I always wanted to write about my journeys to various places, but because there are many, i chose to write this one as it is the best vacation i have ever been on till now .(Hope i write another blog about a different location soon ;) )
15th March 2005-
My dad was already on a 3 month long deputation to Lakshadweep. He had been there for more than a month now and we all wanted to meet him as soon as it was possible. We had planned to go there in may but a phone call from dad changed everything. He asked us to book our tickets for 20th march as the monsoon season of May brings life in lakshadweep to a standstill. And march being a pleasant weather month was the best time to visit the emerald islands. We had to get the LTC (Leave Travel Concession) approved from my dad's work place. He being out of town meant that we did the job of getting it approved. It was solely not possible to get the LTC sanctioned in 4 days. It took me and my mom carrying our file from one department to another and somehow it was approved in 4 days itself. I guess that was a record time for a central government office to sanction this :D .
We had our tickets booked for 20th march (Delhi - Kochi). Tickets for the connecting flight from Kochi to Agatti were not available so we had our ship tickets booked as well for 22nd March. I was excited as it was my first journey by air but i had not guessed that this journey would turn out to be a complete travel package.
20th March 2005-
Indian Airlines flight IC 165 was scheduled for departure at 0800 hrs. I was too excited to be at the airport and travel by an airplane. I woke up at 3 AM in the morning without any alarm bells, switched ON the water heater and woke up my mom, brother and grandmother. At 0500 hrs, we had a cab waiting for us outside. Loaded the luggage and headed straight to the IGI Airport. We reached Terminal 1A and the view was amazing. A Boeing 747-400 was on landing approach just as we entered the terminal parking space. The view was Majestic. We entered the departure terminal. We were new to the airport proceedings so inquired about the procedure to check in. By 6 am we had everything done ranging from the X-Ray scans to the Baggage Verification. The terminal was awesome (As per Indian Standards that too in 2005 :P ). I and my younger brother were curious to know how actually a plane took off and how it landed. We stood watching the jets for the entire two hours. We then boarded our flight to Kochi. It was an Airbus 320. Read all the safety procedures carefully and finally, the flight took off... It was a hopping flight to Kochi via Mumbai. We reached Kochi at 12:30 PM. The first thing we did was to remove our sweaters. It was moderate cold in delhi and hot in kochi.
We collected all the baggage and heard a gentleman asking people who were to go to lakshadweep. My mom rushed to the man and told him that we wanted to go to lakshadweep but we were not having tickets. My mom asked for Captain Ashok Chaudhary as my dad knew him and had asked us to meet him as he was the pilot of the flight from kochi to agatti. He then said, "Chaalo Mhara Saathe" (Come along with me) in marwari. We followed him to the ticket counter but no tickets were available as it was a special flight. Normally the Kochi-Agatti flight leaves at 09:30 AM from Kochi but the aircraft was due for repairs so it was unavailable for the next 5-6 days, hence the authorities decided to conduct another sortie. Tickets were not available so we had given up hope but after some time, there was a good news. We got tickets to Agatti. You may wonder how we managed to get it. There were some foreigners who were to go to agatti. The pilot himself convinced them to stay a few more days in kochi so the foreign passengers had their tickets cancelled and we managed to get those seats. The flight was delayed by half an hour as the pilot was with us trying to get us seats :D
The aircraft was a Dornier Do 228 (14 seater aircraft) which used two propellers. I was imagining those scenes in the cartoons when the propeller stopped functioning :D Somehow, an hour passed and we were at Agatti Island. The view was breathtaking. Light blue waters and white sand beaches. Clear blue sky and tall green coconut trees. I had never imagined lakshadweep to be so mesmerizing. We now were to head over to Kavaratti Islands, the administrative capital of Lakshadweep Islands. A Pawan Hans Helicopter was to ferry us to the place. Kavaratti does not have an airstrip. We boarded the chopper and headed to kavaratti. The copter ride was the best. It was just like a ride at an amusement park. On approaching kavaratti, i saw the island covered entirely by coconut trees. Just after we landed i rushed to see my dad and hugged him tightly. We were off the the State Guest House and took some rest.
