Ratha was raised in the Midwest in her hometown of St. Louis, Missouri. As a kid, her and her best childhood friend Katie, would take long trips to her father’s cabin in Van Buren, MO. Sitting on several acres and a river current in the back yard, here was where she discovered a love for exploration and the outdoors. They would spend countless days jumping in the river, fishing for crawdads, and riding in the back of her father’s truck belting out country songs at the top of their lungs. It was a nice break from suburbia, where the lawns were always manicured and the cowbell sounds from parents calling their children for supper were frequent. She savored the smell of campfires and craved sleeping under the solitude of the stars.
Ratha moved to Washington 23 years ago when her father had a job opportunity working in aerospace. But it wasn’t until recently that she began to explore the beauty of the wild and embracing what the Pacific Northwest had to offer, rain and all. She attended middle school, high school as well as college and graduate school in Seattle. Within this time, she had traveled and lived in many places around the world from various countries in Europe, Southeast Asia, Central and South America. There was a constant chase for any and all opportunity to travel.
If you know Ratha, you know her love for food, fashion, culture, and adventure. So it’s no surprise that she didn’t need much convincing when the idea came about an epic journey around the world with the love her life via Van! Let the adventures begin!
“Sometimes I can’t believe the life I’ve been lucky enough to live. It is bigger and better than I ever could have imagined.”
Vantastic Voyage 