Welcome!

Welcome to my blog! Its about stories from my trips in India and abroad. Its also about my thoughts and opinions on all the things about travelling (and occasionally on non-travel subjects). While I strive to provide as much useful information as possible about the route and the destination, I am not attempting to write another Lonely-planet guide book about that destination. My intended audience are solo travellers. "Solo" is important word here! I usually travel alone and I found it to be the best way to experience what the world has to offer. However, it shouldn't matter much as long as the reader (you) is interested (like me) about the journey as much as the destination!

My other interest is in Aviation (civial aviation in particular). I have been an active member of number of aviation forums on the internet. I am always excited about flying as I was with my first ever. Therefore I feel obliged to include a report about the airlines, the planes, their service etc etc.

Hopefully you will enjoy my posts! I would appreciate if you give your opinions and feedback through comments section!

Happy blogging!

Krishna Shastry

On top of the world : Climbing Mt.Kilimanjaro, Tanzania

Well, I think it was in the summer of 2000... the discovery channel (India) was airing a series called "50 things to do before you die..." or something like that. I don't remember much of those 50 things, but few things among them really made an impression on me. One of them was an invitation to climb the Mt.Kilimanjaro before the ice caps and the glaciers melt and gone for ever due to global warming. Since then I had harboured a secret fantasy that one day I would make it to the top of Mt.Kili and that too when there still was some ice and snow left on it.

So, I squarely blame (or credit) the "idiot box" for this little adventure of mine which (so far) has been the most fulfilling and cherished milestone of my life!

Why Mt.Kilimanjaro afterall?

Good question. Why it has to be Kili? In my case it was "Why not"? Though Kili is no Mt.Everest, its not less fascinating by any means. Tons have been written on Kili already. Here are some tid-bits about Kili that got me going.

• Its the highest 'peak' of the African continent (Peak may be a wrong word as its actually a volcano)


• Its one of those rarest mountains in the equatorial region which has snow on it (other being Mt.Kenya)


• It is perhaps is the only 'highest-in-the-continent' type mountain that can be 'summited' by mortals like us with no prior mountaineering experience


• Its the place where you can experience all the four seasons on your way up to the summit

This was enough for me. Wiki has tonnes more to convince the reluctant sloths who are still making up their mind. More info can be found here

Where exactly is Kili?

Mt.Kilimanjaro is located in northen Tanzania at the border of Tanzania and Kenya. Surrounding areas of Mt.Kili have been declared as a National Park (Mt.Kilimanjaro National Park). There are several varities of fauna and flaura which are unique to this park.

One can see the vast planes of 'Amboseli' in Kenya from several view points during the ascent. Infact best ground views of Kili are said to be from the Kenyan side. Photos of game animals of African planes with Mt.Kili forming the backdrop are legendary.

'Moshi' is a small town (rather a big village) located at the base of the mountain (at some 20 KM away) is the hub of all activities. 'Arusha' is the nearest big town. Both Moshi and Arusha are connected with the capital of Tanzania, Dar-es-salaam by coach service.

Some vital statistics about Mt.Kilimanjaro

Mt.Kilimanjaro is actually a combination of 3 volcanic cones. They are Kibo, Shira and Mawenzi. All these volcanos are extinct now. In technical terms they are in the "dormant" state (that is no new volcanic activity is expected). The Shira cone has the famed crater with ice and glaciers that we all are used to see. On its crater's rim lies the coveted highest point of Africa, the "Uhru peak" at 5895 mts or 19340 ft.

Another speciality of Mt.Kili is that all the four seasons can be experienced on the way to the top.

How to get there? Visa, currency, weather etc.

The nearest international airport is KJIA (Kilimanjaro International airport). Its located about 35 KMs from Moshi on the way to Arusha. This 'International' airport is served by airlines from the neighborhood (Kenya Airways, Ethiopian, South African etc), Air Tanzania and several charter planes.

Other options to reach Moshi are;

1. Arrive into Nairobi, Kenya and take a coach/taxi to Tanzania border at Namanga. Continue to Moshi after visa formalities. It could take about 5 to 9 hours form Nairobi to Moshi depending on the type of transport provider.

2. Arrive into Dar-es-Salaam and take a overnight / day coach to Moshi or Arusha. Its a 10 - 12 hour journey. Condition of road is quite good (atleast in Oct 07) and there were few luxury coach services to choose from.

Getting there from India:

There are several airlines providing connections from India to Tanzania and Kenya. Air India has a weekly twice service to Dar via Nairobi from Mumbai. Emirates, Kenya Airways, Ethiopian, Qatar airways, EgyptAir provide connection services through their hubs. The cost of economy class ticket would be in the range of Rs.30000 to 40000 for single person.

