Wander Woman

The main focus of our three day road trip to north Andaman was,the scaling of Saddle Peak. Saddrle peak is the highest point of Andaman and NIcobar islands. We were like a couple of merry trekkers and thought it would be a hoot if we could climb it.Major underestimation. Everybody (ie locals) told us that we should start early in the morning at around 5am.Theres a 3km trek to the foothill of the mountain.Then we cross a stream and continue upwards. We didnt pay any heed, woke up late and reached the foothills at around 12.We had packed some sandwiches and took only 2 bottles of water (major mistake) half of which we finished by the time we reached the foothills. My partner didnt allow me to fill or drink from the stream that flowed for fear of bacteria (major mistake #2). On the way we were attacked by leeches but fortunately we were carrying salt with us.There is no local guide available, but the forest dept has marked the way by painting red and yellow bands on the trees. We had to ...

Kerala is the land of elephants,apart from being God's own country. Elephants are privately owned and used(for lack of a better word)for temple festivals(Thrissur Pooram). Elephants are very important for temple festivals. Without them,any festival is incomplete.It made me wonder about the origins of this ritual. This was probably initiated(by some very wise men) so that elephants dont end up on the endangered species list. So, On a bright sunny day, we set out for Kodanad Elephant training camp. Here elephants are trained to transport logs and do other types of work. We were told that we could bathe the elephants and play with them. We couldnt do that because we reached at the wrong time. Still it was nice to see the pachyderms. What was a little disturbimg was the "Kraal ". This is a sort of wooden cage where the elephants are kept. We did see a baby elephant inside one of them. Then we went to the river.Periyar. One of the best things I like about Kerala is its greene...

Neil is a small island located a few miles away from Port Blair. Its also an hour away from Havelock. Neil is a very small island surrounded by the most beautiful corals.They say, one of the main reasons why this island was not very affected by the Tsunami tidal waves is because of the corals which stopped the waves from hitting the island. The water around this island is a mesmerising blue,also because of the corals which keep filtering the water. And the marine life!!You dont even have to dive to see that.A few metres off the beach and a snorkelling kit.In fact you can see the fishes and eels right from the jetty. You dont even have to go into the water. We started for Neil on a rain drenched morning with fear that the ferry might be cancelled because of weather conditions. Visibility was nil and the ferry was almost called off.After waiting for an hour, we finally set sail. It was dark all around and we couldnt see anything around.I've been to Neil twice after that in more plea...

journey down the creek Mangrove tunnel beware of crocodiles Limestone caves I did not know that Baratang was an island. It was only when we had to get up on the ferry,I realised that. It was on a clear morning that we took the trip to Baratang on our way to Rangat,another island.The road wound through the Jarawa Reserve, and we were lucky to spot a few Jarawas. The Jarawas are an ancient tribe of people who still live in extremely primitive conditions. They are still wary of "civilisation" and live in the forests maintaining their own way of life. It is forbidden to mix with them or even take their pictures. So, we reached the jetty and took the ferry to the other side. We were warned that the creek was infested with crocodiles and it didnt help when we had to take a speedboat from the other side to the limestone caves. the boat kept boobing up and down on the waters. But I totally forgot about it as the boat entered the mangrove tunnel. The mangroves on ei...

There are huts constructed for shade. tourists can rest here Ross Island The disappearing sand bar Ferry to Ross and Smith Smith island on the other side Ross and Smith are twin islands joined by a sandbar, which disappears during high tide.  These islands have to be reached by a boat.We took a boat from Aerial bay and spent the whole day on Ross island. We had some packed food and drinking water. We also took our tent along and pitched it on the sands. It was a super fun day. Its amazing, the kind of marine life that you can see if you venture out a little into the sea. From the beach itself, I saw ray fishes and several other schools of fishes I don't even know the name of. There were a group of marine biologists who were taking pictures underwater and they showed me Sponges, sea lion and an octopus. I was pretty freaked out that these creatures were just a quarter mile away from where I was swimming.The sea was a clear blue and we were lucky that it ...

Known by locals as Karbyn chowk, this tiny sliver of a beach lies a little out of town. Its a natural cove dotted with swaying palms. Theres not much to see around here.But I like going to Corbyn's cove because it is the nearest/most easily accessible beach in Port Blair.A drive of 20 mins and we reach Corbyn's cove. There's a nice promenade from where you can sit and watch the waves.And I love (very much) the chatpati that an old woman sells just outside the gate. She makes it extra spicy for me.Jet skis will take you around snake island, a tiny island a liitle away from the beach, but during low tide you can walk over by a natural bridge. I'm too scared to go across because the old woman scares me with crocodile tales. Apparently, there are crocs in and around snake island. Beach