Andaman and Havelock

Highlights from my trip to Port Blair and Havelock last week. A couple of "low lights" (apart from my badly sun-burnt skin) are also listed! Click here for my pictures from the trip.

1) The Ship ride.

Honestly, I did not expect the sea journey to be as comfortable as it turned out to be. Calm seas and beautiful weather ensured there was no tossing and turning. We were in a 2nd class cabin on MV Swaraj Dweep. The cabin had comfortable bunks and air conditioned. Showers and toilets were clean, and the food decent. Meals were served in the Dining Saloon, along with the Ship's officers. The best part about it though, was the evening breeze on the deck and a wonderful view of the Milky Way in the night sky. The crew also let you into the Navigation Bridge on request, where you can familiarise yourself with all the gadgets that aid in the sailing of the ship. We were greeted by Dolphins on the 2nd morning, just outside Port Blair! The 60 hour ride surely is a must, at least once in a lifetime.

2) Visiting the Cellular Jail.

I think every Indian must visit the Cellular Jail. Located in Port Blair, it stood witness to the torture meted out on the Freedom fighters during the first half of the last century. It was called "cellular" because it is entirely made up of individual cells for solitary confinement. It was originally a seven pronged building with a central watch tower acting as a fulcrum and a massive structure of honeycomb like structures. Only three of the seven now remain. There is a Museum, Art Gallery and a Photo Gallery in the jail complex.


The story of the inmates and their struggles are brought alive during the Sound and Light Show, every evening. Two shows, one in Hindi and the other in English.

3) Havelock.


About 3 hours by ferry from Port Blair's Phoenix Jetty, Havelock is an Island paradise. White sandy beaches and unpolluted, crystal clear waters are the hallmark. "Radhanagar Beach", about 12 kms from the Havelock Jetty is amazing. We just did not want to get out of the water here! You even have the option of elephant rides on this beach. We stayed at "Bay View Inn", about 400 mts from the Jetty, which has a beautiful little beach of its own. Our non A/c room cost us Rs 800/- ( A/C costs 1500). More expensive hotels exist in Havelock as well.

The other beach we visited was "Elephant Bay" which is ideal for snorkeling with its corals. The corals and the colorful fish a treat, if you get a hang of Snorkeling first. Scuba diving options are available on Havelock too, but that takes a few days to get trained in.







4) Glass Bottom Boat Ride near Mauadhera.


A 45 minute bus ride from PB takes you to a seaside village of Wandoor (in the new recently, for the chopping of trees to make way for a helipad for our President's visit!). A 20 minute ride on a speedboat takes you to the coral island of Mauadhera. Here, glass bottomed boats are available to take you over the wonderful corals. Options for Snorkeling are available too here.

5) The Tour Operator - Administration Nexus.

This for me is the most worrying aspect about tourism on the Islands. Our Operator tried to convince us there were no ships and buses to Havelock and Baratang. He wanted us to take Private transport to these places. Smelling a rat, we checked with the Administration, but they told us about a "crisis" of tickets to Havelock and a lack of buses to Baratang. These officials though, shamelessly offered to "fix" tickets on private buses, for a commission. We dumped our Operator on the 2nd day and got our tickets by standing in queues, getting to Bus stands and the Jetty early.

6) The garbage on Ross Island.

Ross Island, 10 minute boat rid from Aberdeen Jetty, was the seat of the British Administration in the Andamans. Now in ruins, but still a nice place to visit to get a sense of an age gone by. It housed a Hospital, Bakery, Barracks and even a cemetery, all of which are in dilapidated condition now. It is "maintained" by the Indian Navy now, but the most shocking aspect was the garbage strewn about by the modern day tourist! I could see all brands of empty mineral water bottles, potato chips, biscuits and paper plates thrown all around the island. Maybe a good idea for the Navy would be let in tourists/school children in for free, provided they bring back a certain amount of garbage on their way back.







7) We only saw less than 10% of what the Islands have to offer. I wish we visited more places, but I guess there will always be a next time!


Click here for my pictures from the trip.

Andaman Ahoy!

I'm setting off on MV Swarajdweep to Port Blair tomorrow and hopefully will not be too sea sick to enjoy the journey. I have always wanted to take this 60 hr ship ride, something which I'm told must be done atleast once in a lifetime.

"No way I grassed it"

Early Contender for the Photo of the Year 2008?

Kiwi Animation

This one will make you smile and break your heart! It has been around for over a year, but I came across this only recently. Created by Dony Permedi for his Master's thesis, its about following your dreams...

