I would like to start of by thanking our dear friend BMJ for making this trip possible and etching wonderful memories into our lives. If you would rather view just the photos, it is available here.
Photos from Lakshadweep Vacation
Day 1: I headed from Bangalore by train and reached EKM around 4 AM. Veena with kids, Dad, Mom, Uncles and Aunts took the train from Kannur and reached EKM by 4 Am as well. Since the ship departure was @ 10 AM this gave us enough time.
I headed to Ravi Mama's place took rest, refreshed and headed to the station to meet the rest of the folks. A police bus picked us up @ around 10:30 and took us to the Cochin port. Here we spent a lot of time just loitering around, as there were a big group of students from the island returning back after their trip from Cochin. Regular commuters were also waiting to get checked in to the ship and they were carrying all kinds of cargo from the mainland. The check-in process was chaotic and represented the typical age old processes followed by the government.
As tourist we went through the formalities of checking in after about 1:00 PM The ship was named Kavarati after the island we were heading to.
The ship was huge but much smaller that what we had seen in cruises earlier. It had different classes and reminded me of what we saw in the movie titanic. The lowest of them were the BUNK class which the regular commuters used. They were just rows of stacked bunk beds at the lower levels of the ship. The first and second class were on the higher decks and were pretty much individual rooms which had 4 beds in 2nd class and 2 in first class. These classes had their on separate dining areas.
We had out food in the 2nd class dining area and walked around and had a good idea about the layout of the ship. The ship pulled out of the harbor by 4 pm and it was a different view of Kochi from there.
We spent a couple of hours just hanging around in the deck and taking pictures and immersing ourselves in the beautiful views. We headed for dinner around 7 PM and some of us rested while others spent time viewing the clear dark skies from the deck. The beds were very comfortable and the swaying of the ship made for a good rocking motion and most of us were fast asleep by 9 PM.
Day 2: We reached Kavarati around 7 AM, the island just seemed like an over grown beach and tiny from the distance the ship was docked at. The waters near the island are shallow and we hop on to smaller boats and come to the island. It was a mad rush to get out of the ship with people jockeying to get on the the boat at the earliest. In part it was our fault as well. The officials advised us to stay in the room till they call us, with the large group that we were some of them just followed the masses and we found ourselves amidst the group of commuters and cargo trying to make their way onto the small boats.
We were received by the local officers and got into a car and headed to a guest house that was pretty much a bread and breakfast kind of place. It had a cook and a helper for all our needs. They had prepared puttu and kadla cootan for breakfast.
In conversations we found that vegetarian food was a problem as milk and vegetables had to come from the mainland. Most of the oldies wanted to rest while Veena, Kids and myself headed out for a walk towards the beach. We spent the morning there and headed back to the room towards lunch. Benita came with a cake to celebrate the anniversary of Veena's parents.
Towards evening all of headed towards the dock. There is literally beach and water everywhere. we spent some more time in the water and seeing the sun set. Along with us on the ship there were a whole bunch of tourists on a package where they get of the ship each day on different islands and return to Kochi after 3 days. We watched them head back to the ship. While walking back to the room, amma struck a conversation with a local and she gave us a bottle of home brewed fermented coconut water. It was called "Meera". It tasted really good and we wanted more of it and asked around but had no luck.
Had a good dinner with more fish, dal, rice and chapati, celebrated the anniversary with cake cutting and retired for the night.
Day 3: It was a early day. Had breakfast of poori and aloo and headed to the beach by 8:30. We started of with a glass boat ride. It was a good experience. We could see the corals and fish from the safety of the boat. The water was pretty choppy and the boat was swaying from end to end like a pendulum. Some of us were scared and some feeling nauseous. During the time we were anchored, the boat was turned off and it would not turn back on again. Here were sitting in the middle of the ocean rocking heavily with a boat break down. An emergency was radioed and a speed boat soon arrived. It hooked up to our boat and started to tow it. In the mean time the people who were relentlessly trying to start it had some luck and the boat whirred to life again.Neetu and Nishanth entertained themselves by jumping into the into the water and swam around the boat while we were waiting for the emergency boat.
Next up on the agenda was SCUBA diving. 8 of us signed up for it and many quite unsure of what it entails. We were assured over and over again by various people that is was absolutely safe and just follow the golden rule of "BREATH and WATCH" - as simple as that. All the rest will be taken ca\re bu the dive instructors.
We were given a class for about 45 minutes and none of us knew what SCUBA stood for..? Any guesses without googling?
We then headed to shallow water for some breathing practice after which we got on boats and headed of into the ocean. Each of us were accompanied by a certified SCUBA diver and he controlled the apparatus and managed every aspect of it. It was a truly wonderful experience to be on the ocean floor and experience the life forms under water. They even took pictures of us under water and handed us CD's. You can find them with the rest of the pictures in the link.
After that we headed back to shore and went to the house where a nice hot lunch was waiting for us. After resting that afternoon we decided to walk to Benita's house that evening, The walk turned out to be longer than expected and we heard a lot of complaints and whining from the seniors.
Visiting with Benita and family made up for the walk and soon we were all engrossed in conversations and food. Benita arranged to transport us back to the room. We also visited the local temple on the way back.