That day i traveled in an airbus 320 jet, a small 14 seater dornier and a helicopter. Within 10 hours, we had used 3 different modes of air travel. The day came to an end with dad pampering me and my brother with lots of love. It was a wonderful day.
21st March 2005 - 3rd April 2005 :-
The State Guest House was a wonderful property situated just next to the administration offices and the Sports Club. We were allotted Tinakkara and Chetlat rooms. Rooms were named after various islands in Lakshadweep. These were the best 15 days ever spent. The daily routine was to wake up at 6 and rush to the nearby sports club to play table tennis. We came back at 8 and slept for 2 hours. By that time, my dad was off to work. We had breakfast, got ready for the day and went for a stroll around the island. Kavaratti, the capital is a very small island with an area of 4 Sq. Km. Afternoons were mostly spent doing Snorkeling / Cycling / Watching TV. At sharp 5 PM, me and my brother used to go again to the sports club for TT. In the evening, we used to stroll around the island's market places and other local attractions like the Jetty etc. It was an awesome time spent. The weather was fantastic and the experience of being an islander was good.
One evening, after the coral watching session through a glass bottomed boat, we decided to go upto the coral reef for a reef walk. The sea was rough that day and the boats were too narrow. After reaching half the distance, we decided to return back as the sunset was approaching and some of us had sea sickness.
Occasional visits to the Aquarium and local restaurants were great. I ordered a Samosa at some beach side restaurant and asked the vendor whether they were Vegetarian. He told me that these were Fish Samosa. One could not even imagine a Samosa filled with Fish.
Lakshadweep has a culture of its own. More than 90% population follow islam. What happens there at time time of wedding is exactly opposite to our culture. There, the groom brings all the dowry and is given the vidaai. :D
3rd April 2005 - 5th April 2005 (Trip to Bangaram Islands)
The time went off quickly. We now had a trip planned to Bangaram Islands. This island is the best island to visit. We decided to go there by Ship. MV Bharat Seema was anchored a mile away from the kavaratti coast. We took a small boat and boarded the ship. It was HUGE. the 3 hour long journey to Agatti Islands went off quickly. The Bangaram Islands Resort Boat was there to ferry us to Bangaram. When i saw bangaram for the first time, i fell in love with it. It still is one of the best islands in the world. If there is a heaven at an island, its Bangaram for sure. We stayed there for 2 days and did all the water games again like Snorkeling, Kayaking, Glass Bottomed Boat ride etc. These two days went off with a blink of an eye.
We boarded the same boat and planned to go to agatti to catch our flight which was scheduled for the next day. But something was in store for us. The weather turned bad and within 15-20 minutes, we were back at the shore of bangaram. Since my dad was on deputation to lakshadweep, a chopper was sent over to rescue us. We flew to agatti and reached there safely. Took a nap and were up on our feet exploring Agatti. Agatti feels somewhat boring after visiting Bangaram. We all were very tired and took rest.
Back to where we belong -
The next day, we were to board our flight to Kochi. The same old rickety Dornier was there. I was a little emotional at that time coz my dad had to stay there for a month more and we were leaving for home. Finally, he left for kavaratti and we were off to kochi. In the middle of the flight, the captain was chit chatting with us as he kept the plane at autopilot. He came to me and asked me to sit on his seat in the cockpit. I quickly went over to his seat and felt what a pilot feels while flying an airplane. I was the pilot now :D :D . The co-pilot gave me some chocolates and told me about various indicators like airspeed, altimeter and horizon indicator. I spent some 10-15 minutes in the cockpit. People sitting at the back asked me not to touch any controls else the plane will crash. I was back on my seat after some time. Landed at Kochi airport and had a day's halt in kochi. Visited the city and various historical places there. Kochi is a good city. We then took the next day flight back to mumbai to spend some nice time with my Nanaji and Naniji. After a couple of days, we came back to delhi. It was the best trip ever.
