Ski India 2009 – Andamans!
Standing bleary eyed in front of the Indira Gandhi International Airport at 4 AM in the morning, I asked myself what was it that had brought me and the rest of Xebia here. The wind was positively nippy, though we had been mercifully spared a fog. The ticket said we were going to the Andaman & Nicobar Islands. However, we were too sleepy to care (at that point).
Skibia is the annual Xebia Holland Ski outing. In the spirit of Xebia culture, where fun is mandatory, we have the Ski India. Xebia India has this annual outing event, whereby we go to (exotic) locations.
A quick boarding, and most of us promptly fell asleep. The clouds slowly got prettier, as the plane flew over the Bay of Bengal. We had heard about the islands’ beauty, but nothing prepared us for the sight that greeted us outside the tiny windows of the aircraft. Scattered pearls started appearing from between the mists. Tropical paradises covered by lush green forests, surrounded by jade colored seas, floating in a deeper cerulean blue ocean, greeted our eyes.
A bit about Andaman & Nicobar Islands here: This is an archipelago consisting about 200 islands, an oceanic continuation of the Burmese Arakan Yoma range in the north, and the Indonesian archipelago in the south. They have a population of around 450,000, of which the indigenous tribal population is around 1,000, including the Great Andamanese, Jarawa, Onge, Shompen, Sentinelese, and the extinct Jangil. (Thank you, Wikipedia) Now that we have got the geography lesson out of the way, let’s begin with the fun.
It was nearly noon when we stepped on the tarmac at Veer Savarkar International Airport at Port Blair. A quick trip to the hotel, where our room partners were disclosed, and the keys to the rooms handed over. It was an interesting pairing, where the name of the game was for the old Xebia and the new Xebia to get to know each other better. The rooms were comfortable and clean, with each window opening up to a spectacular backdrop of the ocean bay. Day One had begun.
The panoramic view brought out the photographer in all of us. With such a vista, it was almost hard to fail. With an intensity that would put a hardcore tourist to shame, we set about clicking pictures with a vengeance. Once everybody had taken about a million pictures of the sea, waves, rocks, and the tiny crabs, not to mention everybody popping up in everybody else’s pics, a bit of exploring was in order.
A small pathway went down the cliff from the hotel to the sea below, which many promptly took. The more adventurous took to rock hopping, and soon were pretty much out to sea. However, high tide soon set in, and the sea started coming closer. Initially, the explorers acted all brave, but the incoming waves convinced them otherwise. By the time they trundled back, dripping wet, a couple of cellphones had drowned and gone to the great cellphone heaven in the sky.
Next came a trip to the (in)famous Cellular Jail. We stopped in front of an unassuming structure, sitting quietly in one corner of the island, painted a rather garrulous yellow. Was this the jail that struck terror in the hearts of many a brave man? We soon discovered that looks could be deceiving. As we stepped in, there was a scale model of the entire Jail in full display. Designed like the spokes of a wheel, all the wings led into a central building that housed the administrative section of the jail. More than 700 people could be kept in various rooms here. As we walked around, gawking at the tiny rooms, and looking up & down the span of the wings, history weighed down on us. Many freedom fighters had been shipped here by the imperialist British Govt., and many had lost their lives happily, united in body & spirit in pursuit of a single goal: freedom. Sixty years since India attained freedom, we were here, as spectators. The atmosphere was subdued, and we felt a twinge of sadness.
The highlight was supposed to be a Light & Sound Show detailing the history of the Jail. It consisted of overtly loud speakers, and a grand total of 5 lights. Nevertheless, we came to know some interesting facts. The Jail had been built by the Britishers to hold their political prisoners. It was indeed ironic that a place of such beauty had seen death at close quarters. The Andaman Islands were also under the occupation of the Japanese for a grand total of 3 years. Part of the Jail had been destroyed by them by aerial bombing in World War II.
Moving back to the hotel, a couple of spirits raised our spirits considerably. As the night wore on, the group became more boisterous. The frenzy was infectious and pretty soon, we were back to our original party mood.
Day Two was a trip to Mount Harriet for trekking. The view was from the top of the hillock was incredible, as we could see a number of islands from a platform there. Trigger happy itchy fingers captured it all in various cameras. Then began the descent. We went down a hiking trail through dense forest. Touch-me-nots abounded aplenty. We climbed down the trail, and arrived at the sea. The sparkling blue was a sight to behold. Now began the real trek. We walked through a very long coastline. The goal was to cross the North Bay and arrive at a beach where water activities were in progress. Kind locals offered us sweet coconut water enroute. As we arrived at the beach, panting and hungry, nearly 4 hours later, water sports were the last thing on our minds. We just wanted lunch, which arrived fashionably late. Meanwhile, some of us ventured into the waters to cool off. The beach was nothing to write about, with sharp corals littering the sand. However, it did have beautiful corals underwater, which we got to see when we went snorkeling. A couple of jet skis were also there, which many rode, and the obligatory mishap occurred when a couple of non swimmers fell down into the waters. A couple of cellphones again drowned, joining their brethren in the great heaven above. As the day wound down to a close, we boarded a ferry which took us back to a port near the hotel.
