Holiday Inn Port Blair

... porcine, que bon nombre d'Indien voyage aussi au travers le monde, mais non! ils ne les controle pas! Normal c'est un truc specialement vehicule par les blancs... lol nous passons tous les controles avec succes. Nous trouvons un joli bungalow en bord de plage sous des cocotiers... ce fut peut etre la seule erreur que nous ayons commise. C'etait des cocotiers meurtriers... il tombait des noix de coco tout le temps, jour et nuit et surtout sans prevenir... on a failli se faire ...

... of one of the two notebooks Mandela used for drafting the letters he wrote while in Robben Island prison was found the same picture. A prison guard on Robben Island who used to censor the letters of the prisoners took away the books and kept them with him for about 23 years before returning them. He could have sold them and made a fortune but his conscience ...

... The scene is truly spectacular - one you can't resist taking away, manually and digitally. It is dark by the time we approach Port Blair, but not late enough for John to squeeze in a final stopover - at Jogger's Park. Overlooking the town, the park is at a relatively high point to take in the sights around on late evenings that you don't want to spend inside your hotel room. It has been a long day but we have seen a lot, without having to rush ...

... built near the sea, transportation of load between the wharf and the mill must have been the reason for the choice of location. We are a little tentative as we enter the mill and walk into the midst of the workers and their action. The noise levels inside, coupled with the sight of the menacing saw blades are enough to make you squeamish. It is more like watching a trailer of the Texan chainsaw massacre. Seasoned mill workers are going about their jobs ...

... themselves have been named rather effortlessly. At Havelock, they talk about Beach no.7 or Beach no.5 or Beach no.3 as if they were upgraded versions of some computer software. But, just to get the numbers correct, it's Beach no.7 that rules! Even a full day spent there leaves you wishing for more - as we are about to realise. Tomorrow, we plan to head for Elephant Beach, which is where the snorkelling and the scuba diving action is. We are a little ...

... hushed, urgent tone. 'Jarawas! On your left! Keep all windows closed!' All those awake rise up as one and peerout excitedly. Sure enough, there is a middle-aged tribal, with just a loin cloth on, peacefully watching the bus go by. We resist the urge to photograph him, more as a mark of respect than anything else. Ten minutes later, there is another Jarawa by the roadside, again, content and minding his own business. If anything, it is the 'tribals ...

... the booking office. But by the time we leave - at noon - we have had enough of the place and scamper off grumbling. But all it takes is one look at the ocean as we zip along the pretty, coastal road to Corbyn Cove for us to forget the nightmare we lived a little while ago. As it is, Port Blair is a lovely, laidback town with some well-laid, undulating roads weaving between tree-lined and cottage-dotted vistas on either side. But the real charm here is ...

... the Head of the School, gave me the chance to do just that. It was awesome down there. No tourists this time of year, and some great climbing. there are a lot of pre roped climbs all around the area, maintained by the italian alpine club, and you simply have to harness on, and off you go. There was some mad scenery and of course the beautiful roman architecture everyone loves. The drive back to germany was long, but super scenic, through ...

... So after some negotiations we set off to look at a some of the options, the first couple were fairly nasty even though the lonely planet have given them ok reviews ! We settled on one the taxi driver suggested. (sometimes its worth listening to the locals, not always ! ) Our first evening here was ...

... string of roughly three hundred volcanic pinnacles in the Bay of Bengal. Despite being under Indian administration the islands are closer to Burma and the aboriginal inhabitants are not Indian in appearance. The whole subject of administration and ethnicity is fraught with controversy. Amnesty International has strongly criticised the Indian Government for their treatment of the tribal people and there has been an extensive resettlement programme on the island which has ...