Why was this the best trip? Thats because the modes of transport ranged from kayak to a small fishing boat to a trawler to a big ship to an airbus A320, a dornier, A helicopter ride. You cant get these many modes in a single trip and that is why this was a special one.
Hope you liked this. Keep reading..
We had our tickets booked for 20th march (Delhi - Kochi). Tickets for the connecting flight from Kochi to Agatti were not available so we had our ship tickets booked as well for 22nd March. I was excited as it was my first journey by air but i had not guessed that this journey would turn out to be a complete travel package.
20th March 2005-
Indian Airlines flight IC 165 was scheduled for departure at 0800 hrs. I was too excited to be at the airport and travel by an airplane. I woke up at 3 AM in the morning without any alarm bells, switched ON the water heater and woke up my mom, brother and grandmother. At 0500 hrs, we had a cab waiting for us outside. Loaded the luggage and headed straight to the IGI Airport. We reached Terminal 1A and the view was amazing. A Boeing 747-400 was on landing approach just as we entered the terminal parking space. The view was Majestic. We entered the departure terminal. We were new to the airport proceedings so inquired about the procedure to check in. By 6 am we had everything done ranging from the X-Ray scans to the Baggage Verification. The terminal was awesome (As per Indian Standards that too in 2005 :P ). I and my younger brother were curious to know how actually a plane took off and how it landed. We stood watching the jets for the entire two hours. We then boarded our flight to Kochi. It was an Airbus 320. Read all the safety procedures carefully and finally, the flight took off... It was a hopping flight to Kochi via Mumbai. We reached Kochi at 12:30 PM. The first thing we did was to remove our sweaters. It was moderate cold in delhi and hot in kochi.
We collected all the baggage and heard a gentleman asking people who were to go to lakshadweep. My mom rushed to the man and told him that we wanted to go to lakshadweep but we were not having tickets. My mom asked for Captain Ashok Chaudhary as my dad knew him and had asked us to meet him as he was the pilot of the flight from kochi to agatti. He then said, "Chaalo Mhara Saathe" (Come along with me) in marwari. We followed him to the ticket counter but no tickets were available as it was a special flight. Normally the Kochi-Agatti flight leaves at 09:30 AM from Kochi but the aircraft was due for repairs so it was unavailable for the next 5-6 days, hence the authorities decided to conduct another sortie. Tickets were not available so we had given up hope but after some time, there was a good news. We got tickets to Agatti. You may wonder how we managed to get it. There were some foreigners who were to go to agatti. The pilot himself convinced them to stay a few more days in kochi so the foreign passengers had their tickets cancelled and we managed to get those seats. The flight was delayed by half an hour as the pilot was with us trying to get us seats :D
The aircraft was a Dornier Do 228 (14 seater aircraft) which used two propellers. I was imagining those scenes in the cartoons when the propeller stopped functioning :D Somehow, an hour passed and we were at Agatti Island. The view was breathtaking. Light blue waters and white sand beaches. Clear blue sky and tall green coconut trees. I had never imagined lakshadweep to be so mesmerizing. We now were to head over to Kavaratti Islands, the administrative capital of Lakshadweep Islands. A Pawan Hans Helicopter was to ferry us to the place. Kavaratti does not have an airstrip. We boarded the chopper and headed to kavaratti. The copter ride was the best. It was just like a ride at an amusement park. On approaching kavaratti, i saw the island covered entirely by coconut trees. Just after we landed i rushed to see my dad and hugged him tightly. We were off the the State Guest House and took some rest.
