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In the Bay of Bengal, around 1000km east of the subcontinent, there lies a chain of islands, an archipelago if you will, which is currently being inhabited by a group of people who look out of place in this part of the world. These strange beings have been seen running virtually naked along tropical beaches, floating face down in the water while sporting some curious head wear, and inhaling large quantities of flavoured smoke out of clay pipes......

My left foot and the perils of paradise

Conor Meleady
2006-08-21 18:51:08

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In the Bay of Bengal, around 1000km east of the subcontinent, there lies a chain of islands, an archipelago if you will, which is currently being inhabited by a group of people who look out of place in this part of the world. These strange beings have been seen running virtually naked along tropical beaches, floating face down in the water while sporting some curious head wear, and inhaling large quantities of flavoured smoke out of clay pipes......

These people are referred to as 'Westerners', and if you go to the Andaman Islands in the next few years, you're going to see more and more of them.

We travelled to the islands the good old-fashioned way, by ferry - no 2-hour plane journeys for us. So, first hour on the ferry, and all the 'Westerners' are up on deck, mingling, getting to know each other. We produce a bottle of rum, and start tucking in. Across from us, the rave music starts, and the chillums are passed. And within 15 minutes, our rum and the chillum being passed are in the hands of security. So no fun on this trip, and a 500 RUPEE fine to On the ferry to Port Blairtop it off. Not a great way to start.

But it didn't matter, the ferry trip was in many ways a delight, and I was genuinely sad when it ended. Sometimes you need a bit of luck, and we got it - it matched us with a core group of people we were to spend the next 4 weeks with. By the end of the journey, we had made friends for life, the type of friendships that can only be forged through suffering hardships together. Like Vietnam Vets, we later recounted our experiences on board - the dawn chorus of throat clearing waking us up each day, the food that couldn't get more simple, the smell down in bunk class, the state of the toilets/showers/ship in general, the lack of space, but most of all, the injustice of having our rum taken away from us.

But really, it wasn't so bad, and on arrival in Port Blair, we all set off together, ...