Manali -1

Daler Singh was a bit annoying. None of us were comfortable. On the previous days, we were enjoying his company. He took us to the Hadimba temple, Jogini waterfalls, snow point and so many other places of interest. We enjoyed every bit if it. Daler took personal interest to arrange the much liked paragliding by my kid. He took us to good restaurants to have lunch. He insisted us to wake up early in the morning us get ready for the go around. He emphasised if you want to sleep longer in the morning, then why came to this place spending so much of money? Pertinent question indeed. With great difficult, almost cursing Daler, everyone dared the morning chillness, got bath and was out of the hotel rooms to go with him.
 

Like in the previous days, he was present at the hotel lobby sharp at seven. It was too cold outside. In a hill station, naturally the mornings are cold. I do not like to wake up early in the morning while going on a pleasure trip. Still, some times it is like that. Today the destination was Visisht hot water spring and then back to the bus stand to return to Delhi. We traveled from Delhi to Manali by bus. There are a number of buses running between these two places. These private luxury buses are more or less highly unprofessional and customer unfriendly. The best example was the stopover at the restaurant for dinner on our way. The toilet was so dirty that, the appetite was killed. These bus operators do not care how their customers put up with such discomforts. Especially for the ladies, using the public toilets are a nightmare. The bill at the end of the mediocre dinner was something like 700 rupees. Exorbitant but the passengers had no other option.
 

Daler was the owner of that car. It was a new Eeco car he purchased very recently to take around the tourists. The hotel receptionist arranged the vehicle. We did not arrange any vehicle in advance. There was no necessity to do that because, in every tourist centre, there are so many local tour operators. It is very easy to find one of our choice. Eeco ran like a air plane at times. He was a bit rash at the wheel. On the way, Daler suddenly mooted the idea of going for a river rafting. We were not interested. None of us wanted to take that risk. The Beas River, looking from a distance itself gives a frightening view. Water flows so violently through a rocky course. We resisted with all the force in our command, but he was unrelenting. He said the fee for a person was just 700 rupees. At last he told us if we do not spend that money, he would spend it from his pocket. He was unwilling to go further without going for the rafting. It virtually angered everyone. But finally, he prevailed upon us
 

Hesitatingly, all of us got down from the Eeco. He then took us to the guys who operate the raft. There are so many all along the road that runs by the banks of the Beas River. Daler bargained and got it at a lesser price that was Rs 700 per head. We got the safety gears and readied ourselves for the adventure. The rowers of the raft guided us to sit appropriately and advised us to hold the rope tightly. The raft got into the water...The first turbulence followed immediately, drenching all of us. The water was ice cold. It almost stopped my breath for a few seconds. All others like me gasped for breath for a while. From then, the adventure started. The raft travelled through the turbulence, immersing us in water several times. Every time when we emerged from water, I threw a very anxious look to my son who was sitting behind me. With a great relief, I saw him enjoying the action. We all enjoyed every moment of it. The raft moved a little distance steadily and then fell into a turbulence and then again moved on calmly. That was really thrilling. That thrill gave way to the initial fear and we all enjoyed the journey till the end. In fact, all of us felt sad when we reached the other point.

 

 

Perhaps this river rafting was the high light of our Manali visit. We felt sorry for thinking bad about Daler. If we missed this journey, that would have remained like a lost chance to embark on an exciting adventure of  a life time...just like that missed opportunity to travel on board a ship to Havelock from Port Blair.....

 

Appooppanthaadi -59

A living quarter at a construction site

The cold breeze has been seeping through the gap in the door of my cell. I have adjusted the thick blacket once again to cover the legs and then pulled it over my head.  "The time is 0535. It is time to wake up", the cute 'not so smart' phone dutifully informed me twice by now. It is snoozing and ten minutes later, it is going to repeat what it told already - "the time is 0545....". No more excuses,.I have to wake up right now, though I loved to have another nap.

How pleasant that short naps are in a cold morning! It is the toughest act of the day I am going to do. No other alternative. By 7, I have to show up at the office after finishing the breakfast. By the time I walk from my cell to office, Sun is yet to make its appearance. The Eastern part of  horizon has already got itself decked up to welcome the "star" of our world. The sky never tires of decorating itself for the grand entry of the star. The magic spell is an abundant display of splendour and and a riot of colours. Enjoying it, I reached my office within five minutes. A day begins thus.

