Month: December 2013

Beautiful, Pushkar on its holy lake, with its small Brahma temple. While buying a drink in a small grocers, I was nudged and nudged again. Not the kids this time, but a brahmin cow who walked up the steps and into the shop demanding her daily chapatti bread.

Riding camels at sunset in Pushkar.

At the Amber Fort in Jaipur we rode an elephant up through the gates. Great views and fun.

The last of the pics from Jaipur and Delhi. (Looking at all these pics on the blog is saving you from a long and tedious slide show once we return 🙂

This palace and mosque is only 40 kms from Agra and was built in the 1500’s by the Mughal Emperor Akbar, the grandfather of the Taj Mahal visionary. Akbar moved his capital here after he visited a Sufi hermit in this place who predicted he would have an heir (something he’d been trying for for a while). Unfortunately the place had no water and within 14 years the man made lake dried up and the court moved on. It is exquisitely carved and includes a distinct palace for each of his three wives (Christian, Islamic and Hindu).

On the first day in the Andaman islands the whole family hopped in two auto rickshaws (also known as a tuk tuk) and took a ride down to the ferry to catch the ferry that took us to our island. but as soon as the auto rickshaw stopped mum was getting hassled about bags so I jumped out and went to help her then dad stepped out of the rickshaw paid the dude and he was off, after I helped mum I realised something… I left my carry on backpack with my camera, phone and wallet in the auto rickshaw that had just left.

So me and dad jumped on the back of another auto rickshaw and told the guy to follow the dude that had my bag in the back. Turning around corners at full speed (which in an auto rickshaw was like 20 miles per hour but still) and chasing this guy with my bag. Eventually we lost him and searched the whole of Port Blair, top to bottom. Then the rickshaw driver said he knew the guy with my bag and would let him know that he has it. We told him that we are coming back to Port Blair on our last day and that the dude could give it to the hotel that we would be staying at. Dad got the guy’s mobile number.

Anyway the 5 days in havelock island (our island) was great fun but when we got back to port blair and checked in to the hotel they said that no one had come in with a bag of any sort. And that got me worried so I waited an hour in my room to see if the guy dropping off my bag was late, but no luck. I looked out the window and saw a private detective billboard and me and mum thought “well…” We decided to make a plan. First we would go around to all the rickshaw stands and use me being the only blond kid on the whole island to our advantage, trying to tell all the drivers about my missing bag, if that didn’t work we would go to the police station and if that didn’t work then we would go to the private detective.

We tried calling the driver’s number but it was missing one number. So we found out where all the rickshaws hang out and went around looking at the back of all the rickshaws looking for a match. Eventually we talked to a driver that cared and was asking helpful questions and was trying to match the mobile number. When suddenly the guy who drove me around to look for his friend with my bag taps me on the shoulder and said “come come Mr Thorpe”. So we jumped in the back of his rickshaw as the driver and he took us round to his friend’s house were he was keeping my bag safe. Huge relief and gratitude.

I checked and luckily nothing was stolen, everything was exactly as I’d left it. but I did find something else that was slightly strange. you know when your friend steals your phone/ipod and takes tones of useless weird photos that take forever to delete, well it was kinda like that but he took photos of his home, his back garden and his finger. He was like a baby with a new toy playing with the camera on my phone.

.red octopus
.Dugong
.many varieties of hermit crabs
.sand crabs
.Mosquitous
.banded coral sea Krait
.Micro bats (Andaman bat)
.Gecko
.Emerald Gecko Also the name of the place we stayed.
.Dogs
.Cats
.Giant Clam
.clams
.angel fish
.flying fish
.trigger fish
.lion fish
.bump head parrot fish
.thousands of little fish that I dont know the name of
.Nemo (clown fish)
.pigs
.parrot fish
.lobster
. many varieties of sea cucumbers
.huge sea urchin
.Dory (from finding Nemo)
.cow
.corals (soft and hard)
.kingfisher
.cow
.sea slug
.cone shell
.sea snail
.bull ants
.wasps
.millipedes
.ducks
.frogs
.sand flies
.jelly fish
.algae
.sea lice (ouch)
.crabs
.chickens
.people
.sea sponge
.eagle
.pipe fish

At the Ferry Terminal

Lucinda: It was such a hot day. Dont blame me if I don’t have a big smile!

