The smaller the plane, the bigger the adventure.

Around the World with the Most Travelled Indian

By Nitin Gairola

The advantage of visiting every country (not far away from the finish line) is that I can almost visualise what is going on there when a major geopolitical headline captures the eyeballs of the people of the world. I also have connections in almost every country I visit, so I can reach out to known people as well, which helps in understanding the on-ground reality better since what is being portrayed in media may not always be fully true.

First look at the Arctic ice was like the first love – impossible to forget

When such geopolitical events take place, I also enjoy the odd social media meme as they can be rather amusing, what with the AI generated image of Donald Trump walking away into the unknown with a little lone nihilist penguin. Naturally, most would have realized that penguins populate the other pole of the planet. So, one may say that they are poles apart from the polar bears, who are the real inhabitants of the Arctic. The really funny part is that this meme originated from the White House, which tells you all that there is about how much our world leaders understand the world that they are supposed to lead.

The Ice world approaches
Crazy long walk from the Ilulissat airport to the hostel

In any case, we were in Copenhagen, Denmark, and while we were visiting their usual sites such as the palaces and gardens, it was at Tivoli Gardens that I truly realised how distracted I was. Next morning, we were to fly to Greenland for the adventure of a lifetime. We would be going beyond 80 degrees north, onto the ice cap of the polar Arctic. I just couldn’t concentrate on Copenhagen and even the soft afternoon sunshine didn’t help. Copenhagen itself decided to throw a curve ball at the last minute. You will not believe that after looking at the ridiculously overpriced hotels in this Scandinavian city, I decided to book a tent. Like literally a tent in the city and this was to be a first for us too. But don’t blame me since I assumed it to be a nice big tent (as you may get at a lodge in Kenya or South Africa) with all amenities including a proper bed, quilt, a toilet – basically everything except the kitchen sink.

Big red craft from Copenhagen to Kangerlussuaq
At the Ilulissat hostel

But as it turned out, the good owner of the tent actually handed us a tent, and that’s it. Basically, he held his room in his hands, which was essentially a piece of cloth with a few poles. And there we were, with our home for the night handed over outside a metro station. I didn’t know what to say to this person who looked at us with a strange smile. He was trying to understand what part of this whole interaction and transaction we couldn’t understand. I had a good laugh after a while, and he sort of figured out the reason for my bewilderment. I had to tell him that we would head to the airport instead and sleep there. Poor chap took his tent back and there we were, off to the airport at around 8 p.m. for a morning 10 or 11 a.m. flight.

The most scenic graveyard in the world
Copenhagen airport was our hotel for 1 night

So, the airport was our hotel that night and Scandinavia being Scandinavian, anyone could enter the airport without security (via an automatic door). So, after finding two benches to sleep on, we had to make sure we held onto our rucksacks, lest someone takes them away when we are far away in la-la land. This naturally meant sleeping with the boots on, and here I mean a massive heavy pair of Salomon Gore-Tex shoes, which were meant for the ice (with crampons of course that we were to get in Greenland). While we could figure out the passenger movement around us, we took turns and got more than enough shut eye that night and woke up fresh. It was pure magic for me the next morning to see the airport’s flight information display and see Kangerlussuaq being flashed on it. Such a delight to read a strange and unpronounceable name such as this. It signalled we were going to a place less heard of. Best part, this was to be our most normal town in Greenland and it would even have a super-mart next to the airport. After Kangerlussuaq, where we arrived in a normal sized plane, the next aircraft was to be an 8-seater turbo propeller one, post which we would take two boat rides before starting our trek up onto the ice cap itself.

Two musk ox on the Arctic tundra

This was my ‘Walter Mitty’ moment. And for reference do watch the Hollywood cult classic called ‘The Secret Life of Walter Mitty’ where a corporate employee (Walter Mitty naturally) visits Greenland, Iceland and Afghanistan and these three happen to be amongst my favourite adventures too. Boarding the bright red Air Greenland flight was a thrill to say the least and there we were on our way up north. My first sighting of icebergs and then pack-ice from the window of the plane is a memory I still haven’t forgotten. And then we landed in Kangerlussuaq which was less ice and more tundra on the ground since it is in the southern coast. Our next 8-seater flight to our main destination, Ilulissat, was delayed so we took the time to get out into an Arctic truck and were taken on a mini tour. It just so happened that we spotted the rare Arctic Musk Ox, from a distance, and got the general lay of the land.

World War-II relics at Kangerlussuaq – A former US base

After that it was time to board the little plane. It was strange since when the boarding call came, we just picked up our bags, opened the airport building door, walked towards the plane, took 2 steps and were inside the little craft (no ladders please). And best part was that there was free seating so we were spoilt for choice. And then suddenly after us came one pilot and one cabin crew. The pilot went into the cockpit, the cabin crew shut the door and within seconds the blades started rotating and we began to taxi and were on our way to the iceberg capital of the world, Ilulissat. Some of the most dramatic iceberg scenery came into view as we made our approach. Upon landing we realised the cab fare to the town was quite high, so we decided to just walk 6 kilometres to our hostel since there was only one road leading to it. No need for any Google Maps – we had to just walk away from the airport. This has to be the only time when we have ‘walked’ home from any airport.

Entering the white Greenland

We had arrived, in Greenland and as travellers. The biggest adventure lay ahead. I just hope the deceptively named Greenland doesn’t become Trumpland. If he were ever to grab it from the Danes, then I can just imagine republican penguins slipping and sliding on the Arctic ICE.

Nitin Gairola is from Dehradun and has travelled the natural world more than almost any Indian ever. He has set world travel records certified by India Book of Records, has written for Lonely Planet, and holds National Geographic conservation certifications. He is also a senior corporate executive in an MNC and in his early days, used to be a published poet as well. More than anything else, he loves his Himalayan home.