That Wonderland called A&N - Ramble 1: That some place new

My last few vacations have been about doing something interesting or going some place interesting - I am glad I got to do both with this year's vacation. 

I chose to come to the Andaman and Nicobar islands located to the south east of the Indian mainland (for the geographically challenged). Most people I know asked me why this place. I have two answers to that - one, that I had heard it is extremely pretty and mostly untouched by modern civilization and two, I had registered to learn to dive here with a local SCUBA school. Now Andaman and Nicobar islands for me was as much a mystery as it probably is for many of you. I learned about it in school geography, marked it on a map for my exams, knew the capital was Port Blair etc. 

My little of reading in the last few months got me a little more up to speed with the place. For one, Andaman and Nicobar islands consist of 500+ islands of which just about 20 are open to tourists/ civilians. Some of the remaining are inhabited by tribes completely untouched by the 21st century and live a traditional way of life. Some tribes have also shown extreme aggression when approached by urban man and thereby it was decided to keep the islands only to them. Some of the islands form the Indian military's tri command centre - army, navy and air force due to its location and the remaining some are covered by dense forests and are supposedly uninhabited. 

I got a detailed history lesson when I was there but let me give you some highlights:
- There is evidence of some occupation by Indian rulers from different dynasties in the early 16th & 17th century and possibly prior
- The Andamanese people are among the many tribes who make the original inhabitants of this cluster of island
- The mid to late 18th century saw the colonization of the island by the Danish East India company who later sold rights to the islands to the British towards the end of the 18th century. 
- Merchant ships from Europe that passed through these waters making their way up to Calcutta faced a lot of difficulties around these parts; One being the tribe here which was extremely aggressive so if any ship stopped here to load fresh water or got caught here due to unpredictable weather, these tribes more often than not killed the crew. Two, there was also a danger from Malay pirates (very similar to the Somalian pirates of our times) who roamed these waters and plundered passing ships. The merchants congregation then wrote to the Queen seeking British help and security as they believed this was also part of the British colony.
- Around 1789, the British conducted a survey to seek the best place to set up a base in these islands ultimately choosing Chatham island, now Port Blair. It is believed that they soon abandoned that settlement as they could not adjust to the unpredictable weather and new types of diseases that arose.
- Some 60 years later, they relooked at the islands to build a now more permanent settlement and soon after also began work on the infamous Cellular Jail in Port Blair.
- Viper island, a few kms off the Port Blair coast served as the first prison for convicts in the Andaman islands. The Cellular jail was built after this.
- Interesting fact: All British jails which were put in place in remote locations to hold prisoners of war, convicts etc was always headed by a Doctor so he could look after the medical well being of prisoners and staff there. His second in command would be an engineer who would look after the upkeep of the place.
- Port Blair (earlier called Port Cornwallis, after Admiral Cornwallis of the British Navy) is named after Lt. Archibald Blair, one of the member of the two person commission sent here by the British to survey the place and choose a suitable site to build a base.
- In 1942, the islands were briefly taken over by the Japanese. This invasion was at first welcomed by the Indians living and working for the British troops there but later proved to be a mistake as the Japanese turned out to be far more cruel than the British.

Leaving all the facts aside, it makes for a gorgeous tourist destination. The flight from Mumbai is about 4 hours. As one lands into Port Blair, it is one of the few airports I have seen that has jungles on either side as the flight slowly descends out of the clouds. Make sure you grab a window seat and admire the spectacle of distinct color palettes as the flight is getting ready to land. The aqua blue sea, shimmering white beach and dark green tree cover is one of the most beautiful sights I had seen in a very long time and in India - such a happy feeling. As you get closer to the runway, the surroundings change to include a few buildings and homes - the markings of a city. However, Port Blair is not a city; at least not like the Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai we are used to. One can at best call it a small town with an airport. Small hotels for tourists to stay at before they head off to the islands which serve decent food and offer a comfortable stay. You know what impressed me the most about the place - cleanliness. My god, how spic and span it was. The only "trash" I saw were fallen leaves, flowers and fruit and possibly bird droppings. People here like to keep the city clean, my driver says to me; it is a matter of pride for us. Well, send some of them to teach the rest of us I say; we badly need it. 

