The Great Ocean Road

The Great Ocean road is considered to be among the best natural attractions of Australia , along with the heavy weights such as the Great Barrier Reef and the Uluru. So we got an opportunity to visit this place on a day with pretty good weather. I have mentioned pretty good weather because even though it was summer with clear sky, it was still windy and cold. This is one of the road trips in Australia where the journey to the destination is much more interesting than the destination itself.

We started early in the day. The initial journey is quite monotonous till Geelong, the second largest city in the state of Victoria. After Geelong does the fun start with the great ocean road starting from Torquay and hugging along the coastline for the remainder of the distance to the Twelve apostles/Port Campbell. If one directly gives as the destination as Port Campbell/Twelve Apostles in navigation maps, then they would be directed to a route totally different and faster than the Great Ocean road. We infact returned on this route, which is majorly 4 lane, unlike the Great Ocean Road , which is primarily 2 lane. This route was built by the returning soldiers of Victoria after the First World War or the Great War as it was known back then.

The total distance between Geelong and Port Campbell is 213 kms, but one should also consider the innumerable stops along the route. The route is very picture-some and one cannot resist pulling over and enjoying the view every now and then.

The first stop was the "Twelve" Apostles. There are infact only 8 of these limestone rocks standing after relentless pounding by the sea. We had views of these beautiful nature's pieces of art from various different angles. It was just plain breathtaking setting with vertical steep coastline and these limestone pillars rising dramatically from the sea. This kinda reminded us of the similar limestone formations in Krabi, Thailand. There is also a main visitor centre and a walking circuit which takes the tourists right into the middle of the sea on top of a steep cliff to provide some great views of the rocks formation.

After twelve apostles we visited some more sites further down the road towards Port Campbell stopping at spots having views of equally innovative names like Razorback, Loch and Gorge, Island Arch, London Bridge etc. After spending considerable time at these spots it was time to return back to Melbourne. We took the shorter and faster route via Colac. We decided to take a long circuitous route back home with a ferry ride from Queenscliff to Sorrento giving some great views of the Port Phillip bay. Overall this circuit is without dispute the best place to visit in the state of Victoria.

Andaman Islands : First Trip With My Better Half

With a monsoon wedding , the options for the honeymoon destinations were limited to places to where they would be a bit subdued . Ofcourse monsoons have their own romantic charm, but not to the extent wherein you would be drenched to the core for the entire duration of the trip. Keeping these in mind decided to go for the isolated Andaman islands, but still there were reports that there was a 50-50 probability of the rains lashing these islands in the first half of the September . But if you are expecting some decent weather, completely deserted beautiful beaches all for yourself and your better half then September is the month to go.

Our tour operator was Andaman Excursion(http://www.andamanexcursion.com/), whom we had shortlisted after a bit of  research over the net. Ofcourse there were tried and tested tour operators like MakeMyTrip.com , but the package offered from the former was much value for money with the same goodies offered. We had accommodations booked at the J Hotel in Port Blair and The Wild Orchid at Havelock Island. With no direct flights from Bangalore to Port Blair one has to go via either Chennai or Kolkata.

Day 1 of the package tour we landed in Port Blair at around noon. Before we landed at Veer Savarkar Airport we got some great views of the lagoon filled beaches of these islands. We were promptly received by the organizers and were taken to our rooms. The remainder of the day was spent in exploring the cellular jail during daytime, exploring a beach at Port Blair which was not any different from the beaches of the mainland and after night fall back to the cellular jail for the sound and light show. The tour of cellular jail was quite good. At many points when the guide is giving an illustration of the how the life was at the jail , one cannot stop cringing with disgust at the treatment meted out to the Indian freedom fighters. The name of the cellular jail is given due to the initial shape of the building , which has been subsequently changed and only 3 of the original 7 wings are standing. The view from the terrace was quite good, including that of North Bay island, the view of which is incorporated in the backside of the 20 Rupee Indian currency note. The light and sound show after dark was quite good, but we were constantly bugged by mosquitoes, therefore one has to be prepared for these.

