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.
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Not everyone's idea of a perfect vacation : Visiting Andamans in monsoon season!
Monday, August 27, 2007
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 )
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 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.If you want the contact details of Mr.Javed, please PM me.
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.
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!
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Notes from paradise: Lakshadweep islands
( This report was first published at Indiamike.com in December 2005) 
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.
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!
An adventure called flying into and out of Srinagar, J&K
( Below article was posted in A.net few months back. Hope you like it! )
I recently took a week long break spending time in Kashmir valley, India (Srinagar and surroundings). Kashmir, sounds familiar? Yeah, its the "head" (or say crown) of India on the map. Its known more for wrong reasons (terror, violence and unrest) from past 20 years. Anyway, thats not the subject I am discussing here. Things have cooled down a lot in the last 5 years. Kashmir is now enticing and luring people from all over the country, desparetly wanting to escape wrath of Indian summer .
Having said that, I can't really avoid talking about unrest... the one at DEL airport in the morning rush hour. I reached airport at 6:45 am to catch my DN flight, scheduled to depart at 8:00 am. Terminal 1B was already buzzing and swarming with pax. There was this familiar atmosphere of confusion and chaos common to any metro airport of India. Cars and taxis abruptly stopping to unload their occupants infront of the terminal causing honkings and shrieks from others who want to do the same. Bunch of airline staff in their colorful uniforms smoking and gossiping. Groups of people gathered near the entrance to give some last minute advice to their departing friends and relatives. Music of brass band emanating from arrivals , probably to welcome a politican or holy men. A stray dog which almost manages to sneak inside the terminal only to be chased away by a security staff with a machine gun....
I made my way to DN check in counters. Thankfully (and unfortunatley) they had (only) one separate counter for SXR (Srinagar) flight. This resulted in a irrecognizable queue which seem to discourage anybody wishing to join in. Reminding myself that patience is the ultimate virtue, I located its tail and waited for my turn. Most of the pax seem to be Delhiites in holiday mood in their joyful dresses and makeup. But their luggages made it look like a flee from an impending calamity. DN luggage boy was sweating and panting having to attach, pull, lift and shove the bags on the belt. Thankfully for him I didn't had a checkin luggage.
I managed to get my boarding card in about 15 mins. They didn't bothered to check my ID, which was bit surprizing considering the destination. Security check was brief and quick as there were three lines operating today. It was now about 7:00 am and there were no empty seats left in the waiting hall.
DN surprized everyone by announcing the boarding of SXR flight at 7:10 am. I made my way to the waiting bus along with others and soon we were on our way towards the aircraft.
Flight : DN 625
ETD : 8:00 am ETA: 9:20 am
Actual : 7:55 am 9:00 am
Aircraft type: A320
Registration: VT-ADX
Today the flight was almost packed. I peered around and couldn't find an emptry seat. DN should be making a killing in this route in this season. Good for them. We were being refuelled. The chief FA made an announcement on PA urging pax "Not to wear seat belts and not to use cell phones". This caused a bit of confusion and resulted in clicks and clacks of metal flaps for a long time. A full aircraft meant a busy toilet. FAs were pleading pax to return to their seats and avoid using toilet till we took off.
Our aircraft was parked amidst what seemed to be a Kingfisher country. I was seated on the left and saw few IT tails. No surprize here as both IT and DN should be sharing the ground support these days. Our next parking stand was empty. I could see from my window, soon there was a small army of men in Red KF uniforms closing in with their gears. There was an air of anticipation of some arriving IT aircraft. A tractor in IT colors hurriedly came dragging a ladder. Another tractor came pulling a bunch rattling luggage wagons. A Toyota mini van with IT stickers made a round and stopped. Few staff gathered around the bottom of ladder and chatted. As all of this was happening, a beautiful lady (rather a model) in red KF dress came running from nowhere with a bunch of sheets. She seem to search someone in the IT ground crew without success. This caused some giggles and smiles from the boys at the ladder. At a distance I saw the hissing IT aircraft taxiing towards the stand, causing ground crew to run for their positions.
