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Andaman Dairy - My holiday in 2010 [long overdue post :)]

Andaman Diary

Day #1 - Port Blair, Havelock island

Journey started back in chennai with an early morning flight - 4:15am... With the recent issues surrounding kingfisher airlines, guess we should consider it lucky that the flight ran as per normal schedule. Got delayed in the lounge finishing my beer and had to be whisked through security by the airline guys to make the flight.

Yeah yeah I was the last one to board the flight... But I made it :) so stop giving that ice cold stare - as if i delayed the flight :) it was right on time :) so call me fashionably late. If anything I should give a hard look at the "fart machine" that was seated I think infront of me (you can never be sure) & man there's gotto be a law against that lol

Anyways the flight was uneventful... Being early morning flight - couldn't catch a glimpse of the ocean as we started our flight... But half way into the flight & the first break of sunlight far away - the colors on the sky were truly spectacular - darn dirty airline window couldn't let me get a good pic - but it was lovely... Must have been even great from the cockpit....


There were some low hanging clouds - so never really saw the ocean during flight.... And as scheduled, flight touched down at just past6am.... Got down the flight and realized Port Blair was probably the smallest airport i have ever landed at.... It was so casual.... Lucky me, my bags came first - my new back pack must be lucky... Even more surprising my phone worked in Port Blair albeit without 3G - but edge will do for some Facebook and photos...

Stepped outside the airport, the meet & greet service person from vinnie's resort was right there.... Wonder how he identified me... He never even had a sign... Must be ESP stuff.....

So the gentleman drove me from the airport to Phoenix bay jetty... Where I will take the 8:45 am speed ferry to my final destination... Comfortable car, nice chap... The roads were so different from back home :) hardly any traffic and sometimes had curves which had tall trees around it making if look like we were driving through jungle....

Surprise surprise I saw a Chevrolet showroom in port Blair lol.... But I would say from what very little I saw of port Blair - it is just like a remote village in India with lot more trees... I could be wrong...

Some facts from the local person who drove me - lot of different communities live in Andaman - Bengalis form a major share with sizable Tamil and other populations spread across different islands - Hindi is the most common language here - the person who drove me spoke good English - after all he finished masters in commerce - hmmmm wonder how he made this transition.....

 

Anyways... Reached the jetty - looked a bit dirty with some old ships - apparently they do ship repairs as well there... The speed boat we were supposed to take was neat - it takes a bout 90 mins to get to havelock - there is another govt ferry which leaves later in the day at 12pmand supposedly it take more than 2 hrs and it looked very old....

I reached the jetty about 6:45 and was the first person.....so I wondered what the was deal with suggestions on the web - that ferry is normally full and pre booking is necessary to get tickets... Hmmm... Slowly a few back packers showed up.... And then close to the ferry time - the secret was revealed - most of the tickets are booked by travel agents - many Indians who travel to andaman stay at port Blair and take the organized tours - I kid you not 2 bus loads of people appeared in 5 mins pfffffff - the person who drove me told that most of them make port blair their place of stay & spend just a day in havelock n see the beaches.... People who stay in havelock are mostly back packers from various part of the globe....



Ok - in the ferry... Was 10 mins late to start - man it was full !!!! Pfffffff so I pretty much resorted to iPod - they don't let you outside the cabin to look at the ocean & feel the breeze - pffff what a drag!!!!

Anyways reached havelock about 10..... Surprise surprise - the first person with sign board was for me lol - it is a tiny island :) with just 2 roads... So this time the transfer from jetty to vinnies island resort was by auto - took 5 mins.....

Ok in the reception .. Small chit chat and off to my room - or should I call cabana.... It's a basic tent - but will do swimmingly for the trip with an attached shower... I am in D2...

Surprisingly the phone still worked in havelock hmmmm - but no data on mobile yay no mails - oh wait no Facebook too... Boo

I decided to check out what's around after a shower... First went to the beach in the resort - it was about noon... Sun was out, blue skies and the water was so clear it was a surprise !!! All I can say was I could see different shades of blue !!! Not exaggerating - will post pics....

And I saw people doing NOTHING at all - lol - looks like I came to the right place.... Few folks swimming, kids playing with a football... Some enjoying the sun... A couple playing catch the water bottle in the beach, some one teaching a dog how to swim - should say it was pretty good at fetching ball thrown into the sea... Guess parts of it was very shallow.... Decided I ll ve to do swimming tomorrow....

Ok what next - decided to rent a motor bike - off to fill petrol - man at the shop had just marked gauges to measure volume - no digital pumps lol.... Asked for places to see around and drink beer.... Was recommended symphony palms for cold beer n Radha nagar beach which is supposedly once rated by time magazine as the Asia's best beach - read that myself once before - so figured will check that out...

Radha nagar beach was on the other side (west) of the island - there are only 2 roads on the island like a T - how I managed to get lost there is still beyond me :) if not for another passing by couple who asked me where the road leads to, I wud ve continued on and be in the jungle lol. On the road to radhanagar, you should not continue on... You ought to take a left at a spot.... If you don't, you will go to village 6 instead lol

Boy the roads were terrible and tiny and through woods - but were empty.... So ok - I can drive slow... But - There are only few 4 wheelers in havelock but the are crazy - yes even to Indian standards - guess the norm in havelock is if you see another person on road, you honk (guess its like aloha) even if the other driver is giving way - there are even signs "compulsory - must sound horn" hmmmm must be a island thing.... With perilous road, some mad drivers and my long absence from riding a motor bike - it was a slow ride lol - and my iPhone was going crazy with the shuffle on every bump - pffffff

Reached radhanagar beach by 1pm.... It was hot - but the beach was splendid.... Lovely tall trees on the shore... White sand - kid you not - it was so powdery and soft felt like you were standing on cotton or on a girls belly lol, varying shades of blue sea, some islands at a distance  - it was splendid - surreal !!!!! so unlike India....

Saw a lot of european tourists - man what is it with white people and sunny tropical beaches :) they always seem to find it no matter where it is - lol - so lot of swimming here, people out on the sun working their tan, some families....

First time just went into the water... Took a pic n got out - was regretting not bringing the swim trunks decision. It was only 1:30 n sunset - which was supposed to be da bomb was not till 4:30 - so decided to find something to eat - on the way found a swim trunk rental - jus wat I need... Food was ok... Place was not very hygienic and for sure i Know they over charged me !!! Pfff India - if you speak a different language they rip u off !!! lol

Ok now did the swimming trunk rental and off to the water... Was so much fun... The beach gradually slopes - so is awesome to ride the waves.... An hr passed in the water.... Got tired... Slept on the beach for a while - realized no SPF is gonna be of help :) I don't need more tan - lol - so next found shade and decided to retire till 4....

Man I ve never slept in public.... Here I was under a tree in the beach... Just spread the beach towel... Still wet trunks and I slept for an hour lol - so were many others !!!! phew - that's the pace of life in havelocks....

Almost time for sunset - but I was going to get a tender coconut to drink and quench my thirst - so changed out of the trunks, into my short n tshirt, return trunks, drink coconut was nice & off to the beach...

Realized data (old GPRS) seem to work so thought will text blog while i wait for the sunset.... As i was as 30% into this. The magic began - the sunset was truly awesome !!!! Spectacular colors - pics later when I get a faster connection (on my ride I saw an ad - high speed satellite Internet - 512kbps hmmmmmm ) - but it did prove why time magazine rated this as one of the best...

Now it's dark - gets dark quickly here hmmmm jus 5:15pm....  Need to Ride back to the other side of the island ... Then some beers -tomorrow sleep? Snorkeling? Swimming? Let's see - man I feel the vacation is truly here - cant believe it... At 5:15pm I m in the beach & its getting dark n blogging - awesome!!!

