ADVENTURES OF SAYALI - A NEW FOUND FREEDOM

The vacillating personality in me screams from inside that this is what you should be resolute about. This is what you should be doing and this is it. I always felt I tried my hands at everything, almost every hobby as the matter of fact, be it dancing, drawing, karate, or other sports, I left them all halfway. Now that I am growing up or grown-up enough to understand how the world works, I realize how pursuing at least one of them would have made me a different person altogether, nevertheless, life is full of all things you are glad you did and regrets of not doing some of them. Howsoever, being indecisive all this while I have landed myself in a decently paying job, this was expected from an averagely a perfect girl like me, yet the traveler in me always wanted something else. The traveler in me wanted to go places, but this is not about the traveler in me, this is about coming to tryst at something you never thought would send you a calling, this is about me wanting to do something for myself, by myself, for my inner peace.

Since the last time I have returned from Andaman, I call it the land unexplored. All I can think about is the fifty shades of blue water, the hammock that was my bed entire afternoon, the lazy afternoon breeze that swung my hammock, putting me to sleep and most of all the underwater experience, it’s a subdued world down there and I can give away anything to be there, to see that magic unfold each time, it is almost like meditating, knowing that there is nothing so real in this world. So here is my story of learning scuba diving, to pay-to learn-to see the magic down there. And like all other hobbies, I am not going to let this one succumb to my impatience. This is going to be my first solo trip and hence I call it an adventure and newfound freedom, although this is not going to satiate the traveler in me, it is only going to make it crave for more, but this is going to be a new beginning to a new journey, to new learning, and to a new hope.

But before this adventure begins, pre-prep was important, for the “I want to prove I am an independent” person in me wanted to do this trip all on my own. And pre-prep in India begins with preparing your parents mentally that their baby girl wants to go on a solo trip. This was not difficult for my parents yet it required a lot of pestering from my end to make them realize how badly I wanted to do this. My mother especially was worried about the fact that I’ll be going all alone to some far-off island in the Bay of Bengal to do a scuba diving course, and I dreaded that she may call me innumerable times just to ensure my safety. Thank god the connection there is poor.

The ultimate motive behind visiting Andaman or Havelock as matter of fact was to finish my PADI Advanced Open Water Certification (in lay man’s term license to dive up to 30 meters) and a Deep Specialty Certification (40 meters underwater with proper planning). And out of innumerable dive shops in Havelock, I can blindly trust Havelock’s oldest dive school ‘Dive India’. To know more about them you can visit their site http://diveindia.com.

Dive Sites Map

Anyways everything drills down to money and a safe place to stay, a prodigal person like I have to be motivated enough to save more than half of her salary for months to get this trip done, and I think I managed it pretty well, I always imagined how the hippies live. And while I was on my saving spree I realized its simple spend less, especially when you’re traveling solo you can alter your needs. I don’t need an extra soft bed to sleep, or a suite to stay as I would be diving for half of the day and learning or traveling for another half, I just need a room to keep my stuff safe and a bed to sleep at night. So, I decided to do it hippie way asking for a small hut which my dive school offers. Also, I realized I had to stay in Port Blair for two days, decent hotels were way beyond my budget, I am scared of lodges “hotel decent stuff”, I checked out for home-stays and found one, what’s better than staying with a family who does charge you for the room but is welcoming.  

After striking out everything in my checklist, I realized I had to ask for leaves from my manager. Believe me, this is the scariest part of all – You are just wishing they don’t disagree. I have already made the bookings and I don’t want to cancel them at any cost. With all those inhibitions I used the same trick I’ve been using it on my parents all this while and the trick is (drumroll) “Just tell them you are going (more like an order), don’t ask if you can go” works with parents, but worked here too, it is very important to catch your manager in good mood to ask favors from them. I don’t know if it was the trick or the mood she agreed and all I could think of was “Trip is on”.

 

Day 1: Bye Mumbai! Hello Port Blair!

Leaning out of Mrs. Noble’s terrace, I am trying to take a better look at the jetty, all I can hear is ship horn from distance, the swallows merry around the mango tree. To my company in the darkness were some creepers which Mrs. Nobles has planted with great affection and care, a moth which came fluttering as soon as I switched on the terrace light, so I chose the darkness, to help it rest in peace. Mrs. Nobles is a very jolly Parsi lady, unlike other Parsi ladies she has maintained herself so well, and doesn’t look like a grandmother to one year old. She was so delighted to see me and greeted me as if she’s known me for ages; I was welcomed with a homemade wood apple juice (something new to try in Andaman) to beat the Andaman heat. I remember her saying “how these mad people think of traveling in this scorching heat of April?” all of a sudden I feel myself belonging to the mad crowd and I somehow gulped the juice and asked her if I was among the mad tourists as well, she laughed and reassured me that I was here for my course otherwise Indian girls don’t travel without purpose she exclaimed, and I nodded a yes to her to continue the chatting, but that was a semi-yes, traveling shouldn’t necessarily have a purpose, it must make you happy and it just happens to you I believe. The Noble’s Homestay or The Dinaz bungalow is two-tiered, mostly wood and has an old school feel to it, an old telephone and cuckoo clock reminds me of all the nagging I put forth my mother to get some for our house as well, the family, Mrs. Nobles, her son Shiraz, his wife Baktavar, and their son Jinaz continue their routine life on the first floor, whereas the basement or the ground floor is homestay, since I was the only traveler at their door for halt today they allowed me to stay with them in their daughter’s room who now is shifted to Havelock. It was 6:00 pm by the time I reached their place, I intended to go on a stroll but the heat and tiredness from the journey kept me back, although I longed for some fresh air, the 4 hours layover at Bangalore airport only made me feel claustrophobic, for a traveler to know that she’s in a new place and not going out to explore it is as bad as choking onto something. Thanks to Mr. Dutta who kept me a company to kill some time at Bengaluru airport with a hot chocolate treat, I met Mr. Dutta while waiting to board my flight from Mumbai, I qualified for the “please keep an eye on my bag” line from him while he was getting himself a cup of coffee, then the usual pleasantries followed by each other’s purpose of travel, by this time the feeling of people considering me a hippie had started to sink in, I am sure he would be thinking of me as one after our CCD conversation. Although I was glad that I could kick-start a conversation at beginning of the trip helps building your confidence while you’re traveling alone that may what be you are capable enough to make friends or at least strike conversation with people the rest of your trip, so although you’re alone but you’re not lonely.