Neil Island: Natural Bridge

There are 2 types of transportation between the islands, the private ferries which are a bit more luxurious and the government ones which are a bit more spartan. Unfortunately for us the private ferries had not yet started operations, which generally start after the monsoon season and therefore we were to catch the Government ferries which was a pain point during this trip. First we took an early morning ferry to Neil Island which was around 2.5 hrs in journey length. This is where we were to witness for the first time the beautiful  white sanded , aqua blue beaches of Andaman. We were taken to a number of places such as the natural rock arch (which was after a tough walk among rocks especially if one is wearing slippers :P), sunset point and finally the Ramnagar beach where certain activities are available such as glass bottom boat rides and snorkeling. By afternoon we caught the ferry to Havelock island after a lot of confusion over the boat timings and such. We were directly taken to our resort in Havelock and spent the remainder of the day exploring the awesome beach just 2 mins from the resort.

Day 3 of the package included a trip to Elephant beach, but while we were waiting in the bright sun the weather suddenly changed within no time and we were facing a gale storm. By this time the boat ride to this beach was cancelled and while we were contemplating what to do next our tour guide offered a choice to do scuba diving at Barefoot Scuba and that too at a discounted price of 2.5k/head. Therefore we were taken to the Barefoot Scuba resort and within no time we were gearing up for the dive. Since this was my second scuba experience I was not scared like I was during my first dive, but I wanted my wife to experience this whole new world. But my wife being a non-swimmer and a bit claustrophobic naturally had some initial apprehensions. But the instructors were good and within no time she was also into water and enjoying the colorful underwater views of the Nemo Reef, so much that in the end she didnt want to come out of the water :P. In the evening we were taken to the gorgeous Radhanagar Beach, billed as the most beautiful beach of Asia and believe me it lived upto that expectation.  An endless beach of white sand flanked on both sides by clear aqua blue water and dense jungle on the other side. And to add cherry on top there was hardly anyone here, considering the huge expanse of this beach. This is almost an half an hour drive from the main market area of the Havelock island and one gets to know the true size of this island. The remainder of the day we just lazed around and had a candlit dinner which was initially planned to be on the sea side , but unfortunately had to be taken indoors due to heavy rains that night.

Scuba Diving at Nemos Reef

Radhanagar Beach

The next day we were back to our boat ride to Elephanta beach, but with weather being unpredictable they took us to place somewhere in the middle of nowhere where some water sports were organized. After that a ride through the mangrove forests was arranged. Came back to our resort and freshened up after having our lunch at the Fat Martins Cafe (just near the entrance of the Wild Orchid Resort) which was our favorite food destination at Havelock. The food here was lip-smacking to say the least and even better than Red Sapper Restaurant which was the main restaurant of the resort. Caught the afternoon ferry back to Port Blair and by nightfall were back to the capital of the beautiful islands.

Entrance Of Wild Orchid

On the 5th day of the trip we were taken to North Bay Island and the boatsmen were literally forcing us to take a glass bottom boat ride. Since the water near Port Blair didnt seem that inviting we flatly refused and were a handful of people who did so. After that we the met the people who went for this ride, and they said that they hardly saw anything. Therefore its best recommended to avoid such activities near Port Blair since the underwater wildlife is minimal over here. When the other people were taken for this "one grand ride" we explored the island and the lighthouse. We were even offered a tour inside the lighthouse, but the guy who offered us was looking all creepy and we were just 2 of us, therefore we refused that offer. After North Bay island we were taken to Ross Island which had housed all the British Officers and hence was considered the luxurious part of Andaman. Presently under the control of the Indian Navy this island has a lot of ruins of the bygone era such as bakery, church, bungalows, market place etc. It also houses the Japanese bunkers which were built during their occupation of the Andaman Islandsin WWII. One has to take a long walk to explore the island and it was a good experience walking along with deer and peacocks which have been introduced into these islands.

Finally the tour was coming to an end. We had some time before we took an afternoon flight to Chennai, therefore we were taken into 2 museums. The first one was the Samudrika Museum run by the Navy which houses all the different species of the underwater universe such as corals, shells, fishes etc. And the other museum we were taken was the Anthropological museum which mainly concentrates on the various tribal groups residing in these isolated group of islands. Both of these museums were good and we enjoyed spending our time over here. Hence concluded our memorable trip to one of the most isolated part of India from the mainland.

