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Published: August 7th 2007
I could probably leave this blog with just the above title and spare you from reading any stories I have to tell. The title sums it up! The Andaman Islands, a string of islands sitting about 1800km east of mainland India in the Bay of Bengal are fully deserving of the endorsement.
As I noticed from the recent comments I've left everyone hanging for a while on the blogs, my apologies, it's hard work writing these stories. At points I feel uninspired to write, combine that with being out of contact with the world for over a month, no Internet, no email, during my time spent on Havelock Island. It's taken me a while to be able to sit down in front of the computer and write. It is going to be a short edition of the blog, I just uploaded pictures for the last two months, posting them in three new entries. So I will spread the stories through the three entries, plus I'm leaving for Bali, Indonesia tonight and I don't want to spend my last hours in Delhi sitting in front of a computer...
The Andaman Islands, where to begin? I was sitting in the Third
National Geographic Cover Shot
Thanks to my buddy Yoav for the great picture. Eye Restaurant in Pushkar, probably for the fourth day in a row, having no idea what my plans were going to be. I met an Israeli guy named Shai, and that changed my time in India, maybe it even changed part of the way I look at life. After a few days, Shai said "Come to the Andamans". I had heard about the Andamans in Nepal, had done some preliminary research and was sure it would be too expensive. After thinking about it for a few days, finding some relatively cheap flights available, I decided to roll with it. So I bought myself a ticket, split up with him and his friends for the few weeks before the flight, they were a group of six and there was no way in hell I was going to split my decision making with six other people. I killed some time before I had to be in Chennai for my flight on Feb. 16. I caught a flight from Delhi, arrived in Chennai at 10:30, found a nice spot on the floor and curled up with a book, planning to spend the night until my flight to Port Blair departed the following morning.
From the Restaurant at The Orient
Take a look at the view from the restaurant at my guest house. The Andamans are a real paradise. For a few hours I was all alone in the terminal, but then an Israeli girl showed up, seeing that we were the only backpackers we killed the evening trying to sleep, and then discussing how desperate we both were for a cup of Chai. We sat there dreaming about the overnight train rides in India, when another ten minutes doesn't pass before you hear "Chaia, Chaia, Chai? Coppee, Coppee Coppee?" again. What a random night, she left for Delhi the following morning, I think. By the way, the Chai guy finally did open, and I sat on the other side of the terminal waiting for the officials to allow me to x-ray my bag. That's when I met Tzlil, her friend whose name slips my mind and Dex, my new American buddy, who also happens to live in NYC. We all caught the same flight to the Andamans, shared a cab to the port, waited on line for ferry tickets, got told the ferry to Havelock was sold out, ran to town to grab a bite. Then together we all lined up at the gang plank, pushing our way as close to the front as possible, 150 rupees in
View From My Hammock
So this was the view from my first spot... hand, waving at the captain of the boat to allow us on. It worked. We settled in for a two hour boat ride. Then the pushing and shoving began as the ferry docked and the dozens of backpackers jockeyed for position to be first on the cue to register with the police. I forgot to mention access to the Andamans is limited to thirty days for foreigners and you must register with the police whenever you enter or exit an outer island. So we all pushed and shoved, forcing our way to the front, the girls pushed ahead, arranged for rickshaws and Dex, Tom (Irish Guy) and myself followed in another rickshaw. Once arriving at beach number five we became the newest arrivals to find out there is a lack of accommodation on Havelock. We searched for a bit without any luck, I did however bump into Shai, who was also without a room. He showed us his hammock site, I borrowed a hammock from some guys staying at the guest house and that night became the first of many nights spent in a hammock, sleeping under the stars, waves crashing in the background, cool ocean breeze, sunrise directly above
Party on Havelock
Someone built a large floating raft, got some beers, and put on some loud music... my feet, no need for me to even get up out of the hammock to watch the colors of the sky change with the light of the coming day.
All told I spent almost four weeks sleeping in a hammock. My daily schedule went something like this...Wake up watch sunrise go back to sleep, wake up again run into the ocean for a swim most days with my new friend Mor, who woke up earlier than anyone else and would be laying out almost every morning. After completing my morning rituals most of the days were spent lounging around, catching some sun, walking to town or maybe the local Dhaba (shack on the side of the road) for some of the best Mango juice the world has ever tasted and maybe a Thali. It took a few days on the island before I was introduced to the local fish market.