Ok till we see in day 2, hang tight all - cu tomorrow adios

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Oh well as I was gonna post, my data connection died... More updates - back to island Vinnie - ride was terrifying with darkness & fire flies coming towards the motor bike light - had to put on my shades in the dark & ride on the perilous road with mad locals lol - all is well - seems like I ve lost a bit of touch with balancing bike at low speed - I m very wobbly pfffff

To top it all off realized today is 11/11/11 :) hope thats going well for y'all-n the icing on the cake is it is a full moon day - all coming together...

Alrighty off to symphony palms for some beer n hope I get to post this soon - fingers crossed :)

Ok some more updates - king fisher beer tastes weird here... Kind of like bad water hmmmmmm Btw I hope I came to correct symphony palms, there were lots & I picked one - name of the bar is venom bar hmmmmm - second beer is alright - (damn it's too dark for pics on iPad) guess the first one is flat! I thought it was an island thing pfffffff we are back to business ! Oh wait - reminds self that I have to ride that 2 wheeler back to the resort hmmmmmm... too bad - ordered the third one... It's only 9pm & it's a shame if I leave the bar early !!!!!! Btw the prawns were fresh and awesome - melts in your mouth !!! Knocks self on head n says this is not Zara hehe - Btw - don't u hate shared towels in restrooms? Yikes btw it is a bit nippy here in the night (esp when riding the bike) considering its in the tropics hmmmmmmmm




Day #2 - Havelock Island adventures continued....


Woke up about 8.... It was a nice and cool in the morning inside the cabana - I guess the reason why it was cold in the night is coz of all the dew - there is a heck a lot of it - but makes the night pleasant. Got off the beach yesterday to sleep inside the room coz I didn't want to catch a cold from the dew and ruin the vacation on day 1 - lol - also saw a crab or a scorpion - not gonna sleep there after that - lol. I must ve been pretty nappy coz when I woke up today, the floor and my feet were very sandy hehe... Heard a rooster call in the morning - not heard that since my school days - wonder what happened to all the roosters that were there near my home - guess they were victims of urbanization..after a while the gen-ny noise started - guess there are lot of power cuts on the island - the main power plant itself generates power by diesel gen-nys and I also read that there is a solar plant...

Breakfast at full moon restaurant:

Full moon is the resturant inside the vinnies resort. I was told their sea food is great - will have to try that later - now im here just for my morning fuel :) coffee and some breakfast. So I go to the reception and ask - "do you ve coffee or tea?" and the guy asks - "madrasi coffee?" hmmmmm wtf - you see a dark skinned Indian person who does not speak Hindi and you judge already!!!!! Always happens in India... Btw shouldn't it be chennasi now? - lol - so I ask what are the options - and then I get a menu pffffff ... Waiting for my cappuccino  large - can I ask for syrups? lol

The restaurant  is located on the beach with tall trees on the shore - the common kind of beach here on the islands - nice gentle breeze, rustling leaves, the sound of waves washing ashore and the view of beach... (pic to be added) Oh the coffee has arrived - except the foamy top it is watery but will do great for the morning start.... And a club sandwich order should see me through the breakfast part..... I also figured if I blog them as they are happening I will probably remember a lot

As I finish my coffee and wait for the sandwich, I wonder gazing at the beach - what makes the water to appear in different shades of blue on the beach.... Hmmmmmmm looks like some one chaotically poured un dissolved coloring dye in water - lol - guess its probably the shallowness of the beach? No idea - but anyway we don't see this in the beach back home - its pretty much dark blue all the time except near the shores where it gets I should say muddy....

Ok sandwhich is here...was mostly just eggs and coleslaw.... Where's my bacon and salami which was mentioned on the menu - lol - also the fries can pass for both French fries (less so) & potato wedges - guess they were home cut - jk - was good break fast.... Now I can use some lemonade - lets get some....

Man if they had a decent 3G here on the island I can even work from here and no one will ever know lol - jk!

Met the 2 dogs frodo (a tinge of brown - more dirty white & a bit grumpy) and sam  (white calm one) - that were mentioned on the website. They seem very friendly; infact they were the ones swimming in the beach yesterday. Also they are good at chasing away any stray dogs that come into the resort - which is nice..... Sam took an interest in seeing what I was doing with my iPad - but before I could click a pic, it went away to chase the wild dog pfffff

Most of the tourist on this island are europeans - Brits, met a few Germans in the ferry, poles... Wonder how they heard about this island hmmmm - also not a lot of Indian tourists - like I mentioned earlier, most of them just do a day trip to the beach....

Geek alert!!! - Btw, is there a way to redo on iPad? You know to undo the undo thingy - if not - damn!!! - one accidental undo and 2 sentences were gone... Thought if I  undo again, it will undo the undo and bring it back - but nope - whole paragraph gone now - lol - oh well it's not like I got anything else to do now, so I can afford to retype them!

I guess after that I will head off on my motor bike to the kalapathar beach - which I think means black rock... So better not wear my white tshirt although it has some black stains from yesterday's evening beach nap!

Guess I am not going to do the massage - lol - there was this person yesterday in the bar who said he is a masseuse in a resort (were I will stay after 5 days) & was chatting for a while... He said I should try the massage or he could even come to my resort for the massage.... I have personally never had a massage :) don't think I will anytime soon lol - just don't get it ... If your stiff, sleep it off - it has worked for 30 years, should work now.... Any way also sounded a bit shady - sorry if I'm the doubting Doug :) better to be safe than sorry lol....

Ok after the breakfast, Got my travel bag & decided to take some pics on the beach - the dogs were swimming again. So sat down on the beach and started clicking some pics - and I guess fredo took an interest at what I was doing and sat next to me... Then for some reason it was all over me & started licking - hmmmmmm must have been the Armani - and it's a big dog believe me. So now I smell like Armani n dog lick lol


Drive down south - Kalapatar beach (or at-least what I think it was):

After that, got my motor bike n decided to drive down south to kalapathar beach.... As you start to drive down south, you see few more resorts on the shore side of the road (left)...

Some restaurants that made me laugh n click pictures - one of them was "German Bakery" and their special was "Israeli Breakfast" - not trying to be insensitive but it could have had a totally different meaning in the 1940s :) - hope the irony is not lost in this day & age - again not trying to be insensitive - sorry if I did. Pic later

Then I saw "Lee Meridian" (NOT a typo) - man I would have checked the Starwood site if I had known earlier lol. Pic later

Also saw the red snapper restaurant where I was going to have my lunch which is in the wild orchid resort. and then passed by emerald gecko resort - where I will be staying the second half of the trip - its owned by the same group as wild orchid and is less expensive :) its a bit further south than where I am currently staying - so guess it will be a slightly longer ride to radhanagar beach. Then crossed over the silversands resort which I think is the last resort....

Along the way more tourists like me riding bikes and few mad locals drivers... But as we crossed the silversands, the road started to be engulfed by more taller trees on both sides - its was like driving through a jungle. Tall trees meant no direct sunshine; so was a pleasant ride... It was hard to believe that it felt like a jungle because just 50 feet away on the left - there was the beach.... So I kept riding on and on and it all looked the same to me... Lovely beaches with shore line covered by dense tall trees... So I couldn't say one is better than the other... I was enjoying the jungle ride... There was a small bridge over river Kwai lol... Past that I decided oh well it all looks the same so decided to stop by the next spot.....

Walked into the beach.... The sand was white like all beaches here.... There were some trees whose branches ran into the shore... Gotta be careful when you walk coz u might think its awesome unspoiled white shore sand, but as you step on it, it would collapse and you will fall - just like I did.... Some more steps and there was the water.... It was splendid - road, trees, white sand shore and a bit of rocks - which i suppose killed the waves before crashing onto me - it was nice to stand on the rocks to take pics too... Spent like 45 mins there and ride back...

