Indian with a backpack

Damn it, I sped too fast! It kind of broke the flow, how did I end up in Paris straight from Amsterdam, but I was too excited and I had to write about Paris before I forget. But well, I am going to delete it and add it again, when the time is right.

Douai is a small town, next to Lille and Paris, with this grand ecole, or school, Mines Douai, which would be my home for the next 4 months. As of this moment, I’ve been here for 9 days, been introduced to a new culture and a new schooling system that doesn’t focus entirely on grades. I really like the idea of it, but let’s see how it fares. Since I’ve got here, there has been a party every night, and an after party after every party every night on one of the residence floors, which makes two things very clear : People here like to party hard, and they love their booze! Douai even has it’s own signature beer, called the Goudale!

Even though I don’t drink, and have never had the energy to stay for the after party, I think these parties are really amazing, because they help you meet new people, to mix in!

Another really amazing thing is the presence of other foreigners. I’ve met people from all over the world now! And, just like me, they are learning French. This epic realisation occurred when I was talking to a Chinese girl, with French being the only common language between us. It gives you a lot of power, to be able to talk to people like that, who don’t know your language even remotely! We were two foreigners talking in a foreign language. That sounds perfect.

Another peculiar thing I learnt is, there are 3 kingdoms in China, and their languages are slightly different. These dialects are so different that they don’t understand each other sometimes! ( when from different regions, ofcourse! )

This makes me realise, that I haven’t talked to the Brazillians much. I don’t know much about them 😮 . I should get on it, soon!

Oh, and I ought to mention, I’m not alone here. There are 4 other kids with me from India, from IIT itself. It’s nice to be able to talk in Hindi once in a while, oh and very helpful when it comes to understanding shiz in French!

The French speak fast. It takes a lot of mental prowess to comprehend what they are trying to say. But in the end, I believe I’d get used to it. I really love the fact that I’ve been learning for only one month, and I love to flaunt it! Why? Because it’s just been one month and I can say that in French! B) haha, this builds a lot of confidence. I can learn any language. Also, it has been a great relaxant. I’ve been coding and studying mathematics since a long time, and the past summer vacation, I turned down all internship opportunities because I just couldn’t do it anymore. I wanted to take a break. Stimulate my brain with something else. I think this has proven to be the best way to do so! Thanks Bade Bhaiya for the advice! 😉 that reminds me, it’s teachers day, I should wish him!

To another 4 eventful months in Douai!

Waking up early, at 8, whilst the others sleep in my room, I packed my bag ( just a sling, I’ve fallen in love with these! So practical and easy enough to carry anywhere! ) and headed out for the long walk to the Rijksmuseum, which opens at 9. I could have rented a bike, but that was just unnecessary for me.

When I reached at about 8:50, I was surprised to see a small line outside, because it’s generally packed and Kor advised me to go through Rijks first. Well, more space for me, I guess! I already had a ticket, so it was much faster. i could just go in without standing in the ticket line! I got a map of the museum and thought about the best way to go through all of it. I soon realised it was too big to go through everything in a day, let alone the 3 hours I had estimated for Rijks.

Pro Tip : there’s an app for the Rijksmuseum that has the same tours as the iPods being rented at the museum for 2 euros each! Save money just by downloading the app! Even if you forget to download it before hand, there’s free wifi in Rijks to do the same.

Moving on, I first decided to see the special collections on the 0th floor, moving up to the 3rd floor. The special collections included Ship models, which really caught my attention, as well as the gun collection from the XXth Century. I can’t remember the number. It suffices to say, it was big enough to take up one entire room! I skipped the clothing and porcelain and delftware. Not interested.

This is just how long I could wait. I skipped floor 1 and went directly to what you have been waiting to hear about. The painting(s). Rembrant. Vermeer. It’s placed in a Hall called the gallery of honour, overlooked by the great hall, called Voorhal with tinted glass paintings, the kind you see in ancient churches and cathedrals. Only, these had painters instead of the saints. Amazing.