I opted to eat at Mrs. Nobles place that night as she promised me a fried barracuda, my first experience of Parsi food was delightful, the food had absolutely different taste, it has to be some special Parsi masala, otherwise, I wouldn’t dig into French bean sabzi as I did today. The dinner also included some chit-chat session of Andaman climate these days, about the off-season, the package tours bringing them loss and of course crazy antics by baby jiaan. The people in Andaman start their day early and call it off early as well, as soon as Shiraz called it off at 9:00 pm. I was into splits. I decided to continue reading a book I bought at the airport called “Geography of Geniuses” I am not sure if the word geography or the word genius that caught my attention, but the book turned out to be a good choice, it was difficult to sleep in all that heat at night, but I somehow managed it keeping off my excitement for the next day.

View from my Hammock

Day 2: Something Different!

While in Rome do as Romans do! That’s what I did in Andaman, started my day early, I had no option though; the sun rays peeked in from the window at 5:00 am and it felt like its 9:00 am already, I had to catch my ferry at 8:00 am and Mr. Nagesh my driver arranged by DiveIndia had reminded me twice while getting down the car day before to be ready by 7:00 am. I had enough time to get ready, savor my morning tea, do all other morning chores, Mr. Nagesh was on time and my journey began. You have a choice of government ferries and few private luxury ferries to and from Port Blair-Havelock-Neil. My personal favorite is Makkruzz; it is comfortable than government ferries and faster than other luxury ferries. I love the chicken puff sold on the ferries and I wanted to feast onto them badly, so I skipped the breakfast at Mrs. Nobles. The cruise journey was one and half hours of selected music on my phone, no internet, no sound-cloud you see! And awe gazing at the huge Bay of Bengal, the best part of traveling alone is you can ask window seats everywhere flights, public transports, cruises anywhere!

After reaching Havelock it felt like I was back home, I was answering the calling. The DiveIndia guy was waiting for me with the board in his hand that’s when Mr. Ryan from Ohio joined the party. I saw him sprinting towards the cruise while boarding it as he was the last passenger they took in and I also had a small laugh watching him sprint, which I confessed to him while we were on our way to DiveIndia. Back at DiveIndia I came to know he had no prior booking and only because he read about DiveIndia before coming to Andaman he recognized their board and came along. I was given my room keys, asked to sign at few places in their register, and then yes I was on board. My room though was not a fancy one just a small shack with a bed, charging plug, a single tube, and fan enough to sleep at night, I knew I wouldn’t be spending much time in this shack apart from completing my good night sleep. As soon as I kept all my luggage in the room, I dodged towards my favorite place in the entire Havelock, my hammock, and the view it offered, it felt like putting rest to all the dreams I had all this while about the place, the air, the sun, the hammock, the view, the peel island opposite to it just remains the same, a perfect place to be. After prancing around every small corner in DiveIndia, I finally settled down on a chair in Full Moon Café and ordered my favorite Lemon Ice Tea, beat the heat again. Hardly any people to see during the daytime, all busy diving, I could see Vinnie (owner of DiveIndia) sitting on a table in a corner reading something on his kindle. Everyone seemed busy reading stuff, so I decided to finish off my daredevil season. After inquiring about every instructor I knew, it was time to lunch, the only thing I love to eat in Havelock is fish, the fish cooked in coconut milk and cream just boosts the taste buds but the difficult part about eating at Full Moon is that everything comes in double quantities. I somehow managed to finish the entire fish curry and rice; it felt like it took me all my life to finish it, by this time all the instructors were back from diving. Unable to contain my excitement of diving the next day, I headed towards the dive shop leaving all my belongings behind in the café to ask for the next day’s plan. I met Rahul there, the one who’s been replying to all my mails to DiveIndia, finally we meet in person. To my surprise, he is going to be my instructor for the Advanced Open water Course the next day. The course required selecting four specialty dives since deep dive was one of my specialty courses. I selected underwater photography, peak performance buoyancy, a night dive for the thrill of it, and finally navigation dive, the course required reading and finishing some Q&As. From that moment I started cursing PADI for making students read so much. The rest of the day I spent reading the book and answering questions related to buoyancy and photography dives as those were the next planned dives.

I don’t know what clicked me, probably a text from a colleague that I decided to go to a restaurant named “Something Different”, I had been there on my last trip, so I decided to pay them a visit as a tribute to the colleague’s memories of that place after he returned from his recent Andaman trip. In the pitch darkness with hardly any street lights I began walking on the freshly made tar road with a number of resorts on either side, their flashboards illuminated the street. I made my way to the market where a number of eyes peering down at me, they haven’t seen a walking tourist I believe, the tourist here usually hire bikes or scooters to travel, plus you don’t see them in the evening darkness walking alone along the road. The restaurant was still far and I kept walking with my headphones buzzing music in my ears. I had to walk through a farm to reach this place. The place is very laid-back and not many tourists know about it, I call it pseudo-Hoppipola, there are shelves holding books from Tintin to the history of Andaman, also they offer you puzzles or Sudoku to play while you wait for your food. The chairs here are very comfy and bright colored mostly baby pink or green or blue. Other than me I could see a group of four boys and a couple, I had to be crazy to come all the way to this place 3-4 kilometers away from DiveIndia. It was 8 pm and seemed like 10 pm already, I felt like Cinderella whose time was ticking each minute, now I began worrying about my way back to DiveIndia, my order was here and I didn’t mind swallowing my food, but that KitKat shake didn’t let me do that, I was so lost in its taste that I forgot that I had to hurry up. Around 9:30 pm I managed to finish my food and decided to head out to DiveIndia again, the roads looked eerie now. The people on the streets all of a sudden vanished, all I could think was looking for a rickshaw, but it was beyond the rickshaw time, I had no other option but to walk back, the music came to rescue if not least kept me calm, I passed market which still had few last bunches of people, the market gave me hope that DiveIndia was just another kilometer away, I began walking on the dead silent road again, this time to realize a guy on his motorbike following me, but he was stopping every few meters away from me and looking into a phone, I didn’t suspect him thinking that he might be getting some urgent call. But to my disbelief after a few meters this guy I failed to check the bike number blocked my way, I avoided and moved ahead, again he blocked my way this time asking me if I had been diving today? I was all ready to practice karate on this guy, but somewhere my mind started screaming back at me of not being a fool again, there is no one going to come for rescue on these dark, silent streets, I had to think of a plan B and very quick, I decided to avoid his question and move ahead making my way, he again blocked my way asking me where I was from? How I wanted to beat the shit out of this man but I was too surprised of this happening to me out of all places in world in Andaman, Havelock especially was a place I considered safest on this planet, but it just takes a single tourist to bring you one worst experience of your beloved place. He then asked me if I needed a lift, that’s when I spotted a resort next to me and ran into it, the best idea I could come up with in worst of times. I waited in there for 10 odd minutes and then continued my way back to DiveIndia this time vigilant enough. Once back at DiveIndia I realized I was sweating profusely was it the walk or incident I don’t know, but that surely demoralized me to get out of DiveIndia at night. Before falling asleep all I could think was how tourists change the way you perceive a place, how they are sometimes responsible for genuine travelers having bad experience of a place and how people like that man are changing the world into an unsafe place.

