Dirty Delhi and Train Travel

In India, two important things to know: 1) people will always try to rip you off, and 2) the hotel never looks like the pictures. We arrived at the airport in Delhi just before midnight. Our hotel was the only one we actually booked ahead of time, since we did not want to be going from place to place looking at rooms in the middle of the night. After we failed to connect with the hotel pick-up that was supposedly sent for us, we opted for a pre-paid taxi. My travels have shown me so far that these are generally more expensive than negotiating with a driver, but only if you know the proper value for the ride you're taking. We were quoted anywhere from Rs 250 to 400 for the exact same ride, so we were immediately suspicious of negotiating this when we didn't know how far away the hotel was from the airport.

We arrive at the hotel we booked and it is in a seedy area of Delhi that I would not want to be in during the day, much less at night. The room was dingy and the bathroom smelled like mothballs, but we were only there for about 6 hours--we had an early train to catch the next morning.

Train travel in India is a unique experience. I'm not sure if it was the lack of signs anywhere, the throngs of people sleeping on the platform, or the wafting aroma of excrement coming up from the tracks because, oh yeah, the train toilets are just holes in the floor of the car. So whenever people use one, it comes out on the tracks. Lovely. This attracts rats, which are scurrying everywhere. We had help buying our tickets from a man I was working with at the charity in Shantimalai, and thank goodness, because there is no such thing as a line in India, as I may have mentioned before. We had to find our coach number and then our bunks inside, which, in a rare shining moment, actually turned out to be nicer than I expected. The train station probably set my expectations so extremely low, they could only be exceeded.

My sleeper bunk on the train

6 hours later and we arrived in Jaipur, also known as the Pink City. I had read about this place called Krishna Palace on wikitravel, so we decided to give it a shot. They offered free pick-up from the train station, so we were already off to a good start. We arrive and it is quite literally an old palace that has been converted into a hotel. They showed us a room, which was pricier than the website said, but then offered us a cheaper room on the roof--it was the only one up there, so it was very quiet. Lots of stairs, but I could definitely use the exercise. I'm so happy we took it. This place turned out to be the best hotel we've stayed in. Large rooms, AC, marble everywhere, wifi that actually works in the room (most places tell you they have it, but it only works in certain areas like the lobby, which makes skype kind of awkward). The staff was friendly and helpful, arranging the rest of our train tickets and hiring a car for half a day to show us some of the sights in Jaipur.

At the Amber Fort The afternoon we arrived, we went to see the lake palace and the Amber Fort, which is on the outskirts of town.We were too late to go inside but walked up as it's on a hill and looked around. Great views of the city from here. It looked like whoever built this fort tried to also build India's response to the Great Wall of China. That's all we had time for before it got dark, so we headed back to get some rest. Jaipur may be the Pink City, but it's not the most exciting city on the planet.

See? Great Wall of India!

Lake Palace in Jaipur

Seasickness and Port Blair

Andaman Day 5: Tues Aug. 16.Today we checked out of Emerald Gecko and took the 9 am ferry back to Port Blair, where I discovered I have an innate ability for violent seasickness--it was not a fun ride. We were the only white people on the boat both times, which is a really strange feeling. I had gotten used to strange looks from people in Tiruvanammulai, where I was for the past few weeks before this, but in other cities, it takes some getting used to again. People will just sit across from you and stare at you. They don't say anything, they just stare. Or, if you're an army officer at the gate, you tell me I have a nice face. Thanks...as opposed to what, exactly?

We hadn't booked a hotel in Port Blair yet, so we took a pre-paid rickshaw to one of the properties suggested in my guide book to check out the rooms. Our driver tells us of his affinity for WWE and the Undertaker. Reminded me of that scene in Eurotrip where they end up in eastern Europe and they have just gotten Miami Vice on tv...a little behind the times. Wrestling is so 1999...I think. Or never. Shocking fact, I'm not a big fan. Naturally, he takes us to the wrong resort, but we decide to check it out anyways. The bedroom was seedy yet livable for one night, but the bathroom looked like they pulled it straight out of the swamp. Much like dating, this is an absolute DEALBREAKER.

Moving on, we checked out a place we passed on the way to the first one, Sinclairs Bayview, and it was much better, albeit more expensive. James bargained down to Rs 2100 from 3500, so we took it. We just wanted to be comfortable before our long travels the next day, and this place had airport transfer, internet (although that's debatable with the connection speed, it was like dial-up all over again...on second thought, maybe they ARE stuck in 1999...Michael J. Fox, where are you!), and free breakfast.

After getting our bags, the rickshaw driver tried to get us to pay him extra because it took about an hour for this whole process--but isn't the whole point of a pre-paid taxi that you don't have to pay at the end? It's not our fault he took us to the wrong place first, and if there was an extra charge for waiting, they should have told us at the stand where we paid. I felt bad for him, but it's kind of not our problem--we can't just give him money because he feels like he deserves more, not with pre-paid.

We walked around Port Blair in the afternoon, and went to the aquarium, which was very basic, but for Rs. 5 it was a good detour. I learned to identify many of the species we saw snorkeling, which was great.

After giving up on the tragically slow internet available only in the lobby of the hotel, I headed back to the room to watch a mixture of Bollywood classics and brutal B movies that are for some reason extremely popular in India--Anaconda 2: Trail Of Blood may be the worst film I've seen, yet somehow it made it all the way over here and I'm still not famous. Maybe I need to rethink my career path.