Shame on us!

We Indians have always prided ourselves for our "maturity", and in recent times, for the "great democracy" that we are. But is the way we are treating Taslima Nasreen an indicator of these?

Taslima has been accused of writing offensive statements about Islam. I do not claim to pass judgments on the merits (or the lack of it) of her statements, but I cannot understand how we can let ourselves be insulted by someone who does not even claim to be a scholar on the matter? So much for "maturity".

And yes, the great Indian "hospitality". First, the atrocious treatment in Hyderabad, and later, she was sent packing from Kolkota - only because the government there could not stand up to religious fundamentalists! Was this vote bank politics or a clever smokescreen to divert attention from Nandigram? Probably both.

She was moved to Jaipur and then to New Delhi. The central government’s way of showing guests around the country, I suppose. The latest news is that she has been asked not to set foot in Kolkota, ever.

Our friends on the "Right” did not miss this opportunity to gain some mileage. Taslima was offered asylum in Gujarat. These are the same people who have driven MF Hussain out of the country. How much more hypocritical can we get?

So, which votebank do you belong to?

ಸಿರಿಗನ್ನಡಂ "ಗಲ್ಲಿಗೆ"?

What's the Good Word?

Oxford University Press have come up with what according to them, is the 2007 Word of the year . It is "Locavore", meaning someone who eats food grown or produced locally. Though they are quick to add locavore is very much “on the cusp”, ie not yet firmly established in widespread usage. That means Oxford lexicographers will continue to monitor its progress to see if it eventually warrants inclusion in the next edition of New Oxford American Dictionary. The runners up, most of which I would vote for ahead of Locavore, include Upcycling and Cloudware.

Previous Word of the year winners, as nominated by OAP and other organizations include Blog, Podcast and my favourite Plutoed.


On a smilar note, Sterbetourismus (Death Tourism) has been selected as the Swiss Word of the year, a pointer to tourists' attraction to Switzerland's liberal laws on assisted suicides.

In an Indian context perhaps, some new words for 2007 could be “Gowdered” (when both father and son take you for a ride) or “RGVed” (A badly remade Classic).

Have any of your own for 2007?

Rebus Puzzles.

These are puzzle where you decode a message consisting of pictures or syllables/words. They would appear daily in the Times of India, not sure if they still do. Here is an example...

And the answer is, you guessed it - With or Without You.

Similarly,

is - Turning Green With Envy....get it? simple enough, eh?


So here are a few more for you to crack....
























Clue for the 7th one? Think Godfather..

Copy that?

A Xerox shop near Bhageshwar in Uttarakhand proclaiming how scenic the state is (however unintentionally).




The Panchachuli -1 peak as seen from Munsiyari town. Munsiyari is an idyllic little place from where treks to Milam begin.




A gorge near Reilkot on the trail to Milam.

The place to be for "heavy eaters" perhaps? Opposite Bhageshwar Bus stand.

Got QWERTY?

I find the speed with which some people key in their sms frightening! My thumb start hurting after keying in about 30 "proper" English words (not a big fan of "sms lingo" myself). Digging a little deeper , I found that folks over 20 are considered "over the hill" when it comes to super-fast texting. The winner of this contest, held earlier this year, was a 13 year old! Had to happen I guess, considering school children with access to cellphones and all the practice they get.

Reckon we will soon see competitive texting in the Olympics? Or will addiction rehab centers and clinics treating repetitive strain injuries make more money?

Maybe both.

Kids' Pics

Photographs of children I came across on various travels.

This brother and sister duo were quarreling one morning in Saligrama (Udupi District). They broke it off to pose for the camera, though the brother doesn't seem too amused!

These guys had bunked school one sunny afternoon at Jimighat, on the trail to the Milam Glacier (Kumaon).


More curious onlookers on the trail to Milam!




The one above was in Belthangady Taluk ( Dakshina Kannada District). Lucky the chap carrying provisions home didn't break the eggs in all the excitement!

Children from a tribe in Arunachal Pradesh. Technically, not a "live" photo, but from the National Museum in New Delhi I visited last year.

Watch out Karan Thapar!

Saw this on CNN this morning. The woman, a Venezuelan politician, attacked the TV journo on a LIVE debate! Playing Devil's Advocate could prove costly if our desi politicians take a cue from this woman!!

Mafia's 10 Commandments

Came across this article on the Italian mafia , which had me in splits. Smacks of hipocrisy, doesn't it? The last one about "anyone who behaves badly and doesn't hold to moral values" is so ironic!

Wonder if our very own "D-Company" has anything similar?