Nothing new to report on the ride back except; everything I mentioned earlier, now happened in reverse :) of course only coz I was riding in the other direction :) on the way it was the national geographic moment - trees grow taller in the jungle because taller they are, more sunshine they get.....

decided to have lunch at red snapper.... Actually having lunch now - Goan fish curry with white rice.... Well I would say it was ok... I thought fresh fish will be soft... This one was chewy (so chewy felt like mutton)... Not sure if it is the preparation or the type of fish...... Oh well let's not judge... Will try some other dish some other time and pass the final verdict.... But first look opinions - wild orchid and emerald gecko seem more formal with staff wearing uniform T-shirts with the word "staff" on the back.... On the other hand vinnies was more casual... Don't know which I like - but guess both has advantages and disadvantages... Btw for some reason everyone's talks to me in Hindi :) guess they think I know .. Well I can understand a bit but ask the CRPF men in chennai airport and they will tell you how hilarious I am when it comes to speaking Hindi - lol - it would be nice if they asked - like the penguins in Madagascar would ask - "Do you spreken any Hindi?"

close to 1am now - thinking to go to the general stores - I need to get some wipes... Then rest? Then radhanagar? Then beer? Let's see....

After the lunch, rode all the way back to the jetty... And nothing new to report - just a lot of tourists walking on the road to/from the beach or I suppose for lunch. saw some road work crew patching up a part of the road....well that's not gonna do much good - I say re lay the entire road or just leave it as it is.... Also saw "holiday inn" - don't think it's the real one :) dear god I hope not - Then came back to the general store... Can't spot the tissues with my eyes... Ask the store person & he told he had only dry kind which is perfect and just what I was looking for... But his assistant found the wet tissues and said that's all he has - lol. Oh well, that will do - lemon fresh wet tissues manufactured in march 2010 - but says best before 24 months - so guess is alright....

Then back to resort, lay on the bed with the fan - it was a bit hot in the noon today.. Then shave & fresh n up... Word of advice - unless you are an experienced backpacker, pick an accommodation with attached shower n rest rooms :) eg: if you are a bit picky about restroom neatness (like me) then you Won't regret the extra cost - after all there is nothin worse then waiting when u really have to go lol - or smelly toilets or out of tissue at the critical moment - lol not saying all is bad - but i saw the common baths at few resorts now and they are always not the best :)

Ok now that all done, jus sitting outside my cabana in my rocking chair & blogging & watching folks playing beach volleyball.... Guess I ought to get going if I have to make it to Radha nagar beach today as well for the sunset.... Alrighty.... That's it - out for now!

In Radha nagar beach now - should say I m getting good at riding the bike again - must be in every Asians blood hehe... On the way to the beach was stopped by a traffic cop - when I say cop, it was more an high school boy in khaki trying to earn some extra credits by helping the local cops lol - he wanted me to wear the helmet :) guess it makes sense, not only coz of the poor roads, but also when you fall down you would eventually get your head opened by a stone on the road - lol - but looking at the helmet I have very little confidence - I think it will crack and the crack my head with it lol

In the beach now... Sunset is near... My mobile is teasing me every min with an alternating pattern of data connection & no service pffffff don't know when I will post all this....

Walked a bit on the beach today - hoping I will miss some of the folks popping into my picture shot - well - couldn't totally avoid them, but at-least there were a very few of them. Sunset was awesome - guess some extra clouds today made the sun put up a spectacular show. It must be amazing to be on that beach and watch the sun put on a  show day after day. And everyday it feels like its getting better - unbelievable! Pics later. And also like any good show - when it ends, you feel sad it's over & leaves you wanting more. Btw the sunset does end quickly... One min the sun starts to go down and within 15 mins it's all done.... Hmmmmm - I like to put the French quote roughly translated to - "such is life" - one minute you are on cloud nine, the next minute, you are on a free fall crashing down to earth!

After the sunset, head back to the other side and drink some beer at another bar today - lets try and mix things up - lets not go to the same bar every night & become a patron (ring a bell - not saying Zara lol) :) - this bar is in the same hotel I had lunch earlier today.

Back to the east side of the island... Skipped the refreshing part and head straight for the beer - drinks at wild orchid today. Earlier, i was trying to start the wrong motor bike - they all look the same (pic later) :) I figured out after a while - actually not till the key won't start the bike :) -  Thought will leave early to beat the flies - but no go - had a lot of them today as well :) thank you shades - again... Getting to be such a pro at this now! Also while riding the bike remember to close your mouth or you might have an early dinner :) i left the right side indicator on for a while - unlike a car, bike indicators don't cut off automatically hehe - sorry fellow motorists! I kept passing the wrong indication that I was going to turn :) honest mistake - lol - wow it gets dark very quickly here !!! 5:30 pm and it is pitch dark like 9! That's what happens when you force a time zone on a part of the globe.

Having my beer now - all going swell ! I heard some one order gin & tonic - my favorite drink - but I like the gin & tonic that I make better anytime - coz only i know how hammered i want to get and how quickly - lol - so beer for now.. I assumed by the order of gin & tonic, that they were brits - how judgmental of me !!!! They were actually aussies - Oh btw - this is the 2nd bar in the island where the order conversation with the bartender goes like this - me: "may I have a beer please?", they ask "kingfisher?" - and my normal response (with a bit of surprise) - "what are my choices?" - and the customary answer - we have only kingfisher... Hmmmm well so in that case you could have skipped that question & save time & your energy :) anyway I m trying to be my own critic here but - seriously, everything on the island has been so nice I ve to find such trivial things to make the blog interesting & funny.

Actually I like this bar compared to the one I went yesterday night - wonder why folks recommended that one - it was nice & all - but the music there was not tolerable.... I like the silence here more! I guess the beer is a shade more expensive here - but a small prize to pay to not listen to gaga - lol - feels like the MasterCard priceless moment...

Ok spoke too soon - there is music here as well - guess I was the early bird to the bar - if you know me, that shouldn't surprise you :) - but the music is mild.... I can hear the Michael Bolton kind anyday compared to lady gaga (which btw my iPhone shuffled-to during the bumpy ride pfffff I was sure not a happy bunny at that moment). Speak of the devil - its George Michael time lol - I do like this song though - Smooth operator....

And still no luck with the Internet connection pfffffffff

But - all in all - things are going good - I still have this feeling - somewhere in the back of my mind - lord I hope things are going well with everything at work! Guess its just day 2... Few more days & I won't have that worry (hopefully!) beer #2, still going strong!

Just spoke with the bartender - shruti - more of a hostess I guess - because she was taking care of the restaurant earlier.  Came to know there is no "English beer & wine" shop as mentioned on wiki travel - I m guessing the word "English" means imported or foreign :) oh well it's not racial, just that we were a colony before... One item to edit on wiki travel later and also one item off my list of to do - but speaking to her, I got the impression B3 was nice place - beer, pizza - can it get any better?

Oh no, it has started to rain - hopefully it will pass away by the morning !!! Pfffff wat a damper that will be! Wait is it different when you get wet in the beach vs get wet coz of rain on the shore? I guess there is a difference ! Oh well ! The rain seems to have cooled the place a bit! I guess my pizza has to wait! Oh I love the smell of rain water on mud - it is awesome! I swear we used to get this back home when I was a kid - another price we payed for urbanization. Rain water on concrete does not smell like "anything" pffffffff

On my third beer - feels better than yesterday - when I had 2.0 beers .0 coz the first beer was flat! Rain starting to die down - could be pizza time soon at andaman bubbles cafe. Ok I like the ambience (quietness) in this bar so much I might come here every day....