Visa requirements:

Tanzanian visa is issued on arrival at various port of entries (usually for a period of 30 days) and its available to most nationalities. For more information on the entry requirements into Tanzania click here

As for the citizens of India, visa is available on arrival for a fee of USD 50 at the Airport. One needs to fill in a application form at the Immigration points. (Photo is not necessary). A visa sticker is pasted on the passport detailing the duration of the stay and validity. The whole process takes about 20 minutes.

Currency:

Tanzanian currency is "Tanzanian Shillings" (TZS). At the time of creating this post, the exchange rate with 1 USD was about 1170 TZS (1 Indian rupee would buy 30 TZS). Thats a lot! and goes to show the effect of inflation. I would recommend travellers bringing the forex in USD and getting it exchanged through a reputed bank counters at the airport or at the border (Namanga). There are lot of touts promising good exchange rates who sometimes can be a nuisance. USD 100 is valued more than say 10 bills of USD 10. TZS comes in the denominations of 500, 1000, 5000 and 10,000. Coins provide for lesser denominations.

Weather and the best time for the climb...

Tanzania's is a typical equatorial climate. The summer (hot season) is from December to March. Rest of the year its temparate and moderately hot. It has two rainy seasons April-May and October. Best months to climb Kili are August and September with clear skies and pleasant mercury levels.

Am I fit for the climb? What are my chances?

Though no prior mountain climbing experience is required, one certainly needs strong pair of legs and enduring pair of lungs. It doesn't in anyway mean that one can simply walk up to the summit. The initial trek and the final ascent require considerable stamina and physical fitness.

If you are young, fit and under 40, a regular regime of brisk "off road" walking of say 6 to 8 Kms everyday, 3 months prior to climb might suffice (don't hold me for this though!). The distance of entire trek till the summit is in average about 30-35 Kms, depending the chosen route. Don't get misguided by the word 'trek'. Infact its an ascent which only gets steeper by each passing Km. Half way up the route, mercury plunges to near zero levels and oxygen starts to thin out. This could cause altitude sickness.

In my experiece what one really needs is the right 'attitude' towards the whole climb. If one does not worry too much about odds of making it to the summit and all the hardships on the way, but gives his best shot, he/she has the maximum chance of making it to the top. I have seen people from many nationalities, of both sexes, in different to age groups (teens, youths and even an Icelander who was 57!) who succeeded.

Essentials : Organizers, tour guide, routes, gear, food etc

Plenty of tour operators in Tanzania (especially in Arusha and Moshi) organize climbing treks to Mt.Kili. Usually these operators also organize game safaris and hikes within East Africa and you could bargain out a decent deal combing both of these. Its always better to pre-organize the trek with a reputed tour company before arrivng to Tanzania. It may be possible to shop around for cheaper deals in Moshi or Arusha provided one has plenty of time and ready for few compramises.

If you are a solo climber the tour company (usually) provides a tour guide (who guides and accompanies you to the summit), a Porter (who carries your gear, food and water till the last camp) and a Cook. These are the local men and boys who have done this adventure many times over. They would know the routes like back of their palm.

Like many first timers, I was under the impression that I would myself be able to make it to the summit alone without any assistance. This is indeed not the case (with very few exceptions). You HAVE to take the assistance of a guide, especially if you intend to summit.

Popular routes to the summit.

There are various routes to the summit of Mt.Kilimanjaro. By far the most popular route is the "Marangu" route. The "Machame" routes comes close second. There are other routs like Mweka, Umbwe, Shira etc. For a detailed list of the routes and their characterists, click here and here.

The duration of the expedition could vary from a trek of 5 days and four nights to 8 days and 7 nights depending on the route chosen.

Marangu and Machame are by far the most popular routes of them all. Unlike Machame where one needs to pitch tents for resting in the nights,
It has 4 camps en-route and at each camp there are 'huts'.
These huts are made of wood with proper bunk beds, and they are bit weather proof.. saves some time and effort of pitching the tents. Each camp has a separate large hut for dining. There are shared facilities for toilets, separate for men and women.

More about Marangu route.

It should be kept in mind that expeditions to Mt.Kilimanjaro are controlled and managed by Tanzanian government through the offices of Mt.Kilimanjaro National Park. The adiministrators would allow only allow fixed no. of climbers at a time on the trail ensuring that existing infrastructure (like camps, bunker beds, water etc) would support them all.

Marangu route starts at the base of Mt.Kilimanjaro at the Park Headquarters. It consists of four major points (or camps) en-route.

