bucketlist
Visiting Ny-Ålesund, the northernmost settlement in the world
Kia reckons with a palpable sense of desolation while visiting Ny-Ålesund, the literal edge of civilisation There are places and moments in my life which have felt far removed from civilisation: the Danakil Depression in Ethiopia, the Atacama Desert in Chile, Lac Abbé in Djibouti, Paradise Bay in Antarctica, and 81°17’5’’N in the High Arctic. These places have one thing in common. They are untamed and uninhabited. They have felt wild because they are wild. They can be dangerous, even fatal, in the wrong conditions. It’s fair to say that these are frontier places – but none have felt so strikingly bleak as Ny-Ålesund on the island of Spitsbergen in Svalbard, Norway. Here, it’s not the wildness that strikes you but the opposite: the tiny huddle of buildings that dare at civilisat...
Svalbard packing list: how to prepare for the last stop before the North Pole
A curated Svalbard packing list with links to specific products that have been tried and tested by Atlas & Boots I was feeling if not cocky then certainly complacent. I had been to the Arctic once or twice and had returned from Antarctica just a few months earlier. Svalbard in comparison would be a cinch I was sure. The route map, however, gave me pause. Svalbard is known as ‘the last stop before the North Pole’ and it’s not just a marketing gimmick. It is really bloody north. To put it into context, our trip to Antarctica reached 66°33′ south of the equator. Our trip to Svalbard, however, would travel to 81°17′ north, far further than we’d travelled before. In fact, we would go within 500 miles (800km) of the North Pole – just over half the length of Britain. [embedded con...
Polar Plunge Q&A: everything you need to know
The Polar Plunge is a fearsome rite of passage for visitors to Antarctica and the Arctic. Here, we share what you need to know so you can leap with ease I still remember the moment I learnt about the Polar Plunge. I was at home in London on a typically gloomy day in the mid 2010s. I was wasting time online when I came across an article about Antarctica. Sadly, I can’t remember the writer’s name, but the photo of her was joyous: midway through the Polar Plunge, her body drawn into a starfish shape, a jubilant smile on her face. It was so pure and fun, and completely unselfconscious in a way that women are taught not to be. I decided that one day I too would take the Plunge. Fast forward seven years and I’ve done it in both Antarctica and the Arctic. To help you decide whether or not t...
10 most visited countries in the world
We profile some usual suspects plus one or two surprises in the top 10 most visited countries in the world Have you dreamed of a romantic kiss atop the Eiffel Tower? Perhaps you’ve thrown a wish into the Trevi Fountain or stopped and stared at the Sistine Chapel. If so, you’re certainly not alone. According to the last available pre-pandemic figures, France and Italy are two of the most visited countries in the world. Together with the rest of the top 10, they make up a whopping 41% of global tourist arrivals (i.e. overnight visitors). Here’s the complete list of the most visited countries in the world. 10 most visited countries in the world The below figures come from the 2020 edition of the UNWTO’s International Tourism Highlights report. 1. France &nbs...
Non-technical mountain climbs: 13 trekking peaks
There are no ‘death zones’ on these non-technical mountain climbs but they offer plenty of challenges for mere mortals like me As a climber, I have completed several indoor climbing and winter mountaineering courses but my technical climbing skills still leave a lot to be desired. I have mastered basic rope, ice axe and crampon skills but don’t practise them as often as I’d like. All too often I only find time for some wilderness backpacking in Europe or low-altitude scrambling in the UK. Regardless, I still have high hopes of climbing the seven summits (three down, four to go). I’m aware that I’ll never be a Reinhold Messner or Chris Bonington (I’ll settle for reading their books instead) but I still long to pitch myself against tall mountains with imposing names....
Arctic or Antarctic: how to pick your polar adventure
Can’t decide between the Arctic or Antarctic for your polar adventure? Our guide will help you choose between 66° north or south The North and South Poles were only “conquered” in relatively recent history. The South Pole was first attained in 1911 by the Norwegian Roald Amundsen after his epic race with the ill-fated Robert Falcon Scott. The conquest of the North Pole is a little murkier thanks to its location in the middle of the Arctic Ocean among waters that are almost always covered with shifting sea ice. It’s possible that Frederick Cook was the first to reach the North Pole in 1908 or perhaps it was Robert Peary in 1911 or maybe Richard E. Byrd who was the first to fly over it in 1926… But it wasn’t until Roald Amundsen’s definitive flight over the Pole...