 

Clown Fish in Anemone Beds

Day 3: The Sayali Mystery

New day, a new beginning, renewed excitement of the first dive of the season, I had my breakfast and headed straight to the dive shop. Rahul decided my dive destinations to be Turtle Bay to practice buoyancy and The Wall for photography. The Wall has always been my favorite place it is actually an underwater wall where a variety of corals dwell, it is as much as 50 meters deep and you always spot ample aquatic life between 15-19 meters. We decided to keep it shallow for buoyancy as buoyancy affects more in shallow water than in deep water, of course maintaining it is important all time. So the turtle bay was mainly practicing buoyancy skills and remaining time to watch the fish. We spotted clownfish, triggerfish, snappers, and fusiliers, nothing very new and exciting though. The summers bring in a lot of jellyfishes. And by a lot I mean millions. At this dive, I was accompanied by two guys doing their open water course and Commander Damle was doing his divemasters with DiveIndia. Before the dive, we started with introducing ourselves, what we do back home, that’s when I realized it’s the small world out there, the two guys Ankit and Sanidhya owned The Garden Treat and Golden Leaf Banquets. The Garden Treat especially is famous for lunches with my workplace employees. Commander Damle on other hand had his own version of story, he asked me if I ever visited Aurangabad, I said yes, and he spurted this girl had her first bike ride on my bike, I was shocked, confused, never have I seen this man in my life and how come he says this, I politely refused of knowing him, plus I had been Aurangabad when I was 20 and I remember that I didn’t take a bike lift then or I have had enough bike rides in those 20 years to call it my first bike ride, he then cleared the air by asking my surname, he was speaking of Sayali Gupte whom he gave a bike ride when she was 4 years old. Everyone on the boat, who were until now holding their breath for more revelations, just gave out a sigh of relief thinking it was this close if it were not about the surname, so Mr. William Shakespeare this was about the name. The Wall! Oh, Beauty! You never disappoint me; there is always a giant napoleon wrasse ready to show you its beautiful colors. So many corals, the cutest nemo fish cuddling around anemone beds, what a sight! I was on a videography spree; I wanted to capture everything my eyes could see so that I can have enough pictures or videos to show to people back home. After the dives that feeling of fulfillment took over, it was as if I accomplished my first goal of going Andaman. After a quick bath I was asked to meet Rahul for a deep dive class and to discuss today’s dive, I had to improve on my breathing was what Rahul explained, see this is what I love about Dive India, they just know where you are lacking and very patiently work on it with you. Tomorrow I was going for a deep dive about 28-29 meters, which required him to explain me the dos and don’ts of deep dive. After having a brief talk with the two guys I just met on the boat, they left as they had a ferry to catch to go back to Port Blair. The rest of my day was again spent reading and learning about deep dives and navigational dives. I was supposed to be going market at 4:00 pm while it was still light but I lost the track of time while reading and soon it was dusk, I didn’t want to venture out on road again and have another episode so I decided to go for a stroll on the beach, the sun was about to set, the perfect time to get some pictures of scenic view, the lonely tree, the boats parked outside the hotels look so better when they are all by themselves drifting along the water, I was accompanied by two stray dogs on this stroll, I walked for few miles until I could see the water rising up I decided on retreat.

At the dinner table Commander Damle asked me to join him, I felt something off about this man the first time I met him, I thought probably it was too early to judge someone so I obliged and joined him, the table was huge could fit 8 dining people, Commander Damle had just finished a theory session with Vinnie, so Vinnie was sitting at one corner of table as usual surrounded by Buffy, Leya and
Frodo (Dive India’s pet dogs) and his kindle to keep him company. Commander Damle began with the Sayali story again telling me who the girl was and to my disbelief the man inquired about the Sayali he was talking about as soon as we came back from the dive, he later began praising Vinnie which I thought was right, but later he switched to his Marathi and started with his 101 ways to grab Vinnie's attention, I had this expression of disgust on my face which I think he saw but that didn’t keep him back, he later shifted to topics like why the instructors here who knew Marathi didn’t speak in Marathi, he asked me why didn’t I speak in Marathi with them. I wondered how could someone be so blindfolded by love towards their language or was he right? Today’s youth prefer to speak in English, why? Makes them look cool? Easy to communicate with people around you? Foreigner shouldn’t feel left out? Weak at other languages? To each his own. I just didn’t want to waste my time explaining to him these reasons, as he was ignorant of my reasons. Under my breath, I cursed my name or cursed the bad time to dine. I decided to ignore this man as much as I can for the rest of my trip.

Day 4: Groupie Diving

Deep Dive! Deep Dive! That’s what my brain is saying to me since 5:00 am in the morning, I couldn’t sleep with all that butterflies in my stomach, finally, the time has come to go deep into the sea, Here comes Rahul but with the news, he said I had to go with another instructor as he had to go Nemo Reef to help out another instructor with her students. That was disappointing, he now knew how my breathing was and also that I needed an extra kg for ascending, would the new instructor do that for me? Would he even understand that it's my first deep dive? I was freaking out on looking at the names of people along with me on that dive. There were 8 of us, all of them divemasters just going out for fun dives. And the new instructor comes searching for me, his name was Sahil, he looks like one stud guy with a short haircut and a lean body with height around 5.9, Rahul had briefed him about me so as we spoke I was assured that this guy knows about my diving skills. We were heading to Jackson’s Bar for the first dive and the Broken Ledge for the second, both the dive sites were new for me and everyone on the boat said they loved Jackson’s. I could see a few known faces on the boat one was Mr. Ryan from Ohio and the other was Ms. Pooja who conducts nature trails in Havelock called KhoJao trails, she’s was born and bought up in USA, an NRI she came back to India 10 years ago and since then is living in Havelock.  This time in the introduction apart from self-introduction we had to name our favorite fish as well.