(drunk talk alert to follow lol)

Every time I hear (some one just asked if they have that beer) the word "tuborg" I think Romanian - well I can't tell you how come or why - but well there you go, my lips are sealed - lol - some secrets I take with me to the grave - isn't tuborg actually Dutch?

that begs the question - what is my fav beer. Let's compile a list - higher on the list is better:

Corona
Hoe garden
Haffenweizen
Carlsberg
King fisher lager (the good kind lol - to be more specific the pint)
Heineken
Red stripe
Tuborg
Amstel ??? (what was the beer I bought in Safeway last time)
Tiger beer
Budweiser
Fosters
Ice beer
Tsing tao
kingfisher strong
Guinness - sorry I am not the ale type
Bad kingfisher (believe me, I would like to think there is such a brand - sadly I have had it so many times I can't put it in the worst category - btw not by choice)

Sand piper (well If ur here or later, It's only coz there has to be a bottom/worst)
Vorion
Hayward's
Marco polo

Also, Sorry i cant rate Lan Kwang fai beer - was too drink when I had it

Any other beers I ve had? If I Can't remember, must have been too drunk then - man I'm  having so much fun I am debating about beer rather than some server / application going nuts :)

Ok it's just past 8pm people - feels like midnight already - got dark early, so I got drinking early - not my fault you know - ok, need suggestions folks !!!! Oh wait I hear that dido song - I will go down with this ship, there will be no white flags on my door.....

Now different topic - how many songs contradict their title ? Eg: "White flag" - you will think it is a song for reconciliation - but the actual line goes - "there will be NO white flag....". Another one - "99 red balloons" on the face of it, it sounds like a kids song - till the line - "panic pads it's red alert, there's something in from somewhere west, War machines spring to life, opens up ones eager eyes.... This is it boss, this is war" ok well I do like that song but still thing it's contradicting it's main title :)

Actually music is not a part I would like to dwell deep into - coz sometimes I am two faced when it comes to music - i pretend to like the David Guettas etc (I might ve changed after listening to him so many times) - but inside me, I still love the radar love, scorpions, all along the watch tower , some bon jovi, gnr etc - but don't want to show that out lol

Ok dinner time - since it's raining, cancel the pizza n order naan & some prawns curry - surprisingly the prawns are soft and fresh and tasty - am I glad I didn't pass judgement based on first opinion (lunch) about this restaurant.... Guess Goan curry for lunch was a bad choice I guess ... The prawns curry with naan was good

Actually met the chef - sesha - surprise surprise - he can speak Tamil!  I told him my honest opinion about lunch and how I liked the dinner... Looks like he has worked in different parts of India before and speaks many languages. He did say sometimes the fish they get is not fresh and could be frozen - that's good to know - next time ask before you order.  Dinner was good overall ! I am more n more in love with this place !

Ok That & 5 beers later - life is great !

They do close the bar early here - 10pm - No rain - went back to the resort & slept.
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Day #3: Getting used to Havelock pace day:


Woke up a bit late (every day it's getting later) - 9am. It's not like I ve something urgent to take care off :) I m on vacation lol.... Slow stroll to full moon cafe for coffee & breakfast - went with just eggs & toast today. Customary visit from Frodo. Lemonade....

I m going snorkeling tomorrow... Today probably just kill the day - ought to go to the B3 restaurant - heard they have some good pizzas... May be a beer too in the morning - feels like a normal day :)

Should I do the scuba certification - hmmmmmmm - thinking...

I also heard the meet & greet services include the return transfer to airport - that's one more worry off my chest... So it is more of meet & greet, send off & wave goodbye service hehe

Probably I should head down south again before I go to b3... Past 11 already....

Headed down south again along the east coast - this time I thought I will venture past where I stopped yesterday.. The road continued on along the shore with tall trees... After a while, the road got more choppy and it took a turn away from the shore... At that point there were quite some folks relaxing on the shore...

I continued on... As I went further, the road kept getting choppier and it also looked like I was beginning to drive inside a village... Few locals doing their routine stuff... Some banana trees along the road... That must have been the kalapathar village.. Nothing great to report... And the road surprisingly split into a T-junction... Hmmmmm well I took left and after a while I got bored and turned around.

When I reached the T-junction again, got confused which way to take lol... James may moment - Man I m not good at directions am I ? Then saw some one ride the sport bicycle fast with all the sporting gear... Must be an athlete in training? So I figured the way he came from must be the way back... Headed back - thought will stop by the spot I found yesterday...

Stopped at another place... Took some pics, initially thought will sit on the tree trunk that was on the shore... But something worried me about mushrooms lol - so decided to leave n go back... Some of these places are being littered with plastics... Damn mankind...

On the way back, some one riding a cycle flagged me down and asked what's further down... Told her its just the same beach, and then goes on to kind of a village... She asked whether its a nice village... Oh well... It's an ok village with people & some small shops etc nothing great... She asked how far is it - it was probably a 10 min ride on the motorbike - so she probably guessed a 30 min ride on the cycle... Told her the road only gets choppier after this... And waved good bye.... Wonder what she felt about the village...

As I continued my way up, I couldn't identify which was the spot I stopped by yesterday... They all looked the same.. Found a spot with some big rock where the water met the shore - thought will go sit on the rock... As I went in, walking carefully on the tree roots, I saw some weird creatures moving on the rock... Can't call them insects, can't call them crabs... So def cant sit there lol. As I looked along the shore, the whole shorelines had rocks along it for a bit.... So figured will go a bit further north.. Start the bike.. Surprise surprise... That athlete cyclist went past me lol.... A few yards later stopped... Thought I found a good place to rest...

It had tall trees which provided some shade on the shore, plus two tiny rocks on the shore which would make a perfect head rest... Walked to the shore... Figured will wash my legs first in the water... Went a little in the water to stand on the rocks.. Got my feet wet... And when heading back to the shore & setup my bed, lost my footing on the rocks - didn't know they were that slippery hehe... - almost fell face down on the rock but thanks to my hands, prevented a hit :) jus some scratches on the hand - no biggie, picked up the shades n my cap which fell down :) left them on the shore... Saw the fall had stained my shorts, so had to go back into the water again to wash it off... This time slowly & cautiously walked into the water again.... Washed the stains off... Noticed some blood from the scratch on my hands - pfffff

Spread the towel, took my lemon wet naps & wiped off the blood... as I saw a gentleman doing a beach walk... Just an howdy and told him these rocks are slippery :) he smiled and pointed at his head - guess he understood and will keep in his mind.... After I wiped off the scratch, I just lay there flat on my back listening to music, starring at the blue sky with cloudy patches... Endless water on the ocean and waves... A pleasant  shade - can it get any better? Thought the blue sky was too bright... So put on the shades and stare at the sky... This cycle kept repeating.. Music... Click some pics... Thought I found the best spot... iPod played "everyday is a winding road" which seemed apt :)

Spent about an hour there... I realized I am seeing some weird spots if I focus my eye closely... It was like tiny strands of thread moving in air.. Thought it cud be the shades... But I saw it even without them... Hmmm weird... Oh well as long as I don't go blind I am ok... As I relaxed further listening to music & looking at the map of havelock and realized I have probably covered it all :) there was no cellphone coverage there - my iPhone read "no service" but who cares :) when nature is at its best....

After sometime decided to leave.... Maybe shower n go to b3 and have some pizza...as I packed up, I did write - "reserved lol from 11/11/11 to 11/20 call 555-NONE <- -="" nbsp="" s=""> this way up" lol & a pic time - looks like a productive time lol... All set.. And as I left the shore noticed how the water had retreated back from the shore exposing more and more rocks - there is no way I can walk that far on the rocks to get my feet wet now :) so this is another thing I learned - shoreline constantly changes....

And an uneventful ride back to the resort... Some rest ... Feeling  Lazy to shower & go to b3 but also hungry... Hmmmmm it's already past3pm...

