The Experience of India (Andaman Islands) (Other locations...)

Name: mdtt1983

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Product:	Other locations...
Date:	18/08/02 (544 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Its cool, Its chilled, Its crazy and unforgettable

Disadvantages: It can be expensive (not always)

I went to India last year and let me tell you, it was huge, it was mad, hot and there was curry everywhere. It?s an ultimate backpacking experience that needs to be done.

For you people that have experienced India, you will know that India is all about the unpredictable and undiscovered.

It was a place where I took pride in acquiring my travel scars and stories to wow my mates down the local upon my return. Within the first 24 hours of arriving in India, I found myself mobbed by rickshaw drivers, amazed by the sights, ripped off, surrounded by people, cows, rubbish and chaos. Don?t be freaked out by this. Just learn to expect the unexpected, like I did.

Distances in India are huge-count on ten hours for a cross-country bus journey-so budget your time to allow plenty of time hanging out and soaking up the culture.

The key to ?doing? India is to mix the more popular (and more hassle-prone) destinations with the more remote.
That?s when I discovered the Andaman Islands, off India?s south-east coast. I believe this is still a relatively untouched area full of empty beaches with white sand, crystal blue seas and not a package tour in sight.

I found the best way to reach the islands was to fly from Madras or Calcutta to Port Blair (about £135 one way for a two-hour flight) then head to Havelock Island (six hours by ferry, and 70p for a one-way ticket). If time isn?t an issue for you, and money is, you can take a three day ferry from Madras, £40 return for an A class cabin or £20 for a dorm.

While I was in the Andaman Islands, I stayed in ?The Jungle Resort? on Havelock Island (tel 0091 3192 37656). It had 10 bungalows set in the jungle a few metres away from the beach. It?s 2,600 rupees (£38) a night but prices are accelerating all the time. Avoid using the phones and calling back home from the rooms as I found out, it was very expensive.

STD/ISD booths are everywhere and allow you to receive call-backs
. From the UK, you would dial 0091 for India then a nine-digit code. To dial the UK from India dial, 0044.
There was also a tent resort nearby which would have cost about 300 rupees (£4.50) a night instead of (£38), but the choice is yours.

The food was wonderful and there are places that?ll put your local Nice & Spicy to shame. Oh yeah and a bit of advice, if you want to avoid stomach upsets, go vegetarian. Street stalls are the cheapest places to eat while backpacker hostels always have cheap restaurants.

If you do eat off the street, make sure it?s cooked. Try the Kashmiri curries and Keralan food for something different. If you become broke, dal and rice is always the cheapest option.

One of my favourite places to eat was The China Kitchen (tel 0091 3192 30759). It was the best thing about the Andaman?s capital, Port Blair. Great food, fresh fish and speciality dishes. And it?s dead cheap.

For the bars and clubs? Clubbing and drinking are not a big part of Indian culture, however, I did go to the No7 beach at Havelock. It was a major party zone, with the Jungle Resort bringing in a sound system for the night. Parties are usually advertised by posters around town-just time your visits to coincide with the full moon.

There are always cheap drugs around- hash and grass are everywhere, while Es and Trips can be purchased at London prices for you more hardcore clubbers.

But be careful in places such as Goa, I've heard stories about people being planted with drugs, bribed and sometimes jailed. Goa is the beach party capital, and apparently there?s always a big New Years Eve do at the ruins at Hampi in Karnataka.

I left around June time so the weather was extreme and sometimes unbearable. Heatwaves are known to reach 50 degrees plus! So be prepared. Apparently the best weather is around the winter months when it?s a lot cooler.

If your going for a while, it is possible to get a six mo
nth tourist visa for India. Download the forms from www.hcilondon.org/visaindx.htm. It costs round £30 and takes a few hours to get issued (head to the The Postal Visa Section, High Commission of India, India House, London WC2B 4NA, tel 020 7836 8484).

I needed a permit for the Andaman Islands, which I got on arrival when I flew by plane. They?re free but if you go by ferry, arrange it before you leave.

For you people who want to experience the real India-with its religious zeal, sadhus (holy men with dreads) and general insanity- Varansi is the place to go. I will not talk about it too much because I believe someone has already written an opinion (ciao.com) on it but basically the city is a mass of alleyways, incense, temples and burning bodies. During my short stay there, I saw people run through the streets carrying their dead relatives swathed in orange cloth and flowers, ready to be burnt on wooden stacks by the river Ganges.

At time India can test the nerves. But there?s always some magic along the way. My friends and family said I came back thinner, browner and wiser, hehe it?s nice to be called wise from time to time.

Anyway if you do go to India just make sure you look after your health- few people and I was a lucky one escape India without the odd bout of Delhi-belly or something like that.

I think pretty much any medicine is available over the counter and even something nasty can be easily treatable. Overall I would advise you not to drink the local water and avoid the prawns- and you like I did should have a trip you?ll never forget.

Oh yeah and don?t ask me about the India/Pakistan war situation. I know as much as you do.

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