St. Mary's Island

Was in Udupi a couple of weeks back with my friend Tambi and took the opportunity to visit the beautiful St. Mary's Island. The rock formation here is really unique and breathtaking.

Head to the Udupi city bus stand and take a "city bus" to Malpe, about 6 Kms away. There's one almost every 10 minutes. The harbour is right next to the Malpe Bus stand. Its a 5 minute walk then to the jetty where you find the ferries parked. Tickets to the island and back in these ferries cost Rs. 70. The first ferry leaves Malpe by 9 AM.

On the island -

This being a Saturday and thanks to a couple of gangs of college students on an "Educational Tour", the ferry was crammed. We counted at least a 100 people on board! The "cruise" took about 25 minutes. Just off the island, about a 100 meters away, we were transferred onto a smaller boat, which dropped us on the beach.

The island, like I said, is beautiful. You can walk all the way to the top of the highest rock formation (if you dont trip on one of the other million visitors) and the sea breeze was wonderful. Vasco Da Gama was here in the 15th century, apparently. The waves hit the rocks with awesome force and the crevices between rocks have enough water to breed a mini ecosystem within. We found a multi-colored crab, but he was camera shy, despite Tambi's heroics to capture him.

The ferry leaves you there for an hour, before they come back with the next boatload. You can request to stay longer if you wish and take a ride back later. We had to head back, though.

The ideal time to visit the island, we realised, is on a weekday and in the evening, to take in the sunset. Next time, perhaps.

Restarting the Blog

This blog has been in hibernation too long now. Have resolved to blog atleast once a week henceforth! So watch this space for more....

Annapurna Base Camp Trek - Sept 2006

Travelogue and links to Photographs from a trek I did last month. The travelogue, at best, will serve as a resource for any hiker planning a visit to Nepal or, at the very least, cure insomnia :)


View slideshow - http://community.webshots.com/album/554538805sVgNNc

-Sanjay
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Travelogue of the trek to the Annapurna Base Camp (ABC) I did last month. This is also called the Annapurna Sanctuary Trek.

Preparation:
We had initially short listed a few treks in Himachal Pradesh and Leh - Ladakh region but were intrigued by what we read about Nepal and hiking in the Annapurna region and hence decided to do the ABC trek. The Annapurna Circuit trek is more popular, because of the diversity in the landscape you get, but takes about 3 weeks to complete and we did not have the luxury of time for this. So ABC it was!

The "Base" for the trek is a town called Pokhara, west of Kathmandu. This is the hub in Nepal for treks to the Annapurna region and also for organizing rafting expeditions and jungle safaris. You can either fly to Pokhara (Bangalore - Delhi - Kathmandu - Pokhara, is one of the routes) or take a train, as we did, to Gorakhpur (U.P). It took us 48 hrs to get there from Bangalore. We reached there on the 10th of Sept. by 6 PM. Then it is a 2 hour taxi ride to the border town of Sunauli. We stayed overnight at a lodge (4-5 to choose from) and then crossed over to Nepal in the morning. No hassles on either side with the Security chaps, thankfully. Indians do not need a Visa for Nepal, but do need a valid Photo ID card. At Bhairawa (the Nepali side of the border town), we exchanged some of our Indian currency to Nepali (not a must, as Indian currency, except Rs 500 and 1000, are accepted in Nepal. Indian Rs 100 = Nepali Rs 160). We then took a minibus to Pokhara, which should have been a 5 hour journey. The bus broke down midway, so we reached Pokhara at around 4 in the evening, delayed by 2 hrs.
We checked into a decent hotel (Green Park - Rs 200 INR per night) at the mainly "touristy" locality in Pokhara known as "Lakeside" (on the banks of "Fewa" lake). Pokhara is very laid back and you get the first views of the Annapurna range here, to the North West of the town. Lakeside is dotted with Restaurants (Nepali, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Italian, Greek, Korean...), Travel Agents' offices and shops where you can buy/hire trekking gear. Some of us hired rucksacks and sleeping bags here.


We were sipping chai and met Gopal Sharma by chance. He turned out to be a qualified Guide to the Annapurna region and we signed him up to take us to ABC (Guide Charges -10 US $ per day). We discussed and finalized the route we would take. We planned to complete the trek in 7 days, trekking an average of 7 - 8 hours per day. It still isn't a MUST to have guide with you whilst trekking the Annapurna region, but the local knowledge these guys have and the know how to deal with the Maoists (Maobaadi) is an advantage.