Today a Jordanian is reporting for duty at our office. He will be replacing me whenever I am on my rotational leave. He had been working with our client for the past six years. Suddenly, he found himself out of business. UAE has seriously started localisation of work places. Sounds strange, right? Countries like India talk loud about globalisation, but here it is the opposite. Wherever qualified personnel are available, the locals are being appointed. This causes job losses for the people from other countries.


This is a practice in other Gulf countries for the past many years. How far they succeeded in extracting work from their own personnel is a subject for debate. Anyway, in UAE, this process has definitely gained momentum and in the recent National Day speach, the rulers have once again emphasised the need for localisation. Cause for worry indeed. Anyway, I was relieved as his arrival signals the begning of my holidays. For me, it was not the occassion to worry about localisation and globalisation. As the juggarnaut of time rolls on, everything happens as programmed, and everyone lives on, adapting to the changed situations...as simple as that. 

While on my return after the second leave rotation, I visited the Marina Mall in Abu Dhabi. It was a ten minute drive from my hotel to this place. The entire journey is along the corniche road.  Travelling along this beautifully landscpaed stretch is a pleasant thing to do in Abu Dhabi. On the way, on the left side of the road, we can come across a number of nicely constructed sky scappers. One among them is Emirates Palace Hotel. The Pakistani driver talked a lot about this luxury hotel. He said, to spend a night there, it needs around 7000 Dirhams. It is more than his two months' salary. As a taxi driver, he often gets a sneak-peak of the hotel. According to him, inside the hotel is like "Jannant". I only wish, I could spend at least a night in this jannat. We have to agree, Heaven is man made and is existing on this earth itself! I wish the Pakistani driver understands this fact more than anyone else and convey this to everyone back home

Marina Mall is a sprawling commercial complex that houses a number of big and small shops. The major attraction for the shoppers is the Carrefour there. This mall is located by the the side of the picturesque Corniche of the city. Besides shopping, there is abundant scope for entertainment including ice skating. Ice skating in the middle of a desert,. That is what the visionary rulers are upto-pull out a rabbit from a magic wand!

Another landmark in Abu Dhabi has been inaugurated recently. This is another world record making building. The administrattion says, the Guinness Book of World Records has opened a regional office in UAE to monitor the world records that are happening in UAE and the region. UAE administrattion admits that they have a penchant for making world records. So, the lastest one is the Capital Gate. It is another iconic building in UAE. The speciality of this building is that it has a leaning of 18 degrees that qualifies it into the World Record Book

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_Gate

Other than such mind blowing sky scrapers, these deserts are hardly offering anything for eatertainement. Most of the outings in the Gulf are limited to visiting shopping malls like Marina Mall in Abu Dhabi and Dubai Mall in Dubai. Watch out for beautiful landscapes, look at the world's tallest building- Burj Khalifa- in Dubai. Of course, there are some scenic tourist spots elsewhere in the Gulf region like in Oman and some parts of UAE. Still a weekend outing can be mainly to a shopping mall or a sea shore. No one can resist a visit to such elaborately constructed buildings. At the least, they help us cool down for a few hours in the air-conditioned ambience. For most of the people who toil for six days at a stretch, these cool malls offer a soothing escape.

I flew Gulf Air this time. It goes to Behrain first. All along the 50 minutes flight, I have been looking from the window. Down below, in the darkness, I could spot a number of flares. It was like a Diwali night. These flares are the essential parts of any oil and gas wells and they appeared to be like the lights in a Diwali night. (In any plant where oil and gas are involved, as a safety measure, excess gas needs to be let out to reduce pressure in the process equipment. These     let- out gases are continuously burnt away  through Flares) There are no dearth of oil wells in this region. The Gulf countries are ever enthusiastically tapping the nature's bounty. These mushrooming wells tells eveyting about their hurry. Let these wells never dry up. At the minimum, these wells are wringing in dollars to my bank account, per se!

I enjoyed another movie on board during the nearly four hours flight from Behrain to Chennai. This time it was English Vinglish. Charming Sreedevi has no competitors, no doubt about that. The expressions of a person who travels alone in a totally strange place are so vividly narrated by the gifted actress in this movie. Do not mistake, I never show such expressions during any of my globe trotting expeditions, however. I got a chance to see some parts of the US through the movie. This is a place my friend Sreekumar visits frequently and I could never visit. Fingers crossed, I look forward to walk on the streets of the country that is still considered a dream land by most of the people in my country. I hope, this will not remain a distant dream, like a woman becoming the President of the USA...