Ross Island

During this trip my wife popped a question, as to why people go on a honeymoon. Apart from the obvious ones everyone knows about :P, I think it is to bring 2 people together closer and according to me nothing brings 2 souls closer than travelling to some beautiful location, wherein the good memories and experiences are shared and get etched in the mind for ever !!!!!

Lakshadweep : A Paradise On Earth

Sun kissed beaches lined up with white sand, turquoise shaded transparent sea water, minimal human interference and activity.... if this doesnt qualify for my version of a paradise then I dont know what does. The only thing missing are the female species for us to admire at and that is one point where Goa scores over Lakshadweep, but other than that these group of islands are far ahead from any competition. (Havnt been to Andaman yet :) ).

Lakshadweep islands are a group of 36 coral islands. These islands have recently been opened for travel and also requires permission if travelling on our own. We had gone through "Coral Reef Package" offered by SPORTS (http://www.lakshadweeptourism.com/) which is a 5 day cruise package including 3 days on 3 different islands. There were totally 7 guys for this trip (Shashi, Vineeth, Harish M , Jenny, Shantu, PPR and myself)


Day 1 (25/11/2010)
Departure From Home Port

We landed in Ernakulam junction at around 5 am after taking the overnight Kochuveli Express. With nearly 3.5 hrs more to kill and slight drizzle outside we decided to spend some time in the station some catching up with sleep, some with current affairs and some catching up with nothing :). This light drizzle was a grim reminder of the weather prediction giving an "occassional thunderstorm"  filled rains in Lakshadweep for all the 5 days :(. After having our breakfast we decided to move towards Lakshadweep office in Willingdon Island, which is just 30 minutes drive away from the station. After bargaining with a lot of autos one autowaala agreed to take 7 of us in one single auto + luggage :P.... packed to the brim :D. As we entered this port island it was more or less desolate with strict security and CISF personnel guarding all the entrances. Landed in front of Lakshadweep office at around 7.30 am with no one in sight. Finally one person came and told us to wait till 9 am when the officials will arrive.

A Warehouse At the harbour

So in order to kill time we decided to roam around. And roam around we did ,  to such an extent that we even got confused with the route back to the office. At 8.45,  we again tried our luck and officials had already arrived. These officials were very courteous and friendly unlike one would expect of a Govt babu. Were provided with our tickets and complementary "Lakshadweep" t-shirts and caps. Were led into another location where our bags were x-rayed for anything illegal (drinking in strictly prohibited in the islands).

Our Ride

Vineeth chatted with Tom a Lithuvanian who was travelling alone across India. For the next 2 days he was more or less a part of our group until he reached his destination of 6 days at Kadamath.These westerners don't have a policy of saving for the future. In his own words "I travel as soon as I have enough money and make it poof " :P... cool :).

Chinese Fishing Nets

After this were taken to the docks in a bus, dont know why they take people to 3 different places. Its like in airport where ticket counters, security check and boarding are 1km apart. As soon as we entered the docks we could see the gleaming white beauty "M.V Lakshadweep Sea", a brand new(25 days old)  medium sized cruise ship and our home for the next 5 days. We were led into the ship and to our bunkers. The bunkers  The interiors were clean and the facilities were awesome. Dont know whether the same applies for much older ships or not. The total number of tourists in our ship came around to 30 with the majority of  them mumbaikar's working for Voltas.

Double Exhausts

Even though many of us boarded the ship at around 10.30 am , the ship only started the journey at around 4 pm. This left as nearly 5 hrs to roam the ship entering into crew only zone , getting scolded by the captain (only shashi got in this case :P). We explored every nook and corner of the ship we could find and not that we did that intentionally. The passageways were so confusing that within no time we would be lost and roaming aimlessly here and there :P. A perfect maze in the middle of the sea :P.

Sunset In the Open Sea

Were served lunch at around 1 pm. As a matter of fact the same ship is used by both the tourists and the localites and they even share the same bunk spaces and canteen. The only difference is that the canteens have different timings for both the tourists and the passengers. Finally at around 4 pm the ship started. We had a lot of dolphin sightings at the mouth of the port and unfortunately couldn't capture any(was able to capture while returning :) ). Spent time either by watching the endless seas from our hangout spot (a spot below the control room) or by playing games such as dumb-charades, UNO etc. Matter of fact is there is no other entertainment provided on board. Everyone is left to fend for their own.

