The animals of India

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I believe I've found paradise! Imagine being on an island where you can sit in a hammock looking at clear, turquoise water and white sandy beaches and the only sign of life is a stray dog walking by. I have never seen such beautiful beaches and so few people. There is a story about an American woman getting killed by a salt water crocodile a few years back (first I write how beautiful it is here, then drop that ugly story), but I almost think it was made up to keep people afraid and away. Truly, it is a hidden place, and people will say anything to keep it that way. Although, there actually are salt water crocodiles here and certain marshy areas I avoid... but that won't keep me from coming back here 😊

There are two ways to arrive on the Andaman islands. One is by a 2.5 hour flight or to take a boat from chennai that takes 4 days... Not a chance! I just met someone who did the boat trip and he was on his way to the doctor because he's seeing double and can't focus on anything. When I mentioned the boat, he just shook his head with anguish remembering it. So, that is one adventure I am glad to have skipped.

There are quiet a few different islands here (I've heard there are hundreds) but foreigners are only allowed to go to 3 or 4. Get this, apparently, there is still an island here where the locals have never had outside contact. They use bow/arrows and loin cloth type of tribe. How neat is that! I'm really only a few miles away from people who would probably faint if I showed them my iPhone (if they didn't scalp me first).

One thing I've learned while being here is it is difficult for me to relax! I came here to rest and I actually have to tell myself to sit still and not have a plan. That is something I didn't realize about myself. But being somewhat stranded on a tiny island can really make a person think... I now have a new list of things I want to accomplish in my life just because my brain has been allowed to roam free without distractions (I recommend doing that every few months. Just take a day or 3 to do absolutely nothing- no internet or tv and see where that takes you).

I've found a little bamboo hut to live in on the beach for $5 a night (and those are high season prices, normally it would be a whopping $2). It is a little piece of heaven waking up, seeing the sunlight streaming through the holes in the walls and hearing the ocean and birds chirping. But for every positive, there seems to be a negative. And let me tell you, as quaint and romantic this hut looks, it has left me a little freaked out. After 5 nights of staying there, I wake up around 2 a.m. to feeling something on my feet. I'm half asleep, so I just twitch my foot and open my eyes a little. I see a dark shadow moving and I go from sleepy to WIDE away. Flip on the light and guess what is on my bed?? A large RAT! And the best part is, it is on the inside of my mosquito net. So here we are, on opposite ends of the bed, both stuck inside this white mesh and I'm having a silent heart attack. Needless to say, I didn't need to tell myself to relax the next day because I had zero sleep after that! I could have slept outside, but which is worse, malaria mosquitos or a rat? I picked the rat...

Oh and as beautiful and tropical coconut trees look, they are killers! (I'm telling you the bad points just to make the winter weather seem not so bad for the people who are stuck in it 😊. Imagine a green coconut (which is very heavy) falling 30 feet and landing on your tin roof in the middle of the night. Sounds like a bomb going off. Or walking down a path and boom, it falls a few feet from your head. Certainly keeps you on your toes (or knocks you unconscious)!

I was lucky enough to be on one particular island for their yearly festival. It is a celebration for the past year, and praying for peace/luck for this upcoming year. Tjree days of dancing and festivities. The best part is they feed the whole island for free! Such a blessing to walk into their village centre, a banana leaf is placed on the floor in front of you and people walk by with big buckets of curry/rice and they keep scooping food on the leaf till you say stop. Double bonus is it didn't make me sick!

Probably one of my favorite moments was walking through a jungle path which leads to the best beach I have ever been on in my life and having to step aside....for an elephant! He was so close I could just reach out and touch him. It's moments like that, I just have my jaw on the floor and can't really believe where I am. This place has shone a different light on India for me. A person can actually come to India and leave feeling refreshed!

That being said, my next few stops after here is Calcutta and Varanasi. The stories I've hear about both of those cities has made me save visiting there till the end of my time in India. Burning bodies and pieces of human flesh floating in the river...oooh I'm excited to blog about my experiences there!

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Comments

[Gaurav]

nice blog
Hello, I read your blog bit late but it is very interesting specially you described regular happening things here in very funny manner. I have been in varanasi but never got courage to bath in ganga. However there is lots of things which people forget about Hindu culture and just following blindly without understanding their real meanings.