Ouch in the Andamans

The first week of March 2010

Today was a strange day. Revelations, complete bliss, contentment and a dog bite... Yep you read it right, a dog bite… A bad one at that! You see it was my second day in the Andaman’s aka paradise. I am on an island called Havelock. It is a short 1.5 hr high-speed ferry ride from port Blair, the main airport of the Andaman and Nicobar islands. An Indian governed small collection of islands in between Thailand and India. The intrigue of these islands is that it is the last place in the planet where there are still tribes who have not had much symbiotic contact with and do not wish to merge with civilization as the Indians have branded it...can't really blame them can you? Considering this there are parts of the islands that are still strictly forbidden to any tourist or Indian national as the government makes some effort to respect the indigenous people…aside from building a road right through the middle of one of the aggressive tribes (known as the Jarawa) territory 

Much like a rooster before a cock fight the Indian government has done this perhaps to remind the Jawari who the land belongs to...quite sad really.So arriving in Port Blair after the constant madness of mainland India, you are transported into another world. People are happy people are friendly. They allseem to smile and are more than willing to help you in whatever your request may be.   

 

An example of this would be how the owner of a guest house in Port Blair sacrificed the possibility of me staying with him a night and instead helped me to secure a ferry ticket along with a contact to help me find accommodation on Havelock the same day I arrived. This way I would have more time on the island where I wanted to be. 

Whisked away by this high speed, really modern ferry for 650 rupees (about $15) I and 200 others are zoomed to Havelock. Arriving I am jaw smacked. A very unfamiliar calmness hovers over the bay, rickshaw drivers are not clamoring over you (although available) to take you to your very own piece of paradise lost.

The first place I visit recommended by the tourist board is only 600 rupees a night, has people sitting in a circle enjoying someone strumming on a guitar. The room I am shown to is on two levels but has the mattress on the floor and no hot water... Well that would just NOT do! Where the hell was I! Not being a fan of camping I was wondering what I had got myself into. Upon gathering a list of three more places to visit, my rickshaw driver bravely suggested we visit a place he knew first. Off we went.

As we pulled up to the Eco villa resort I jumped out and the reception said they had an opening ...one room for 2000 rupees a night the other would be 900rupees. Asking to see both they started with the best ...of course.

We walked up and were greeted by this quaint grass hut cottage open to the elements with no glass in the huge window opening. But a mosquito net around the bed solved that dilemma. On the main floor I had a small living room a fridge and low and behold...a small spiral staircase up the second level.

            Living Room(above)  Spiral stairs (below)

Stomping up to the second floor I was gifted with a magnificent ocean view that was only 50yards from the cottage. It felt as if you reached out your arm you would touch the crystal waters of the Andaman Sea. One look at that view along with a warm wind stroking my face as my eyes feasted on what they saw and I knew it would have to be this room. Hec the way I looked at it, this was camping in style!

After my awful experience in Goa at the Indian kitchen hotel, I was very quick to rush to the front desk and negotiate the rate on paper. The owner just smiled and gave me a receipt stating the rate and explained I did not need to pay until departure.

                                                     Bedroom

Walking back to my cabin, there I was staring at the sea exhibiting shamelessly every shade of blue and teal you could ever imagine. As the silky white sand met the sea it seemed to perform gentle dance together. It was all quite overwhelming. Here I was at a paradise that oozed with beauty and I wished to share it with someone I knew. My family, friends, x's all raced through my head triggering a faint sense of guilt. As I was experiencing such wonderment with no one but myself to share it with, I was brought to tears.

                                           Room with a view

                               Still cant believe that view!

The next day I woke up once again to sounds of birds chirping in competition with the ocean waves. For my adventure today I had decided to rent a moped and ride to a beach on the other side of the 20minute island. Note to self...DON'T rent any mopeds! You see the only sad thing about this island to me, really the only evidence that you are so close to the mayhem of the Indian mainland is the existence of the crazy rickshaw and taxi drivers who race about this tiny island as if they are about to miss some life changing appointment. It is all quite ironic when you consider that these same islanders enjoy siesta from 1 till 4 most every day. Having never ridden any motorized two wheeler, I twisted on the accelerator and as I zigzagged un-controllably forward the hotel staff chased after me all worried for my life... But as I whizzed off gaining some stability, everyone including me breathed a sigh of relief. I thought to myself...as long as there is no traffic and I can travel in a straight line, I’d be fine. Needless to say neither of those magnificent wishes came to fruition and by the time I reached the beach I was traveling to, my back and shoulders felt like they were in some sort of tightening brace that had been invented in the middle ages, you could say I was a little tense.

Walking up to the beach I once again marveled at what I saw an unspoiled beach that on one side played with the crystal blue crashing waves and on the other shared borders with a tall, thick and dense forest lending shade and shelter to all those weary pirates who may have discovered the island some years ago.

