Hello all!

Well, What an amazing place the Andaman Islands is! I've never seen anything like it. The stereotypical tropical island with beach huts, hammocks, fresh fish, coral reefs, white sand etc. I am now in love and plan to go back as soon as possible!

We arrived from Calcutta to Port Blair, a small capital city about the size of an English village! Port Blair was a little more laid back than mainland india but nonetheless still rather loud! We checked into a guest house that was charging ridiculously high rates for a mediocre room and then headed off to the beach.

We found a palm-lined stretch of white sand with clear waters called Corbyn's cove and dived right in! Little did we know that this was simply the beginning and what we were about to experience would top everything we've ever done before!

In the morning we had arranged to get the boat to Havelock Island at 6am and had been assured by the guest house man that we could get one no problem. After charging us 4 times the normal price for a rickshaw he waved us off. Well, there were no boats and we realised we'd been ripped off. We marched back to the guest house and gave the man grief until he gave us 50 rupees (around 70p) with which we were able to purchase breakfast and chai. Is was a setback but John didn't seem to be worried that it would affect our overall holiday. I however, had a little cry and puzzled over how we were ever going to get away from Port Blair without speaking Bengali or having to swim.

We went to the beach (the answer to all our problems from then on out!) and managed to push onto a ferry that left at 2pm. 2 hours later we arrived at Havelock. After fighting off a swarm of rickshaw drivers we arrived at the Pelican Resort, simply by chance. This turned out to be the best thing we could have done! This place was owned by a Delhi business man who was as sound as a pound and run by two lovely(and hysterically funny) guys and a loveable Doberman named Spike. When we first arrived, there were just 4 other huts taken up by a small group of Australians, the nicest people we've met on our trip. The vibe was amazing and it felt too good to be true.

We found out the next day that we were paying a little bit more than the others so we asked to be moved to a bigger hut. They were so lovely and offered us a pick of 4. We settled with an amazing, large, comfy hut with an attatched bathroom for 250 rupees a night (around 3.20). Every night there was a BBQ and we filled our bellies with Fish Tikka and grilled Baracuda.

On our first full day I managed to get a piece of rock stuck in my foot during low tide (such a dinkus) so I was waddling like an idiot for the rest of the week! We rented a scooter (or Honda Activa for those in the know) and zoomed up to beach no7 which has been voted 'the best beach in Asia'. I can completely understand the name tag. It is masses of white sand with a few people scattered around, Crystal Clear waters with no rocks so it's perfect for swimming. There was some major waveage while we were there which was super fun! However, the sand flies managed to massacre us so we stopped sunbathing there after a while!

After our day of discovering the beach we went off, bought snorkels and went to the lagoon around the corner from beach no7. This is when we caught the underwater bug. We saw so many fish that we vowed we had to do a proper trip asap.

We organised a trip to Inglish Island, which turned into a disaster as the waves were too high and John nearly sliced his stomach on coral! The guide did take us for a walk through the jungle which she thought was worth our 25 pounds each! When we arrived back John had a quiet and respectful rant at the idiot manager and we left with all 25 pounds!

After this small set back we signed up for another trip with another company. We caught a boat out with our friends from the resort who were doing Scuba Diving and felt nothing but jealousy that they got to see it all from down below! So, we signed up for a Scuba diving course!

The course was amazing and our instructor Noa (a lady - I am now in love with the name Noa for a girl) was really professional and patient as well as funny and completely chilled. We saw the most brilliant stuff. Parrot fish, Star fish, Octopus, Trigger fish, Lion Fish, Clown fish etc. I was blown away. This was most definitely the most rewarding thing I've done so far in India.

We also adopted a little puppy (who we think may have been Spike's!) and called her missy. One of the Australians, Matt, found her in the village looking mangy and brought her back so that the boss could claim responsibility (and get Spike nuetered!) She was a little ray of ankle-biting light! We all fell in love with her. The more I stayed at the Pelican the more I realised I would probably never want to leave.

But leave I did (sadly) and we flew to Chennai this morning. The first thing we did when we arrived was book a train ticket to Mysore! The last thing I want to be doing is staying in Chennai. It is such a shock to me to be in a place as dirty, boring and dingy as this after the Andamans. I need some more mind-blowing coastlines and I need them now!

I'll report again soon,

Lots of love, Ellie x