Meanwhile our Captain came on PA and cheerfully announced our ontime departure and gave some tidbits about the enroute weather and time. He had a french accent. Engines were started and spooled up. With a jolt we started moving (There seem to be no need of push back in domestic apron of Delhi). A bilingual safety demo was carried out by a bored looking crew. We reached the runway and soon thundered down for a smooth takeoff.
With monsoon setting in, most of the 'plain' upto Punjab were covered in clouds. There was nothing much of a scenery till we came closer to Jammu. Clouds started clearing a bit, here and there with some amazing views of Pir panjal range. FAs came down to sell some eateries, coffee/tea and water. Pax seem to buy the eatables in a frenzy and some of them demanded things which DN wasn't serving.
Soon we were in the valley with soothingly greenish, lushingly carpeted earth. Captain announced the arrival. We made rapid descent and suddenly there was this airport, which seem to have built over a slope and appear to be at considerable height. In no time we were in its compound and made a touch down. We actually arrived early! We taxied to terminal under the watchful eyes of Indian army. There were no other a/cs at that time. Soon we disembarked and made out of the terminal. Full marks to DN for managing a full flight with ontime arrival.
Flight : DN 626
ETD : 12:45 pm ETA: 2:00 pm
Actual : 1:15 pm 2:30 pm
Aircraft type: A320
Registration: VT-ADK
After spending a wonderful week in Sringar city, time had come to get back to reality.
SXR airport is a virtual fortress. The time required to reach the airport, and to obtain the boarding pass and then finally to get to the ladder of the aircraft is probably more than time required to fly to say BOM from SXR. I set out 2 hours early to airport as I had heard many stories of lengthy security procedures. I took an auto rickshaw from the city. This later proved to be a dumb idea. SXR airport has a gated military check point about 1 mile from the terminal building on the "airport avenue" (a fancy name for the road leading to airport). No auto rickshwas were allowed beyond this point. I had to bid autowallah a goodbye there and subject myself to two rounds of frisking and a thorough X-ray cum search of hand baggage. (I don't have any complaint whatsoever to be subjected to these checks, especially at places like SXR, as its for everyone's safety).
After I was declared clean, it was now time to trek towards the terminal building. I was offered a ride by a Taxi fellow for Rs.50. I bargained and brought it down to 30 and hoped in. SXR terminal building is small, but modern and airy. Now it was time to show my ticket to enter the departures and to go through one more round of frisking and X-Ray. At SXR, no hand bags are allowed inside the a/c. Everything has to be put in check-in excpet for your purse and cell phone. I reached DN check-in counter. As usual it was a scene of chaos and commotion with jolting and yelling pax who seem to be eager to get back to the swealtering heat of Delhi. After obtaining the boarding pass, it was time to move inside the waiting hall. There was yet another security check (queue) between check-in area and waiting hall.
I passed this one too. As soon as I entered the waiting hall, I was greeted by a DN staff who asked me to identify my checked in baggage. I was shown a place on the airside where baggages were scattered on the ground. I identified mine. Staff cross checked my ticket stub and the tag on the bag. It was then put to the luggage cart. I came back to waiting hall and sat waiting for our boarding annoucement. Afternoon seem to be a busy time at SXR. There was one DN (ours), one SpiceJet and two GoAir a/cs on the tarmac. LCCs seem to rule ramp.
After a delay of about 30 mins, our boarding was finally announced. I scrambled to join a swelling queue to board the a/c. And there it was, a final round of frisking before we got to the bottom of the ladder. There were separate lines of ladies and gents. This queue seem to move at the slowest pace compared to all other queues that I had managed to pass. We were on the open in the afternoon Sun. I was hungry. Thought of enduring DN cabin (albeit for one hour) was not helping either. I managed to get through this one too and made it into the a/c. Allelujah! Rest is quite DN like all the way to Delhi.
It was a total of 5 rounds of frisking and three rounds of X-rayed baggage. Thats SXR for you. But it was all worth it. Its the best time to visit the valley. Go for it!
Monday, August 20, 2007
Going cheap to Andamans, the Air Deccan way!
I did a trip to Andaman Islands (India) in the low season of August. To reach Port Blair (IXZ), capital of Andaman & Nicobars, and the only airport of that chain, I used Air Deccan (DN) from Chennai.
