Dec 29

Today after a light breakfast, we jumped in a vehicle and drove 28 km to the Gandi marine and wildlife park.We saw several what we think are typical towns or villages lots of cows blocking traffic and some beautiful rain forests.after arriving at the dock our trusty driver go us quickly on our boat which travelled for about an hour through a large estuary and then onto the ocean .we arrived at Jollybuoy Is. and it was awesome saw tons of fish and coral as we approached the island. Although our tour guide in Point Blair assured us there would be snorkels and masks there for us , we were duped again. Getting a mask and snorkel could happen if you then put a lifesaving ring around your waist and let them pull you through a short section of sand and coral ares,it was like a pony ride , John was upset we will mention to Perfect travel in Delhi never to use Sugur travel in Point Blair, anyone travelling to point Blair should avoid their sleazy practises. After calming down we walked and enjoyed the cleanest beaches we have seen in India. Overall it was a great day but could have been a 10 if we could have used snorkeling stuff independently, as we were promised. Our drive back was uneventful but it is a reminder that tomorrow we go to the real India not resort India.

Dec 28

O K I was right, there was no computers or cell phones on the beautiful island of Havelock. so on Xmas day we were up at 5:00 am to jump a boat to the remote island of Havelock , it was sort of crowded getting on the boat and you can see the class system at work many ( entitled or upper class) just walked past the queue and onto the boat, no one seemed to mind except me Mr fair and responsible. There were several cabins. Some with air conditioning some without. Ours was with air con and everybody was trying to push their way in .I started asking some guy for his ticket and my loving wife was yelling at me"who do you think you are to tell someone from his own country what to do".after 2.5 hours we arrived in a very primitive port,( I hope I can get some pictures attached in Delhi it too long 25 minutes to try to load one pic, and I gave up) Our taxi driver picked us up and drove us on the narrowest paved road I have ever been on, and it was often treated as a 3 lane highway.Our resort was called Sandy Beach it was an oasis in the jungle .We had a quick breakfast then vegged out on the beach, reading and sleeping we are still jet lagged, later in the afternoon we went to Rathanhangar beach the best in the Indian ocean and it was great ,big, wide, but a little dirty for my liking, the sunset there was spectacular. We then went back to our place had a beverage(Kingfisher beer is 650 ml and 125 rupees in the best of restaurants approx $2.50)and had lobster for Xmas.
Dec 26 The next day we we went in a small boat to elephant beach it was really crowded were the boats landed but we walked a little way down from the crowds and set up for the day the coral and snorkeling was great especially as you got out farther off shore by the drop off there were lots of fish. We then headed back at 4:00 ish and cleaned up, making sure the beer was still cold. We had dinner that night and we were feeling a little adventurous, because up to that point we had been eating pretty safe western or Asian food.We had flat breads, beans, lentils and a yogurt cucumber, onion, tomatoes mix. It was a great meal and cost only 12.00.
Dec 27 we awoke at 2:00am , 4:00 and every 5 minutes after that doing an anniversary cleanse,(Dec27 is our anniversary, this year 26 ). We basically holed up for the day rotating between the bed and bathroom. I foolishly went snorkeling at a great place The Lighthouse that had spectacular coral, but I might have thrown up several times before I got on the boat. As we left and were waiting for our ferry, we noticed a private ferry, which cost 12.00 vs 1.00,we were on the fast air-conditioned private ferry in 2 secs.We returned to the very comfortable Fortune Bay resort, were we had a gourmet dinner of water bread and a bit of jam.
Dec 28 we must have each slept 10+ hours last night, we felt great so we had a bit more bread and jam , water and sprite. We were picked up at 9:00am and were scheduled to go to North bay and Ross is. It was a zoo people pushing, yelling, crowds were intense but after 1/2 an hour we got on the proper boat and headed to a very crowded beach, snorkeling was poor compared to the last 2 days. We went to Ross Is which was an old British outpost and during the ww2 a Japanese bunker system and I think POW headquarters, were set up there. It was great saw some deer and wild peacocks. Tomorrow we head of to Jolly Buoy an Is with good snorkeling, Jan thinks that my continued snorkeling, in less than clean ocean water may be contributing to my slower recovery. we hope all is well, the weather as usual is just over 30 morning noon and night. So deb I hope the skiing is good say hi to Johnny Ben Katie Jack Russ and Nadine, I really want to get some pictures up hopefully in Delhi, also power outages are common here, 4-10 per night Hi Caits Zubeen and Jojo it was great to talk with you this morning.

Dec 24 afternoon

Well, after flying for almost 24 hours and several delays, we have just spent 24 hours in Point Blair, India.Point Blair is on the Andaman islandswhich are on the bay of Bengal, east of India,very close to Thailand.The weather is very tropicalmeaning over 30 today with nice light breeze coming from the NW. Our hotel is the Fortune Bay resort and it is very comfortable,meals are greatand tomorrow we head up to the nicest island, beaches and snorkeling in the word(time magazine says so).we will stay at havelock island for 2+ days before returning here. Our brief time in town and in Chennai would tell us that things are pretty disorganized when it comes to roadways and driving,Chennai has 4 mikllion people and the biggest road is 4 lanes,this includes bikes, motorbikes, cars ,cows, dogs and people.

After travelling for over 30 hours we had very little sleep in our very nice hotel in Chennai. Dec23 was very tough on uswe tried to stay awake all day butI failed by 6:30 at night whenIwas watching a presentation about point blairs famous prisonI fell asleep,but i managed to stay awake till 9:00 pm before I crashed, Jan had a tougher time sleeping because she got more sleep on planes and in Chennaiwe both had naps today and think we will be able to give 110% when we go to Havelock is tomorrow I think the sun and snorkelling will be just what the Dr ordered.Already wish we had a waterproof camera , I guess the reefs etc are incredible.I probablywon'tpost for 2 days till we getback to here on the 27th. Jan and I miss our kids at Christmas, there is very little notice or mention of it here, all the shops are open from 10am to 8pm, like normal

Day 1

We arrived in Toronto yesterday and we are staying with Jolise, our future book publisher. Today we visited with my mother Joan and had a great brunch at Dessert Trends, I spent the rest of the time with my mother before the adventure starts tomorrow...

Me and my mother Joan.

Me and my wife Jan.

Jan and Zubeen.

What to pack?

Hi. My name is John and I am a principal at a K-12 Arts school in Edmonton, Alberta. My wife, Jan, and I will be leaving for an adventure in India this weekend. Our daughter is meeting us there. We have traveled quite a bit over the years to Africa, New Zealand, Australia, Europe and more. Now if I could just get my bag packed.....