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!