Appooppanthaadi -57

Each time when I come out of the office, I pass my fingers through the tulsi plants outside. After that I smell my fingers. How pleasant it is! Tulsi is a wonderful plant indeed. In Das Island's residential and office area, we can come across Tulsi everywhere. The very smell of it leaves makes my mind so relaxed. Anyway, I hope some tensed minds does this exercise everyday. This will help reduce the burden of the mind considerably.

I cannot ask for more. The climate even in the noon is very pleasant at the moment. Standing in the sun for an hour does not cause sweating. This is the best climate one can enjoy in a desert. Come winter, the entire Gulf region becomes the best place to be in. There will not be extreme cold condition here like we experience in Europe or China. The sunlight becomes so soft on the earth. In places like Syria, we may have to wear a jacket to survive the cold. Still I was wondering why even on 25th December, there was no snowfall in Syria. This place is very close to Jerusalem where it is believed to have heavy snow fall when Jesus was born.  

The other day I woke up to a big rain. The rain water is yet to disappear from many spots. Water in the desert does not percolate into the earth so easily. Most probably, it evaporates and this process takes several days altogether. Perhaps, deserts have their own way of protesting against the indifference shown by Mother Nature!
 

Come summer. The turn around will be horrible. The situation will be far from this rosy picture. The weather in Das Island is articulated like this :Minimum average temperature 9 degree Celsius, Maximum 43 degree C. The relative humidity is high through out the year averaging 70% and reaching 95% in the morning hours. Altitude - Sea level. Atmosphere - Saliferous and corrosive, often containing fine dust and pollutants, especially carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulphide.  Rainfall is scarce. Measureable rain occurs for ten days in a year on an average. Still there are people who work here for the past thirty or more years. It is possible. Money can make it possible. Thirty years of paid incarceration...not bad as long as the purse becomes fatter by the month. That too, with living expense just limited to internet and telephone charges (even the underclothing are washed by someone else free of cost)

Hydrogen Sulphide is the sworn enemy of this island. In an industry involving crude oil and natural gas, hydrogen sulphide is an indispensable companion. This gas can kill people. Everyone at work in Das Island has to always keep a breathing apparatus with him. This is a simple apparatus that allows a person to breath pure air for five minutes if he is trapped in a Hydrogen Sulphide leak. Besides the breathing apparatus, we keep a Hydrogen Sulphide gas detector always in our possession. These safety measures are mandatory whenever we are at work. I wonder, should a man who comes from Chennai need to really keep such an apparatus? The quantity of dust, carbon monoxide and sulphur kicked up in our big and small cities is much higher than what I come across in this island. The pollution in our country can never be matched with any place in the world.
 

Today, in the evening, on my way to the mess for dinner, a nice breeze from the sea has been accompanying me. It is a full moon night. The magnificent appearance of the moon over the sea,  far off the horizon needs a special mention. How beautiful it was! Just a few metres walk to any direction takes us to the sea shore. The breeze is a little cold at present. It gives a pleasant feeling in being here. In the evening, the air strip is open to the public for walking. The worries of big tummies, sugar and high pressure troubles in the blood are all walking and running around the air strip with sweat pouring from every pore. May the desperate efforts on the tarmac yield results as soon as possible. I am adamant, I mean business. I shall never do anything that may adversely affect my tummy.

Sowmya, a young girl has done it. She climbed a hill using the rope tied at the top of the hill. It was so easy for her. She has been competing with a handful of boys in a reality show named Action Killadi on Kairali TV. Look, on one side we listen with utter shock about father raping daughter and on the other we see some encouraging scenes like this. All is in the attitude. Women have two choices. Stand up and get the kick on the face or lie down and get trampled upon. Destruction will be complete then. I am sure, they much choose the former.


Sunitha Williams, a woman has returned from space. He was the leader of the team that spent  several days in space. She holds the record of number of space walks by a woman. This was the fourth time she visited there. Meanwhile, in Saudi Arabia, if a woman wants to visit a foreign country, she has to get written permission from husband. Once she leaves the border of the country, an SMS comes to the husband's mobile phone.  http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentid=20121129144380.
Well, that was a distraction from the main subject, a welcome distraction anyway. At least I could shed some light to  some of the happenings around the world.