I used my phone for the tour of this gallery as I didn’t want to miss anything important. And boy, what I saw left me spellbound! You could tell where the famous paintings were, simply by the number of people standing in front of them! I decided that in order to judge how great a painting really is, I would compare the nuances and the little things that the guide was telling me about the painting with the painting next to it. Not the best way to go about it because some neighbours were starkly different, but it worked most of the time! I got to train my artistic eye and learn a bit about the history. The floors are divided by centuries, and after having explored the floors, After 3 hours, I decided to call it an afternoon.( Get it? 😉

I ventured forward to the Van Gogh, which is close by to meet a line 1 hour long! Ah, damnit! At this point, I started to regret buying the ticket for Van Gogh as it’s just another painting museum. I’d already seen Van Gogh’s self portrait, the most famous one, in Rijks. ( He drew a total of 13 self portraits to practice various techniques) The line soon ended and I was inside. 3 floors, 1000 paintings( I think? ) but more than that, it was a life story that engulfed me completely! This was a totally different experience, the museum is thought out really well! You can see the difference, when he started and how he ended up where he is, and how his last painting is not his best, and how he painted the most in his last year. Who inspired him, where all he went to seek inspiration and ofcourse, his most famous works. Sadly, I was not allowed to take pictures inside. So, I can’t show you. If you get the chance to go, don’t miss it! It’s well worth the 17 euros!

Tired beyond measure, I decided to first grab lunch at an eatery next to the famous I AmSterdam sign, followed by a relaxing walk in Vondelpark, Amsterdam’s version of New York’s Central Park! Less skyscrapers around, more birds and ducks! I even got to see a sweet purple heron. After an hour or so, I decided to make the long walk back home.

since this day would be my last day in Amsterdam, and I had already purchased the RLD tour, I decided to get home, rest for a while and go out for this tour! I reached on time for the tour, thankfully sans rain, at the famous Dam Square. I got lucky with the iPhone:

The places this tour covers, are mostly where you would have already been, if you’ve ever ventured into the Red Light District. However, just by looking around, you can’t find out about what’s going on and how it works. After all, there aren’t any sign boards like in museums explaining whats happening; just pretty and some not so pretty women all around. I found it to be really insightful. Interesting stuff going on here. It’s 100% legal, all have proper work permits and there are systems in place to ensure that they aren’t forced into it. They rent the “windows” for 8-12 hours, for about 100 euros, and earn about 20-50 euros per customer, meaning they need atleast 5 customers to break even, which may not sound like much, but consider the fact that there are 400 such windows in a small area. Tough competition.

Towards the end of my tour, it started raining snakes. This time, pythons and anacondas! Damn it, I had the wind resistant jacket, but even that couldn’t save me. Drenched to the core, cold, I ran back to my hostel, once we parted. I forgot to get dinner, which I realised when I got in. Ah, f**k it. I made do with some dry fruits. Took a bath. Hanged the clothes to dry, and checked the route for – after I take the TGV to Douai, the route to my university.
The hostel was nice enough to pack me a decent early breakfast. So, off to college!

What’s really amazing about Shelter City is, free breakfast and free wifi!

The menu for breakfast looked good, until they asked us to choose one of the three things. I chose ham and cheese sandwich, which was filling but dry. Let’s go with pancakes tomorrow. ( Yes, I didn’t choose pancakes, sigh, I wanted something filling!)

I had booked the free Sandeman Tours for 10 AM, which I must recommend! Our guide Kor, was really amazing! And we went over a lot of places in the city, learning a lot about it.

Kor with us on a short break. We walked a lot!

Explicit content : if you’re bringing kids on the tour, be warned.

Almost all houses here have gabels ( fancy top characteristic of houses in Amsterdam) with a hook on top. This is really interesting. Taxes were paid as per the width of the houses, hence they were kept slim, leading to smaller doors and staircases, which meant furniture wouldn’t pass through it. This hook is the pulley system to take everything up! Furthermore, the houses lean forward, to make this easier and to prevent the furniture crashing into the windows. Brilliant! I couldn’t capture a decent enough picture to justify putting it here! Ah, c’est dommage!