Dozed off for a bit with the alarm set to go off in an hour... It did but I figured - oh well let's just sleep :) slept the entire evening and night lol - woke up about 3am next day partly due to buzzing mosquito noises inside the cabana... Guess that we are out of repellant... Swapped that to the ones I brought along with me, after a while the buzz stopped - guess the Mosquitos died lol - wonder why they make that buzzing noise... Is it like sonar to find direction at dark? Who knows..

But I guess I slept so much I could catch more sleep.. Some weird lizard noise, some birds chirping, some weird objects (coconut?) falling on something and electricity kept going on & off... Figured will just shower & get ready... Anyway I have to do snorkeling today morning at 8

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Day #4: snorkeling day (or I thought it was)


Well for the start of the day bit - read the last 2 para from day 3 :)

May be I will head out to the beach and see if I can catch the sunrise...

Headed out for a walk on the beach in the morning. The beach wore a totally different look in the morning - all the clear blue water is gone - uncovering the ugly black stones with what I thought had moss growing on it... Was like fungi or something.... The sunrise was slightly obscured by the clouds - but was alright. Infact I was still trying to digest the fact that something so beautiful after late morning can look so ugly early morning. The boats that were anchored during the night were completely beached ! Guess it will be alright once the tide comes in and they will be afloat again.....

There were some wild dogs on the beach as well - so figured I will cut short my walk.... I guess the trick to not alarm the wild dogs is to not looking at them. Just walk aloof even when passing by them - seemed to work.

After I got back to island Vinnie, spent some time listening to Ludovico Einaudi on repeat... I had to set off only at 8:30am for snorkeling... And it was only 6am now - so figured had plenty of time.... After having killed the most of the hour, I decided to have my breakfast - customary cappuccino & club sandwhich. As I was having my coffee, We had folks on another table having breakfast.... Guess they were going for a morning dive. Their conversation was truly "western" lol - complaining about airlines - how they charge for a sandwhich (last time I flew a short haul flight in the US, it was the same deal - I didn't complain did I ? May be I did lol).... And another gentle man complained how he was worried about the flight cancellation by kingfisher - oh well, that has happened in other parts of the globe as well - BA, Air France, Aer Lingus more recently Qantas - ring a bell? Oh well - :)

As the first batch headed out to the boat for their dive, I was waiting for my club sandwich. One gentleman approached my table and asked if I was who I was - lol :) of course, I am who I am - haha - the gentle man was anshuman deb - Infact, one of my friend back home had told me he is an instructor there and would connect me with him. As I was surprised to meet him - I told him about my friend, and that I am here for a vacation and been here 4 days - blah blah... Then the gentle man asked if I was coming along with them for the dive - hmmmm. He mentioned that my name was on the board for the dive today - oopsy. I thought I signed up for snorkeling and I was told to be ready by 8:30am. Since it is only 7:30 - I was having my leisurely breakfast.

Then the gentle man explained about the dive and asked if I would be interested - I was Iike, oh well - it doesn't matter - I am first timer for both :) so I rushed to the room to grab my bag, packed the sandwich to go.
As I headed to the dive center, there was a couple who are also going to do the dive with me. One was a software engineer and the other was an ex-software engineer :) - exact words as quoted by them lol. They both looked all ready for the dive and me on the other hand couldn't be any more far from it - in my shorts lol

A quick walk to the boat, hop on and here we go.... On the way to the dive site - the instructor would go about what we are about to do etc.... All sounded fairly simple... First he was gonna take the couple in and then me. The dive site was near Lawrence island. So I figured I will have my packed sandwich - done... Suddenly my phone beeps for new mail - surprise surprise - data connection in the middle of the ocean??? - hmmmmm so checked that - the data connection was sporadic. So just figured will do nothing which was probably a mistake - because I started to feel nauseous with all the yaw and pitch :) it felt like an hour or more before the first 2 came out of the water.... I used to time to switch to my wet suit and all. The girl who came out of the water was shivering - hmmmmm must be very cold down there! The guy was all thumbs up and must see.... The girl was so cold that i lent my tshirt to her so that she could get out of the wet suit & dry faster.

After the instructor caught his breath, it my turn..... Shoes on, mask on... Into the water, had the BC (buoyancy aid?) put on and it's time for the dive... Instructor was first going to demo how to recover the respirator should it get detracted, blow out any sea water that enters the mouth or the mask... And had the note about equalize every once in a while to keep up with the pressure... Yeah yeah....

First trial into the shallow - i was just ok at the best - water kept entering my mask at an alarming rate.... That made it difficult to breathe comfortably... I couldn't take more than a minute under water and did the hand signal to go up.... Instructor has his yoda moment, after that, try #2 - no go. The instructor saw the water leaking into the mask and so I had to swap that with the one the girl used. Ok, that seemed better... So we started our descent and seemed to be alright this time.

To be honest one of my biggest concern was biting on the respirator which was in some one else's mouth... Yeah yeah I am a bit of a freak when it comes to what I put in my mouth (well there are exceptions to this rule - but under the water is not one of those places...). But since this is a life and death situation, guess this phobia is only secondary :)

Gave the ok hand signal to the instructor - so that we can move to a more deep spot... As we started to descend, i was beginning to feel the pressure increase. I remember the instructor say - do what you do on a flight - I would normally call for the air hostess and ask for an orange juice lol - Guess that's not going to work here.... So trying to equalize by blowing air out of the nose... Seem to work - but being the first time and all, I forgot I had to breathe at that time lol. Oh well guess it happens the first time.

But once I got used to the equalizing, conquering my phobia and to understand that it is ok to see bubble come out of the respirator - it was getting better.....

Kept doing my ok signal to the instructor as we continued our descent down..... The instructor told me that the corals in the shallow had died down due to the global warming and the resultant rise in temperature of the sea water.... Saw a lot of fish.... The instructor would point at the interesting ones and take pictures.... After a while I was beginning to get better and better at that and we probably went to the max depth in that area. Saw some big fishes and then it was back to the surface.... It all felt like it lasted for 15 mins - but I guess it's my feeling coz the folks on the boat felt it was much longer than that..... And once I was back, I noticed the couple on the boat were slightly nauseous too lol.... So we head back to our island....

Work call on the way - couldn't hear well till we reached shore.... And once we reached there took care of business - phew now I can rest easy.

Then head back to the cabana and sleep... Slept till 5:30pm when I woke up, it was pitch dark - phew.... Decided to go to the B3 (barefoot bar and brasserie) - which apparently had the best pizza.

The restaurant was neat, and the menu had more variety. But no beer - phewwwwww Infact no alcohol being served there due to some license issues - pffffff guess its B2 for now..... Got the customary question I get from all the folks here - where am I from? - apparently its my accent - Ordered me a banana shake, sashimi (after making sure they use the fresh fish), a sea food pizza - fruit di mare - I ve never had a sea food pizza in my life and after having had one now, I think I will still stick to pepperoni.... The food was good.... But don't think I can finish it all - not without the beer. Hmmmmm so may be I should doggy bag this and head back.... Man I wish they had beer...

Surprise surprise - look who is here - the scuba diving couple... Nice of them to invite me to join them for the dinner...  Well I can't eat a bite more though ! So just chit chat... Looks like they are into yoga - hmmmmm I ve never done yoga before... Probably never will... Apparently you should not drink alcohol when you are doing yoga... How can I sacrifice the love of my life - beer....

So after more chit chat, it was bye bye time.... Looks like they are returning back tomorrow... I still have 5 more days to go.... Ok off in my bike... To wild orchid for some beer to wash down the food...