1. Marangu Gate. Altitude 1980 mts (Park Headquarters and starting point of the trek)

2. Mandara Hut. Altitude 2700 mts (distance from Marangu Gate - 12 Kms, about 5 hours of hiking)

3. Horombo Hut. Altitude 3720 mts (distance from Mandara Hut - 15 Kms, about 7 hours of hiking cum climbing)

4. Kibo Hut. Altitude 4700 mts (distance from Horomob Hut -12 Kms, about 6 hours of hiking cum climbing)

Final ascent to the summit (or shall I say the attempt) will be made from the Kibo Hut. If one manages to reach the "Gillman's point" at 5681 mts on the crater rim, then he has officially climbed the Mt.Kilimanjaro! But the real thing, the "Uhuru Peak" at 5895 mts is still a distance away. Reaching the Uhuru Peak is what the ultimate aim of this trek.

The Marangu route can usually be done in about 5 days and 4 nights. However it is highly recommended that an additional day is added to this for the acclamitization purposes. This extra day would be spent at Horombo Hut.

About en-route food (especially for veggies), medicine and creature comforts

Your porter and the cook would carry enough food essentials (like Vegetables, Cereals, Bread etc) along with water for the length of the trip. The food is prepared by the Cook and served at the dining areas of each camp (in Marangu route). They will serve you a breakfast, a lunch (which is packed like 'take away' to be eaten on the way), a tea-snack and a dinner. Besides this, soft drinks, mineral water and crunchy snacks are available in these huts for purchase as well.

I being a Vegetarian had absolutely no problem with the food. I had told my organizer about my food requirements and it was adequately taken care. I was served with assortment of vegetable soups, cereals, noodles, steamed rice (yes!), yogurt, salads, pickles, bread, jam etc.

How much does it cost?

The average cost of the trip (in either of these routes) could be in the range of about USD 1000 to USD 1300. This excludes the tips and niceties that you would pay for your guide, porter and cook. This also excludes the travel costs from your place in the world to Moshi. This could be quite a sum for some of us (especially those from third world countries). For the illustration purposes, I have given the cost of a trip made from India in Indian Rupees.

Airfare : Rs.30,000 (Mumbai to Nairobi)
Visa : Rs.4000 (Kenya and Nairobi)
Lodging : Avg cost of Rs.1000 per day for a basic accommodation at Moshi
Local travel : Rs.3000 (from Nairobi to Moshi and back)
Food : Rs.500 per day

Cost of expedition : Rs.40,000
Tips and gratuties : Rs.10,000
Rental of trekking gear : Rs.4000

Grand total : Rs.100,000 (or 1 lakh)

My own experience of summiting :

Details about the tour guide and their contact info.

I used the services of Mr.Paul Shayo of Moshi. He is a amateur tour organizer. I found him to be man of his words, not trying to tout un-needed extras or pestering for extra money. I highly recommend him. He can be contacted at the below address:

MR.PAUL ROBERT SHAYO

TOUR GUIDE AND ORGANISER

TREKKING TOUR KILIMANJARO COMPANY

P.O BOX 8132

MOSHI-KILIMANJARO

TANZANIA

E-MAIL prshayos@hotmail.com

WEBSITE: http://www.trekkingtour-kilimanjaro.cjb.net/

CELLPHONE;+255 755 439088/ 732 973327

I hope you find the above post useful. Would love to hear your opinions.

Revisting History : Cape Point and Cape of Good Hope

When I was a class 5 student, I had my teacher make all of us in the class memorize few sentences of a history lesson for the sake of impending mid-term tests. History was taught to us in our local language. I remember myself and my "bench" mates (we sat on wooden benches. No writing desks till we reached class 8th) shouting loudly so as to convince the teacher that we were indeed memorizng the lines and she could keep the wicked cane to herself.

Infact we were bored and couldn't be more indifferent to the sentences we were endlessly repeating. Those sentences were something which stayed on within me long after class 5th. Those were about a person called "Vasco da gama" ("Vasco da gama discovered a route to India", "Portuguese came to India for spices trade" etc). Being a book worm that I was at that time, I had read history books of my seniors in the school. I was always fascinated by the English names that used to lurk in our vernacular text books. "Columbus", "Barthalomeu Diaz", "Cape of Good Hope", "Vasco da game", "Robert Clive", "Fort St.George", "King George VI" etc

It was again in Class 10th that an elaborate lesson made us aware about the adventures of Europeans in their attempt to find a sea route to India and the west. Mention of Cape of Good Hope came again. Nobody in my class or indeed in my school had seen a cape (any cape) in their life, including our teacher. We were told that a Cape is the tip of a peninsula. In India we have one cape; a famous one. Cape Coumarin (Kanya Kumari).