After the tour, I bid goodbye to the new friends I made on the tour ( apparently there were a lot of students! Free stuff is attractive to us, I guess! ) and headed back to my hostel. I had bought the tickets for the Red Light District tour, simply because I was a little apprehensive venturing into this enchanting modern brothel. <= weirdest expression I’ve ever used! But this tour starts only at 7. And it was about 2 when I finished the walking tour.

Feeling famished, I decided to follow Kors’ recommendation! Try the raw herring at “harings!” Not sure if that’s dutch for herring. It’s a staple here in Amsterdam, available on every corner! Click here to see it. This was the first time I had raw fillet fish. With onion and pickels as condiments, the fish tasted amazing! Sadly, not enough for a lunch, which I realised 10 minutes later, sitting in my hostel. Go out again for food? Oh god, please no!

I texted back home for a bit, talking to my friend, who pushed me out of bed! Haha, she’s awesome 😉 i had the dutch speciality right on the corner of my street : waffles with maple syrup, sitting on a bench by the canal, with ducks, beautiful ducks : mallards and coots roaming about. ( I recognised them because I’m a bit into birdwatching. The Mallard is really beautiful, Check here )

I headed back to my hostel, sat in the cafe for a while, talked with the people over there, and then decided to take the canal cruise at about 5, so I finish by 6, and then head over for the RLD tour.I ended up missing the 5 PM cruise, so I had to take the 5:30 one! Kinda better, I guess. Less waiting in between.

Pro Tip: buy the cruise tickets beforehand and not from the place where the cruise leaves from. ( there are 3 cruise start points right in front of Centraal) generally, hostels / hotels have deals which are cheaper!

I bought the tickets for the Rijksmuseum and Van Gogh and RLD in a combo. 4 Euros saved 😛 Cheaper than the I Amsterdam Card as well.

One aspect of Amsterdam I haven’t touched upon yet, is the weather. It rains almost everyday and the locals told me, ” it’s the same f***ing thing throughout the year” I experienced this after the cruise, it started raining heavily and I was stuck, deciding whether to go for the tour or back to the hostel! I decided to go to the start point of the tour, asked them if they are running, and then went back to the hostel to get the umbrella ( all close by. I was on Nieumarkt and the tour starts at National Monument, Dam square)

But, when I got to my hostel, I decided to just stay in. Who wants to go out in this weather? Best. Decision. Ever.

I had dinner in the hostel cafe and played the piano placed here. Ah, I’ve forgotten most of what I knew. Damn it! Should have listened when mom told me to practice a bit. I met this girl from Istanbul ( I really want to visit this place, it’s so beautiful! ) who would start studying here. ( Hey there 😉 ). After an hour or so, I met the first Italian ever. All the myths about them being the most flirtatious kinds ever, TRUE! To the last bit! Hahaha, this was such an eye opener! I admired his free going attitude.

Let’s just stop it at that.

And, it begins! I leave in < 24 hours for Amsterdam! To spend a total of 4 months 12 days in Europe, on an Exchange Programme in Douai, which is about an hour away from Paris!

It took long to write the last post, simply because I couldn’t find the right time to do so! Apparently, last day while packing hits the spot.

So, without further ado, I’m off! Hopefully I can document experiences as they happen. Considering the amount of time it takes to write down, I’m not sure if I’d be updating regularly. Rest assured, I should have everything down by the time I get back!

Au revoir!

This is a follow up post to Heaven on Havelock!

On Port Blair, we were booked in the Sinclair Bay View Hotel, which is one of the better hotels on the coast. Not the beach, just the coast! The Makruzz( Ferry from Havelock) reaches at about 5:30 PM. Needless to say, we headed straight to the hotel, with an auto-wale bhaiya having convinced us to not take a taxi ( That’s 50% off.). How he managed to fit us and our 3 suit cases in that single auto is still a mystery to me.