It was more busy at wild orchid today... Some music on by I guess an amateur DJ... Had kind of the reggae  feel maan ! :) met shruti who was behind the bar and nikhil too... I realized - a bad habit of mine is that I don't remember people's name!!! So of all the people I met on the island,  I remember anshuman, Sanjay, shruti, Nikil, sesha, benny, my neighbor Jim only because some one yelled out his name, and Chris from the bar hmmmm I m sure I met more folks than that ! Well guess thats an area of improvement for me... I was surprised when bartender remembered my name - how many people do you meet at a bar every day! I would have never remembered lol Wait why do I have a feeling I am finding another cheers  bar here... Man I so feel like norm Peterson !  Ok 1 beer & off today - heavy dinner with pizza which I still have some leftover... Another weird thing - I heard a white gal speak hindi (albeit broken but still better than mine) pffffff may be I am too drunk !?!?! Anyway off with one beer today....

Back to the resort... Just plan on a long sleep... Have to check out of vinnies tomorrow and check into emerald gecko... Ok final verdict of vinnies - it's a nice place to stay - hot water was the only problem - it was more Luke warm ... Other than that all else was cool.... Will come back if I ever do a trip again!!!

Nighty night

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Day #5: check out from vinnies day

Woke up about 8ish in the morning... Did my breakfast...

well nothing much planned for the day - just need to relocate to the other resort today. I will be checking out of Vinnie's to stay at emerald gecko. Emerald gecko is a bit further south on the east coast of the island!

Think it is the third last resort on this coast...  Vinnies was alright for the stay. If gecko turns out to be equivalent, it will be alright I guess.

More about the place after I get to check in.... Right now waiting for the office to open so I can check out....

Ok checked out of vinnies... Finally met Vinnie today lol - nice chap - why do I think anyone with a Mac is nice at the first appearance... A little bit of history... He is from Punjab and started the business here back in 2003... Apparently his motivation started after a vacation.... Here comes dhananjay (two new names I will remember :) ) - who is the receptionist/manager... Settled the bills... Arranged for my return later at the end of the week with the ferry etc. I will come back on the 19th to pick up the tickets and all - looks like I am taking the morning ferry at 9 am. he also arranged for an auto to drop me at gecko.... All done... Bye bye vinne, frodo and Sam...

The auto ride was uneventful... The guy did ask if I would like music - oh well is not like I care much for the music :) so sure.... I guess every one in this island likes to up-sell to an extent... Auto driver wants to upsell snorkeling and rides etc..... Oh well the ride was not very far away... The next resort I will be staying is past andaman bubbles, wild orchid, dolphin resort and the gecko.... So reached there in a moment....

Checked in... Apparently they thought I was arriving by ferry today and had someone waiting for me at the jetty... Oopsy - sorry about that... Then followed the person who took me to the "bamboo hut cabin" I will be staying at... It's alright... A sit out, a bed which takes most if the space in the room, bed covered with mosquito net, no repellent - oh well - I got my own :)... A small washing area, rest room and shower... Guess no hot water here... Hmmmmm - and I also wish they had more than one power outlet :( need to find an adapter I guess.. But all in all it should do... No service on cell phone lol The cabins are just slightly away from the beach - probably 100m... Absolutely walkable...

Off to the resturant - I am hungry... It's called the black beard bistro... Located right on the beach... Lovely breeze - seems to have cooled me down already... Ordered me a coconut prawn curry with rice and a coke... Food is here... The resturant is lively with lot of folks - many Germans I think.... No beer pfffff & some wild dogs ! Where is frodo & Sam to chase them away ????? Between not caring for the wild dog, chasing away a few flies, couldn't enjoy the prawn curry but tasted alright....

What next? Guess I need to find a bike? Guess its no for scuba diving course... Just another discover dive... So beach... Beer at wild orchid I suppose that's it....

Feeling drowsy... Hmmmm guess I'm finally catching up with the schedule of vacation ... Lol

Got a bike... Only inr 250 - guess the earlier guy made a small profit on me pfffffff typical! The bike was nearly empty on fuel... So cautiously rode to fill some petrol. Came back to town in search of the 3 pin electric socket adapter so I can hook up more than on charger - no go :( found a shop sign with so many typos (eg: snurkulling) that even if they deducted 10% for each one, it should have covered for the sign :) on the way back, met bike riding lady from the other day who asked for directions to the village - that's when you know you are in a small town...

Stopped by andaman bubbles to confirm my dive tomorrow.... There was a Brit (sounded like Manchester chap) person in the office assisting another Israeli couple with their dive - heard he gave 10% discount - hmmmmm - Helene (pronounced with na at the end) offered to assist me with my paper work - the regular - I now pronounce my life urs stuff lol... Looks like she has travelled a bit... Originally from Germany, left 17 years ago, travelled to San Francisco (studied at palo alto), Ireland (Dublin), Australia (Sydney), Spain (mioka?), Kenya and now working here in havelocks for the last 2 years... Looks like she has had enough of this island I suppose lol - oh I also heard the sound of a dial up modem :) - the paper work was extensive here - probably at dive India I signed up at the last minute.... Even had a quiz which i would like to think i aced it - After all the paper work and chit chat.... I was told to report tomorrow at andaman bubbles (which also houses the clien fish cafe) at6:30am... We should be diving at the light house site this time... I was telling Helene about my phobia about putting things in the mouth :) heard she has had people with similar fear before :) so 6:30 am there... Some coffee and the to diving #2...

After that drive down south.. Wild orchid bar had a deal tonight - margerita pizza and beer for 280 - sounds yummy... May be later... Went to check out if the words I wrote in sand was still there :) nope - looks like the water has washed them away pffff but atleast now I know the exact spot - while heading south on the east coast road, look for the post RF33 and the spot is right opposite to it....

Returned back to the hut, felt drowsy and Dozzed off the whole night :) lol



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Day #6 - the dive #2 (meant to be the first) day lol

Woke up about 5 am... Man it rained heavily in the night... Was worried that I was gonna catch cold :) so had a towel wrapped on my throat as I slept yest.... Opened the door to see if there any water logging - guess the shore sand absorbs it all.. There were some lizard noises (hopefully they are not inside the cabin) and wild crickets? or similar chirps (lizards scare me... Also any noise coming from something I can't spot scares me too - like rustling huts etc - you never know what's out there haha) - guess happens in a thickly wooded island like this... Had some weird dreams, some good - some didn't make any sense... One where I forgot I had a flight to catch and slept long and missed the flight lol, another where I dreamt like I bought a Mitsubishi outlander... Hmmmmm doesn't really make a lot of sense lol - after I woke up, I did some catching up on my diary for yest night....

Have to head to andaman bubbles by 6:30am.. A quick shower should do it... As I hit the shower, there are little things which I miss here compared to island Vinnie - like the blankets, the storage here on the cabins are very small... Well sure vinnies had only Luke warm water :) but here - there is none lol (so guess my complaint during vinnies stay seems so childish) I read somewhere I can fetch hot water from somewhere... I thought the tissue roll in vinnies was more like half a roll - here it could qualify as 1/4th lol... The toilet flush pressure was not the greatest here.. The lights could be a bit more brighter... Well these are trivial things and I can sure do with some adjusting - just give it a little bit of time....plus you have to keep in mind this is more of their budget accommodation - so I guess it's value for money deal.......

Reached andaman bubbles in time - probably the first guest at the cafe - I always feel nervous about the fact of being the first guest - its like you are setting the trend for the day you know... A weird feeling - lol - lot of pressure haha - ok a toast & omelette plus a coffee should see me through the breakfast part... Man there are a lot of flies on the  island - so annoying - its like you are playing who is gonna eat the most of your food haha... Breakfast done.... See a few more folks - must be here for the dive as well...