Twice in a week I cross the air strip. Barbeque is arranged in the open restaurant on the other side of our residence. We have to walk a little far to reach here after crossing the run way. Barbeque is a rich combination of a number of meat and fish based food items. It does not make any difference to me as I settle down with usual vegetables. The only additional thing I find there is the daal vadas. To get a few pieces of them, we have to stand in queue there. Still, it is worth the while. It is like connecting a missing link to the home sickened thoughts of good old days of parippuvada and kattan chaya ( daal vada and black tea).

 

Appooppanthaadi -55

I got a pleasant surprise today. I came to learn only today that till the recent past, the currency the people of Persian Gulf that included the present day UAE used was printed in India. The name of the currency was Gulf Rupee. The Gulf Rupee was printed by Reserve Bank of India for circulation in some Arab countries. The value of the money was eaquivalent to the Indian Rupee. However, the colur of the notes were different from the Indian Rupee notes. I only hope my stamp hunter fried Vincent is aware of this and he has a good collection of such notes.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulf_rupee

During the early to mid-20th century, the Indian rupee was extensively used as currency in countries around the Persian Gulf and Arabian Peninsula. In order to reduce the strain put on India's foreign reserves by gold smuggling caused by external use of the Indian rupee, a separate currency was created. The Government of India introduced the Gulf rupee in 1959 as a replacement for the rupee, for circulation exclusively outside the country. At the time, the Indian rupee was pegged to the pound sterling at a rate of 13⅓ rupees = 1 pound.

I heard that the people of old genereation still call their money rupee. Probably they are still living in the past. Before the gas was struck, people in this region were living like ordinary people of a poor country. The major income of the people here was from fishing and trading pearls. The life saw a sea change within a span of 50 years and now UAE is one of the richest countries in the world. Still one fact must make us really wondering. The Britishers who found oil in this region, established infrastructure to process and export this black gold had never tried to make the Persian Gulf their colony. Despite very sincere requests by the rulers of this region, the Britishers exited from the Gulf. In a way, the UAE was formed only because the Britishers refused to protect the emirates militarily.  It was a great loss to the locals here, because they lost a golden opportunity to learn "excuse me" and "sorry".

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Finally I got my UAE Identity card. I do not have a voter id or I have no idea how to go about getting the much hyped Adhar Card in my country. Thinking about those dingy 'sarkari' offices that issue these cards make me feel like vomiting. I only wish I will never have to visit a government office there. On the first day of my arrival here, I went to a government office. Here too, I could see crowd, milling crowd indeed. People of every nationalities were seen there. Despite all the big congragation, everything had a method. The first thing a visitor has to do is to take the token number and then relax in the chairs provided. Number is called and the visitor can approach the respective counter.

The first day itself, they took my blood samples, took X ray of my chest and then the thumb impression. It was not just thumb impression, they took impression of entire palms. Then a photograph too. Everything was over in a few hours and I was out of it without even having any conversations with any one in that government office. Nearly after fifteen days, the identity card has come to the nearby post office from where I collected it.

So much of tracking of the people in this country. The identy card contains every information pertianing to a person. Still, if the government could check the crime rate is to be debated. Just two days back, a Pakistani national went into a hospital owned by a Malayalee, caught hold of a Malayalee doctor and simply slit his throat, just like killing a lamb. He died on the spot. The killer has been a patient of this Eurologist for the past three months, but the motive behind this crime is not yet known. Crime happens despite all such high tech tracking systems.

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Eevery restaurant in this locality offers drinking water when the guests are in seat. These are Indian restaurants. Still there are one or two exemptions to this. The other day, I went to one such eatery. I ordered a sounth indian thali. It had very limited dishes and the taste of them had nothing to do with South India. Still the bill was for 19 dirhams, something like 6 to 7 dirhams more than the other restaurants are charging. Here, they do not offer water too. If we have to drink water, we have to order it, and a half litter per bottle costs 1.5 dirham. Strange. People find different ways to make money. One is this.