Details about my trip to Andamans can be found in the India travel forum (Indiamike.com)
I managed to pick-up a cheapo fare on DN few months before the trip. DN has really wrecked the gameplans of IC and 9W in this route. (IC serves IXZ 7x weekly from MAA and CCU, while 9W serves 7x from MAA only). In the peak season, these two carriers were slapping about Rs.9000 (USD 200) one-way, and the prices would only go up from there. So, in the past people who could afford this aerial route were Govt officials, corporate bigwigs and some desi and 'phoren' tourists. DN has turned the game on its head and in the low seasons airfares are cheaper than the Ship (3 days and two nights of sailing time from Chennai / Kolkata, costs about Rs.3000 for the bunk class). Imagine those unlucky islanders who could not afford the IC/9W fares, and had to wait for weeks to get a ship ticket to mainland, and then drift the distance in a ship for an awfully long time... Now, suddently the mainland is just two hour away by air, and what's more, its cheaper than that ship!
Date: 22nd August 2006
Sector: MAA-IXZ
Carrier: Air Deccan
Flight no: DN-709
Aircraft type: Airbus A320
Registration: VT-ADZ
ETD: 0720 hours, ETA: 0920 hours
I was doing this trip on a budget. So, I took the early morning local train to "Trisoolam" station which is in-front of MAA airport. I went little early to airport to be able to tackle time needed for the new security requirements. Early morning is a busy time at MAA's domestic terminal with departures lined up every 15 mins or so. The DN flights depart from "no.2 door" (Departure 2). There was already a queue at 2, so big that it took quite some time to locate its tail end. And it moved slowly. I was in the queue for about twnety minutes and it hardly moved 20 ft. I was starting to get nervous as it was already 5:50 am. Thankfully, one security personnel came announcing that "hand luggage only" passengers can bypass the queue and reach check-in area.
I showed up at the DN check-in. As expected, the queues here were also long. DN had 3 counters at that time. I had a family infront of me who were arguing with DN staff about the weight of their check-in luggage. The argument was getting hot and it showed the symptoms of becoming a fight with either side refusing to relent. Finally the family power prevailed (greatly assisted by the vocal chords of Wife and Mother-in-law).
When finally my turn came, the computer broke down It was already 6:15 am. DN staff made some frantic calls in wireless sets, with no avail. The check-in staff from other counters came down to see and give some advice. First, they tried the well known Indian method. Keyboard was shaken violentely. Mouse was pulled hard and tapped several times. Monitor banged... nothing happend. Somebody suggested re-booting. Promptly the plug was pulled and re-inserted. It worked!!
I finally had my boarding pass at 6:30 am. I ran to join the swelling security check line. There were only two lines at that busy hour. It too was moving slowly with all the passengers of IC, 9W, S2, 0S etc. When I made it past the security, it was 6:55 am. The IC, 9W and S2 were furiously boarding their Pax. There was no sign of any activity from DN though our flight was to depart at 0720 hours. I waited with other pax at the gate no.1 area for our flight announcement.
I had a creeping fear that DN would cancel this flight as flying to IXZ may not be that profitable this morning with all those extra luggages unpaid for.
Suddenly our flight no. appeared on Gate no.3. I was the first to present my BP and board the Bus. Most passengers of DN are first time fliers of great Indian middle class. Nothing wrong with that as I consider myself to be one of them. But this adds to the operational difficulties for an airline like DN since Pax often brake the rules and may not conduct themselves in the expected lines of behaviour. The boarding process was chaotic. Two staris were attached to the aircraft, but only one was manned by the staff. As soon as bus stopped, people ran and started to climb the aircraft from the unmanned rear stair. They had to be pursued from behind and deplaned to collect the ticket stub.
Our aircraft today was VT-ADZ with "Zee TV" stickers and a blue underbelly. DN does not pre-assign seats for their A320s. People rushed to grab the seats which they thought to be the best (All 31" pitch). This caused some commontion, with passengers stranding themselves in aisles unsure about their choice of seat. Some settled for the nearest window seats. Some wanted window and also the whole row for their family. Some tried to fit their luggages in the overflowing holding area. DN FAs looked on from the galley, probably unwilling to risk interfering. It took nearly 30 mins for all the pax to settle down. The time was 0740. Captain came on PA and apologized for the delay. FAs conducted the bilingual security briefing ritual for the amused audience. Finally, we were on our way at 0750, quite acceptable considering the DN standards. We took off towards west and made a sharp 180D turn towards the east, which gave some stunning view of MAA airport.