Is Antarctica worth it? – and all your other questions answered
Our expedition to the great white continent inspired a host of questions, most commonly: is Antarctica worth it? We share our answers below The cynic, it is said, knows the price of everything and the value of nothing. It doesn’t make you a cynic, however, to question the value of a trip to Antarctica given the hefty price tag. Ranging from seven to twenty thousand dollars per person, it’s a once in a lifetime expense, so it’s perfectly natural to ask: is Antarctica worth it? This is the question readers asked most frequently about our trip to the seventh continent. Value, of course, is subjective. Some people value an expensive wedding while others prefer to spend on the honeymoon. Some value a three-carat diamond while others prefer fine dining. Of course, we at Atlas & Boots value t...
In photos: 22 reasons to visit Antarctica
From island-sized icebergs to close encounters with humpback whales, we share some of the myriad reasons to visit Antarctica Antarctica was the final frontier for us. It was the only continent we hadn’t visited – our seventh – and a twice-postponed adventure that we had been planning for over two years. We finally boarded our Albatros Expeditions ship in early January and sailed out of Ushuaia to cross the notorious Drake Passage. Three days later, we crossed 66°33′48.9″ south of the Equator – the Antarctic Circle – before making landfall on the continent the following morning. Finally, we’d made it. Albatros Expeditions A map of our voyage 21 reasons to visit Antarctica For us, visiting Antarctica was a watershed moment. It was everything we had hoped it could be: wild, isolated, beautifu...
Antarctica: why my seventh continent was more than just an ego trip
Kia explains why a voyage to Antarctica finally gave her a sense of peace I am one of six sisters, which has always earned me a certain cachet; a sort of second-hand, useless celebrity like that of air hostesses and identical twins. The last time I mentioned “all my sisters” in public, a stranger cut in to ask how many. People are often keen to know if we all get along, how often we see each other and what it was like growing up. I tell them it was happy and messy and loud. The truth is that it was for a while, but as soon as we entered our teens, we found ourselves shunted to a different orbit: home, school, library. My sisters and I were no longer allowed to roam freely, thanks to our parents’ conservative views on what young Asian women should and should not be. We each adju...
Best travel books 2022: our top 10 picks
From a grumpy hiker’s outing in the mountains to the isolated shores of North Sentinel Island, we list the best travel books 2022 Travel memoirs are tricky beasts. In theory, 400 pages about someone else’s trip isn’t exactly appealing – like a protracted version of Jenny from Accounting’s week-long trip to Tuscany. In reality, travel memoirs can be entertaining, illuminating, funny and heartbreaking. Our best travel books 2022 include one man’s look at slavery and racism in the oldest city on the Mississippi River; a mother’s attempt to escape poverty by tracing whales to Alaska; and a historian’s portrait of the most isolated tribe in the world. These books not only reveal new and strange places, they expose curiosities closer to home. Most importantly, they encourage us all t...
10 most (seemingly) dangerous things we’ve done
Seven years after we quit our jobs to travel around the world, we revisit some of the riskiest things we’ve done on the road Peter and I have a long-running joke that I have fallen off my bike in the most beautiful places in the world – among them Bora Bora in French Polynesia and Isabela in the Galápagos. I only learnt to ride at the age of 28 and my lack of experience has led to numerous falls. What’s interesting is that no one ever calls me ‘brave’ or ‘daring’ for riding a bicycle or indeed a horse even though statistically (and in personal experience), these activities are some of the most dangerous I’ve done. Instead, it’s things like skydiving and bungy jumping that impress others most. Below, I share 10 seemingly dangerous things we’ve done – some of which posed a real risk, b...
Unknown treks in Asia: 10 offbeat trails
From remote corners of Bhutan to the lofty heights of Nepal, we profile some of the best unknown treks in Asia When it comes to exploration, ‘too late for the seas, too soon for the stars’ may best describe our current times. Legendary explorers like Drake and Magellan charted the seas long ago while Scott, Shackleton, Amundsen and their like did the same for remote lands. There’s a sense that our planet has been entirely measured and mapped; tamed, some might say. Even Everest – one of the most inhospitable places on Earth – has queues on its slopes. This is why I was thrilled last year to join a trek to K2 base camp including a crossing of Gondogoro La pass. In comparison to my earlier trip to Everest base camp, K2 felt far more remote. It left me craving for a taste of...