Having met two travelers from my hotel one from Finland and the other an Israeli, we met up on the beach and sat together swapping our stories while taking in a magnificent sunset full of red, orange, grey and purples. My ride back was not as treacherous as I was able to follow my newfound friends and that seemed to take the edge off a bit.

 

                               God I love my camera!

Day 3, I awoke in such bliss again and while doing my morning yoga I tried not to focus on the grief that I would only be here another two days. Eating my breakfast while taking in the calm moist breeze I pondered what my day held in store... a walk I decided would be the medicine of the day. I read a chapter or two of my positive manifestation book "ask and it is given” and really felt I was getting things that it spoke of. I was feeling charged and inspired. A brief dip in the warm sea allowed me to contemplate all the great things I would create. Now consider this, as I came out of the ocean or gods bathtub as I have aptly renamed it, I stubbed my toe on a rock not once, but twice and really hard. It was hard enough that the pain shrilled up my leg sending me a message thy perhaps my walk should be taken off my agenda. I of course ignored this first message and set off on my jaunt. The next strange thing that happened as I adventured up the sandy and coral filled pathway is that a sweet female dog came up to me in search of affection. After catering to her gentle demands I walked on but she followed whining as if to try and talk to me, to tell me something at least this is what crossed my mind. I wonder what she could be trying to say.

Please don't go!

Moving forward she stayed behind and the next stretch I came to was quite barren, no cottages or civilization only one dog barking incessantly as if to tell me not to walk on his grounds. My ego kicked in and I was not fazed. Some five minutes passed and I found myself approaching a great stretch of beach that seemed to be free of any coral or rocks. As I approached there was a pack of four dogs coming from the brush about fifty meters ahead of me. One of them turned and began to bark quite aggressively. I sent out a quiet positive energy and said out loud in a calm voice that it was all right. Within seconds another dog turned and began barking while growling, it was not a normal bark. Fear had begun to charge through my body from my toes to my fingertips… they sensed it. They began their charge toward me and not knowing what to do I tried to remain relatively balanced shouting “calm down!” at the dogs as they approached me with great speed. Seconds passed and two of the dogs charged behind me as the other two growled at me from my front. As I tried to turn to see at my back, I felt a strong and painful sensation grip the back of my calf. One of the dogs piercing teeth punctured through one side of my calf while his front teeth cut through the other. As anger, fear and panic raged through me I took my backpack off and swung violently while shouting with a terror that could be heard a mile away. I was ready to defend I was ready to fight. The dogs knew and within seconds they all charged away. In shock and dismay I realized what had just happened and started hobbling back toward my cottage, as I glanced at my two wounds which were now starting to bleed out I was heartbroken as my dreams of a walk in paradise had turned into a race to get to the doctor. What if there was rabies. What now!

                                           OUCH!

Waiting to see the nurse I struggled not to beat myself up for not taking head of the many warnings I had received from universe, I decided to keep myself in positive thought. The nurses saw my wound and suggested two stitches, the thought of enduring more pain sickened me, so I declined their advice. The nurses cleaned the wound and bandaged it; they gave me a few painkillers as by now my leg was throbbing with a vivid pain. A tetanus shot, some antibiotics, a lecture not to go in the sea and I was sent on my way and asked to return in the morning to see the doctor who would be in at 9.30am. I had an early night falling asleep to the memory of the horrific growl of the dogs.

      Don't worry thats just my little buddy at the hotel

On day 4, I awoke to the sound of a horrid little Indian bratlett whining incessantly for who knows what... Determined not to let anything faze me, I awoke with a smile (the painkillers helped with that) and headed off to the doctors. I decided I would manifest only good today!

Yippee! A short visit to the doctor confirmed there was no rabies on the island. I only needed to continue my antibiotics for three days,leave my wound exposed and all would be fine. Going in the sea wasfine it was just recommended I use a waterproof covering/band aid while I was in there. Later that day yet another piece of technology of mine gave up on me. My waterproof camera had decided it was no longer impervious to water and poof there went all my pictures and my camera. No matter, it’s just a camera. The agenda for the rest of the day, hmm let's see, maybe I need to polish up on that positive manifestation stuff.

As I packed for my early departure, I reflected on my stay. Havelock was definitely a place to visit paradise on a budget… cheap food, cheap beer and relatively cheap accommodation, what more could one want right? How about the smell of a warm croissant delivered to your bed side, the comfort of your head sinking into an overstuffed German down pillow. The soft scent of fresh flowers cut and prepared as part of your welcome gift. These were the things I preferred.

Leaving India, I pondered the days when the Maharajas ruled, the days where Shah Jahan had built the Taj Mahal with such astute beauty and perfection. An India where kings would settle for nothing but intricate and beautiful visual feasts and only the best scents were wafting through the palace air. Where had all this old magic drifted? Where had this magnificence been lost? The closest thing I could imagine was the aura found in all the five star hotels I had visited, that was what I yearned for, that is what I deserved and that is what I would then manifest. I had decided that on my next visit, I would see India from a Maharajas perspective. It was a great way to end my bittersweet Indian adventure.