Starting from Pooja, then Ryan, then Aman the smoking habit guy, and then Pushkkaraj, the buddy followed by Sahil then Tanaz, something clicked as I heard her name, she was Mrs. Noble's daughter, I spent a night in her room, finally, I meet her like this, she’s just like her mother very expressive, very jovial, we buddied up for the dive, I didn’t know which fish was my favorite, I am very new to this aquatic life and I hated going to aquariums, I even hated the idea when my brother insisted on buying a fish tank, so my answer was that I was there to see some Manta’s which are now very rare to sight. The entire group was crazy, crazy about fish, crazy about food, crazy about sleep; we had an hour to kill before we reached the site we spoke about almost everything the food in Andaman, the people, the fins, the masks, the go-pros, things back home.

Bar! Jackson’s Bar! I so love the word Bar, instantly reminds you of all your visits to a Bar and all the regretful yet amazing time I spent at such places. The Jackson’s bar was indeed a bar, I pictured myself siting there underwater at the bar and small school of snapper as bartenders, the huge trevallies as bouncers, a huge turtle as very rare handsome guy, the Moorish idols, damsels and nemo as typical bar crowd, also we spotted a giant sea snake, looks like a hooligan in the bar. There was a slight thermocline (all of a sudden wave of cold water beyond certain depth) at 28 meters but how I love swimming in that cold water, which makes me take one long lecture from instructors for this indulgence. In the excitement of seeing so much in so less time I forgot to check my SPG (Pressure Gauge) and when Sahil asked me air before safety stop I was at 50 bar, the fire alarm goes out in my head, we had to share air, making each other restrictive with movement, although second lecture was on its way I thought to myself. As soon as we were back aboard, I knew what was coming, but Sahil already predicted this for me and I could ride out of the lectures. We had a surface interval of an hour before the next dive. People just jumped into the water to keep cool, Ryan invented the new hoot “Jellies are coming” for millions of jellies surrounding us all the time, everywhere and although you don’t realise but they sting. For Aman I have just a single memory of him, that guy couldn’t live without smoking up and he had to after coming out of water, since it was not allowed to smoke on the boat, he threw himself a float in water, got onto it and fulfilled his craving by smoking one, I can still picture him on that float drifting away from the boat, happy with his life in deep blue sea and that roll of joy in between his fingers.  Time for next dive, Sahil gave a detailed explanation of dive site using cake as an example, he asked us to imagine a round cake and then imagine a piece falling out of it that was the broken ledge, as the name suggests we were about to go around the cake, look at its dressing for bright corals and the other aquatic life. This was supposed to be my navigational dive, on the boat we practiced navigation, I answered all the questions right, but then the compass was way too slow, and I ended up going elsewhere, this time I couldn’t slip out of a lecture though. Girls and navigation bad combination, we know where we want to go, we don’t need a compass to guide us, I wish I could say this to Sahil and completely ruin the idea on going on another dive with him or rather going on dives anymore, I chose to shut up. The Broken ledge had better visibility than Jackson’s I could easily see 5-7 meters down from the boat. About broken ledge I remember is the huge school of snapper surrounding us, I could give anything to be there, to see fish merry around me. Otherwise the aquatic life at Broken Ledge was very much similar to previous one. After coming back from Broken Ledge I remember everyone sleeping in the boat, finding themselves tiniest and weirdest places to sleep. I was the only one who was not feeling sleepy, but more revived; everything is so much more alive down there. You can listen to your breathing and feel this life is to live up and live freely. The water just opens up all the life lessons to you and each time it’s different. Back at the dive shop, I intended to grab some sleep at my favorite place “the hammock”, but my afternoon siesta had to wait, I was asked to meet Abhedya, new instructor again, for my Deep specialty course. I had to attend a theory class, where he explained me in breadth about Deep diving and other nitty gritties of it. After the class, I couldn’t sleep, so I resorted to reading for new homework, I think by now people noticed me reading one or the other PADI book in pastime and Pushkkaraj even came asking about it, we spoke for I don’t know half an hour or so, while I was relaxing on the hammock the poor guy had to keep standing all the time to talk.

The dinner was silent one today, thought of going through dusty old magazines kept in a shelf in café, I found 2014 magazine which gave 101 reasons to visit Brazil which was the happening travel destination of the year because of “Soccer World Cup”, reminded me of all the late night outs to catch up the game, wishing for your favorite team to win. I think I have forgotten about “Geography of Geniuses” now I am only interested in the underwater geography of Havelock, I can’t wait for my deep dives tomorrow, I have to leave an hour early tomorrow, so I call my day off.

Octopus

Day 5: How deep is your love?

Shit I forgot to pre-order my breakfast last night! That was my reaction when I woke up at 5 am today. Abhedya reminded me innumerable times and I just forgot to place my order, the café opens at 6:45 am and I had to leave for my dive at 6:30 am. I decided to finish up my morning chores and just eat bananas and world’s best yet oily samosas which are available on boat as breakfast. Abhedya was not expecting me to be on time, I am a very punctual person so much unlike a lady but I am just a bit finicky about time. I learned that I was going to dive 35 meters and 40 meters today, so much thrill to handle for a day. Somewhere in my heart I was very nervous and anxious, I hoped I don’t goof up down there at 35 meters. Doesn’t look like a big deal for Abhedya, but I was now starting to freak out, I want to hold onto somebody at that moment but it was just me and him on that boat and I just couldn’t show it out loud to him how freaked I am currently so I decided to start talking something else, all I could think was depth and I blurted out “Apart from getting myself narked (feeling similar to drinking 5 cocktails) what do I get to see at 35 meters?”, he gave me a broad smile and said nothing there’s nothing that deep, not here but there are places in the world where you can see wrecks this deep but today we are just going down to test you for narcosis and to show you how to plan a deep dive. So we started planning, the dive site for the day was “The Wall” again for both the dives because it was the only dive site that deep with wall to ascent and descent along, besides there was a mild current today. I would be diving  The Wall fourth time now, but I didn’t mind I love that site, last season my watch ended at “The Wall”, this season I am amongst the crows again. Now I am so through with the dive site that I can repeat everything about that dive site to anyone anytime. The narcosis test was funny; it required me to write my full name backwards also an even odd game. I was starving before my first dive but I decided to go with the flow, my breakfast was arriving in the next boat at 7:30 am. So at 35 meters if someone asks me what happened?, I didn’t realise that I reached 35 meters it is very easy to underestimate your depth without a dive computer, the thrill of looking at 35 meters on my dive computer got me narked. I successfully passed the tests though; while my way up from 35 meters my mask was flooded and had to remove the water all the way back up. We saw a giant napoleon wrasse swimming overhead while ascending so I did see something on this dive. After ascending completely, while I was passing on my gear to boat boys, Abhedya laughs at me and says “You fool you got insanely narked”. I couldn’t believe my ears I didn’t even realise, when did I show signs of getting narked? He then told me that while at 35 meters I was smiling at him and waving at him, and because of smiling my mask was flooded, yeah might be I didn’t even realise though such is the effect of deep dive you don’t even remember, poor Abhedya he couldn’t control his laughter while watching me in that state and started smiling as well flooding his own mask.