What you need to know about Port Blair is, there is not much you can do over there. Also, the Wi-Fi doesn’t work, even at hotels that offer free wifi services. However, it didn’t matter much to me as I had decided before hand not to use any form of data connection at all. The only time I used my phone in the 7 day long trip was one fine evening when I got a call from my friend asking me to help her with her US Visa Application. I was quick to mention that I was not in town, and the call lasted much shorter than she or I would like. 😉

What’s really amazing about Sinclair Bay View is that, there’s a pool table and a Pool!( Not sure if you were expecting to hear that after the amazing stuff in Havelock 😛 ) Dev and I spent all our evenings honing our billiards skill and bonding over Snakes-and-Ladders. If you can call fighting, bonding. We also met quite a few visitors, discussing our travels : This is where and how I found out what a majority of tourists do, the staying in Port Blair first part. Also, I was not looking forward to going to the cliched “Sound and Laser” show at Cellular Jail, it seemed so overrated. These talks confirmed my view and we decided to skip it altogether!

So, the next day, we ventured to Ross Island, the highlight of Port Blair according to me! The island had been a strategic military base for the British as well as the Japanese when they invaded, and still has quite a few bunkers intact, as well as the buildings built during that time. An interesting water boiler, among other things. There are a billion trails ( 7, to be precise) on the island, 2 of which had been wiped off by the Tsunami. That is a touchy subject for people here, and I would not want to get into it.

The place is a very small island, probably just 2km across, with deers and peacocks that haven’t seen much of mankind, resulting in a somewhat curious attitude from their side. You could easily come close to either, but try putting your hand forward, and you’ve quenched their curiosity, they make a run for it! Sadly ( Not really), I was too intrigued to think about taking photos! Photos have never been my first priority, but I think I should make it my third atleast, for now.

Here’s a not very good map of Ross Island! My brother and I, both unanimously decided when we saw it, we are going to the Light House. Epic stuff.

The Light House, apparently, was out of bounds. The bridge that leads to it, submerges during high tide. Now isn’t that scary!? We decided to go, it wasn’t high tide time anyways, but incase we felt the water rising, we were supposed to make a run for it. On the bridge, there were quite a few dead crabs, reaffirming the thought that yes, water does get this high during high tide! The view was worth it.

Looking back to Ross Island,

I hope we have made clear who is the better photographer 😉

We covered the whole island, and in that humid climate, that was enough for the both of us. Our mother( I didn’t forget about you, mom! ) decided to rest halfway, treating herself to some coconut water in the shade! She was ready to go back by the time we got back to her, and so were we!

Next up, taking the small ferry back to Port Blair from Ross Island, famished, we went to this local famous restaurant next to the ferry. Sadly, I don’t remember the name! But it’s right there, next to the ferry which takes you to Ross Island, ask any of the locals/ Police officers!

It was at this precise moment, that it started raining very heavily, and I realised how lucky we had been. This is why it’s called off-season, because people don’t get to do all that they want to because of the rains! Visibility underwater goes down to a bare minimum, and it does become uncomfortable to snorkel as well! There’s rain water going down your breathing pipe! (I imagine). Lucky, very lucky! 😀

Feeling adventurous, I decided to have a Crab for the first time! Checking before hand with mom and Dev, if they had any problem with me eating Crab. The waiter, took me to a small aquarium filled with live crabs just out of the sea. I was mortified! I asked him to choose the one he would have for himself.

Pro Tip : When unsure of what to have, ask the waiter what he would have, they hesitate at first, but insist, and you would probably get the best of the lot!

P.s : If it isn’t good, don’t blame the waiter 😛 , Afterall, his tastes might be different from yours.

The Crab was the best piece of meat I’ve ever had! Not that I have had many, but well. The only problem was that, it takes a lot of effort to break open the crab, and the amount of meat inside is as little as the amount the cat would get once he does manage to catch Tweety. ( Remember the yellow bird?) . That guy puts in a lot of effort, like me, but well atleast I got the meat!