Ok dive #2 - uneventful... Was so cool this time had no trouble with mask or ear pain lol - this time we dived near lighthouse - compared to the Lawrence dive site, this is only ok.... Didn't feel so deep -  nor did have too many fishes... Saw a nest of fish eggs, few fishes... Smaller than Lawrence island ones.... The only trouble I had was staying still... I kept bubbling to the top when I try to be still pffffff

After the dive the boat dropped us off at the jetty... Took an auto from there to the bubble dive center... Mad mad driver ! Then hop on my motor bike and ride to my fav spot on the east coast driving down south - yup the spot rf33 lol I named it after the post there lol

As I lay back on the beach, I am thinking I am so in love with scuba !!! (The mouth piece phobia aside) Wish I could see some live coral ! Probably should enquire.... Certifications could be too tight to complete... Hmmmmm

Ok.. Few more persons i met - biddesh(??) the in charge of the resort... Speaks good English... From middle andaman - his earlier generations are from Bangladesh.... He also told a vast settlement of Bengalis here are from Bangladesh who fled during the liberation of the then called east Pakistan...interesting... He seems to be a straight forward person... He also told the black beard bistro today had pizza in their menu....

Decided to skip the trip to andaman bubbles dive center cafe (clown fish)... Ordered me a pizza... There I met Jamie who is a Canadian... He was  trekking in Nepal, when his father got sick and got sent back to Canada... And he decided to pop over to havelock's for a vacation... Seems like a serious diving person - already did some 8 dives in 4 days - pffffff met another friend of Jamie - sorry forgot her name - pfff - she was from northern spain somewhere... She was going to go to port blair to do a course in Ayurvedic medicine ... Apparently it costs 750 euros ! Holy cow that's a lot of diving and drinking me thinks haha.... But apparently the folks at the Ayurvedic center were rude - well, welcome to india :) even I get hassled when they know I don't speak their language... So she decided to abandon the course and come here to havelock instead for a vacation.... I say that's a good decision.... Was catching up Jamie and her on the good spots to eat... Man I ve become so familiar with the good spots on the island lol...

Then popped over to the town to get me a 3 pin power outlet extender... Finally the shop was open and I got it ... Pffffff now I can be mosquito free and charge my iPad/hone in the night.... Then decided to head back to my RF33 spot :)... And then on the way back met my new neighbor - Israel who is also from Israel - wow - I guess I may never meet some one from any other country with that coincidence - like India from India or USA from USA hehe ... Oh yeah there are a lot of Israeli tourists here too .. That's nice....

Ok just chilling a bit... Wild orchid for beer later ... Man it's only 5:30!!! Pfffff I don't want to go in there so early !!! People would think I am drunk haha - bite me lol

Had a little bit of a nap - almost overslept... Got up at 8pm and slowly dragged my ass to the wild orchid bar... Ordered me a beer - well guess they are out of lager beer pffff what the had was kingfisher strong - just tastes a little bitter... Oh well had that.... Guess there was a combo deal for pizza and beer - margarita pizza and beer for inr 280.... Funny thing - when the person in the restaurant asked if I am getting a pizza - I told her they don't serve pizza here (I was told that time I was having a beer) - I didn't realize she was an employee here  - how dumb of me !!! - she is anu from the resort. Surprisingly I finished the whole pizza.... See what I ve been telling all along? You need beer with pizzas... Just as much you need chilli flakes - which I couldn't get yest or dinner pffffff. Well the beer went down slowly...

Continued to read the history of the world war book which I started in the flight..... I wasn't going t drink any more of the beer - took me more than an hour to finish one bottle... Or ordered me a gin and tonic - dont think I was gonna get gordons or Bombay sapphire .. But that was the least of the problem :) they were out of tonic water... Pffffff ok let's try Tom Collins .... I was set on a gin mood ... I guess it is not a popular order on the island coz the bartender was not familiar - actually I forgot the ingredients - isn't it: gin, lime cordial, sugar syrup and soda poured over ice on a Collins glass? Hmmm man it's been a while since I made me one of those..... Anyway - not wanting to experiment, settled for a Cuba libre which does seem to be a popular order here in the bar - oh well how hard can it get?

Also there was some frenetic activity behind the bar counter - like they lost the keys to something or what... And I was beginning to regret my book choice - it was too serious stuff to read on a vacation - the atrocities made by the German army in  belgium during world war 1... Hmmmm Any-hooo After my drink, called it quits for the night and decided to head back... I was told there was a jamming session tomorrownight at gecko - where I will stay - oh may be that's where I will be tomorrow - as long as I get beer :)

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Day #7 - doing nothing day

Woke up pretty late - about 9ish.... Decided to have breakfast at the black beard bistro in gecko... Ordered me a tea - yup :) tea, and some fried eggs with toast.... Continued to read on my history of the war book and realized can't take it anymore... As I finished my breakfast, decided to change to some book with lighter topic - as light as some kids book like treasure island - lol... Seemed to work - Hispaniola  lol

About 10am decided to head back to the hut, got drowsy while reading the book and dozed off... It was about the time black dog made an appearance lol... Woke up about 12 noon... Some more reading - by now the doctor had assembled the crew of Hispaniola and recruited long John silver and ready to sail from Bristol ... Oh well this book was part of my school syllabus and I have seen the movie - so no wonder I m breezing through the chapters lol

Then shaved & cut my nails (oh the Swiss army knife set does really can do a lot of things :) ).... Off to lunch... Feels like seafood...  Checked out the gecko restaurant - nothing very tempting... So decided to head out.... I also noticed they were setting up a stage and sound for the evening jamming session... Hmmm will there be beer? Still remains a big question...

Decided to check out cafe del mar which is inside the barefoot scuba resort.... On the way met Helene... Guess she was on her lunch break.... Rode to cafe del mar... The huts seem alright - pretty much same :).... The restaurant seems a bit occupied - a large Spanish group having their lunch - Ordered me a banana leaf fish (which I suppose is fried fish - may be filet don't know), few rotis, and fish masala... Waiting for nearly 20 mins? It does seem to take longer here... Hmmmmmm oh well may be the taste will make it worth the wait... I think I did hear a woman speak on her mobile phone in Russian (nyet.....) - if so it will be the first Russian tourist I met on the island... Seems like little Europe lol.... Oh foods here... Later tweeps.....

Ok the food came in 2 parts... The roti & gravy first... And after I finished that, the banana leaf fish.... The fish seemed fresh... The surprise was the banana leaf fish... My original assumption was that it would be fried fish served on a banana leaf - lol - how wrong was I??? This was more like fish warped in banana leaf and baked.... Was alright... Had to fight with a needy car which kept popping on the table to share the fish lol...

After lunch, ride to RF33.... And took a walk... Couple of days back Vinnie told me that some of the plastics on the beach are actually washed in by the tide - all the way from Thailand... My theory was it was more of local tourist littering... Today as I walked along, I did noticed stuff washed on to the shore from various places - a plastic water bottle which was a product of Myanmar, a shampoo bottle from Cambodia, manufactured in Thailand... Not saying its all from those countries - sure there were a lot of stuff littered by local folks... So I guess the problem cannot be fully solved by passing a law in one place.... It has to be a more collective effort of all nations - may be a global law banning sale/entry of plastic within a specific range near coastal cities? I don't know... Sure something has to be done....

any ways, walked back to my bike & came back to the resort... Thought would have a beer in silversands - don't know if the bar was open - but the whole place was deserted pffffff - so near... Guess this island is not big on chilling out with beer...

Back to the black beard bistro and having me a tea - yes tea lol - since when did I become so British lol.... I think it's more to the fact that coffee in India is generally watered down... But the milk tea on the other hand is pretty much the same and better.... Looks the place is getting ready for jamming session later, stage set, music on... Need to check of they have beer... Ok off to a shower....

Ok the deal was you could get drink from wild orchid and walk in to the resort... I guess that's better than nothing... Party without booze is such a drag lol. I just relaxed till 7:30pm and decided I will first get my tank filled with beer... Got me drunk with one beer and got another one to take away...