My breakfast was here and I felt like I was famished and this is the last morsel I was ever going to have, the eggs were gone in 15 seconds, I was feasting on samosas and chai later, for the next dive I wanted to be more vigilant and not get myself narked again. We had to do a surface interval of an hour and half so we decide to take a look at plan we made at this dive and accordingly plan the next one which I had to make depending on my descent time and air consumption. We still had enough time and the boat boys are always an entertainment, I learnt that they were protesting against some new license officer and they were absolutely cursing him for being a bad mouth, their accent and speaking modulation made their story very funny to hear. Somehow after chatting about all the dive sites and diving gear it was time for next 40 metre dive. We were supposed to drop off a divemaster and her subordinate diver to turtle bay and pick them up from there after the dive, we dropped them at Turtle bay and headed back to the wall, I had to suit up while the boat was still speeding, the back flip roll is my favorite and I always forget to signal the boys okay after flipping back. This time reaching 40 meters seemed very easy, narcosis test again this time I was very conscious about not smiling or doing any of those stupid antics. Nothing very new to see on this dive, after ascending we went through the dive plan and my planned dive time was 38 mins and I pulled of 41 mins with same amount of end air planned. Good job done! I was more than satisfied, with this dive. After going back to turtle bay we understood that the divemaster we dropped off just went for dive with her co-diver, she was supposed to go after we left her, the boat boys seemed pretty mad at her and were planning on leaving her back there. Tied with their duty calls they couldn’t and had to find a way to kill the time they decided to take a plunge in water. They are as good as fish, such swimming skills, very natural and inherent. The boat boys in DiveIndia belong to Karen tribe one of the Andaman’s native tribe. For them the sea is their life, their living, they’ve been swimming all their lives, the 400 meters swim makes me feel so worked up and one guy tells me that they swam from Havelock to opposite Peel Island every Sunday. Gosh! Energy transfers please. All of them they look so meek but each one has enough strength to lift two cylinder at a time, making lifting cylinders look so easy. I was feeling bored sitting aboard watching the jellies drifting in the water, that’s when Abhedya decides to go for a dive, he asked me if I wanted to join and I would be stupid enough to say no to such an opportunity. We went for the third dive of the day a shallow one but sufficed my wants to see fish at the dive; we saw shrimps, anemone, and trigger fishes enough to satiate my eyes. Soon we came aboard after the divemaster ascended. Three dives in a day! Whoop! Impromptu dives are so much like receiving presents, same feeling.

Back at dive shop I saw my name under the night dive section today. Really! A night dive! Tonight! Are you serious? The fourth dive and I was not sure if I was going to pull it off. I needed rest. After the lunch I ended up chatting with a girl named Saakshi who was here for her divemasters and we then became the nerd team with common interest in Marvel and DC universe. I headed straight to hammocks to find myself some place to sleep and recharge, unfortunately all hammocks were pre-occupied so I had to go back to my room and try to sleep in that heater. Ofcourse with sun charging at you in full power you miss the hammock by the tree shade and breeze coming from the sea, no such amenities in my room though, I tried twisting and turning but no avail, finally I at 4:00 pm I decided to go and check hammock again, on the way I met Pushkkaraj, he was among the night divers as well.

He said Sahil was going to lead the dive and we had to meet him at 4:45 pm at dive shop, this is what I get 45 minutes of peace, I need a hammock very desperately and I find my spot free. Feels like heaven. I don’t understand how time passes so quickly at the hammock, it was 4:45 already and I had to suit up. After a brief class about night dive Sahil asked us to suit up and we were going to “Nemo Reef” for night dive, it was going to be a shallow shore night dive. The dive schools are not allowed to take their boats out after 4:00 pm so night dives here are usually at nemo reef and that too shore dives, the dive site is more like an aquarium in the morning, I don’t think it has much of a nocturnal life but it was fun guiding yourself along a single beam of light, we also saw little bioluminescence, the best part was spotting a stone fish, I am now very much fascinated with sign languages underwater and they have it for all fishes and I am so obsessing over it that each fish I see I try to remember their sign and I can easily bug my buddy flaunting my newly acquired skills. I had an amazing first night dive experience, I was not expecting anything out of it apart from the thrill and that’s what I got back with added happiness. While coming back to dive shop with Ryan he shared something that made me feel glad and thank my parents for letting me come here all by myself. He said he started travelling very late in life just two years back, that’s when he realized that world was really beautiful and each place has left its own impression on his mind, that he wishes to be a traveller but he knows now it’s not possible as he has loans to payback and needs to earn money to stabilize his life, he said he was happy though that I started travelling at right time, which I was unsure of whether this was the right time. For me it could have been two years back, but I am glad that somehow after all these years the traveller in me is still alive and the journey has just begun. Back at dive shop I felt drained, I didn’t even wanted to take bath but I abide by the personal hygiene rules and bathing makes me feel sleepier. I decide on eating plain old curd rice and just do a final dive of the day on my bed and doze off!

 

Day 6: Here come the Russians!

Early morning at the dive shop I could hear everyone cursing under their breaths and say “Here come the Russians” said no German ever. I couldn’t understand why all instructors were so unhappy with them. They seemed to be good. That’s when I came to know I’ll be joining the Russian mob today. Apparently they, their dive guide, me and Abhedya were going to same dive spots. Abhedya planned for Jackson’s and Broken ledge again but on my insistence changed the second dive site to Jacob’s Table. I was done with my breakfast half suited up and waiting for Abhedya’s instructions to leave, it was already past 7:30 am and all the boats were ready to leave soon all the divers and instructors left for the dive sites, I felt envious and betrayed, I was the only person who was so punctual, others required a wakeup call, by then I would be finished with my morning chores and on the breakfast table. I could feel every minute pass and I had nothing to do except for sit on the couch outside the dive shop, soon I realized that it was the Russians who were still having their breakfast, now I know why everyone were so weary of them. I think Abhedya gauged that bored look on my face and asked me to walk towards the boat; we waited for another 15 mins for the Russians to come aboard.

