The Daily Telegraph - Saturday - Travel
Travelling life
Chris Hadfield Canadian astronaut
How often do you travel?
I travel extensively, so I am on a plane about four days a week on average. Last year, I was on another book tour in the UK, US and Canada. Earlier this month, I was in New York doing a tribute gig for David Bowie. I travel a lot for work but also fit in holidays with my wife and visits to our children.
What do you need for a perfect holiday?
To me, it’s not about being anywhere, but being able to change my perceptions and experience something new.
Earliest memory of travelling abroad?
I was born in a small city called Sarnia, in Canada [where the airport and two schools are named after him]. My father, who was an aerial survey pilot flying Boeing B-17 planes at the time, was based in Maracaibo in Venezuela. He then became an airline pilot for Air Canada and we got free airline passes, so our family was travelling a lot – to the UK, Europe, the Caribbean. We’d just turn up at Toronto airport on a Friday afternoon and jump on whatever plane had some seats left and just go.
Most beautiful location viewed from space?
The Bahamas are gorgeous. The deep trench in the ocean floor called the Tongue of the Ocean is the most beautiful deep indigo colour. Also, the Southern Lights [in the Antarctic Circle]. When I was once outside on a spacewalk, they were pouring past me, through my legs. To be directly among all the texture, colour and movement of the Southern Lights (it is not just green and a little red, but all the colours of the rainbow) was astonishing. There is a sunrise or a sunset from space every 92 minutes, so there is an incredible amount of beauty to see from up there.
Memorable places visited for astronaut training?
I lived in Star City, near Moscow, and Moscow on and off for five years while training. I also lived and worked in Tsukuba, which is north of Tokyo. In Europe, I spent time in Cologne, as well as the US, including in Houston, Florida and then California.
And during your time as a pilot?
I was based on a Canadian Forces Base in Bagotville, Quebec, where I lived near a fjord in the Rivière Saguenay near the town of Tadoussac. I was able to watch whales nearby if I was lucky.
Best thing about space travel?
Doing a spacewalk. It is one of the most rare human experiences. To leave your spaceship and be alone with Earth distant and the universe around you.
Most adventurous travel experience? (apart from space ...)
I travelled to the 82 degrees
Favourite restaurant?
The French Laundry in Napa Valley in California.
Favourite place for a drink?
The Chelsea Wine Bar in El Lago, Texas, has a room upstairs where I would rehearse with my band while looking out across Taylor Lake.
Favourite city for nightlife?
Toronto, as it has such a multicultural feel.
Worst travel experience?
A stomach bug after drinking water in Madrid, on that trip to Europe when I was 18. Awful.
Favourite airline?
Air Canada, which regularly
What do you hate about holidays?
The emotional build-up and anticipation. Sometimes it’s better to travel outside of conventional holiday times.
Where next?
In February I will be speaking in Ottawa. My family and I may go to Stag Island for a few days. I will be in Scandinavia and south-east Asia after that. I haven’t been to Patagonia or the south island of New Zealand, and I’d love to go to the Galápagos Islands or The Andes, too. The Darkest Dark, a new book by Chris Hadfield, is on sale now