The artists were setting up their instruments and I was out of beer by the first song pffffff so off again to wild orchid for more beer... What was I thinking when I bought one beer!!! So this time got me 3 beers... And back again... This time I offered to give another gentleman a ride on my bike to the resort... Well for sure am not good at driving with a person in the back of the bike..... I was so wobbly - or could be the beer.... He said he is from Germany and more specifically kept insisting Bavaria - wonder what is th difference :)

Ok back with more beer and music..... I was relaxing....almost finished all my beer - Just one left - thought will get me some dinner - but the black beard bistro was closed pffffff but I wanted to get some food in my stomach.... So off on my bike to find some food - lee meridian it is lol. Ordered me a prawn fried rice... It sure felt like it took a long time for the food... After that back to resort.... Tripped on the walk back to the bike on a gravel thing and got a cut on my right foot - pffff I am so not cut out for country life lol.... Back to the resort... Saw I was losing a lot of blood... Hmmmm I thought it was a minor scratch... So cleaned that with water and applied a ton of wet naps to control the bleeding and after a messy 10 mins, it was alright.... After that napped - pretty much leaving the last beer to go waste pffffff

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Day #8: more than a week now....

Wow one week gone... Just 2 more nights in the island and in 3 days & I get back to work.... Hmmmmmmmm time flys....

Off to get me some tea and toast... Then need to get me a band aid to seal up that cut.....

Headed to rf 33, then back to resort to sleep... Had nothing more to do... Headed to radhanagar beach... Sunset was ok - stupid clouds... But there were some last minute surprises....

Dinner at black beard bistro at gecko, fish travelly was good - some white man in the next table introduced another English couple to Hindi grammar... Hmmmm is it just me or is that weird?????

Then off to the town to get more band aid, then to wild orchid bar - feeling more like cheers again... Then met new people and after lot of discussion  topics like travel and education in Iran(a German iranian pair), something about French (there was a guy - fabian from franc and a pair from Netherlands), and a whole lot of other stuff - we did get into chennai vs rest of India topic - and the mutual feeling is that people in chennai don't like rest of India any bit more than the rest of india like chennai lol - boo hoooo!!!!

Back to resort... Have one beer to finish and that should be that for the night... Did get hungry at night - but no place to eat hmmmm I tried lol


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Day #9: the last day on the island

Nothing planned for the day.... I think I am going to catch a cold pffffff must be the dew.... Actually worried how things are going at work... Hopefully there are no major fires ... Called my source lol who informed me everything is cool but one... Guess I can live with that... Oh new neighbors in resort - noisy bunch pffff oh well just for a day - Popped into ATM to see if the wire transfer happened... Looks like not yet... Hmmmmmm.... Fill some petrol - last for the trip... Rode to RF33... Again for the last time :( - you know, I am going to miss that place the most... Took a walk as well... Back to resort and finished my lunch - coconut flush curry with rice.... And a sprite... Gotto swing by vinnies by 4 to pick up the ferry ticket for tomorrow... And then to Radhanagar again... Guess I am gonna give elephant beach a miss... Photos don't look so enticing.... Probably a beer later? Or should I give drinks a break today??? Hmmmmm well let's take it as it comes....

Nappy time, finished lunch at black beard bistro - probably the last food in the restaurant... Then off to radhanagar beach... Stopped by island vinne's on the way to see if I can pick up the tickets... Dhananjay told I can collect it tomorrow in the jetty...and that the meet and greet person will be in port Blair to pick me up after I arrive at the jetty - sounds cool... Then off to Radhanagar beach....sunset there for the last time ... Ride back to east coast... Small nappy... Then off to wild orchid bar - apparently some party... I was beginning to catch a bit of a cold like feeling in my throat... So before I stopped by for beer, had myself a seafood chowder - who would have thought of that in the island lol... There were some disco ball kinda lighting on the outer deck and few people.... Helped my self to a couple of beers... Then try me a mango vodka - interesting never had that before... Some folks slowly arriving for the party... Mostly folks from the other resort... Even anshuman was there... Said a bye to him.... The girl on the bike showed up.... Apparently she is from Israel - man the island feels like a little Israel.... The food was done... Pic time at the bar... So popped over to lee meridian lol for dinner... Met the chef there - he is apparently from Nepal... On the way back folks from the party pretty drunk lol - couple of them said to come to the other resort to get drink more lol and a chick who told to come with beer for the party lol

Well, Was kind of crazy night... Then off to gecko... Was gonna listen to some music and sleep when shruti, Ramco and John came back to the resort... More drinks on the resort lol... Anu also popped in... Music, rum it was all going good till Ramco turned a bit grumpy over his song selection? Geez he must have been drunk... Off to sleep - resort was out of water....

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Day 10 - bye bye havelock

Had to wake up early by 6 to catch the ferry at 9.... No water in resort... Pffffff the ants were still monopolizing the toilet bowl... So pretty much skipped the morning routine... Man I had a head ache.... Must be all the drinks last night.... Popped over to the reception to settle the bike bill and bye bye to biddesh... Then off to get a tea - may be it will help my throat... All in all gecko resort is more economical with little niggles... Prefer vinnies... But the restaurant - black beard bistro was good....

Tea done... Met John over tea... Looks like the auto guy from Vinnie who was going to pick up is not coming lol - its already 8... So got my own auto and headed over to Vinnie... There was another israeli lady who was also leaving with me... Done chit chat... She was telling Neil island was not so great.., Then off to jetty... Got me my tickets... Actually the lady got them! Looks like this time we re taking the slow govt ferry - takes 2:30 hrs to get to port Blair... (Makruzz only took 1:30 hrs but the ferry on Sunday was only at 4pm)... While waiting for the ferry met the bicycle lady and another person traveling wither her lol - I seem to be bumping into her a lot!! my head was starting to hurt bad lol - damn hang over.... So while I took a nap, the Israeli folks guess had their chit chat.... Ferry is here... Looks ugly and cramped.... Well I am just going to sleep... Was a tired trip from havelock to port Blair... Couldn't wait to get to my hotel and freshen up....  11:50pm Hello port Blair again... Looks like te data connection on the phone is back - but guess my work email got locked due to password expiry... Pfff... But hello face book... Was very slow connection... Pfff   Met the transfer gentleman who drive me to megapode... It was a 20 min ride... Checked in... The megapode is run by govt of India... Very old property... Dirty sheets... Noisy fan... Oman!!!!! Stupid reviews ... Well just for a night - so had to live with it.... Took a shower... My cold getting more and more certain... Went to the restaurant to get me some coffee to keep my throat warm... Worst coffee ever too... Then had to get some juice or something to wash that down my throat... Off to the bar... Very small bar - just 5 or 6 chairs.. And occupied... So go me a Miranda and went back to the room... Then was just watching movies on tv... Enemy at the gates, Norwich lost to arsenal 2-1, sa vs aus match, wall street 2... Thought I will order some room service - if only I could get the room phone to work pfffffff... Figured will just sleep... By 8 was time to call it a day.... Alarm check...

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Day #11: end of vacation...

Early morning alarm to wake up at 4:30 am... Cold seems inevitable... Decided to skip the shower lol... Pack my stuff again... Off to the reception... sleepy person at the reception...pffff waiting for my transfer guy... It's 5:30am and flight is at 6:45 am.... Hmmm decided to give him a ring... Thank god I did - guess he forgot pfff lol - but then it's a small town... My transport arrived shortly... Off to the airport.. Check in ... Man some of these folks should learn how to queue up!!!! Annoying folks! Checkin done.. Security... Flight and off to chennai...

As I type this on my flight, if I was to rate the vacation - it was 8/10 -  believe me that is great for vacation in any pace in India - normally you have some annoying thing that happen or someone scam you - lol - no offense... But this vacation was so relaxing... Pace of life in havelock is so slow and that is a great thing for me after the hectic work year... Loved the diving.. Actually love it so much - I gotto do the padi thing... Beaches were awesome... Food was good... Wild orchid bar was cool... All in all it was great! Bye havelock, it was great and may be see you again some time...

The End!