We (Team of 7 + the Guide) set off from Pokhara on the 12th (Tuesday). We needed to register at the Nepal Tourism Office and get ourselves Permits. Make sure to carry 2 Passport size photographs for this. We then took 2 cabs and headed towards Nayapul ( A 45 minute ride), which was to be our starting point for the trek.

The rooms in all the lodges/tea houses we stayed in consist of 2 beds and a small table. The floor is concrete and the walls, thin plywood. You will be given thick blankets, so sleeping bags were really not necessary throughout the trek. Thedoors have padlock to keep your gear safe.

Day 1 - (Nayapul - Birethanthi - Kyumi)
Nayapul is the last chance for trekkers for any last minute shopping. Things we usually forget before setting off can be bought in shops here - Umbrellas, Rain Coat, extra pair of Socks. A 15 minute stroll brings us to Birethanthi, where we had lunch (it was 12:30 PM by then). It was here that we were warned of the first set of "Maobaadi" we were to meet. After lunch at "Hotel Moonlight", we met these guys just round the corner. They had actually setup a makeshift toll booth here! The "tax" is Rs 100 (nepali) per day per trekker. None of the chaps here seemed older than 17. Our guide told us the more senior "Commanders" work backstage and only appear to bully trekkers who sometimes refuse to pay the "tax". We were actually given a receipt for the tax we paid and had to be produced whenever another maoist gang demanded it. The maoists run a parallel government in these villages and apparently, the toll pays for it. The official Nepali Police/Army have no presence here.
The trail here is paved with terraced paddy fields and plants with medicinal properties, which are supposed to cure everything from headaches to diarrhoea! The trail is relatively easy going through small villages and we reached Kyumi by 5 PM. Kyumi is a beautiful little hamlet with awesome views of the valley and we decided to call it a day at a lodge here. Most of the lodges in the Annapurna region have hot water showers. Clean toilets were a surprise, especially after trekking in India. Meals in these lodges are hygienic, but a little more expensive than in India. The rates get higher as we go along the trek, because the cost of porting the provision gets proportionately higher.

Day 2 - Through Leech Land! (Kyumi - New Bridge - Jhinu - Chomrung - Lower Sinuwa)
This was probably the toughest day of trekking. We set off from Kyumi by 7 AM. The idea was to reach our destination for the day by 2-3 PM each day, to avoid the afternoon showers which are common this time of the year. Kyumi to New Bridge was through wet, damp forests and prime leech territory. A leech finds it's host by detecting changes in temperature and vibration. While they bite,they also ingest an anticoagulant which bleeds the host even after the meal. We gave up the battle after about 30 minutes of the trek. It’s a 90 minute trek to New Bridge, so called because a new bridge was built to replace an old dilapidated one over the Modi Khola river. The lodges here gave us a chance to pluck the bloodsuckers out, clean our feet and assess the damage.
Jhinu was the next destination and this place is famous for its hot springs. We decided to press ahead and try the hotsprings on the way back, stopping only for a cup of tea at one of the 10-12 lodges/restaurants here. We had to reach Chomrung village for lunch, and this trail turned out to be a killer. It’s almost a vertical climb to Chomrung as the village is nestled at the top of a big hill. The sun was high up and the climb, tough. We were relived when we reached Chomrung by 1 PM. After Roti - Aloo Sabji at a lodge/restaurant here, we set off to the village of Sinuwa.

Chomrung itself is a village with amazing views of the Annapurna range. This is the last of the major villages that you will see on this trail. There is a primary school here and a reasonably large provision store here provides supplies to lodges further down the trail. Also the last place you can make you telephone calls from.
We descend the hill and climb another, to reach Sinuwa. We were now accompanied by kids from the Chomrung Primary School. The way they negotiate these hills, barefoot, is amazing. We reached Sinuwa, leech bitten and all muscles hurting, by 4:30 PM. The hot shower (solar powered) was most welcome and we hardly has the zeal to have dinner before we crashed.


Day 3 - Through the Rhododendron forests (Lower Sinuwa - Upper Sinuwa - Bamboo - Dovan - Himalaya - Deurali)
Our pace picked up on day 3. The trail between Sinuwa and Bamboo is through thick Rhododendron forest and was the best 2 hours of trekking thus far. The trail was fairly easy, with the sound of the forest for company. Langurs and a few birds native to this part of Nepal can be spotted here. Small streams and waterfalls made this part of the trek truly awesome. We reached Bamboo by 9:30 AM. It is so called because of the abundance of the plant around here. Don’t forget to try the "Tusa Fry", a bamboo preparation, here.
Bamboo to Himalaya, another small hamlet, is a steady climb and we had lunch here by 12. The stretch between Himalaya and Deurali, however is another vertical climb which seemed to go on forever. We pass through the spectacular "Hinko" caves before reaching Deurali at the top of the ridge. Deurali is at about 3,200 meters and I had signs of altitude sickness here. As a precaution we had Garlic soup here before dinner. No hot shower from here, a bucket of hot water warmed by burning wood costs Rs 50, but trekkers are advised not to use this because of environmental issues (deforestation).