El Dorado Cinema is just opposite my hotel. I had nothing to do on Saturday. How many hours I can remain bed ridden in the room? I decided to cross the road and watch the Mohanlal movie Run Baby Run. For the evening show on a holiday, there were not even 50 people to watch the movie. The ticket cost was 30 dirhams, that is roughly 450 rupees, which looks to be high. The lower class costs 25 Dhs. The movie is based on the ethical as well as unethical media exclusives after which the present day electronic media is running to get maximum viewership. The charecters in the movie uses the modern electronic gadgets to do sting operations and exclusive stories  for their TV channels. Last time, when I went to watch Husbands In Goa on Friday noon, the audiance was numbering just around 25 people. I wonder, how the theatre is moving on with such poor patronage by the Malayali community here.


Patronage may be poor at the Cinema Hall but the nearby Spinney's liquor shop was full of 'patrons'. So many people on the Weekend eve were seen picking up different kinds of bottles from the shelves. One Malayalee lady was heard asking the shop attendant if Gin was available only to to be informed that Indian items were not sold in the shop. Look, Malayalees are sincerely patronising the humble beverages in a world where strict anti liquor policies are exisitng.



 

 

 

 

 

 

Andaman Islands -4

Havelock

On the third day, our plan was to visit Havelock Island, the most famous tourist spot in the Andamans. It is an Island situated around 50 kilometers away from Port Blair. There are a number of ships plying between Port Blair and Havelock. Ships take 90 minutes to 4 hours to reach there. The fastest ship reaches in 90 minutes and it is the most sought after cruise in Andaman. We too booked three tickets to travel by this ship though it was a little expensive.

At the Jetty to catch the ship

By the third day of our visit, monsoon gained more momentum and the weather turned rougher. The ship was resheduled to start 2 hours later. This had upset our itenerary. We had to call off the visit to Haveloc Island. An ocean of grief was the result of this act. The dam had broken and the sorrow gushed out in the form of hot tears. My kid was unconsolable. He had been dreaming of a ship journey. A little inncoent heart would have built many a beautiful picture of a swaying vessel in the deep sea. His disappointment found vent like tears. The scene will never fade away from the memories of  his parents. A visit to Havelock is pending and so does a cruise on a ship. Even after 4 years after this incident, we could not fulfil his wish yet.

Havelock is a hotspot for tourists due to beautiful beaches, scuba diving and snorkling. Recently, a very interesting item is added to the atractions in the island. Sea bed walking. Tourists are taken to the sea bed by trained divers and then helped walking there. It must be thrilling. The cost per person to experience this thrill is something around Rs 4000. To know more about it, click the link : http://sealinkadventures.com/.


Plan well, book tickets in advance on ship and enjoy the trip to Havelock in a laid back manner. It is possible if we plan it properly. One day trip will be too hectic. If it is planned for a minimum of two days, we can enjoy the beauty of Havelock to its full majesty. But rememer, staying in Havelock over night may result in a big hole in our purse

This bus carried us to Billiground

 Monsoon played spoil sport in our joy. We retreated to our guest house room. On the next day, we embarked on a long journey. A journey to meet a college day buddy who lives 200KM north of Port Blair. There are two trips by buses from Port Bliar to Billiground everyday. We boarded the bus at 11 in the morning. By 12, it reached the check post. From there, vehicles must move in a convoy. We are about to pass through an area protected by the government to save the ethnic identity of a handfull of people.

This Board displayes the timings of the convoy

Jarawa is an ethnic group consisting of some 180 odd men, women and children. They are facing extinction due to various reasons and the government is all out to protect them. No outsiders are permitted to encroach into their territory. Those who enter their area must exit with the knowledge of the authorities. The check post opens at fixed timings and a gun totting policeman sits in the first vehicle of the convoy. All other vehicles are expected to follow this till the other end of this protected area.

We could see a few tribal men and women during this journey. Jarawas generally do not wear clothes. However, due to advent of cultural invation from all sides, these people started covering the private parts. On sighting these people, everyone on the bus started scrambling for a look at these people. It looked as if people frantically looking for a rare animal that has suddenly appeared in an animal sanctury! These human beings were made mere show pieces for the people from the more civilized land. Honestly, I too hung out my neck to have a glimpse of the Jarawa men and women.



There is a big board inscribed with 'Ten Commandments' at the check post Do not interact with Jarawas...do not offer food to them...do not stop vehicle...do not take pictures.../Government's sincereity is understandable. The dwindling population of a tribe need to be protected. But, I am not convinced about the method the government adopts. What is the logic behind keeping an entire people in perpetual isolation? Shouldn't they study physics, maths, economics and history and join the main stream? Shouldn't they be exposed to the modern life style? How can we afford to keep them insulated from a civilized living?