Night On the Deck

Day 2 (26/11/2010)
Port Of Call : Kadamat

First Rays Of The Sun

Got up very early nearly at 5.45 am to catch the sunset. The same process is repeated in the quest of a perfect sunrise and sunset in the middle of the ocean and we were disappointed with this regard for the entire duration of the cruise.  When we came to deck it was total darkness .. but in that darkness we could see the lighthouse of Kadamat giving a friendly invitation that our first stopover was just few moments away

After having our breakfast and other stuff (morning ablutions in a rocking ship :P ) we were ready for the island. The ship had stopped at a very far distance from the shore and we had to rely on smaller fishing boats to transport us to the islands.The reason for this is the islands are surrounded by very shallow lagoons. But sadly it had started to rain :(. So we were made to wait for the an hour or so. After some time the rain subsidized becoz it knew that rain or no rain we were going to enjoy in the islands , but the only hindrance was boats which didnt operate in bad weather.

Soon all of us boarded a fishing boat and off we moved towards Kadamat island. As we moved closer towards the island the shade of the water slowly started to change to emerald green and became more and more transparent.Transparency to such an extent that we could see the ocean floor. Sea water of this shade and that too almost transparent is a phenomenon most of us had never witnessed before. So naturally we were excited.

Reached the island and we were welcomed by coconut water. It was still drizzling a bit , but not paying much heed we hit the beach. The beach was totally desolate and pristine. White colored pure sand, untouched. Was simply beautiful.... 2 eyes were not enough to grasp the beauty of this place place. Also since the lagoons were isolated from the main ocean the water was calm and waveless and was teaming with aquatic live forms.

The Docking Point

Colourful Inhabitant

Initially we were given life jackets and spent time playing water volleyball and some illegal games like chasing each other in water and hitting with the same ball :P.... After this the instructors came and took us to snorkeling sessions. By this time the sun was out and shinning with full glory, After giving the initial introduction the instructor led guys handheld one by one into the waters. When my turn came donned the glasses and the breathing apparatus. Even though i know swimming to some extent , snorkelling in these clear water is an awesome experience. Visibility is never an issue. Got to see various number of fishes and one very colourful fish (having some 15 different shades :) ). But this session lasted only for about 15 mins and we were not satisfied with it.

Once snorkelling was done there was an urge in me to do my favourite pastime in beaches......i.e. running along the beaches.... and how could I miss the oppurtunity in such beautiful settings and also convinced others to do the same so as to not to look like a sole lunatic :P.

After this we went for kayaking. This was very relaxing and fun at the same time. Kayaked to our hearts content and returned back. At this time some people were readying themselves for a scuba dive. So we too had an urge to do it. So we went to the "Laccadive Dive Centre". Were greated by 2 good looking women. They informed that for beginners there was only a lagoon dive for depth upto 2 m , lasts for 20 mins and costing 2.5 k and we would be handheld by dive experts. Somehow we didnt feel this was worth it... 2 m depth is not scuba diving in our dictionary :P. (Best option would be to do a 4 day open water scuba diving course and be certified)

North Point

Returned back , had lunch followed by a game of volleyball. This was one game in which I didnt have much exposure so initially the ball moved in random directions which no one could predict :P. After this we were taken to sight seeing. This sight seeing to various factories in the island was something very boring and least looked forward during the next 3 days. We were taken to a coir factory, coconut packaging factory and finally to the north tip of the island, which offered good views. After spending some time we returned back to the resort to have our evening tea and return back to the ship.

While deboarding the ship in the morning we were told to leave all our luggage in the bunkers which didnt have any sort of locks. So when we returned back noticed that my brand new sandals was missing :(. Not just me others baggage too seemed to have roughened up and we had missing things like chargers, deodarants and even some laddoos :P. When we complained to the ship crew they were clueless and they told us to keep our luggage in their compartments from the next day. If at all there has to be a low point in this trip this does qualify.  After this freshened up and went to our favourite hangout spot and started singing like drunk maniacs. Also learned a new game "Poker", which we played using cards as fake currency. Even then had so much fun. Gambling is surely addicting :P.