Cape of Good Hope's was rather an exciting story. It seems there was a race to find routes to India and the East. There were many competing nations (Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch and English). Nobody seem to win that race due to vastness of African continent which needed to be circum navigated. Many brave sailors sailed south as far as they could, but they gave up. Some reached upto what is today's Nigeria and returned. A brave Portuguese sailed on further. He was Barthalomeu Diaz. Sea was rough, stormy and cold. He finally was able to disover a point from where sailors could sail towards the East. He had reached Cape! He called it "Cape of storms". Later, a missionary called it Cape of Good Hope hoping that it will make the job of finding routes to India a bit easier one.

Many a times I imagined being present at a Cape and telling myself that it is the farthest one can go in this land without being drowned! Finally I had an opportunity to do it for real, and what's more, it was infact at Cape of Good Hope in South Africa!

Organized day trip!

April seemed not such a great month of the year to visit Cape Town. It was cloudy and tad bit cooler. I arrived there hoping to see the familiar silhouette of the Table mountain in the back drop. Cape Town is such a beautiful city that it should easily top the "Top 10 places to see before you die" list. I took a day-tour from one of many tour operators there, called "Hylton Ross tours". The itinerary of this day long tour would cover Clifton's beach view, Cape of good hope, Cape Point, Chapman's peak drive and Penguin colony. The cost was about Rand 400 (~INR . 2000)

The tour itself was pretty well organized. The driver-cum-guide was a cheerful lad who was well informed and willing to tell. The weather was bit chilly. Cape Town can get really windy. The tour began at around 7 am. There were stops for breakfast and lunch and ofcourse the mandatory souvenir shopping. Cape of Good Hope was the first stop, followed by Cape point. There is just this hoarding at Cape of Good Hope proclaiming the name and Co-ordinates. Its actually a small beach! In real terms, Cape point (and perhaps not the Good Hope) is kind of the real cape where one could see the land extend out into the ocean with water on either sides. Cape of Good Hope was kind of disappointment to me where I had hoped to see something more spectacular. But I had to wait till I got to Cape Point.

Here, one needs to climb several hundred steps to reach the point where you could view the "meeting place" of two great oceans (Atlantic and Indian). You could easily spend couple of hours exploring cape point. It (Cape point) also has a old light house (which has been rebuilt). Chapman's peak drive was fantastic and was worth every penny. Its a road of about 7-8 Kms , carved out of a cliff made of unstable rock basin with a deep gorge on one side and rocky cliff on the other side. This road is prone to frequent rock slides. But the view was incredible. The tour ends with a stops at Penguin colony and a botanical garden (nature reserve).

Cape Town! How incredible... "You gotta do it dude"!

Not everyone's idea of a perfect vacation : Visiting Andamans in monsoon season!

I got this somewhat "crazy" idea of visiting Andamans in August, the mid of low season. My idea of the trip was to spend 1 week in the south Andamans, exploring some nice snorkelling spots. I got a really good deal from Air Deccan (ex Chennai) to Port Blair which helped to firm up my fickle mind .

(I must warn here that my experiences are from a perspective of a single independant traveller trying to do things cheap)

Getting there:

I would chose flying to Andamans anyday over taking so called "Ships" from the Indian ports. Unfortunately for the travellers, Shipping Corporation of India is the only service provider and there are no alternatives. They have regular boats to Port Blair from Chennai, Vizag and Kolkata. SCI's passenger ships are decades old, but they are kept in sea-going condition. The Ship themselves are alright and service is bearable. But I am not a big fan of them as they are painfully slow. They can do only 15 knots per hour and take good 50-60 hours to reach Port Blair from Indian shores. If you want to fly into Port Blair, you can chose Jet Airways, Indian Airlines and Air Deccan from Chennai and Kolkata. The flying time is two hours.



Its always a good idea to book in advance as fares in this route tends to go high near the date of departure. See my post about experience of flying Air Deccan in this route!


Weather in August:


Contrary to my expectations, I encountered rain only on two days out of seven days that I spent. Infact, the rest of the five days were warm, nice and sunny. The rain in Andamans really means business, but its not a continous deluge. It is advisable to carry a small foldable umbrella or a nice rain-proof jacket with a hat. Rains also mean Mosquitoes. So it is required to have a repellent. Insists for a coil or a electrical mat with your lodgers.


Arriving and getting around:


The "Veer Savarkar" airport is conveniently located about 5 KMs south from the center of Port Blair. You can get taxis and autos into the town. Autos would cost about Rs.50. Negotiate before hiring. If you really want to hold on dearly to the purse, you can simply walk out of the airport (ignoring the touts) and catch a bus into the town, which will cost Rs.5. If you arrive by the Ship, you will land at "Phoenix Bay" Jetty.


