on the local flora and fauna and key briefings on safety and what to expect each day. A laundry list of things to see may not be the best idea, she feels. “These kinds of expeditions are very fluid” she explains, entirely contingent on the vagaries of nature, so you don’t know what you may see or miss along the way. “The idea is to embrace where you are in the moment and adapt to what nature throws at you.” She also recommends travelling with someone you know, mainly because the experience is so much better when shared in that moment, never being the same by the time you come back home.
Overall, Radhika describes her polar adventures as “a divine experience”, where she encountered nature undiluted. “It’s the closest you come to God” she says, speaking of the beauty of communing with nature undisturbed and in its most pristine form being akin to a spiritual transformation, “You have to be blessed to be able to do this,” she adds.
Just travel she reminds us all, whether it be near or far, “It teaches you so much and you come back with a little piece of each place you’ve visited. And you’re always better for it.”
Besides travelling to some of the world’s most inhospitable places, Radhika still keeps her hospitality roots alive in the form of award-winning cafe she runs in Coonoor, South India. Her next plan is to visit the Galapagos Islands for two weeks.
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