They throng on the road sides. They even stand on the road. The policeman inside our bus had to coarse them to clear the way for the bus. The tour operators take the visitors to the Jarawa Area in the name of taking them to a mud volcano. Mud volcano is another attraction in Andamans. The real motive behind this trip is usually to exibit the sparcely clothed human beings. The tourist vehicles are slowed down upon spotting the Jarawas and the tourists are allowed to take photographs. Despite all govermental restrictions everything illegal happens there. Internet is galore with photos and videos of Jarawas. Google Jarawa on the net. Shocking pictures are lined up there.

Read more about Jarawas : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jarawa_people_(Andaman_Islands)

 

 

No doubt, as long as the highway that connects North Andaman and Port Blair and the babudom's apathy continue, the belogueared tribe will be at the mercy of a handful of crazy tour operators and their customers...

 

 

Andaman Islands -3

On the second day of our tour, it was destination Ross Island. It is a small  island very close to Port Blair. There are a number of boats ferrying visitors from Port Blair to this island and back. In addition to Ross Island, the boat takes us to two more nearby islands. A mesmerising view of the corals underneath the seabed will be the highlight of the day.

Touring Andaman is very easy. No need to involve a tour operator well in advance and do extensive research to have a nice trip to the islands. Once a good hotel is traced, the rest of all falls in place. Hotels, unlike in other tourist places in the main land are not so expensive, though I have no first hand information about the tariff. There are a number of tour operators in Port Blair. It is very easy to get in touch with one of them with the help of the hotel reception. They take care of our tour needs. Hindi is the most common language but there are people who talk many other Indian languages apart from English. Communication is not at all a problem because we get a feeling that we are still in the main land. Port Blair, to me. looked just like any other Indian town. 

Ross Island

Most of the tourists I came across were government employees. They come in small and big groups availing LTCs. I was told by the driver of our vehicle that most of the tourists who visit Anadaman are from Steel Plants, Refineries and other government organisations in India.  The best time to visit The Islands is December. We must certainly avoid a visit after May 15th as monsoon sets in by that time. During monsoon, travel to many islands will be difficult as boat and ship services will be disrupted due to bad weather.

We too tried to claim LTC but failed to get the money back from the government as we traveled by Kingfisher airlines instead of the state carrier Indian Airlines. Still, we felt the tour  highly entertaining and worth the expenses incurred. We got a chance to see the beauty that has been abundantly bestowed by the nature on a handful of islands.

Ross Island was the place where the British Masters, in charge of the Cellular Jail lived. They constructed many buildings to help them live a luxurious life. All these symbols of tyranny against a helpless lot over the opposite side, ie, the Cellular jail, are in a dilapidated condition at present. Only the church used by the officers remain in its shape there. Cellular Jail is visible from the Ross island. Sitting comfortably in the sprawling bungalows' balcony,  the babus would have planned many a method of torture to be used on those helpless but highly spirited human beings toiling their life in solitary confinement. 

Port Blair - a view from Ross Island

There is nothing great to see in the island except getting a feeling of a place where so many heartless men spent their good time in a picturesque island wining and dining. Of course,  we too can enjoy ice creams, cool drinks and snacks if we do not feel anything about the abominable colonial babus. The administration is collecting an entry fee to 'maintain' the island. They, it looks, allow the remnants of slavery consign to earth slowly. 

 The boat took us back from the island after an hour or two. The boat operator loaded additional tourists who were left out by another boat. The boat started off with more people than it could carry. The operator was forced by the Tamil speaking tourists of the boat to off load the extra persons at the starting point itself. That was very heartening- people responded to a potential hazard in time and avoided a disaster. 

Collecting 'Souvenirs' - the sea shore is full of breakaway pieces of corals

The tour operator then took us to another island. We were transferred onto small boats there to have a glimpse of corals. The bottom of the boat is made of transparent glasses that has magnifying property. The boat was operated by a small hand held propeller. 


As the boat moved around, an amazing view of the corals under the sea bed unveiled in all its beauty. Different kinds of corals in myriad colours and shapes were a scene that could never have been missed. We have to visit the Islands at the least to have a look at these beauties lying in the womb of the sea. 

Have a look at the corals on youtube:    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATWcS-BLGWs