Port Blair town itself is fairly simple to move around. The heart of the town is made of Aberdeen Bazaar, Bus Stand and Phoenix Bay which are next to each other. All the buses orginate either from Bus Stand or from "Medical" (G B Pant hospital, next to Cellular jail) and head out to different parts of Port Blair.




One can hire two wheelers or catch autos to move around. I would recommend walking (if you are fit) as most of the touristic places are within 5 KM radius. Cycling may not be an option as the town is quite hilly.


Places to stay:


I stayed at Central Lodge located at "Gol ghar". It is a small lodge with a nice open verandah and a garden. The rooms were dirty and full of mosquitoes. Thanks to LP guide book, almost all of its customers are foreigners who stay there overnight, to catch their boats to Havelock and Neil islands. I could spot few Israelis and Englishmen occupying few rooms. The rest were filled with labourers from Jharkhand waiting for their boat to Nicobar on some construction contract. (The owner seemed to be quite surprized by my enquiry for the accommodation!). I have a neutral opinion about this place. It is not typical lodge that you may imagine it to be. Its often crowded, smelly and full of musquitoes. It is besieged by western backpackers who are in search of Nirvana. This is definately not suited for couples, children and elderly.


Very next to Central Lodge are Hotel Abhishek and Hotel Aparup (3* category hotels). They have nice restaurants and bars that are open till about 11 PM.


I would recommend staying at Aberdeen Bazaar. That way you are close to all the tourist attractions, eateries and other essentials, and save on walking/bussing around. A/bazaar has plenty of small and clean guest houses.


My Diary:


Day 1 : Arrived into Port Blair and checked in at Central Lodge. I mostly spent the day resting. In the afternoon, I visited Cellular Jail and Samudrika Museum. Gallows at Cellular jail is something that should not be missed.


Day 2 : I spent most of the day walking around, familiarizing myself with the town. I visited Andaman water sport complex and Aquarium. Both of them were closed due to low season and some apparent "renovation" I went to Tourist Information office and collected some essential details about the places that were open and closed.


Day 3 : I caught an early morning bus to Wandoor (Rs.10), which is the gate way to Mahatma Gandhi Marine National Park. From Wandoor one can catch ferries to Red Skin and Jolly Bouy islands which are "snorkellers paradise" (so I had heard). At this time of the year, only Red Skin island ferry was operating. In the evening I went to Bus stand and bought a ticket to Baratang.


Day 4 : Got up early and went to Bus stand to catch the 4:30 am bus to Baratang. The bus was on-time. Its a special experience to go through Jarawa reserves in a convoy of Vehicles and to spot few Jarawas who suddenly appear along the route. Arrived at Baratant at about 7:30 am. Visited "Lime stone caves" (which requires a 30 min boat ride and 1 KM trek in Rain forests, the cave formations were nice) and "Beladaru" beach (which was so-so). This day it rained heavily. Returned the same evening to Port Blair.


Day 5 : Went to Phoenix Bay Jetty at 5 am and got a ticket for Havelock. There were two boats. The first boat of the day sailed at 6:30 am. Its a 2.5 hours ride to Havelock. I had not made any arrangement for accommodation. After landing at the Jetty (Govind Nagar), caught a local bus (which times to the arrival of boat from P/Blair) and went straight to Radhanagar (home of famous beach no.7). I went to Jungle lodges. The person there quoted a price which put even Bangalore hotels to shame I finally ended up in Dolphin resort at Beach no.5. This is a govt run resort and surprizingly staffed with helpful people, a clean resturant and a nice clam beach. The rooms were clean and whats more, I got a nice off-season discount! It seemed I was the only one at the whole resort. Soon a bus-full of desi tourists came from nowhere and place seemed noisy and busy. I spent the day walking along the beach and resting.


Day 6 : Ah, the best day so far of the whole trip. The dawn broke at 4:45 am. I walked to Govind Nagar and had a nice Bengalee breakfast. I caught the early bus to Radhanagar and went straight to the "best beach in Asia".

It was a perfect day with a nice blue skies, calm waves and cool breeze. I was the only one person at the Beach for almost the whole day. There was a small thatched hut where I relaxed. I went out in the water, dipped myself nice, came back to the hut, dried up, read a book, ate some junk food I had bought, took few snaps and repeated this cycle till about late afternoon. It was the best day I had in any of my trips.


Day 7 : I spent exploring the neighborhood of the Dolphin resort. Most of the private resorts on Beach no.5 were full of foreigners.