Day 4 - First views of Machchapuchare, Annapurna range (Deurali - MBC - ABC)

Day 4 again was a steady climb all the way to the Annapurna Base Camp. We got our first glimpses of the snowy peaks with sky blue background here. We reached the Machchapuchare Base Camp by 9 AM. Machchapuchare means "Fish tail" because of the way the peak looks. Refer the photographs to see what I mean. The mountain and the adjoining glacier down were clearly visible now. We had breakfast of spring rolls here and the cook here, Asyang played the guitar for us. The setting at MBC was truly magnificent. Bright, blue skies and the mountains in the backdrop.

We set off to ABC by 10:30 AM. MBC - ABC is a 2 hour trail which goes steadily up. There are no trees by now because of the altitude, but meadows with flowers of all colors! It had become cloudy by 12 and visibility was too poor for us to sight the Annapurna range from ABC. The trail follows a glacial valley up into the amphitheater like basin that is the ABC. The cold winds ensured we pull our woolens out - we guessed the temperature was about 9-10 C by now.

We spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the area around ABC. There is a memorial for Anatoli Boukreev an accomplished Kazakh climber who died Christmas Day 1996 in an avalanche on Annapurna.

Day 5 - Golden Sunrise ( ABC - Bamboo )
We woke up by 5 AM on day 5, anticipating clear skies to watch the first rays of the sun hit Annapurna, and were not disappointed. It was glorious and we were apparently the first set of trekkers this season to get these early morning views of the peaks. Perfect photo ops. Clear skies lasted for close to an hour and a half before the clouds gathered.

The lodge owners then told us about 2 senior maoists who had visited ABC the previous night and extorted Rs 1200 each from the owners of the 4 lodges at ABC. We heard the rate was 3000 per lodge further down the trail!
We started on the return journey by 9 AM and reached Bamboo by 5 in the evening, downhill most of the way.

Day 6 - (Bamboo - New Bridge)

Day 6 meant we had to climb up the ridge to Chomrung again, this time in the opposite end of the ridge. We counted 2,400 steps from the base of the ridge all the way to the lodge where we had lunch, in Chomrung. Climbed down to Jhinu after this and reached New Bridge amidst a heavy downpour, by 4 in the afternoon.

Day 7 - (New Bridge - Landruk - Deurali - Tolka - Pothana - Khare)

We had a choice of either backtracking via the same route from NB towards Birethanthi or take a longer route to the Highway towards Khare. We opted for the latter. This proved to be a wise choice as this trail was the most beautiful of the whole trek. The views, the weather were perfect.

The village of Landruk was infested by Maoists. About 35 of them had come there the previous evening. They asked us for the receipt for the "tax". We heard rumors of 3 American trekkers being roughed up for not paying up. Landruk - Deurali via Tolka was again a steep uphill trek, but the last one of the trek. Deurali - Pothana is a beautiful trail through the forest and beds of wild, purple flowers.

The trek ended on the village of Khare, by the highway, by 3 in the afternoon. We took a taxi back to Pokhara from here.

I spent a couple of days in Pokhara lazing around. The International Mountain Museum here is a must see. Don’t miss the section where they’ve displayed the garbage collected on Everest!

We visited Kathmandu (dirty, polluted and chaotic), for a day, did the customary sightseeing (Pashupathinath, Boudhanath, Patan Durbar and Swoyambhunath). I was keen on doing the "Mountain flight" - a 60 minute plane ride around the Everest (Rs 3,200 INR) but bad weather cancelled all flights or 2 consecutive mornings. We flew Kathmandu - New Delhi - Bangalore on the way back.

Conclusion:

This is probably the best Himalayan trek I've done because of the weather, the views and mainly because, trekking in Nepal is so much more cleaner, both on the trail and in the lodges you stay in. The locals are very friendly, except for the odd maoist who seems to be wary of you! September is always "iffy" in terms of the weather because of the fear of late monsoon showers, but we got lucky. Total expenses Pokhara to Pokhara was 4,800 INR per person.