Sunset

Day 3 (27/11/2010)
Port Of Call : Kalpeni 

As with the previous day,  today too we were greated with rains in the morning. But today we were quite optimistic since the previous day the clouds had clreared up as soon as we landed in the islands. As we landed on hard ground we were taken in pickup trucks to the SPORTS resort. As promised the views in Kalpeni is quite different from those in Kadamat. So many small islands filled with coconut trees dotting our line of sight. This greatly reminds me of the famous default wallpaper provided in windows xp :P.

Gurgleeeeeeeeeeee !!!!!!!!!!!

After having the compulsary welcome drink we were taken to one such desolate island. Here the activities offered were snorkeling and kayaking. Since we were  itching for more snorkeling action, within no time we doned the snorkelling gear and were into water. This time we were left unassisted and we could explore on our own and in any direction we wanted in this shallow lagoon. There were so many lively fishes in these waters.. blue , green, black, yellow, grey, zebra strips, etc etc and swimming along with these fishes was an awesome experience. The corals were not that colorful as I had expected, but they were compensated by the fishes residing within them.

As we approached near the fishes they would run helter-skelter to find the nearest shelter and if we swam over these corals we could see nearly 10-15 fishes poking their head to check whether the coast is clear.... this scene was simply memorable. Other than fishes I came across eels, water snakes (dint linger around them much) and finally a clam locally known as Kaaka. It had dark and light blue stripes on it and it was around 15 cm radius. Initially didnt know what it was and only one localite was near to me. So asked him what it was , he just told that it was known as Kaaka locally and took one small stone and kept on the clam ...... and to my shock and surprise the clam closed its mouth... simply felt whoahhhhh..... the high point of the Lakshadweep trip :P. But later when we searched for it couldnt locate it much to others disappointment. Looked like these images.... clam1image and clam2image. After snorkeling to our hearts content we were called back to the coast and taken to the resort in the main island.

Folk Dance

Kalpeni Lighthouse

Had another session of  beach volleyball. Lunch was followed by a folk dance by locals. These group of locals comprised of men right from teens to late 70's ..... 3 generations of localites :). The folk dance was quite interesting , even though it had its highs and lows and some other unnamed people where having their afternoon snoozes :P.

View From The Top

Spiral Staircase

Folk dance was followed by local sight seeing ...yawn... some more factories... this time khadi and baniyan factory...but after that we were taken to the Kalpeni light house... which offers some breathtaking views of the islands from the top. Every inch of the island is covered by coconut grooves..... From this lighthouse were taken to the northmost point. The shores here is dotted with dead corals for a long long distance. A different view altogether.




Again returned back to the resort and took a boat back to the our waiting mother ship. Overall we enjoyed this island the most. Strikes a balance between views and activities available to tourists. Again night was spent playing cards. Since day 1 we had started using a place near a stair case for our playing purpose. After seeing us use this place there was huge demand to use it and constant competition between us and the voltas guys to reserve this place :P.

Northern Point

Day 4 (28/11/2010)
Port Of Call : Kavaratti 

Today we had a stopover at Kavaratti, the capital of Lakshadweep. As expected this island was much bigger in dimension and the population density to match it. Not as desolate as the previous 2 islands. As usual were greeted by morning rains. Landed in the capital island. Were joined by some 10 tourists of  M V Arabian Sea which was also anchored in this island. Some good looking girls were also present among them. So we were positioning ourserlves to get good views.... a group of despo guys :P.

The Flying Ganiga

The initial part of the day everyone was just relaxing we decided to do some stunts and entertain the others :D. Everyone did their best to look awesome in a capture... but the major accolades was garnered by shashi.. the "flying ganiga" doing a somersault . After this we played some football until our feet were paining and some other games. By this time the organizers had started to take people for glass bottom boat rides in batches which lasted for nearly an hour or so for each batch. 

