First Tattoo in India

Domestic Travel Day

Travel DayDay 6: Wed. August 17 It's strange to think that even though I had two flights totaling over 2500 km and an ocean, I stayed in the same country. Today we flew from Port Blair to Chennai, and had a layover during which we discovered two things: a fantastic mall that really makes you forget you're in India--I had KFC for lunch, which was the closest thing to McDonald's, so my quest can stay alive; and apparently duct tape is a banned substance in carry-on luggage. But only from Chennai. In Port Blair you're allowed to have it. From there, we flew to Delhi, where we will basically just crash for the night and are booked on the 8:20 am train to Jaipur. I think it's for the best we don't stick around in Delhi, as the government is sort of imploding at the moment. But on a scale of One to Libya, it's at a solid Egypt. So I think we'll be okay for the moment.

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.