We finally settled on The Alamo (great movie by the way), and in the process of getting ready for bed, I discovered something moving in my backpack. I froze apprehensively, waiting for this thing to reveal itself. Get ready for it, a COCKROACH was in there. I screamed and James went to work dismantling my luggage, pulling out one bra after another, looking increasingly uncomfortable, until he found the critter and captured him with a teacup. MacGyvered. And this is supposed to be one of the nicest hotels in Port Blair. I guess that's the trade-off: you either get isolated beach paradise but sketchy accommodation at best (like what we found here), or you get bathed in the lap of luxury, but you have to bribe fish to come near you (in the Caribbean). Luckily we were only there for one night before a long day of travel.

Snorkeling Elephant Beach

Our beachAndaman Day 4: Monday Aug 15.

We woke up to a gorgeous sunny day, so we knew we had to take advantage. I decided on a lazy morning on the beach, while James went back to the jungle for some more hiking. In the afternoon, we hired a boat to take us to Elephant Beach for some snorkeling.

Lazy morning on the beach

The calm before the boat ride After a hair-raising speed-boat ride over (seriously I thought my life was over, I was going to get eaten by a salt-water crocodile after being pitched out of the boat), we reached the beach. Completely deserted, we had the entire coral reef to ourselves to explore. Once I got used to hearing Darth Vader in my ear everytime I breathed through my mouthpiece, I got down to business.

There is no way to look good in a snorkel mask, Exhibit A. Simply put, it was indescribable. Sorry, Dad, but it puts the reefs in the Dominican to shame. Spiny sea urchins stick up through the crevasses in the masses of coral, while countless fish of all different sizes and colours swam around us. I wish I had an underwater camera so I could have captured some of it. Crystal clear water, illuminated by the sun, you could see every last detail. The colours! Oh, the colours. I couldn't believe some of these fish were real--they were too vibrant to be true! I was a little scared at first that they would think I was food, too, but even when I was surrounded, they never touched me. Part of why it was so amazing is that it was deserted. In the Caribbean, the guides have to bring bread to lure the fish back to where the tourists are treading water, hoping for a glimpse of a few species. Here, there's nobody. It really feels like you've stumbled on this incredible treasure that no one else knows about yet, and that's really special.

Showdown with a crab

We walked along the beach to dry off a bit, and encountered several dead trees and a particularly ornery crab--photos were necessary. A storm rolled in quickly after that, so we had to hightail it out of there. I really thought we were going to get hit by lightning on the way back--the clouds were getting darker by the second and being in open water when that happens is just terrifying. Can you tell I'm not a sailor?

Jungle Trekking

Andaman Day 3: sunday aug. 14. It was cloudy this morning, so James and I drove up the coast to this elephant trail we found the night before, and decided to hike through the jungle and see where it led. I hung in there for a couple of hours, but eventually I reached my mosquito quotient for the day. After that, we headed over to beach no 7 to catch the (legendary?) sunset but were promptly escorted off the beach by two armed guards: apparently the beach closes at 5 pm everyday. No reason given. SUSPICIOUS. So all those guidebooks that say come to Havelock for this sunset need to be rewritten...cause you can't see it even if you want to!

We did, however, stumble upon Barefoot, the best resort on the island (according to Tripadvisor, with prices to match). We kicked back, had a beer there and played foosball in the lobby. Dinner, however, was out of our voluntary price range, so we came back to Rony, our usual and new favorite spot, for dinner.

The moon is incredible from our beach--I've never seen it so bright, but it makes the whole ocean sparkle. Cameras can't do it justice, but to give you an idea, here's a quick photo. Impressive.

Best Beach in Asia?

Andaman Day 2: Sat. Aug. 13.

I woke up at the crack of dawn this morning (I did go to bed shamelessly early) and had Nutella pancakes on the beach. Did I mention we have our own private beach? Not sure if this is due to it being the off-season, general lack of visitors, or it actually being private, but we are reaping the benefits.
Our beach

I went to take an open-air shower, and when I got out, my legs suffered a sudden onslaught of painful burning--it felt like someone was sticking a thousand knives into my skin at once. No visible reaction, just clearly something in the water trying to convince me to fully embrace my backpacker status and not shower for the next four days...that's what the ocean's for, right?

After I took some allergy meds and my legs calmed down a bit, James and I headed to Beach Number 7, aka Radhanagar Beach, to check out the alleged Best Beach in Asia, according to Time Magazine. We rented a motor scooter and made the drive across the island, through the jungle. One of the most beautiful drives I've ever taken, actually.
On the drive to Beach No. 7

The beach was gorgeous and not crowded at all, although I think Best Beach in Asia might be a bit of a stretch. Maybe before the tsunami. There was a sign at the entrance warning of the dangerous creatures lurking in the area, which was a bit alarming...I mean, stone fish that you can't see? CROCODILES? I definitely refrained from entering the water. My bronzed complexion is much better suited to soaking up some rays on the beach, obviously...

We headed back to grab some dinner at the resort, when a fellow backpacker let us know about this restaurant down the street that was less than half the price of the resort. We decided to be adventurous, albeit cautious, because we didn't want to get sick. Rony's restaurant turned out to be the best discovery on the island. Huge plates of home-cooked food for dirt cheap. The place is run by a family in what looks like their front porch, and they will cook you seafood they caught that day if you ask them. We saved so much money by making the short trip over from where we were staying, and it was so good!