Haha, bad comparison, much? (<= Not a gramatical error. <= Spelling Error. )

I did ask my friend, Karina to teach me how to eat a crab! I’m still waiting on that. Maybe next year? By the way, check out her blog too! She’s an amazing chef! Kay’s Kitchen <= Go here ( Opens in new tab)

Well, that’s all folks! The next day, we took the safari to catch a glimpse of the Jarwa tribes, the locals of Andamans. Simply put, I didn’t like it, and I would not suggest going for it! If you want detailed explanations, let me know!

That’s it for Andamans! Over and Out!

-Neil

This is the follow up post to Arrival at Andamans, check that out too if you’re interested!

After that hell of a ride with the Phoenix, we finally ended up on Havelock. It greeted us with the most refreshing Coconut water I have ever had! Coconuts are plenty, so are the vendors! I found them to be very reasonable too, 30 rupees for some of the biggest coconuts ever. Since we weren’t backpacking, we had a decent amount of luggage, which left us with no option but to take an auto to our resort, the Barefoot Scuba Resort.

The people at the resort were really helpful, and I’d recommend staying there, any day! They have facilities for solo-travellers as well as families. Nice little cottages overlooking the sea, with a slightly rocky beach! We dumped our luggage in the house, and went out to talk to the Resort owners about the one thing I really wanted to do here: Scuba Diving! We got our dive scheduled for 7 AM the next morning, all three of us! Just a little background information: I don’t know how to swim! I had been scared of water  drowning for quite some time.

People find me peculiar in the sense that, I love vegetarian more than Non-vegetarian! So, when I’m home, around Delhi, I never really eat any non-veg. However, once I go out (of Delhi?), I never hesitate to try out new delicacies! Thankfully, mom and Dev don’t have a problem with this.

This was one such day, where the restaurant in the resort got me such amazing fish curry and rice! This was better than the Goan Curry in Goa! I had to inquire about the fish, which turned out to be :

No, it was not the Red Snapper! Red-snapper tastes much better, dry! It was the Trevally. It is actually pretty common, sort of a staple over there!

Fast-forward, next morning, excited and nervous at the same time. I’m going Scuba Diving today. I slept early, and rose early, with the sunrise, which happens at 4:30 am. Calls for one hell of a view though!

That day, was one of the best days of my life. We had a quick breakfast and tried on our wetsuits, which are supposed to help one float as well as keep the body warm. This was followed by the briefing by the dive instructors, and a NOC. You die, it’s on you. It had a clause about blood pressure, and my mother was apprehensive about it. So, in the end, it was just Dev and I, and another cute girl who had also just arrived there, Nikita. I don’t want to go into the details of the briefing, let’s just say if you’ve seen Zindagi na Milegi Dobaara, the hand signals shown in the movie were accurate!

This is where things got really interesting. It actually just takes you about half an hour to an hour to get used to breathing underwater using your regulator,which is a cool way of saying oxygen mask attached to the oxygen tank on your back, supported by the BCD jacket, or the Buoyancy Control Device jacket, which is again a cool way of saying the lifejacket with a variable amount of air inside.( I’m doing engineering 😛 )

We started on the beach, in shallow water, and the first few minutes were scary as ****! I started to panic as soon as I got my head underwater, I think that was my natural instinct. But, the instructors were pretty cool about it, asking us to relax and giving us high fives under water, which made me smile, which created an opening in between my regulator and my mouth, which meant salt water started coming into my mouth, and I shot up faster than a bullet, removed the mask, coughed the water out and started breathing normally. In retrospect, that was pretty funny! The thing with Scuba masks is that, you have googles covering your eyes as well as your nose, meaning you cannot breathe with your nose anymore, and it’s all through the mouth. The regulator has sort of a bite incision, where you “bite” to hold the regulator in place. First hurdle, check!