It takes 5 not so punctual slow poke Russians to screw up my mood. I don’t remember smiling back at them while they were on the boat, they didn’t even speak English, and all chit chat in Russian, all I know in Russian is “Vodka”. I noticed one of them hoisting a flag like banner something inscribed over it in Russian ofcourse and a picture of a diver on it, Abhedya said they belonged to a dive club and that was their banner back home and was it allowed to put such banners on boat, hell yeah! I thought to myself of bringing some huge banner with my name on it next time I visit, such a royal feeling. It was an hour ride to Jackson’s and I couldn’t take the Russian chit chat anymore, I asked captain if I could sit at tip of the boat and enjoy the water sprinkles. He probably saw “I would rather be dead than here” look on my face and allowed me to sit but only after fastening my life jacket. Today sea was a bit choppy, although visibility was good. Jackson’s was beautiful today. We were surrounded by huge school of fishes. I could sit there all my life and watch them swim around, play, hunt. After going around one side of the bar while returning back to ascent line we saw juju, the dive guide for the Russians holding a dead giant trevally, I was furious at the first sight thinking that the Russians killed it, but I asked Abhedya in sign language if they killed it and he said no. On ascending back to the boat I felt very bad for the poor fish, some local fishermen killed it. Fishing in deep seas was prohibited in Andaman, yet some fishermen do it illegally. So we got the fish aboard couldn’t leave it there to rot and invite sharks at Jackson’s would have made dive site a terror for other divers. Juju had plans of feasting on the fish, and I wanted my fare share too. He tried telling me all the ideas he had about cooking or drying the fish thinking that would hold me back from eating, but Abhedya and I were knocking him out each time telling him we are mumbaikars and we could eat any fish delicacy. The Russian continued their chit chat and I resorted to the tip of the boat with my chai and samosas, the next dive at Jacob’s table was going to be a fun dive so I had nothing to practice, nothing to plan, just dive and observe. The dive was just the kind of dive I wanted after all these days of planning, doing underwater skills seemed like a break. We could spot small anchovies, some dancing Durban shrimps, Bait fish, two Master Oogway like turtles, Cod groupers, Stag on crabs, coral rockcod, and cod groupers along with juvenile Nemos playing in the bed of anemones, such a playful sight. We went far off from the anchor line and I almost got a cramp in my leg and sea was getting choppier, we decided to do free ascent and give boat a sausage signal to pick us up. It was a 54 min long dive and I was very elated at the things I could see. Back at dive school I was asked to submit all my knowledge reviews by end of the day and prepare for an exam tomorrow, how I hate PADI for their difficult theoretical examinations. Rahul had my pictures and videos of the Photography dive and I wanted it from him, but I forgot to get a USB stick along so I decided to go to the market and get a USB by late afternoon. After the lunch I went asking for the giant trevally we found curious to know what they did with it, I came to know that Vinnie asked them to throw away the fish as it was rotten by the time we came back. I felt worse now, the fish gave its life but the purpose of its death was useless, neither could fishermen take it along nor could we savor it. I had an extra day to spend tomorrow so I was into splits thinking whether I should be going for some sightseeing or sign-up for two more fun dives. I decided to wait until they plan out the dive sites in the evening. I met Sakshi at the dive shop and told her about my rest of the day plans. I invited her to dine with me tonight but she already had a date so we decided to go next day. She asked me take her cycle if I was planning to go to the market, such a relief from walking in bright summer afternoon when sun is showing no mercy. We chatted for a while when Melissa another instructor at dive school asked me if I was diving tomorrow, I told her that I intend too but only if dive site is new. She had planned for MV Mars a ship wreck and The Wall for her students, she tried to convince me to come along but going back to the wall was something I was over now. I asked her where else were other instructors going, she said that Juju was taking the Russians to V 16 and Dixons. By now Rahul joined the conversation as well and said he will have to ask Juju if he could take me along with the Russians, going with Russian again was stupid but then Dixons has always been on top of the list of my must see dive sites, screw Russians, Dixons was important. Juju approved of taking me along and it was dream come true, Dixons finally.

I cleaned the dust on the cycle seat which was a bit high for me, but my legs could reach pedal. I pedaled my way to market bought a USB, some snacks for junking and two Cadbury thinking of having them once I am back at the room, but they left their solid form by the time I got back to the room. It was a quick run to and from the market. After coming back I decided to lie down on hammock and read my book. By the evening I was bored and decided to make a few calls to friends. I called of the day early after a quick dinner.