That day i traveled in an airbus 320 jet, a small 14 seater dornier and a helicopter. Within 10 hours, we had used 3 different modes of air travel. The day came to an end with dad pampering me and my brother with lots of love. It was a wonderful day.
 |
| 1. Cockpit View (Dornier) 2. Dornier Do 288 3. Pawan Hans Helicopter |
 |
| 1. Cycling @ kavaratti 2. Glass Bottomed Boat Ride 3. Playing TT |
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| Agatti Aerodrome |
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| 1. View of Bangaram approaching 2. Kayaking @ Bangaram 3. Our Hut @ Bangaram |
21st March 2005 - 3rd April 2005 :-
The State Guest House was a wonderful property situated just next to the administration offices and the Sports Club. We were allotted Tinakkara and Chetlat rooms. Rooms were named after various islands in Lakshadweep. These were the best 15 days ever spent. The daily routine was to wake up at 6 and rush to the nearby sports club to play table tennis. We came back at 8 and slept for 2 hours. By that time, my dad was off to work. We had breakfast, got ready for the day and went for a stroll around the island. Kavaratti, the capital is a very small island with an area of 4 Sq. Km. Afternoons were mostly spent doing Snorkeling / Cycling / Watching TV. At sharp 5 PM, me and my brother used to go again to the sports club for TT. In the evening, we used to stroll around the island's market places and other local attractions like the Jetty etc. It was an awesome time spent. The weather was fantastic and the experience of being an islander was good.
One evening, after the coral watching session through a glass bottomed boat, we decided to go upto the coral reef for a reef walk. The sea was rough that day and the boats were too narrow. After reaching half the distance, we decided to return back as the sunset was approaching and some of us had sea sickness.
Occasional visits to the Aquarium and local restaurants were great. I ordered a Samosa at some beach side restaurant and asked the vendor whether they were Vegetarian. He told me that these were Fish Samosa. One could not even imagine a Samosa filled with Fish.
Lakshadweep has a culture of its own. More than 90% population follow islam. What happens there at time time of wedding is exactly opposite to our culture. There, the groom brings all the dowry and is given the vidaai. :D
3rd April 2005 - 5th April 2005 (Trip to Bangaram Islands)
The time went off quickly. We now had a trip planned to Bangaram Islands. This island is the best island to visit. We decided to go there by Ship. MV Bharat Seema was anchored a mile away from the kavaratti coast. We took a small boat and boarded the ship. It was HUGE. the 3 hour long journey to Agatti Islands went off quickly. The Bangaram Islands Resort Boat was there to ferry us to Bangaram. When i saw bangaram for the first time, i fell in love with it. It still is one of the best islands in the world. If there is a heaven at an island, its Bangaram for sure. We stayed there for 2 days and did all the water games again like Snorkeling, Kayaking, Glass Bottomed Boat ride etc. These two days went off with a blink of an eye.
We boarded the same boat and planned to go to agatti to catch our flight which was scheduled for the next day. But something was in store for us. The weather turned bad and within 15-20 minutes, we were back at the shore of bangaram. Since my dad was on deputation to lakshadweep, a chopper was sent over to rescue us. We flew to agatti and reached there safely. Took a nap and were up on our feet exploring Agatti. Agatti feels somewhat boring after visiting Bangaram. We all were very tired and took rest.
Back to where we belong -
The next day, we were to board our flight to Kochi. The same old rickety Dornier was there. I was a little emotional at that time coz my dad had to stay there for a month more and we were leaving for home. Finally, he left for kavaratti and we were off to kochi. In the middle of the flight, the captain was chit chatting with us as he kept the plane at autopilot. He came to me and asked me to sit on his seat in the cockpit. I quickly went over to his seat and felt what a pilot feels while flying an airplane. I was the pilot now :D :D . The co-pilot gave me some chocolates and told me about various indicators like airspeed, altimeter and horizon indicator. I spent some 10-15 minutes in the cockpit. People sitting at the back asked me not to touch any controls else the plane will crash. I was back on my seat after some time. Landed at Kochi airport and had a day's halt in kochi. Visited the city and various historical places there. Kochi is a good city. We then took the next day flight back to mumbai to spend some nice time with my Nanaji and Naniji. After a couple of days, we came back to delhi. It was the best trip ever.
Why was this the best trip? Thats because the modes of transport ranged from kayak to a small fishing boat to a trawler to a big ship to an airbus A320, a dornier, A helicopter ride. You cant get these many modes in a single trip and that is why this was a special one.
Hope you liked this. Keep reading..
