Jungle bus ride
Trip Start
Oct 13, 2010
1
64
69
Trip End
Mar 08, 2011
Mayabunder, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India
Saturday, February 19, 2011
And then there were the Jarawas. I just saw a short naked figure stand very close to the bus when we rushed pass. I only saw him/her for a split second but then later there were more people standing next to the road watching the bus. Some of them wore pants or a shirt but most of them were naked with beautiful head and neck decorations. Some of them wearing flower bows around their shoulders. It was surreal! What really struck me was that they look nothing like most Indian people or even South East Asian people do. The Jarawas look like Africans. Even Anthropologist today do not understand exactly how they came to these islands. It is a long way, all the way around India, from Africa. Some of the other tribes have South East Asian roots but a couple of the tribes clearly have African heritage. Amazing! Later in Port Blair I visited the Anthropology museum to learn more about the indigenous people of the Andamans and see some of their tools and other crafts. It's really fascinating.
After we passed some more people standing next to the road and even a couple small shelters we arrived at the first inter-island ferry. The police officer jumped off, we boarded the ferry and set across the channel to Middle Andaman. The bus driver and ferry guys had it really figured out. The whole thing only took a couple minutes. The ferry was absolutely packed wit jeeps and buses so full that the ramp wouldn't close if they tried. Instead they opted to let it inches above the water. No problem, there were barley any waves anyway. The bus got off the ferry, we boarded again and off we were through the jungle again to the next ferry about an hour later. Same thing here again although we waited for the ferry to arrive for a while and had time to eat some lunch. On-Off, and back on the road we had another 4 hours to go. Soon it got dark and we eventually arrived in Mayabunder. Luckily we called ahead and the small lodge saved us the last available room in town. A tiny room with shower, toilet but no water, two beds with some nice moldy pillows.
In the morning I first had to try and buy a bus ticket back to Port Blair in order to be able to catch my flight. Unfortunately the Gov. buses for the next day were already full. Luckily there is also a private company that operates buses. The tickets are only a few rupees more expensive and luckily they had one seat left. It was for the next day at 6 in the morning; I took it.
We came to Mayabunder to visit some caves where hawabills make their highly prized edible nests but couldn't find anybody who knew what we were talking about. So we opted to wander around aimlessly. Eventually the sun got so hot that that wasn't an option anymore either and it struck us that it is going to be a very boring day in Mayabunder. On the way back to the hotel I walked past a blacksmith's hut and saw some cool machetes on display. I stopped and asked how much he wanted for one. He picked one up and handed it to me for inspection. The blade was a little wobbly in the handle and not very sharp. He grabbed it and fixed the handle and sharpened the blade. Meanwhile I was talking/gesturing with his family who by now surrounded us. He finished sharpening the knife and handed it to me. I asked how much he wanted for it and he said Rs200. By this time an other guy was already standing close by and I don't really know what his deal was, but he started harassing the blacksmith and told him that the price is too high. The blacksmith caved and told me that Rs100 would be ok. The Rs200 seemed like a fair price to me and I just really liked him and his family. I insisted that he take all of the money. The blacksmith seemed happy the other guy needed some more convincing and after some head wobbles all around everybody was ok with the deal. To me it seemed like a win win situation. I have a cool souvenir, the blacksmith got a fair price for his machete and the other guy got some afternoon entertainment. The rest of the afternoon I spent in the hammock solving Sudoku puzzles.
We headed out in the evening again to get some dinner. On the way I bumped into some kids who urged me to come and play badminton with them. Of course I joined them and we played for a while. We wanted to play to 50 uninterrupted passes. We did that without any problem but I eventually dropped it at 99 and was subjected to ridicule form a bunch of 10 year-olds... It was ok, I sucked. Anyway, we went to look for a place to eat and found a temple and beautiful sunset behind it instead. The sun set and we found a small hole in the wall "restaurant" that served samosas, the only thing available on the menu. we got some beers and then headed back to the lodge. We continued solving Sudoku this time while drinking beer. Ahh, a nerds dream. Later we got hungry again and we ordered proper food. Yes, some fish curry, but it didn't even come close to the one from Little Andaman. Oh well. After dinner I packed my bags and went to bed trying to get some sleep for the early start tomorrow.
I got up at 4:45, packed up the rest of the stuff, said bye to Sam, who was planning on keep traveling up North to Diglipur and hopefully climb Sattle Peak the highest mountain in the Andaman Islands. I was on my own again. First I had to walk the 1.5 km to the bus stand but the fish curry from last night was insanely salty and I ran out of water during the night but was still very thirsty. Before getting on the bus I had to find some water... Everything was still closed but luckily 5min before the bus left I was able to buy a bottle along with some mango juice... mmm... I was ready for the 10 hour ride back to Port Blair.
Now the ride up here was very bumpy. The guy pretty much had the pedal to the metal the entire ride but I guess the Gov. buses just aren't as "good" as the private ones. This private bus driver was in his own league. I am sure he actually needed a pilot license to fly this bus. My seat was in the very back and wasn't really attached to the bus anymore. I bounced and slid around all over the place. You know how you can't really write anything while riding on a normal bus? This is how *sitting* was impossible on this one. Eventually I found a position that worked. It incorporated having legs and arms stretch pressed against something (seats in front, windows, ceiling etc... ) and therefore becoming Simon "the human gecko". This driver managed to make the journey in 8 hours (shaving off 2 hours) even with more frequent and longer stops along the way then on the bus ride up... It was INSANE! When I boarded the bus I noticed that a guy had two goats as cargo. Since goats are not allowed on the bus, he put them in he luggage trunk in the back. Who knows what happened to them on the ride. There must have been some goat curry back there when we arrived in Port Blair. :-(
Well, we crossed the two channels again with the ferries, and then had to *wait* for the next police convoy... Meaning the guy could have just driven normally and we probably would have arrived in Port Blair at the exact same time. Eventually the convoy started, police officer with shot gun riding shot gun hopped on, and this time there were many more Jarawas along the road. At one point we had to cross some trucks coming from the opposite direction, therefore the driver slowed down. To my surprise some Jarawas were in the back of the truck at my eye level and one of them looked straight into my eyes. Not knowing what to do, I wobbled my head Indian style and the guy flared his eyes and had a funny grin on his face. I don't think it was a threatening gesture, rather just a really funny sens of humor. I liked it! Soon enough I was bouncing about again, arms and legs stretched out and by the time my drunk neighbor fell asleep, bouncing his head on my shoulder, I was about ready to arrive in Port Blair. Two hours later we did. I went to the hotel were we stayed before, booked into the same cheap room again, took a shower, eat something and went to the internet cafe before calling it a night.