The rest was unremarkable, except DN beverage service did not had any coffee or tea to buy (though it was a morning flight). As we started to cross Bay of Bengal, FO came on PA and said there was no notable landmark during the course till we reach "North Sentinal" island.
We started the decent at 0950 hours. North Sentinal came into view. Andamans look beautiful from the sky. We overflew some coral rings and southern parts of island with its thick rain forest. After some turning manuevers, we landed at Veer Savarkar airport at 1010.
The disembarkation was equally chaotic. The airport arrivals hall has a small immigration counter. Non-Indian visitors require to get an Inner Line Permit (ILP) to visit islands, which is issued on arrival. The officers were trying to locate foreigners among the crowd, and apparently the best method they have found is to catch them by their skin color. So if you happen to look like a white, you will be "caught" by the smart officers at the IXZ. If you look like a Indain, you can walk straight out of the airport with no questions asked!!! (And India cries big about illegal immigration from Neighbors).
This is the pic of main terminal building at IXZ. Almost looks historical!
Date: 28th August 2006
Sector: MAA-IXZ
Carrier: Air Deccan
Flight no: DN-710
Aircraft type: Airbus A320
Registration: VT-ADZ
ETD: 0855 hours, ETA: 1100 hours
The return leg was unremarkable.
Few notes about the IXZ airport. The airport was cleaner than the mainland airport. The security at IXZ is probably the toughest of all airports in India. My DN eticket was required to be endorsed. That is, my Photo ID was checked by the DN staff to ensure that I was the actual pax, by matching the name of my ID and ticket. They made me to check-in my bag as I had shaving gel and tooth paste. At MAA, they had let me to take my luggage to cabin and no ID was asked.
It was the usual stuff at the depature gate. A line was formed prior to the boarding by the DN staff. It randomly got split into two at the head with some pushing and shoving from behind. Both claimed they were the orginal and accused the other of lack of manners. When the bus showed up at the gate, the line had become like a hydra head with many branches constantly swaying and shifting.
The bus of IXZ was the strangest airport vehicle I have ever seen. Even my native village in rural India has better buses!
Finally, when the gate opened, the hydra became a bee hive.
The incoming aircraft was late by 25 mins. It was the same aircraft (VT-ADZ). We took off 45 mins behind schedule. There was no coffee/tea in the returning leg. We landed at MAA around 11:50 am.
I think I will stop now. Post your comments and questions! Thanks everyone.
India to Nepal : Crossing the border at Panitanki - Kakarbitta
( I first posted this stuff at Indiamike.com. This is now reposted in my blog with some editings. )
Nepal is not a place nowadays where people are rushing to go. Still some people (mostly westerners) want to go there. Its is a place for typical oldie, holy-poly Hindus, 'Mountain monkeys' and typical westren blokes looking for cheap grass.
I recently did a trip to Kathmandu, Nepal (in July 2007). I flew to Bagdogra, which is probably the nearest airport at the Indian side to Nepal border. One can fly into Bagdogra from Delhi, Kolkata and Guwahati. Good news is that Air Deccan (an Indian LCC) flies into Bagdogra from all the three destinations mentioned above.
Nepal border is located at about 25KMs from Bagdogra airport. The Indian side of the border village is called Panitanki. Nepal side village is Kakarbitta (or Kakarbhitta, kakarvitta, kakadvitta). Bagdogra is also the nearest airport for Gangtok (Sikkim) and Darjeeling. There are taxis available for hire outside the airport.
If you are on a budget, and don't want to spend money on an expensive taxi ride to border, you may hire an Auto rickshaw (tuk-tuk) to a place called "Bihar Mode" from airport (about 10 mins from airport). This should not cost you more than Rs.50. At Bihar Mode, you will get plenty of local buses to Panitanki. The journey to Panitank may take upto 30 mins. It will cost you Rs.10.