Day 7: Nature’s Bliss

The slowpoke Russians made me wait today as well, but I signed up for this and I couldn’t fuss. While waiting for them to finish their breakfast, I met four air force pilots from Coimbatore, they thought I was an instructor and started asking me for information, all the boats were gone and there was only Rahul in dive shop and I couldn’t find him, I decided to explain them everything and I guess I succeed halfway when Vinnie came in. He took over from there then and later the pilots came to know I was not an instructor but a student. They were surprised at my passion to travel alone all the way from Mumbai for scuba. They signed up for a course and I just got Vinnie four customers. After basking in the sense of achievement, I went for my dives. V.16 was a barren dive site or what they call it as a “macro” dive site. The moment we hit the bottom I asked Juju what I have to look for, he signaled to follow him. For half of the dive I tried hard to find atleast something other than huge star fish, it was kind of boring, the Russians went berserk as well and started picking up sea stars but then that’s when I could see few shrimps and nudy branches, that’s all the dive was depressing I wished for amazing time at Dixons now. At Dixon’s we decided to stay above the pinnacle, when we reached the Dixons, Tanaz was diving there with some other friends and she waved at me but I didn’t realise, I was still sulking at V16. You want it, you get it. Dixons felt like a 100 crore movie. We did nothing just grabbed one side of the pinnacle and the movie started, fish all around us, some popping out some going in the gaps, some just swimming around, while others being hunted by trevallies, I just couldn’t believe my eyes, the moment was perfect that was all I wanted as a departing gift from the sea. This dive made me forget about my experience with V16, on coming back to dive shop people asked me about my dive all I described was about Dixons and nothing about V16, the instructors were curious about V16 but my reaction was bland, they felt I didn’t have much respect for macro sites and I think they were right I couldn’t understand what a micro site was and the impatience gripped me. At lunch I met Pushkkaraj, I wanted to eat fish but Full Moon was out of fish, so we decided to go to a place nearby called Nandini’s, famous for budget fish eating crowd. We were waiting for Sahil to join us, meanwhile Pushkkaraj told me about his plans of night kayaking, Shiraz and Mrs. Nobles urged me to try night kayaking while I was in Havelock, I wanted to try this from day one but I knew one night kayaking trip and I will be broke for whole month. Pushkkaraj successfully lured me into the kayaking plan and I decided may what be I didn’t want to regret for rest of my life not doing this. The Kayaking trip is organised by Tanaz, she was recently on cover page of National Geography magazine, which Mrs. Nobles showed me very proudly. I asked Shiraz to reserve a spot for me. Sahil dropped out of the lunch plan and it was just me and Pushkkaraj, we asked Saakshi as well but she had some work back at the dive shop and she promised for dinner tonight. We headed towards Nandini, but the lights were out and we just couldn’t bear the heat, we decided to go to another place called ‘Anju Coco’ but they were out of fish and lights, so that was striked out as well, Pushkkaraj then suggested “Fat Martins” he was sure that we would find both the things on our list there, but that was supposed to be my venue tonight, never mind for cheap and delicious fish I can dine there as many times as I can, he had already been eating there for quite a few days, so he went on suggestion spree, he order for Nicobari Prawn Masala and Parathas which was so far the best prawn dish I have ever had, so finger licking good, I ordered for Fish masala with Parathas that was tasty as well not as much as prawns though. After food I had to go ATM to bill out at dive shop, the worst part about Havelock is that there are just two ATM’s next to each other in far corner, one ATM was closed and I almost finished money at another ATM. The lady next in the queue might have cursed me. I billed out at dive shop, but I realized that I still had to pay my bills at Full Moon and for the kayaking. It was a tense situation with one ATM closed and other out of cash; I managed to keep calm and decided to check while going for kayaking if any one of them is open. For kayaking we were supposed to be meeting Tanaz at jetty at around 5:30 pm. Pushkkaraj was going to come along with Sahil so I had to manage for my own transport to avoid episodes. I decided to take Saakshi’s cycle again as she was going for a night dive. I started off  bit early, while moving cycle from the stand I met Dhananjayji, he’s a short Bengali looking receptionist at dive shop he inquired about my venturing plan and I told him about my night kayaking plan so he offered me a lift to jetty and was not letting me go all by myself. I was not worried about reaching jetty but coming back at night, I bargained with him that although now he drops me off how would I come back without cycle, I asked him to come and pick me up as well only then I would go along with him otherwise I was better off with my bicycle, poor thing he agreed to the pick-up and drop deal. On the way the other ATM was now open and I could now cash out enough. At the Jetty I was the first enthusiast to reach on time. Tanaz and Shiraz were already there, we waited for other to come, it was a houseful batch, we were 12 of us, two reef researchers, who got pissed each time Tanaz called them scientists, a father-son pair, a family of three and of course me, Pushkkaraj and Sahil, it was a long marshy route towards kayaks, it was about to get dark, the convoy stopped at far end of jetty and we were asked to stand outside a store house, we were given our paddles and lifejackets. Then moving to another place where Tanaz decided who sits with whom as there were only 4 single sitters and the father son pair wanted those, one for Shiraz, so Tanaz decided Sahil would row fourth one as he had prior experience, the two researchers paired up, followed by parents in the family, their daughter paired up with Tanaz, so me and Pushkkaraj had no options left, we then went towards Kayaks where Tanaz showed us some basic rowing techniques, front rowing, back rowing and how to row towards sides. After that everyone were given head lights and neon bracelets, Sahil preferred to join them together and wear it as neckpiece, looked really cool. The father-son pair were made Vikings for them the neon bracelets were attached to the head lights so that others can follow them or atleast know where they were heading. The Kayaks were kept in racks, it started from removing the Kayaks from racks using men muscle power and I had to hold them together in water so that they don’t drift away, first Shiraz took the lead and went ahead so that he could guide the way, followed by rest, me and Pushkkaraj went last as we opted to help Tanaz. Unknown to what was awaiting us; I and Pushkkaraj were all into mastering the technique of Kayaking. We decided we would share the rowing responsibility; one would rest while other would row, so each one gets enough time to catch breath and enjoy the view. I wanted to see a shooting star since the time Pushkkaraj mentioned it to me. We were rowing around the thick mangroves; Sahil had his own version of rhyme named “Row Your Boat” with special mention of crocodiles. The moment I looked up to the sky the sight was marvelous all constellations in one night. What a breath-taking moment, the Orion was along with his dog hunting the Taurus accompanied by Gemini Twins. The Corona Borealis to one side of north, Tanaz taught us to use bigger dipper to find the North Star.

Things were perfect so far and turned stupendous as soon as I spotted a shooting star, this was the best night of my life, I would have sulked all my life if I wouldn’t have been here tonight, and my first experience of shooting star couldn’t have been better, I just wished this night would never end. Indeed this was not the end, we rowed into a dark area with no moonlight and Shiraz asked me to paddle very fast in the water and things started glowing, yes the Life of Pi experience was on its way. Bioluminescence was something I thought could only be computerized for the movie. But this sight I was experiencing now was beholding and in its own way trippy. You don’t need any substance addiction to get high on life, being at my place here where stars are shining bright in the sky and glowing planktons below you is hundred times the effect of substance. The Mother Nature has so much to offer and you need to be in right place, at the right time and with the right people to see it. I consider this night to be the best night of my life. Our trip ended and we were not even exhausted, everyone looked awestruck. I am sure all of us had similar experience.

Back at the Jetty I had to rush to dive shop, Saakshi was waiting for me, we were supposed to have dinner together at Fat Martins. It was 8:30 pm by the time I reached Jetty, I couldn’t see Dhananjayji anywhere, so I decided to hitchhike from Pushkkaraj, I invited him for dinner as well but he and Sahil had other plans, back at DiveIndia I went looking for Saakshi, I checked at her room but there was no one, I went to café asking each and every person out there if they knew where she was, alas tired and hungry I decided to eat at café, I thought she made an impromptu plan as I was late. The moment my dinner was served, I see this girl asking about me to café guy and in spur of frustration I called at her name loudly, I was very mad at this girl, she already had her dinner and I had to eat curd rice back here. She seemed to be tired so I controlled my anger, poor soul was looking for me but she thought I made plans with others as I was the one who got back late so she decided to sit there and chat up until I finished my dinner. I couldn’t see her yawning anymore so I decided to call off the day but back at room I couldn’t get the entire night view out of my mind. I felt very lively. There is so much to see in the world and we have so less time, I decided that after this there shall be no break to my travel life.

