Counting Down to 90 - Week 1567 - The Andamans are the Goa of the 90s

The Concept Explained

Counting Down to 90 - Week 1579

Why 1579

Bhavin's WritingsBhavin Jankharia

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Here’s a quick quiz. Which is the southernmost tip of India? Most will answer Kanyakumari, which is only the southernmost tip of mainland India. The true answer is Indira Point at the southernmost tip of the Nicobar Islands. 

There are endless social media comments about declining tourism in Goa due to expensive flights and hotels, crowds, poor infrastructure, and sometimes dirty beaches. We were in Goa in October and it is all true.

Counting Down to 90 - Week 1578

Third Thing, Fourth Thing, Two and Three Degrees of Separation and Privilege

Bhavin's WritingsBhavin Jankharia

But it was different in the 1980s and 90s. I first visited Goa as a medical student in 1982 when four of us went in an ST bus and returned by steamer, stayed in a Calangute shack, and had a ball. My next trip to Goa was my honeymoon in 1991 at the Taj Holiday Village for 11 days. We didn’t do much…just walks on the beach, eating in shacks, walking along Sinquerim village’s main road…lots of foreigners, few Indians, hardly any crowds and good fun. 

Havelock Island, now Swaraj Dweep, reminds me of Goa from the 80s and 90s, before Dil Chahta Hai, before the casinos and before the Russian invasion. The Andaman Islands are closer to Bangkok than Mumbai. It took a good 8-9 hours to reach the hotel in Swaraj Dweep (travel to airport, then 3 hours to Port Blair - now Srivijayapuram, then a 90 mins ferry ride and a 20 mins ride to the hotel). While the aircraft and ferry boat were crowded, the roads were empty, restaurants had enough seating, and when we went snorkeling, there was just another boat present. 

Have you ever floated in the open ocean on your back, looking at the sky and clouds with the sun behind you? Because of the increased buoyancy of the salt water, I was able to, without any support, lie on my back, arms spreadeagled, ears underwater, perfectly balanced, the only movement being those that the waves made as they carried me in different directions. It is experiences like these that make the Islands special…the beaches are clean, the water blue, the sky clear, and the people…so nice.

Something about the Andamans makes people stay back. One of our guides, Daniel, came to the Andamans from Thane for a short trip and then just stayed on…he leads treks and owl and bird watching, and star gazing tours. Ravi, our snorkeling and diving guide, came from Hyderabad as a tourist and has stayed pn for 5 years as an instructor. A quiet beach life can be very seductive. You sleep well, eat well, get enough exercise with walking and other activities and time slips away. The only downsides are the 5 AM sunrise and 5 PM sunset in winter. 

I wish I had come here earlier, but seduced by travel to popular places and international destinations, we often tend to ignore places in India that are still not overrun by people like us (there is a certain irony about tourists like me complaining about other tourists…). 

Recently, my friend Ramnath visited Eastern Arunachal at the same time that another set of friends went in a big tour bus to Western Arunachal. Eastern Arunachal is accessed from Dibrugarh and since the roads are still not good, very few people venture into these areas… it involves long rides in 4-wheel drive jeeps and homestays with local food. He loved the terrain and the virgin views of the hills and valleys. However, the army is building large roads and he predicts that in 4-5 years, it will become another Ladakh, overrun and overcrowded like Western Arunachal is already becoming. 

It’s tough to find quiet, accessible places in India without large crowds. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are one such destination, at least for now, like Ladakh was 10-12 years ago. I’m not sure how long that will last, but this is a good time to visit...as is Eastern Arunachal.