Kayaking

Also we went inquiring about scuba diving , but the Dolphin Dive Centre guys told that the compressor was not working.... which was the final nail in the scuba diving chapter. And were also informed that there was some malfunction in the glass bottom boat which had gone out and that it would take some time for our turn... so we decided to do some mind calming kayaking in the open sea. This time I got a solo kayak unlike the previous time and this was way too unstable..... one small wave and it almost tips to one side :P....We rowed and rowed towards the deep sea and occasionally stopping to enjoy the calmness

Found Nemo: Clown Fish.. Sadly they didn tell us a joke :D

By this time the glass bottom boat returned and it was our turn in it... all of us got into it..... slowly the marine life became alive from this boat... so many colorful fishes.... the advantage of this ride over snorkeling is that u can actually take pictures from a normal camera. (had searched like hell for single use underwater camera in Bangalore and had even called Kodak head-office :P ). Also finally got my wish of seeing orange colored clown fishes... ala Nemo :P.... Also the boat took us to the boundary where the shallow lagoon ended and the deep sea started..... at this point there was blue everywhere... and so many schools of fishes had made their home right here. Another highlight of this boat ride are turtles... i could manage to see only one while others managed to see as many as 3.

 

Lunch followed this and after this relaxed an hour or so in the beaches. Where again taken to island sight seeing... this time it was desalination plant, an aquarium and a ride through the island. The fossil section of the aquarium was quite interesting..... it was here I came to know the clam was called as clam :P. Were taken to a part of the island where a huge cargo ship had drifted too near to the island and had got stuck in the corals beds. After this we returned back to our resort and there was another folk dance presentation by local kids.

A dotting mother checking out her daughters performance

After the folk dance we were told to return back we decided to get Shantu all wet... but in the process we too decided to have one last adios dip in the Lakshadweep sea. Dripping water we returned back to ship with many people staring at us for the entire length :P. Thus we were leaving these beautiful islands far behind. The only thing remaining for this trip was the return journey back home.

Day 5 (29/11/2010)
Back To Base 

Were woken up in the morning for a spectacular sunrise... but sadly missed the perfect thing by a few seconds. Nevertheless the sunrise was pretty spectacular. Today was the last day of the trip... so everyone was feeling a bit down. The ship finally reached the Kochi port at around 10 am and this time was able to capture some dolphins in action.

Dolphins

We were earlier informed that after docking it takes nearly an hour or so to exit the ship... hence we started playing card in our bunks.... but after some time it occurred to us that the entire ship was deserted... :P.... so quickly we came out and saw that everyone had already left we were the last people leaving the ship... thank god they didnt lock up the ship :D.

As I landed on the ground started to get wobbly feeling. This phenomenon I had never heard of... Heard about sea sickness but never land sickness....but this does occur usually in first time cruise passengers and I was the only one affected in our group. This sickness lasted for some 3 days with the first 2 days being the worst. The reason for this was the inner ear was accustomed to the rocking of the ship... but after landing on firm ground it has a hard time reverting back to older setting.

St Francis Church

Vasca Da Gama's Temporary Resting Place

In Kochi we still had some 6 hrs to kill so we decided to do some sight seeing. We directly went to Fort Kochi from the Willingdon island and our first stop was the St. Francis Church built in the 16 th century. Also Vasco Da Gama's body was kept in this church before being moved to Portugal. Some 300 m away is the Santa Cruz Basilica, which is a lot more colorful in the interiors. Had our lunch in an nearby restaurant which lasted for a good 2 hrs. With some more time we decided to visit the Jewish Synagogue which is some 4 kms from this place. Finally it was time to take the bus back to Bangalore. Went to the KSRTC bus stand and took the 5.45 pm bus. But to our bad luck it had a puncture even before leaving the stand and hence the departure was delayed to 6.30 pm resulting in half day leave in office the next day :(.

Santa Cruz Basilica

This cruise was in short a totally different experience. Surrounded by seas in all the directions, our bunkers, the islands it was a good relaxing trip. But one thing dawned on me... India is so big and so diverse it surely requires a lifetime to be able to say that one has really visited the entire country. Got to explore our country more before I start thinking anything out of it :P.


Total Cost (Per Head including cruise, food, activities, transport etc) ------ > 14K (13K for the cruise including the tax and the agent commission)

Cruise Package Details ----->
 http://www.lakshadweeptourism.com/tourpackages.html
Agent List --->
http://www.lakshadweeptourism.com/agents.html

Snaps ->

http://picasaweb.google.com/unithinbhat/LakshadweepCruise#

http://picasaweb.google.com/ppr.bms/Lakshadweep

http://picasaweb.google.com/shashidharvg/Lakshadweep