A few of us decided not to board the bus back to the hotel, preferring to stroll instead, taking in the local delights. We stopped by a tiny restaurant to drink tea, where they had live crabs swimming in a glass aquarium for diners. Amit Sharma, the bravest among the bunch, picked up one by a piece of rope in the second attempt, and all of us applauded dutifully. The sidewalk going to the hotel was gloriously lit. Tiredness vanished, as the breeze from the sea was intoxicating. By the time we arrived at the hotel, the party was underway.
The evening brought out the spirit of Bacchus. People got drunk, and then they got drunk more. Dancing continued till late in the night, and people danced energetically to The Duck Dance. As we slowly started to crawl back to our rooms, Daan Teunissan, (CEO-Xebia Group) discovered to this horror that he was locked out. His roommate, Brij Garg, had had a wee bit too much to drink, and was now blissfully sleeping off the after effects of the various drinks he had imbibed.
Day Three was a trip to the Havelock Island. According to Time magazine, Havelock Island has been nominated by as 2 of the best beaches in all of Asia, and that’s saying something. A gleaming catamaran took us there after a 90 minute journey. We had all just settled down in the seats comfortably, when The Brij struck again. He shouted “Dolphins! Dolphins in the water!” and singlehandedly caused a number of neck injuries, as everyone strained to look at the (by now) invisible dolphins. The rest of the journey was uneventful, on arrival at the beach, we came to know that there was another boat trip required to get to the actual beach. So we endured another 40 minute journey to the tiny Elephant Beach. Admittedly, the view in the tiny boats was beautiful, though we could see the bits and pieces of the ravages of the tsunami. As was inevitable, Jyoti Thakur, who’s afraid of the water, got stuck in a boat that nearly died midway. Haroon Ghafoori came to the rescue and started the engine, then guided the boat expertly to the beach.
Everyone took to the water instantly. There were a few guides who took us out to snorkeling in batches. Our jaws dropped collectively as we saw the corals. What we had seen yesterday was not even a patch on what we saw now. As the sea floor dropped away, the corals got more extensive in shapes and sizes. And the colors were like out of the world. Tiny, exotic fishes darted among the corals. We saw sea-urchins, sea anemones, and starfish. We even saw a strange type of a coral that was blinking blue lights. It was another world down there, and we felt just like Alice had, when she had had her first glimpse of the world behind the Looking Glass. We didn’t want to stop seeing the hypnotic world below, but soon it was time to go back. We dressed and sat in the tiny boats, ready to take us back to the main port of Havelock. Once we got there, we had piping hot North Indian style food, which was actually pretty tasty. The tour guides then bundled us into jeeps, and shot off to visit Radha Nagar Beach nearby. We hung onto the seats for our dear lives as the convoy of jeeps roared over the small road onto the beach.
Our jaws dropped onto the floor for the second time that day as we saw the expanse of the beach. It seemed to go on forever, and the pebble free sand was pure bliss. And the fact that many beautiful girls were strolling around in bikinis didn’t go down too badly with our group, either. The waves were crashing, beckoning us to enter them. Alas, we didn’t have much time, as the last trip of the catamaran for the day was almost at hand. We reluctantly got into the jeeps, which then began the road rally back. A couple of us barely made it back in time for the catamaran.
The trip back would have been uneventful, except for the fact that the catamaran’s air conditioning failed, and the seas grew a bit choppy. A bouncing boat in the middle of the ocean was all it needed to trigger a panic attack amongst the more sensitive between us. High drama ensued, and the weak explorers tumbled back out at Port Blair.
The day was not yet over. Once everyone had rejuvenated themselves at the local watering hole, a couple of Xebians discovered the benefits of drinking wine in the hotel pool. A DJ did the honours, and pretty much everyone danced their brains out. Just as things started to wind down, Amit got his second wind, and strummed the guitar. As the notes strains wafted off the strings, the night turned magical. Nancy & Ranvijay joined Amit in singing. It was a magical moment under the starry night, and it continued so for a while. Some drifted off by the pool, hoping to catch the last sunrise in Port Blair. The rest dragged themselves off to catch a few winks before the sun came out.
But it was not to be. The last sunrise was a bit of a dampener, as the sun hid itself behind a cloudy sky. Not that many could make it out, as sleep had been woefully inadequate. A quick breakfast, and most were now positively homesick. We all said our goodbyes to Port Blair, as we took a last look around, and then left for the airport. We had been to paradise in our own backyard, and the memories have been immortalized in countless pictures. More than anything, none of us is ever going to forget the deep blue…
We are already thinking about our next trip...
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