Svalbard is like a different planet

Approaching Svalbard

If Earthlings ever inhabit another planet I would imagine it to resemble Svalbard. Remote, cold, barren, with hardly any vegetation, a tiny settlement with barracks for sleeping and communal buildings for eating, exercising, working and going to school. There would be perpetual sunlight (ok, I admit, there might be perpetual darkness during winter but let's not spoil the stereotype). There might be wild beasts to fear (any resemblance to polar bears is purely coincidental). On the same planet there could be an earlier settlement set up by the Soviets (quite possible, no?). Local natural resources would be used as a power source (coal mining, perhaps?). Private individuals could not settle on this planet unless they were employed by one of the companies that has interests on the planet and that is involved in tourism, coal mining or research.

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Svalbard was so different from anything I have ever seen. The flight attendants warned us while we were still undoing our seatbelts that we should proceed to the airport building immediately after disembarking. I thought it weird that they would say that, after all, what else were we supposed to do?

Taking photos immediately after disembarking

I knew immediately what I was going to do as I stepped out of the aircraft. Considering how often I get to land on another planet I was going to take photographs, obviously! It's what everyone else was doing as well.

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We only spent two full days on Svalbard which in hindsight was a mistake. I could have stayed longer. But when we planned our vacation, I was worried that it would be too cold and of course we knew it would be expensive so we thought it best to limit our time there. As it turned out, we had two beautiful sunny days, which according to our guides were unusually warm. We had pre-booked activities for each of the two days to ensure we had something to do. Now I have the urge to go back to spend at least one day there without activities, to stroll around town, check out the grocery store (do they sell vegetables?), visit the coffee shop and a restaurant that is not attached to our guesthouse.

Rest stop while hiking

Our first day was an adventure packed day that included kayaking across the fjord, hiking up a hill and doing the same on our way back. It was an unusually warm day which meant that we sweated more than expected and consequently would have needed more water than we took along. Everyone was dehydrated when we finally made it back.

But it was all worth it. The views from the summit were magnificent and we saw reindeer up close on our way. The guides told us that reindeer are completely unafraid because they have no natural enemies on Svalbard. Even polar bears prefer seal to reindeer.

Reindeer

Speaking of polar bears, we didn’t see any which according to our guides was lucky. The guides carried guns just in case, because occasionally they do encounter a polar bear.

On the second day we booked a boat trip to Pyramiden, a ghost town that was once a bustling state-run Soviet coal mining settlement. After the disintegration of the Soviet Union, coal mining was not economically profitable any longer and in 1998 the inhabitants of the settlement were sent back to where they came from. Everything still remains there, the buildings, furnishings, schoolchildren’s artwork, posters advertising local events and so on. One of the buildings has been resurrected as a hotel where it is now possible to overnight.

Main street in Pyramiden

The population of Svalbard consists of mostly Norwegian and Russian nationals, followed by Thai.

Wait, Thai?

Yes, we saw many Thai people working as kitchen and hotel staff and as help on the tourist boat. I was reminded of the time when I was traveling in Thailand and local women asked me about getting a job in Europe. I guess Svalbard is one of those places where they come to earn money. I wonder how much they researched their destination before they decided to accept the job and if they had in mind such a cold and remote place. It therefore came as no surprise that for lunch on the tourist boat we were served grilled salmon and whale steaks, accompanied by sticky rice prepared by the Thai staff.

Lunch: grilled salmon and whale steak with sticky rice

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So, Svalbard, will I ever be back? I definitely want to, although I’m not sure whether the weather was uncharacteristically warm during this summer of a heat wave across Europe and I might not have liked it as much in harsher conditions. I’m glad that I visited now because in future I expect the tourism industry to grow and it might become another of those places crowded with busloads (or cruise shiploads) of tourists with selfie-sticks everywhere.