The Andaman Islands, India 2009

A pearl necklace in the Indian Ocean, i.e. The Andaman Islands.
I was excited to return to the sights and sounds of India. Yes I know it is far from the motherland however I was hopeful some of the exotic lure I came to love about India would be present during our visit and I was not disappointed. For those who have read the book “Holy Cow” written by an Australian writer, Sarah MacDonald, can relate with her love or hate relationship one may experience with this county. After having spend several weeks in India, I too could resonate with her book.

Upon arrival 10 miles out from the entrance of Port Blair we reported in. I was so anxious to get to shore however I knew it would be at least a day before the officialdom would be completed, little did I know! This is where some of the love or hate about India may enter in. I have come to believe our work ethics East/West are just very different, however both have strong points to admire.

In India there seemed to be a separate job for every able adult on the island and then there is someone who does nothing but deciding on those separate jobs, someone who assigns those jobs, someone who trains for the jobs etc.. etc... , you get the picture. Multi-tasking does not seem to exist in the Hindu way of doing things. Could their lack of modern technologies be a way to assure the masses will always have work, lack of resources to equip the businesses, or perhaps just not wanting to change what they see as not broken? I find the inadequate means in which they work i.e. inadequate tools or lack of the tool all-together very slow and inefficient.

Maybe this is a shortcoming of the western mind to assume the use of the best tool for the job, high production, speed etc… is the best way. Look at the stress and high disease, causing many to suffer at such high expectations. I see two extremes evident with each culture and like all things balance is required.

A quick story to help you understand a westerner’s view point on the Indian way of working; We dropped our hook and soon there after were boarded by customs which went well other than a shake down for a bottle of wine. This of course was so they looked the other way for what they hinted at as an excess of liquor on board so we happily paid them off and sent the 3 Amigos on there way. Then the coast guard boat came and did their duties and we waited for our clearance via VHF to go ashore and see the Harbor Master to finish our check in procedure.

note: It helps if you have all the paperwork done ahead of time and copies made, see note below to where we got our forms and other check in procedures. However a surprise requirement was an itinerary of all of our ports of call since we started sailing. This was a bit of a scramble to come up with the 25 ports of call traveled over the past 9 years on Equus, oh no worries mate, they patiently waited and had more tonic’s and beer .

Day 3 at Port Blair

Our second day ashore after arrival at Port Blair we went to the Forestry Dept. to apply for the park permit’s we were told we needed from the head of the Forestry Dept. (a Sikh who looked at our paperwork from the Harbor Master as if he had never seen these forms before, we thought maybe perhaps he was just new to his post, which he was-no I think it has more to do with the right hand doesn’t really know what the left hand is doing “kindof thing”.) Because we found this blank stare from many officials we encountered throughout our visit in the Islands.

So being good guests we, Tegan 1, Janet and Joe, (a Canadian couple we befriended upon arrival) Equus, Steve and I head off to the said office. The picture above is of our encounter with the head of Forestry.

Note: this years requirements became much more elaborate than last years, maybe some of the officials needed more work? Hee hee. We got most of our paperwork from Neil and Ley, a couple we met months before. Crystalblues@blogspot.com, a very informative website, Neil and Ley have done a great job to aid fellow cruisers, so please check it out. Not to worry about the more elaborate part because by the second week we were free to sail to any of the Forestry park islands that needed a permit and anchor overnight as long as we didn’t go ashore, without paying a fee or needing a permit. This was due to a group who arrived behind us and raised such a stink the officialdom threw up there hands and said fine go anywhere you like except the forbidden parts (listed on a paper you receive )and do not go ashore.

Greeted by several curious eyes as we walked into the room and of course the Indian hospitality at its best we were asked immediately if we would like a cup of tea (a bit of left over influence of the British ways perhaps?) We politely accepted and three women jumped up and went into action, one to fetch the cups, one to make the tea and one to serve us. We were impressed that such activity and it was all done with smiles from ear to ear.

We handed in our paperwork to one official and it was immediately handed off to another we followed are papers to each new location (desk). As we looked around in awe of the large room lined with metal shelving, filled with overflowing boxes and files while the staff sat patiently working in the center of this cluster of papers. Eyes peering over heaps of paperwork as they checked us out, I wondered were they thinking, those funny looking westerners in their weird garb standing before them asking to visit and explore their country, why?

I didn't see a good working tool in sight, just people pushing paper and writing most everything out by hand. It was like stepping back 50 years into a world of peaceful overworked employees. I thought to myself what a great opportunity for me to practice the lost western skill of peaceful patience as everyone seemed to go about doing his or her own job with a diligent steady pace. Interrupted in my thoughts by some nearby ladies dressed in their traditional modern saris, giggling when direct attention was paid to them, yep you don’t have to worry about the glass ceiling here, they are still making tea. No that is an exaggeration; I did notice some women working the ranks. I think for the most part this is a society where most are groomed to be content as a cog in the wheel of life.

We surprisingly left fairly fast, paperwork all turned in and we were told to be back at 4 that afternoon it would be ready to go. Yea ha! So we happily proceeded on our way, with our lists in hand and the hired taxi driver at our service for the day of provisioning, a good Indian meal and a bit of site-seeing, all of this and visions of island adventures dancing in our minds.

“Ya-right, think again” I will not bore you with details however we did not leave Port Blair for 2 more days and no permits. The bureaucracy can be maddening if you let it get the best of you. Giving a victory for the Indian work ethic, as we the western students waited “patiently” for the final clearance to leave Port Blair and start our Andaman Holiday.

Don't let this tale of woe mislead you we had some wonderful adventures, great Indian food, and met some new friends along the way. I celebrated my 50th birthday in a serene anchorage as I had planned after sending out a special invitation emails to all the beautiful kindred sisters in my past and present (I hope I didn’t forget anyone!) Kindred Sisters of the World Unite.

After having a small celebration with Janet and Joe, I retired to the fore deck and had a private ceremony sending loving feminine thoughts out to those I have had the privilege to know along my journey thus far. Steve joined me as the stars filled the moonless night sky and we peacefully fell asleep under the stars in each others arms, thankful for this special night.

final note: If you are planning a trip by boat to the Andaman Islands please note almost all the cruisers we encountered who got their Indian visa from Thailand only received a 14 day visa, Malaysia was 30 days. We got our visa (30 days) from the US before we left fall 2008.