I mean full. One of the locals I spoke to remarked that the numbers of "gora" folks in August were surprizingly as high as that of October and November!! Surely the Andamans have got themselves noticed! In the afteroon, I got the ferry back to Port Blair (It is quite a story in itself!) and checked back to good old Central lodge. I then went to this Burmese buddhist pagoda (temple) near Bus stand which I had noticed earlier.
On the morning of day 8th, I caught my flight back to Chennai.


I couldn't visit Barren Island Volcano and the Little Andamans this time. (BTW, the Barren island ferry was not sailing in August). But I have no regrets. I tried to make most of my trip and was almost successful.


I am not suggesting that I did a perfect trip and others should follow suit. Visiting Andamans in rainy season has its own perils and rewards. Decide at your own discretion.

Srinagar and surroundings on a shoe-string!

( I posted this report at Indiamike.com soon after my return from a weeklong break in the valley, in June 2007 )

Security situation :

I found Srinagar to be quite normal and peaceful. Ofcourse there is heavy presence of military. But that doesn't come in the way of any tourist activities. There could be occassional frisks when travelling in hired vehicles. The main tourist hub around Dal lake (Boulevard and Dalgate) were buzzing with tourists till about 10:30 pm. But "Lal chowk" market area would close at about 7 pm. I didn't heard of any street crime, mugging or theft. Overall it felt safe.

Weather :

Well, June is the midst of peak season and it was actually hot during the day. It was pleasant towards the evening. There were odd showers (mostly in the nights). The days were often bright and clear. This is perhaps the best time (May till September) to undertake outdoor activities like trekking and climbing.

Transport :

I won't write about how to getting into Srinagar. This can be easily figured out with little googling around.

From airport there is a JKSRTC coach service to Tourist Reception center (TRC). It costs Rs.35 for a single ride. There is a booth in the Arrivals hall where one can purchase ticket.
Within Srinagar and surrounding, there is no problem to move around. Auto Rickshaws are available even past the midnight. However it is advisable to negotiate before hiring. They tend to charge double the fare after 9 PM.

There are plenty of local "coach buses" (TATA 407s) used by locals and run by private operators. But I won't recommend them. They run without a time table. They are often overloaded and its almost impossible to find a seat. The routes are put up in Urdu. These coaches are driven dangerously with a suicidal zeal. They mostly originate from "Bat-maloo" bus station.

JKSRTC has proper coach services to all major towns and cities in the valley and other parts of Kashmir, and even to Delhi/Jammu. The tickets can be booked at TRC. There are also plenty of taxi vehicles (Tata Sumo / Omni / Indicas) available for hire. Govt has put up rates applicable for different destinations (in all taxi stands) and one can bargain around that price.

Stay:

Even during the peak season, I feel there is no need to do any advance booking of a Hotel room or Houseboat. However if you are touring with your family, then it may be good to have some name to spend a night, just to escape the harrasment from touts waiting to bait you. There are good number of hotels suiting all budgets. Arrange for one or two night stay in some place, and then explore around to find the place that suits your taste and budget.

I stayed in a "guest house" run by a Kashmiri family. Well it was almost a home stay type of thing. They have few spare rooms in their house and they rent it out. They can provide food upon request. The location was OK. It was about a KM from Dal gate. I really liked the whole experience of being able to stay close to a Kashmiri household and experience a bit of their life. The hosts were quite humble and eager to please. Rooms were clean. It had cable TV. Food was excellent! (I being a strict veggie).

The owner of this place, Mr.Javed speaks good English and was a nice fellow. He was quite helpful and provided some great tips for site seeing and shopping. The best thing was that he didn't pestered me to buy Kashmiri stuff or expensive houseboat stays. Infact I didn't stay in HB at all as I was much comfortable staying in his guest house.

He can also arrange trekking trips around Srinagar valley and other outdoor activities. He spoke about his experiences of taking people on treks spanning about 6 days. He seem to know great trekking routes and also a tempting "Lake-to-lake" trip done wholly on Shikaras (From Dal to Wulan to Anchar and back). He has access to necessary gear and transportation.

I highly recommend Mr.Javed's place if you are an outdoor type of person, or want to experience Kashmiri way of life, or want to just explore things on your own without being harassed. This place may not be suited for typical Indian families with small children or elders.
If you want the contact details of Mr.Javed, please PM me.

Side trips:

Gulmarg, Sonmarg, Pahalgam and Yousmarg are the popular destinations from Sringar. Each of them can be done as a day trip. JKSRTC offers return trip day tours for these places. Tickets can be booked at TRC. It is recommended to book tickets atleast one day in advance. Buses depart around 8:30 am and return back to Srinagar by 9 PM.