Day 4: After breakfast we arranged for the taxi to take us around the island. We started of visiting the dock on the eastern shore. This dock was not actively used as the sea was really rough and the tides high. There were occasions when the sea water skimmed the top of the docks. The view of the island and light house from here was enthralling. We walked around took pictures and watched the local boys fish.
We visited the helipad that is a critical infrastructure to commute to the island. The airport itself is situated in Agati and people have to commute to Kavrati by helicopter from there. The helipad was at the very tip of the island and made for a good view of the ocean.
The light house was closed for visitors, so we just viewed it from the bottom. Next was a tour of the desalination plant where sea water was converted to fresh water for use in the island. The technology used was quite indigenous where the water was evaporated through pressure and the steam cooled through circulating colder sea water from bottom of the ocean. The beef from the engineer maintaining the plant was that the government sets up such plants but does not do much to maintain it in operational state. We tasted some of the desalinated water and it was flawless.
Next up we drove by the Islands administrators house and headed back home in time for lunch. More fish, rice, dal, papad, cabbage and pickles awaited us.
That evening we went back to the beach and spent time swimming and playing in the water. Towards the end Neetu decided to dive of the deck and she hit the bottom and was thrown back. It sprained her neck and was in terrible pain. It scared the hell out of us as she could not move her head and the slightest of movement gave her shock waves. We decided to rest the night and access the situation in the morning.
Day 5: Started with breakfast of a local delicacy called Bhatri(BA-THI-RI) and chilly fish curry. Bhatri is made from ground rice mixed with coconut milk and made to be like roti's. Loved the breakfast.
Neetu woke up that morning with a lot of discomfort and crying about the pain. We were supposed to head back that evening. Benita arranged for a visit to the goverment hospital on the island and an X-ray was done. The doctor did not see any big issue as such but wanted us to go back and get a scan done. He prescribed some medicines and put a neck brace to prevent any jerky movement. The medicines and the brace helped her feel better and after lunch we headed to the dock to take the boats that would transport us to the ship.
The ship we returned in was much smaller but the rooms and such were pretty much the same as before. This ship was called "The Lagoon". After all the jostling to get on the ship we pretty much settled into the rooms, had dinner and enjoyed the views from the deck.
This ship was less powerful and the estimated time of arrival @ Fort Kochi was 11:00 AM. We spend the morning watching the ocean and at one point also experienced a thunder storm in the ocean.
A familiar situation to get of the ship was also experienced. After we got off, all of us went out own ways and another trip goes down into memory.
Photos from the trip is here.. Lakshadweep Vacation
Snorkeling video links.
Photos from Lakshadweep Vacation
Day 1: I headed from Bangalore by train and reached EKM around 4 AM. Veena with kids, Dad, Mom, Uncles and Aunts took the train from Kannur and reached EKM by 4 Am as well. Since the ship departure was @ 10 AM this gave us enough time.
I headed to Ravi Mama's place took rest, refreshed and headed to the station to meet the rest of the folks. A police bus picked us up @ around 10:30 and took us to the Cochin port. Here we spent a lot of time just loitering around, as there were a big group of students from the island returning back after their trip from Cochin. Regular commuters were also waiting to get checked in to the ship and they were carrying all kinds of cargo from the mainland. The check-in process was chaotic and represented the typical age old processes followed by the government.
As tourist we went through the formalities of checking in after about 1:00 PM The ship was named Kavarati after the island we were heading to.
The ship was huge but much smaller that what we had seen in cruises earlier. It had different classes and reminded me of what we saw in the movie titanic. The lowest of them were the BUNK class which the regular commuters used. They were just rows of stacked bunk beds at the lower levels of the ship. The first and second class were on the higher decks and were pretty much individual rooms which had 4 beds in 2nd class and 2 in first class. These classes had their on separate dining areas.
We had out food in the 2nd class dining area and walked around and had a good idea about the layout of the ship. The ship pulled out of the harbor by 4 pm and it was a different view of Kochi from there.
We spent a couple of hours just hanging around in the deck and taking pictures and immersing ourselves in the beautiful views. We headed for dinner around 7 PM and some of us rested while others spent time viewing the clear dark skies from the deck. The beds were very comfortable and the swaying of the ship made for a good rocking motion and most of us were fast asleep by 9 PM.
Day 2: We reached Kavarati around 7 AM, the island just seemed like an over grown beach and tiny from the distance the ship was docked at. The waters near the island are shallow and we hop on to smaller boats and come to the island. It was a mad rush to get out of the ship with people jockeying to get on the the boat at the earliest. In part it was our fault as well. The officials advised us to stay in the room till they call us, with the large group that we were some of them just followed the masses and we found ourselves amidst the group of commuters and cargo trying to make their way onto the small boats.
We were received by the local officers and got into a car and headed to a guest house that was pretty much a bread and breakfast kind of place. It had a cook and a helper for all our needs. They had prepared puttu and kadla cootan for breakfast.
In conversations we found that vegetarian food was a problem as milk and vegetables had to come from the mainland. Most of the oldies wanted to rest while Veena, Kids and myself headed out for a walk towards the beach. We spent the morning there and headed back to the room towards lunch. Benita came with a cake to celebrate the anniversary of Veena's parents.