Cellular Jail courtyard, Port Blair. PC - Priya Pillai

Cellular Jail, Port Blair. PC - Priya Pillai

Port Blair has a fair bit to see and also serves as a stop for tourists who want to head out to the islands. However, if you do have a day, there is Ross Island which is a boat ride across and shows remains of the time the Japanese took over this island during WWII. There is also the North Bay island which has the lighthouse which features on the 20 rupee note. Also there is the very famous/ infamous Cellular Jail. Many of us know it as Kala Paani jail. History has seen a big chunk of our freedom fighters being sent here. No, you wouldn't know most of them but they were here; living in abysmal conditions, made to work in inhuman conditions, beaten and tortured daily and mainly trying to get their spirit broken. The most famous inmate here (at least that I knew of) was Vinayak Damodar Savarkar or Swatantra Veer Savarkar as our history books would call him. The place is no longer how it used to be with several wings been destroyed over time. Let me tell you this though, it is eerie as ever. Even with a few hundred tourists around the spot, when you step into one of the open prison cells; you will get chills down your spine. Imagine if those doors were closed and locked you inside with that little window. Scary! Many would compare it to Alcatraz in SF and in many ways it was. This gigantic fortress with water surrounding it on most sides - it was rumoured to be one of those "can't break out off" jails. There are a few museums around that dole out details of the history of the place and its place in the history of India. My personal recommendation is the newly opened Kala Paani museum on the outskirts of the city. It has only opened a month ago and it is generally unknown to most people so much so that Trip Advisor does not feature it. It is a treasure house of information about the islands, its people and its place in history. Extremely informative and if you are lucky, the owner himself gives you a tour detailing out the research he conducted.

 Kala Paani Museum. PC - Priya Pillai

Japanese printed Indian currency during invasion. PC - Priya Pillai

Port Blair is fairly cosmopolitan with a high no of immigrants from West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala. Hindi is the most commonly spoken language here followed by Bengali, Tamil and then local dialects. The Nicobar islands, I am told have more pronounced dialects. People are generally quite friendly with tourists as tourism seems to be the popular industry here. We landed on a Sunday and as luck would have it apart from the Sunday bazaar, all shops remain closed. Tourist spots too shut by 4:30 pm everyday. Not surprising though as the sun rises here by 5 am and sets by 5 pm. The island people begin their day by 6:30 am and wrap up by 4:30 pm. I was left wondering what to do when it is pitch dark at 5:30 pm. 

My next stop from here was the beautiful (and much awaited) Havelock island. My plan was to spend the next 8 days there and complete my Open Water as well as Advanced Diving course. Excited much!

The Thirsty Travelers Part 2 : A bite of the Big Apple

After a halt at Zurich and a total of 17 hours, the sisters landed into JFK. Emotions were overflowing. The relief of finally getting out of the flight, the excitement to be in our favorite city in the world, a wee bit of anxiety to clear immigration smoothly and most of all, super happiness to see our friends Sue and Pete who were providers of our lodging and boarding in NYC.

Immigration took an hour and half to clear; well couldn't complain we were at one of the world's largest airports in passenger volumes. Once out, and in one of NY's famous yellow cabs, we started savoring all the sights that passed by us. NYC never looked better. The city invites you in to hear, observe and be part of its enchanting spirit. My friends' place was perfectly located in the heart of the city and everything was a walk away. Yes, one walks a lot in NYC. Its the best way to see all that the city has to offer with its street markets, the massive stores, super eateries etc. 

Sue was a doll who had a list of where we HAVE to eat and what we MUST see. The amount of food consumed in 5 days there was next to incredible. From Shake Shack burgers, to Magnolia Bakery, to Turkish food at Baba Ghanoush, classic American food at Big Nicks, Chipotle ( the one i miss the most), Gray's Papaya, Phebe's, Sbarro's and i forget the rest :D We had decided we did not want to do any major touristy things so Statue of Liberty, Rockefeller center were not on our list. Instead we went off to Coney island. So after a super lunch at Nathan's ( yes food again); it was time to explore the amusement park. Now when compared to the Disney theme parks, Coney Island may seem severely outdated. However there is a charm in visiting America's oldest amusement parks. The boardwalk, the beach and then the rides it was an awesome afternoon. One can get lost in the melange of people all there to spend a beautiful summery afternoon. 

NYC also meant shopping and one day was dedicated to that. We landed in the holy land of all shoe lovers - DSW. I think I could live there and be very content. We never realize how time flies (and money of course) in a shoe shop. So about an hour or so and 3 pairs of shoes later we emerged to do some more shopping. Nordstrom, Victoria's secret, Old Navy and many stores later we started formulating ideas of how we were going to fit it all in our suitcase. 

The 3 girls decided to do a girls' night out and what a night it was. A couple of shots and many drinks down and stories were pouring away. We can pretty much figure how our night went with all the pics we took too; starting with us sober to what am i doing here :D. We encountered some of our fellow drunken brothers and sisters; all of us at one pizza place to satisfy our hunger pangs. We were entertained by one's singing, and were invited to join another in an after party sorts. The night is always young in NYC they said, but we went home !!! Another fun place we visited was a speakeasy club called Milk and Honey. It is supposed one of those secret, non advertised, non fancy looking places where one enjoys exotic drinks. We loved the concept of the secrecy but it did take us a while to find. Somehow for all the ype we heard, it didn't quite live up to the expectation; an experience none the less. 

NYC was most about all the conversation we had; the chatting never ended. We reminisced college days, friends circle, how we have all changed over time, ex-bfs, what kind of losers we used to be, and those innumerable hilarious stories.The wine kept flowing and so did the stories. We have a million photographs capturing each place we visited - central park, hi line park, times square, chelsea market, Grand Central and so many more - each one with its own story to tell. 

5 superbly spent days later, it was time to move on to Boston !!! See you there ...