Trevallies

Day 8: Parting time

My Exams are due is just a reason to be there at dive shop so early although it was my day off, I was heading back to Port Blair. I wasn’t over with the routine though and somehow I loved it, getting up early, suit up after breakfast, such laid back life. I just wanted to see everyone suiting up, getting ready leaving for their boats, I thought this would make me feel better after the crying session I had today morning when it dawned on me that I was going to leave today. But this made me feel worse, everyone was heading towards their boats and I wasn’t even diving today, I found Abhedya and asked him for exams papers but he was busy with his new students and asked Neity to help me find my question paper for deep specialty, Neity said that PADI did not have exams for specialty courses, but the thorough examination pattern of PADI and Abhedya’s confidence while saying you have to write an exam made me doubt Neity’s acumen. I decided to wait for Abhedya to return from the dive. So my waking up early stint was pretty useless, Sahil suggested me to have Diver’s breakfast at Full Moon but they were out of fish so they couldn’t serve it to me. The day is indeed bad I thought. I decided to hit the hammock and sleep for a while and then have breakfast, I slept in hammock for 2 hours felt like I slept whole night, now I realized how slow time could pass if I were to stay here and do nothing at all. Most of the time internet acts as savior in idle time back home, but here I didn’t have that luxury. I decided to have some breakfast. I ordered for second best breakfast in menu i.e. Nutella Pancakes. Sugar Rush was all my brain could feel yet I couldn’t resist the Nutella which by now had started lifting up my mood. After some more hammocking and view watching I decided to finish up my packing and other chores. Yet I was finishing things quick, was I being hasty or was time passing too slowly, no idea. After getting ready completely and preparing myself mentally and emotionally that I had to leave this place, I decided to savour my favourite ice tea for one last time and cosy around in one corner of café with my book. I saw Shiraz entering the café and he was looking for some company I guess, so I asked him to join me, the more the merrier in my last few hours. We ended up chatting about government policies for Andaman, for boats, some incidents, new laws just the pretty old grumpy chit chatting. An hour passed and we were still not over with chit chat, meanwhile Saakshi and team returned from Nemo’s. I had to excuse myself from Shiraz as me and Saakshi had a pending lunch date. It was 12 pm by now and I had to leave for my ferry at 3:00 pm, also I was unsure if I had to give exams and had to wait until Abhedya returned at 2:00 pm. So I asked Saakshi to buck up and meet me as soon as possible in the café so that I can be back on time. The girl really hurried up and we decided to go fat martins again. But seemed like bad decision of walking all the way to fat martins which looked pretty close to DiveIndia but maybe because of the scorching heat it felt like walking in desert and Fat Martins was oasis. On reaching Fat Martins we placed a quick order and started with chit chat session. I cannot believe I made a friend so quickly. We were chatting about almost everything, present, past and future. She is going to leave for Canada this September for her Biologist degree, I was happy with the fact that she knows what she wants to be and has sorted path to achieve it. After an hour we realized that we were chatting long enough and I had to leave, we rushed back to dive shop as I had to look for Abhedya as well, he confirmed that I didn’t have to give an exam. Everyone in that scene could see the joy on my lit up face, that delightful feeling when you don’t have to give exams, the best feeling ever. But I had to meet a few people before I leave. I met all the instructors, the sinking feeling started popping up again and I tried to hold up myself, this place is what I am going to miss the most, feels like home. The people here are sweetest souls on the earth. I wanted to experience the hammock view once more and that’s when I met Lieutenant Vinod again, he looked pretty disappointed with the fact that I was leaving, he was going to invite me for dinner with the others tonight. Saakshi came looking for me at hammock to tell me that Pushkkaraj was looking for me, I had to thank this buddy for giving me an amazing time of my life may that be taking me to fat martins or be it convincing me for Kayaking and then pairing up for same. I wish I could never leave this place and people I met here. But that’s the traveller’s life and we have to accept it. 

My ride to Jetty was here and after one final good bye to everyone I left with all those memories for Port Blair. Back at Mrs. Nobles things were same nothing changed from greetings to the room everything in place. I told her about my Havelock stories, my Kayaking experience, and she listened to every bit of it so intently. The chit chat and gossip continued until late according Andaman time and with the stir of emotions I had to call off my day hoping that tomorrow never comes.

Day 9: Home Sweetest Home

Another morning at Mrs. Nobles place, better than last one, I slept well today and got up pretty late for Andaman time standard, I had nothing to do in the morning so I decided to do my routine slowly but Mumbaities cannot do anything slowly, we are so used to the hurried life I finished all my chores in half an hour. It was just 8:00 am and I was ready to leave, bags packed, checked everything twice, sometimes I think why am I so punctual? As soon as I got out of the room little Jiaan was riding on his tricycle with beach bucket on his head, I asked Mrs. Noble what’s up with this guy, she said that the boy is bit too much observant, recently he observed people wearing helmet before riding so he wanted his dad’s helmet but that was too big for him so one day he was just playing with that bucket and she put it onto his head, since that day the bucket found a new purpose as a crash helmet, the boy has also learnt to do ignition action before starting the bike, such a cute little notorious monster this boy. Mrs. Nobles also complains because of him she’s unable to decorate the house or put bulb in the lamps as he tries to grab all the things, Baktavar feels so relieved at the thought that Jiaan will be going to pre-school soon. But I am really admiring this boy for his observing skills, today’s kids are so observant and intelligent, they know everything, sometimes I feel we were so dumb when we were their age, he has also seen someone spitting recently so that’s what he tries to imitate the same with water in his mouth. Looks like a monkey trying to imitate humans. Mr. Nagesh is supposed to be coming by 9:30am to pick me up but he’s nowhere to see, last time he was on time, I don’t know where is he stuck today. He’s here and I heave a sigh of relief I wanted to go early so that I could get a window seat, plus the check- in windows are less and security check-line is too big. It was time to leave Port Blair and I although I seemed ready I wasn’t, somewhere in back of my mind I wanted to stay back, go back to Havelock, I felt like leaving one home for another, the heaven for hell’s life I would be going back to. I am not yet done with Andaman is what I keep saying to myself while I see those islets from the window of my plane taking me back home.