Left to Right : Ashok(my instructor), Dev, me, Nadia(Dev’s instructor. You lucky ass! ) and Nikita.

After a few more basic survival skills, and with no warning, Ashok just inflated my BCD, and asked me relax and put my legs up, like the ocean was a bed for me to lay on. I did, facing up,and 30 seconds later I got my legs down, and was mortified to find that I could not feel the ground beneath me! He asked me to put the regulator on, and I turned my body to be greeted by this exquisite alien place. The underworld.

This was too much too much to take in, and you have no idea how quickly the next hour passed!

It suffices to say, I conquered my fear of drowning, acquired an experience of a life time, and loved it so much that I decided to go for a second dive- a pro dive on a small island called Button Island, an hours ride by boat from Havelock.

Look at that clear water!!

Enough about scuba diving, that’s not all Havelock is famous for! The second part is Radhanagar Beach, attributed the best beach in Asia by TripAdvisor, and I will completely agree! Not that I have been on every beach in Asia, but because I can’t imagine a beach more perfect than this!

Barefoot Scuba Resort has a partner, Barefoot Resort, the more expensive counterpart on a private section of Radhanagar Beach, and we requested a pass from them to let us enter the Barefoot Resort, for lunch and ofcourse, a visit to the beach!

Just look for yourself.

Next and the last morning in Havelock:

Damn, these photos turned out real good!

Next stop, Port Blair! This time, via Makruzz! Costs twice as much, but I felt it was worth it. I had a content and cool siesta en route to Port Blair. See you there!

Hmm, I probably should have atleast asked Nikita for her email ID. 😀

-Neil

Even though this blog came to life after this incredible journey, I might as well add it to harness the momentum from initiative!

It was one fine Monday, the 1st of June,on which my mother and I were discussing how we needed a break! It had been a tiring year and we just wanted to find some breathing space. 2 days later, and quite a few hours of debating on where to go, we zeroed in on where and when we could go: where my brother, my mother and I had the least conflict of interest: Andamans, only if we were to leave the next week. I had been tracking the flight prices for Andamans for a little while, and yes, buying tickets on such a short notice gets almost twice as expensive!

Pro(Amateur? ) Tip: To follow the ticket prices, set up an alert system on KAYAK or Fare Compare , both of which allow you to receive alerts without signing up. I did signup on KAYAK though, I found it extremely helpful and accurate.

So, there are mainly two hotspots so to say, with the greatest experience quotient. Port Blair and Havelock Island. Contrary to how most visitors like to do it, after landing in Port Blair, we decided to not stay there and carry on with a ferry to Havelock Island.

Word of Caution: There are two ferries running from Port Blair to Havelock, a government ferry,called Phoenix Bay Jetty, which leaves at 6 AM,11 AM and 2 PM, and a private “cruise” called Makruzz, leaving at 8:15 AM. Book flights/hotels accordingly!

We went by the Phoenix Bay Jetty, costing us about 400 pax. However, that was one of the worst ferry rides I’ve ever been on! We had no clue they were that bad! The seating is on a lower deck, so you can’t see anything except through a window (Hello, Nausea?) and the ACs are disfunctional with the outside temperature being 30-40 degrees Celsius. Thankfully, we were allowed to get on deck, in the scorching sun, which was still better than the inside.

Yes.

 Although, it did pave the way for some pretty decent pictures. This was the first time I could actually see rainfall, from a distance! Do you see it in this picture?

Is this post getting too long? Damn it, we haven’t even reached Havelock Islands yet! I will post this as it is, and continue in a new post!

-Neil

Hey there!

I am Neil Kakkar, aged 19, living in India for now, pursuing my Bachelors! I love travelling, and have been to quite a few places across the globe! The problem is, I don’t remember *everything* that happened on my journeys, So

I want to make a digital memoir of all my travels, so that the memories can be set in stone,or should I say 0 and 1’s.

I figured, while I am doing this, I might as well help others planning trips as well! So, I have decided to put in reviews about places I visited too.

Catch you around!

-Neil