Ethan is thinking about his lost bag, which had his ipod, camera and wallet in it… But thats a whole other story.

We took a ferry to Havelock Island:

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Emerald Gecko

This is right out the front of Emerald Gecko, where we stayed. We stared at this for a long time, and the kids spent many hours playing on it. We stayed here, on Havelock Island. Wonderful place, and full marks to the remarkable Sunny, who runs it like you are guests at his own house. I recommend it if you want something very unique and laid back, and you dont care about gold-taps-style ‘luxury’. If you think having a real tropical beach out the front, and a cold Kingfisher gathering dew on the table is luxury, thats this place.

Lucinda: These beaches have lots of hermit crabs on them. Audrey and I spent a long time playing with the hermit crabs.

Note boy up tree.

Fi: Hard to believe, but I actually haven’t brought any beach flotsam and jetsam back with me – all the shells had hermit crabs in them anyway. There had been a cyclone the week before we arrived. You could see the impacts everywhere, including the amount of stuff washed up on the beach.

It says “Rock Church Ministry”. I dont know why. One thing that happened after the Tsunami though was that charities from around the world provided new fishing boats to affected fisherfolk in Sri Lanka, so maybe the same thing happened here.

Lucinda: this is where we saw a red octopus zooming around one of these ponds. He changed colour, and he tricked your eyes. You thought he was under a rock, but he was right there. Audrey almost didnt see him, because she was busy talking to hermit crabs: “No bluey, back into the coconut!”

Ethan: woke up one morning and found a new rope swing, ready and waiting for e to jump on to, and swing into the warm water. It was made from a bit of rope tied to a real vine which was hanging from the tree.

Ethan: A long, refreshing drink after a sand ball fight with the girls. The girls wanted to put hermit crabs into my shorts. I had to defend my honour.

Around The Andamans

Lots of the local fishing boats (Dungi – ever wonder where the word “dinghy” comes from? Or maybe its the reverse) look like this. Some of the boats are now being run as dive businesses, rather than fishing enterprises. Because its location, the Andamans are a strategic waypoint for migrants and asylum seekers coming across the seas. Some of these boats are acquired by local fishermen after they are confiscated by local immigration officials.

Nick: Basically, palm trees everywhere. Up the middle of the island, a mountain range, which sometimes marches right into the sea. The whole island chain is just the tops of a submerged mountain range which begins in Burma.

Fat Martins, where you go for the Nutella Dosa and a super dessert I have only seen on these Islands called “Hello to the Queen”!

Scuba Diving

Ethan, Lucinda and Nick went scuba diving – an experience provided by the the excellent gang at Andaman Bubbles (hey Subash, Hey Karan. You rock).

Ethan: Scuba diving was sick. Dad got really scared and came up a million times but I didnt come up once and I saw the most fish.

We found Nemo. Problem solved. What was all the fuss about?

Lucinda equalising.

Bump-Head Parrot Fish. It was the size of Audrey.

Snorkelling on Henry Lawrence Island

We took a boat ride to another island and all jumped into the water to snorkel. Even Audrey, whose exultations could be heard blasting out of her snorkel. “Fish! Little Fish! Big Fish!”

Ethan: I jump off the yacht into the warm, still, deep water.

Fi: The skipper called out “whale” and pointed to shore. It seemed unlikely in the shallows, but then we saw the tails and realised we were looking at the shy national animal of the Andamans; dugongs.

Fi: The coral was mostly bleached white, however the fish were colourful and in abundance. Te bleaching is from el nino raising water temperatures, and also the tsunami and recent cyclones. Clouds of small silver fish would leap into the air, more like gazelles than fish.

Ever since I first snuck out in the evening to eat pani puri on the streets of Bangalore I’ve been a lover of Indian street food. The hand painted carts, the flavours, warm nights, the efficiency employed to prepare food in such a small space – this all appeals – but above all it’s the dedication to preparing one dish, over and over again, to perfection. Little has changed since Bangalore 25 years ago; I’m still mad about Indian street food – and it still satisfies – only now the vendors have mobile phone numbers and I can phone ahead my order – or ask for a delivery! Watch out for update number 2 (and 3, and 4) I’m just getting started on this topic! – Fi

This old yellow Ambassador advertises the local rug shop. It makes me happy when I see it.