It is nearly the middle of the year now and I have some far reaching travels planned. South America is on 
the agenda as are more places. But in between I thought I want to go catch some scuba diving. It had been a year since my last sojourn deep sea diving in the Maldives and I was looking for a place to dive deep. There I was then all booked for the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. A return ticket set me back me about Rs 22,000 – $330 and I booked it on my Jet Airway’s reward points program. The journey was Delhi – Calcutta to Port Blair. I boarded the evening flight from Delhi to Calcutta and then took the connecting flight to Port Blair in the morning. I couldn’t wait to dive into the cool waters of the sea in the scuba gear . I had already booked a hotel at Havelock Island where I was scheduled to do my diving .
I reached Port Blair and took a Ferry to Havelock Island cost me Rs 1200, $18 for the ride. My a/c room at the Pellicon Resort was waiting for me for Rs 5000, $75 a night. It was the Maharajah Room with air conditioning and a double bed. I did feel like a bit of a Maharajah then but I was tired by now and just crashed out. When I woke up I realized I had slept for over two days. No rush thought I, we do have time after all if naught else! The cleaning lady knocked at the door she said “ Sahib do you know you have been sleeping for over two day’s. Why don’t you go out and talk to people , explore the place .” She was right I guess. The problem with travelling solo is that you don’t have anyone to share your experiences, no one to share your joy and excitement. I only had my blog to which I could share my thoughts and emotion’s with. A electronic interface not much, but I guess having been at the receiving end of human beings all my life, I quite prefer sharing my emotion’s with my blog!
https://www.facebook.com/anuj.tikku/videos/10153897030947911/
I walked up to the scuba diving center to take a few dives at a total cost Rs 5500, $82 for two. The water here is muddy and the quality of the fish is bad not as colorful as the Maldives .The instructor started panicking when i took off my regulator from my mouth and started blowing bubbles underwater. I was just trying to show him some of my skill’s. I came back to my room after a meal of fresh fish curry and rice . Was tired and crashed out when i woke up I realized I had been sleeping again for over a day. I guess the heat was making me lazy and not that I was the most energetic people around anyway. I was getting a bit agitated also and I popped out my Arpizol 10 pill which was to calm my mind down. My negative thoughts where now subsiding. The Andamans have a large Bengali population and the T.V mostly plays Bengali channels. That did not interest me too much and I went back to writing.
https://www.facebook.com/anujtikku1974/posts/865547490238500
I realized four day’s had since passed and it was time to head to Port Blair . The ferry back was fun and I was chatting to the couple sitting next to me when the song “Haule Haule “ from Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi started playing on T.V and there I was with Shah Rukh Khan dancing to the rhythm of the song. I jumped up and pointed to the screen and said hey that’s me. Their was a huge clap from my fellow passengers. I felt proud and happy at last.Talk about lucky co incidences.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qo8-fywaO8o
My last day in Port Blair was spent meandering through the cellular jail, which is near the ship yard at the heart of the city. I took the usual photographs and headed back to the hotel for a meal of Chicken Rice Bangla style . Now on my way to the airport for a five hour journey back to Delhi .