I managed to do only Gulmarg and Pahalgam trip. Gulmarg had snow on the peaks even at this time of the year. It has a Golf course and some expensive looking cottages. There are pony rides available from main bus station to visit one of the "Glacier" type snow meadows. It costs a total of Rs.600-800 per return ride. You may hire fur coats and boots for Rs.100 if you have come unprepared. Its really cold in the mountains. One can do sledging or skiing there (at extra cost). There is also a Gondola (cable car) up the mountain.

Pahalgam is mostly scenic and its a gateway for Amarnath yatra. On the way the bus stops at Pampore (well known for Safforn trade), Avantipur (ancient Hindu temple ruins) and Martand (Surya temple). At Pahalgam itself one can hire a taxi to go to either Chandanwari or Aru. I recommend trip to Aru.

I guess I will stop now. Any critiques and questions are welcome!

North Andaman diary : Neil island and Diglipur

(This was posted at Indiamike.com just after my return from my trip, in March 2007)


OK guys, here it is...

Just returned from Andamans after a 8 day break. This was my second trip to island and it seems I can't have enough of this place. "Tourist season" is in full swing with people swarming the place. Port Blair seemed expensive. I was quoted hilarious prices for a single room at several places.


Anyways, here are some information that may help some of you.

Neil island:

Heard lots of good things about this place. Decided to pay a visit. The ticket (one-way) on the speed boat costs Rs.150 for a non-islander. Better to buy it atleast a day before as seats gets filled up quickly. You may even try on the day of departure by arriving at the Phoenix jetty early. The road leading to Phoenix from north is dug up and that place is mess with sewage and sludge. Boats depart early in the morning, so give your self some more time.


Boarded the boat and after 45 mins or so was deposited on the Neil jetty. Neil, with its lenghty beaches is popular with "foreign tourists". There were hardly any desi tourists. Neil is quite small compared to Havelock. Its widest part is about 5 KM in length. You can walk the whole island in about an hour or two. There seem to be a local bus doing the rounds once in a while.
I engaged an auto-rickshaw (tuck-tuck) and went around to see self-declared private 'resorts' to find accommodation. There are about 3 to 4 of these 'resorts' (Cocon-huts, Tango and... forget the other two). All of them are built facing the beach. They are nothing more than thatched bamboo huts with a bed and a bulb thrown in. I was hopeful of finding something in the range of Rs.200-300 per day. But I was quoted Rs.600. Disappointed, I decided to give them a pass. It seemed I was going to be stuck without a place to stay.


Fortunately government of India came to my rescue. "Hawabill nest guest house" (IP&T) near the jetty proved to be a very decent place. The Dorms cost Rs.150 with clean, proper beds and a community bath/toilet. Good news, there were no other tourists except a occasional day tripper family. They also have a chef who can prepare the food on request.


Neil is a very small settlement about 4000 people. Its also referred as Vegetable bowl of Andamans. The main 'bazaar' has some shops, which also double as eateries. One can get the Veggies / Fishes cooked for his liking. BSNL provides cellphone network, with AirTel coming soon. Sitapur beach is the main attraction. There are no snorkelling or diving spots to write about.


Diglipur:


With a demanding 10 hour bus journey, this was a place I always wanted to visit. Diglipur is the largest and farthest town of North Andamans, 290 KMs from Port Blair. Its well connected both by Bus and Speed boats from Port Blair. I went to Bus stand and got a ticket in STS bus(State owned) for the next day. Lucky me, I got an 'aisle' in the back. (Last row should be avoided at all chances if one loves his life) The bus leaves at sharp 4 AM. There are also private buses running (Anand and Geetanjali), luring the passengers with their business class like 'Push back seats' and impressive DVD home theater systems. They cost Rs.75 more.


Something about the bus journey.. All the buses of Andamans (it seemed) have the habit of playing bollywood music at the highest volume, and continously till the Driver is convinced that he reached the destination. We suffered the nasal torture of Himesh Reshmiyya, followed by Kumar Sanu. When I demanded it to be stopped, I was awarded with sad songs by Mukesh.
Bus passes through some stunning landscape of Jarawa country, few barge crossings of the Baratang creek and a drive along the sea shore for about 8 KMs south of Maya Bunder.


Diglipur itself is a small sleepy town, overwhelmingly Bengali. That means more of 'laal chai' (Red tea), Biscoot and those sweets... man, yummy. Finding accommodation is not at all difficult. There are hardly any tourists (Desi or Foreign) in the town. There is one 'Pristine beach resort' (private), Turtleresort, Kalipur (Govt). I found it to be convenient to stay in town. 'Drua lodge', 'Bepari lodge' are recommended. (Rs.100-200 per night).


Main attractions around Diglipur are Ross & Smith island, Saddle peak national park, Rampur beach and mud volcanos. The whole action seem to be around Aerial bay jetty (the main jetty of Diglipur). This is the starting point for all the adventures.