At Panitanki, you may choose to cross the border by foot (about 1 KM walk) OR hire a cycle-rickshaw (peddled). Panitanki and Kakarbhitta are separated by "Mechi" river. There is a bridge which is no-mans land. Indians are entitled to free movement. Nobody questioned me when I simply walked acrossed the bridge to Nepal. The Indian immigration and customs is a ramshackle hut which seemed to manned by a bunch of duffers who seem to think that fair skinned blondes are the "phoren people" who needs to be inspected for documention. Its easy to hoodwink them if you look like an Indian (though I am not advocating it here).
At Kakarbhitta (also spelt as Kakervitta), things seemed even relaxed. Nepali immigration simply looked on. They also seem to be interested in catching only westreners. I couldn't experience Visa issuance process as I didn't need one. At the end of Mechi bridge at Nepali side, you may be persued by touts who wants to sell you bus/flight tickets to various destinations within Nepal. It could be a nuisance at times as they hover around you till you relant.
Bus from Karakbhitta to Kathmandu
I took a bus from Kakarbhitta to Kathmandu. I could have flown from Bhadrapur, which is the nearest airport to Kakarbhitta. But the flights seem to leave from Bhardrapur in the mornings, and I had reached Kakarbhitta well past noon. There were conflicting theories of how long it could take to bus from Kakarbhitta to Kathmandu. It varied from 12 hours to 18 hours. Kakarbhitta is the easternmost border point of Nepal. The road distance to Kathmandu is 600 KMs.
Here is a pic of our bus taken when we stopped for loo break.
The road from Kakarbhitta towards Kathmandu is named "Mahendra highway". It joins "Tribhuvan highway" 25 KMs south of Hetauda town. The quality of road is surprizingly good!. This road was constructed about 12 years back with the help of Korean government. The road is made of concrete with a top thin layer of Asphalt. This road has not seen maintenance from past 5 or 6 years. Yet, it had manage to hold on. There are very few places on the way where there are few potholes. But they are tolerable. Also, the souther part of Nepal (called Terai) is actually a "plane". That is it is not hilly region. The roads are straight and obstacle free. Buses will maintain good speed in Terai region.
Touts assured me that bus will not take more than 12 hours, only if I took their company's bus. The bus stand is located just after the immigration. There are various private companies operating buses to Kathmandu. "Agni", "jwala", "Makalu", "Swayambhu" to name a few.The buses depart to Kathmandu from 3 PM till about 6 PM. (Note: Nepali time is 15 mins ahead of Indian time)
The government owned "Sajha Yatayat" (blue colored buses) is grounded from past few months (don't know the reasons for it). Nepal is bit unstable these days. Strikes and Road blocks are quite common. It may not be a good idea to hire an Indian vehicle all the way to Kathmandu from Bagdogra, though its possible. Maoists have strong anti-India feelings and they may turn away Indian vehicles from any point.
My advice is take a "Tourist" coach. That is, there will be one or two buses labled "Tourist". They often have better seating and most importantly, the chances of being blocked by striking villagers / Maoists on the way for Tourist coach is less. Before committing, insist on seeing the bus. 
Check the seat quality, whether it properly reclines etc. Ask them to mention the bus number and seat number on the ticket receipt. The ticket would cost about INR 400 to INR 475 in the tourist bus.
In my experience, whole journey took about 15 hours from Kakarbhitta to Kathmandu. It could have taken an hour less, but for the heavy downpours of July. The bus looked great from outside. Interiors were not bad either. However, it didn't had a functioning windshield wiper!. Driver kept guessing about the road ahead and made violent brakings to avoid oncoming vehicles. We left Kakarbhitta at 5:30 pm and reached Hetauda at 3 PM in the morning. From Hetauda the hilly region begins. From here, the its an upward journey till we descend into Kathmandu valley. It may take nearly 5-6 hours from Hetauda to Kathmandu.
Once you reach Kathmandu, you will be most likely deposited at a place called "Swayambhu". Sometimes you may be taken into the bus park located at Gongabu. You can hire taxis to reach your destination within Kathmandu.
For the return journey to Kakarbhitta, you need to board the bus at Gongabu bus park. My return journey cost me NRS 500. Tickets are available at the counters.
Enough of it now! Leave a feedback if you find it useful (and even if you didn't)