Everyday between three and five all the local fishermen head to the market to sell their catch of the day. So I became a regular sight at the market, it was great. Would walk around the market, see what was available, pick a fish. Tried red tuna, yellowfin
The Aftermath of Holi
Look how good all of us look after hours roaming the streets of havelock throwing paint and getting paint thrown on us. tuna, kingfish, barracuda, coral grouper, grouper, red snapper, chico, jack fish and others I couldn't tell you the names of during my time on the islands. Then they clean, scale, gut and cut the fish into steaks or leave it whole. For a two week period I was at the market everyday, checking out the catch of the day. Oh, did I mention that the price of fish ranged from one dollar to three dollars a kilo. One day I walked out of the market with a 4kg Bonito Tuna for 250 rupees (5 bucks). Even sliced a bit of it up and ate it raw, while everyone watched horror assuming I'd be dead within the hour. But what could be better than sushi in the tropics! After picking out a fish i would either cook it myself on a campfire or have Charlie chef it up for me in the kitchen. I hate to say it, but I got sick of fresh fish and I had to avoid the market for a while.
One of the highlights of my time in the Andamans was celebrating the Hindu festival of Holi. Not really sure what the festival celebrates, commemorates
Me and Liat
Take a look at that orange hair, all I need now is a big red nose... or remembers. But what I do know is it might be the best holiday I've come across in any religion. Have you noticed the pictures I posted with all of us covered from head to toe with paint? Well that's the result of our celebration. The way you celebrate Holi is to buy lots of powdered paint, get a large group together, throw paint all over one another, then, form a gang of people and head off to town dousing people with paint and getting doused by everyone that drives or walks by. We spent a few hours traipsing around the island having fun then returned back to the guesthouse. Before covering each other from head to toe with paint we were told that it all washes off. We we were surprised to find that only "most" of the paint comes off. The remaining paint stayed for a little less than a week. So I was left with green eyebrows and a red beard, but it was well worth it! Fully a goon holiday. I think it should be adopted by all major religions.
Otherwise I spent my time on the islands relaxing. Meeting what seemed like every citizen
Nir
Wish this was a better picture, Nir had some of the best colors at the end of the festivities... of Israel, I'm not saying this in a bad way. It was just funny, at points I could look up at the table during dinner and find that I was the only non-Israeli at the table. Honestly I could have explored more of the 400 islands that make up the chain, but laziness kicked in and I just chilled in Havelock. Unfortunately I had to head back to Port Blair for my flight to Kolkota. Plan was to sleep in the airport for a number of reasons, accommodation is fairly steep in Port Blair, I was only going to be around town for twelve hours and sleeping at the airport is a fun story to tell. So my buddy Liraz and I grabbed showers in our buddies hotel room, ate some dinner, went to the Chai stand, sitting there until they closed and then caught a rickshaw to the airport. We arrived to find the place deserted except for a cop, who informed us that he'd have to ask his supervisor if it was possible for us to camp outside the terminal. After waiting for ten minutes the supervisor arrived, looking pissed off! Like he had just been woken up
from a great dream. He didn't even take the time to acknowledge our presence. He went straight over to the rickshaw driver, veins popping out of his forehead and went into a tirade, pointing at Liraz and I, waving his hands, pointing us towards the exit. The rickshaw driver looked scared shit less. That was the end of our attempt to sleep at the airport. We ended up sleeping in some shit hole that had dorm beds available. They weren't exactly beds, more like sheets of plywood. The next morning we caught a cab to the airport and that was the end of a perfect month in paradise!
I know my witting in this blog is not all that inspiring and I have left out endless details and stories about the place, the people, my experiences, but take from this what you will. Before leaving the Orient Guesthouse on Havelock I almost cried when I said good-bye to friends and finally had to jump into a rickshaw and head to the ferry...
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Pamela
non-member comment
Hi Alan :)
This blog is great! Its been a while since you last posted one. I love the stories, i feel like i am traveling with you. That holiday sounds like a lot of fun, as does sleeping in a hammock. The pics are great too! I miss you, have fun, take care of yourself and i'll talk to you soon. Love, Pamela