Towards evening all of headed towards the dock. There is literally beach and water everywhere. we spent some more time in the water and seeing the sun set. Along with us on the ship there were a whole bunch of tourists on a package where they get of the ship each day on different islands and return to Kochi after 3 days. We watched them head back to the ship. While walking back to the room, amma struck a conversation with a local and she gave us a bottle of home brewed fermented coconut water. It was called "Meera". It tasted really good and we wanted more of it and asked around but had no luck.
Had a good dinner with more fish, dal, rice and chapati, celebrated the anniversary with cake cutting and retired for the night.
Day 3: It was a early day. Had breakfast of poori and aloo and headed to the beach by 8:30. We started of with a glass boat ride. It was a good experience. We could see the corals and fish from the safety of the boat. The water was pretty choppy and the boat was swaying from end to end like a pendulum. Some of us were scared and some feeling nauseous. During the time we were anchored, the boat was turned off and it would not turn back on again. Here were sitting in the middle of the ocean rocking heavily with a boat break down. An emergency was radioed and a speed boat soon arrived. It hooked up to our boat and started to tow it. In the mean time the people who were relentlessly trying to start it had some luck and the boat whirred to life again.Neetu and Nishanth entertained themselves by jumping into the into the water and swam around the boat while we were waiting for the emergency boat.
Next up on the agenda was SCUBA diving. 8 of us signed up for it and many quite unsure of what it entails. We were assured over and over again by various people that is was absolutely safe and just follow the golden rule of "BREATH and WATCH" - as simple as that. All the rest will be taken ca\re bu the dive instructors.
We were given a class for about 45 minutes and none of us knew what SCUBA stood for..? Any guesses without googling?
We then headed to shallow water for some breathing practice after which we got on boats and headed of into the ocean. Each of us were accompanied by a certified SCUBA diver and he controlled the apparatus and managed every aspect of it. It was a truly wonderful experience to be on the ocean floor and experience the life forms under water. They even took pictures of us under water and handed us CD's. You can find them with the rest of the pictures in the link.
After that we headed back to shore and went to the house where a nice hot lunch was waiting for us. After resting that afternoon we decided to walk to Benita's house that evening, The walk turned out to be longer than expected and we heard a lot of complaints and whining from the seniors.
Visiting with Benita and family made up for the walk and soon we were all engrossed in conversations and food. Benita arranged to transport us back to the room. We also visited the local temple on the way back.
Day 4: After breakfast we arranged for the taxi to take us around the island. We started of visiting the dock on the eastern shore. This dock was not actively used as the sea was really rough and the tides high. There were occasions when the sea water skimmed the top of the docks. The view of the island and light house from here was enthralling. We walked around took pictures and watched the local boys fish.
We visited the helipad that is a critical infrastructure to commute to the island. The airport itself is situated in Agati and people have to commute to Kavrati by helicopter from there. The helipad was at the very tip of the island and made for a good view of the ocean.
The light house was closed for visitors, so we just viewed it from the bottom. Next was a tour of the desalination plant where sea water was converted to fresh water for use in the island. The technology used was quite indigenous where the water was evaporated through pressure and the steam cooled through circulating colder sea water from bottom of the ocean. The beef from the engineer maintaining the plant was that the government sets up such plants but does not do much to maintain it in operational state. We tasted some of the desalinated water and it was flawless.
Next up we drove by the Islands administrators house and headed back home in time for lunch. More fish, rice, dal, papad, cabbage and pickles awaited us.
That evening we went back to the beach and spent time swimming and playing in the water. Towards the end Neetu decided to dive of the deck and she hit the bottom and was thrown back. It sprained her neck and was in terrible pain. It scared the hell out of us as she could not move her head and the slightest of movement gave her shock waves. We decided to rest the night and access the situation in the morning.
Day 5: Started with breakfast of a local delicacy called Bhatri(BA-THI-RI) and chilly fish curry. Bhatri is made from ground rice mixed with coconut milk and made to be like roti's. Loved the breakfast.
Neetu woke up that morning with a lot of discomfort and crying about the pain. We were supposed to head back that evening. Benita arranged for a visit to the goverment hospital on the island and an X-ray was done. The doctor did not see any big issue as such but wanted us to go back and get a scan done. He prescribed some medicines and put a neck brace to prevent any jerky movement. The medicines and the brace helped her feel better and after lunch we headed to the dock to take the boats that would transport us to the ship.
The ship we returned in was much smaller but the rooms and such were pretty much the same as before. This ship was called "The Lagoon". After all the jostling to get on the ship we pretty much settled into the rooms, had dinner and enjoyed the views from the deck.
This ship was less powerful and the estimated time of arrival @ Fort Kochi was 11:00 AM. We spend the morning watching the ocean and at one point also experienced a thunder storm in the ocean.
A familiar situation to get of the ship was also experienced. After we got off, all of us went out own ways and another trip goes down into memory.
Photos from the trip is here.. Lakshadweep Vacation
Snorkeling video links.
Neetu Snorkeling
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