Ross & Smith islands: One needs permission from Forest Range officer at Aerial bay jetty to enter these Islands. It can be obtained by paying Rs.50 (Indian nationals) Rs.500 ('Foreigners). Boats can be hired at jetty. It can cost anywhere from Rs.500 to 700. It takes 25 mins to reach the islands.





You are given 2-3 hours there to explore. The main attraction of the island are that they are actually one single island in the low-tide, linked by a sandy meadow. In the high-tide, it disappears creating the effect of two islands. There are some corals around the island and waters are clearer and safer for snorkelling.


Saddle Peak : Saddle peak is the highest point of north Andamans. At 737 mts, its a good place to get a birds eye view of North Andamans. A permission needs to be obtained from Forest dept to enter / climb Saddle peak. The trail to Saddle peak runs through the Areca fields, small hillocks, edge of a beach and as one starts to ascend, through the dense rain forest. Its not a easy climb. Infact its quite steep at few places. It takes 4-5 hours to reach the summit. One needs to start early in the morning and its better to do with a guide (who are available around Aerial bay jetty upon enquiry). Make sure you carry enough water. There is absolutely nothing at the summit and I can't imagine being there without water after an exhausting climb.


Rampur beach : Hmm... nice beach. Thats all I can say.



All in all, now is the time to visit Andamans. Grab your gear and head out. Its going to only get crowded from now on!

Notes from paradise: Lakshadweep islands

( This report was first published at Indiamike.com in December 2005)

I recently did a trip to Lakshadweep islands arranged through SPORTS (Lakshadweep tourism). The flavour of this tour was titled "Coral Reef". It was a 5 day / 4 night trip covering 3 islands, Capital Kavaratti, Minicoy and Kalpeni. You can get more details at their websites (http://www.lakshadweeptourism.com/)

The tour was well organized and managed (compared to Indian standards). Though SPORTS is a "babudom" (govt entity), it was surprizingly staffed with courteous and helpful people, both in Cochin office and in the islands. On several occassions the tour manager and staff went overboard to ensure that things stayed in order.

The best time to visit Lakshadweep is December and January (so they say). I had booked this trip in August itself to ensure that I hit LD at best of time. I reported to SPORTS office in Cochin at Willingdon to collect my boarding pass. I was given a small kit containing boarding pass, receipt and a cool looking LD T-Shirt!

We were let in to board the Ship (M/V Tipu Sultan) after security check and verifications at Cochin docks. The ship was old (60's) and showed its age. It could only do 12 knots per hour. But it was kept in sea-going conditions and things seem to work. This ship along with its other three sister vessels are the lifelines for LD. It has three class cabin (1st Class with a/c cabins, tourist class with a/c reclaining chairs and a non-a/c chair class). The chair class is usually used by locals of LD who travel to mainland for business, shopping, health and education reasons.

SPORTS offers tourist packages only in 1st class and tourist class. The tourists will do island tour in day time and spend the night onboard the ship, during which it sails to next island. I travelled in tourist class which I found to be decent and secure. Only complaint is you can't sleep in those chairs with a/c in full blast. Eventually everyone ended up sleeping on the deck of the ship or wherever they could find some space to stretch legs. The food is served in an exclusive on-board cafeteria reserved for tourists, Veg and Non-Veg separate (which is good!). The quality and quantity of food were EXCELLENT! There was morning tea, breakfast, lunch, evening tea and dinner.

I wouldn't wish to say much about the places as they are to be seen and experienced. Beaches are heavenly, desolate and rival any tropical paradise on earth. There is a diving facility at Kavaratti for those who want to experience SCUBA diving. The SPORTS staff at the islands organize the visits which includes sea bathing, snorkeling, boat rides, visits to aquarium, handicrafts and villages. The day time breakfast, lunch and tea are also taken care by them.
Locals are friendly, though seem little reserved at times, may be due to language issues. Malayalam is widely spoken. Some of them do speak English and Hindi. There were folk dances of locals arranged in all the three islands. The locals are of Muslim faith.

Overall, it was a great trip except for some jerks who smoked, spat and made politically inappropriate comments about the things around. Well, I think thats something you have to live-with everywhere you go.

Some notes:
1. Foreigners are allowed into only two islands, Agatti and Bangaram, while Androt (of late Mr.Sayeed) is off-limits to tourists.
2. It is advisable to carry the essentials (like film rolls, battery and cosmetics) in sufficient quantity. The shops in LD are far and few.
3. Do not carry heavy luggages and food. It will be very difficult to manage them while transferring from ship to boats v.v. at the islands.

Enjoy Lakshadweep. Now is the right time!