16th November 2017, Phoenix Bay
Visited Phoenix Bay today since the Directorate of Shipping Services (DSS) was being absolutely useless.
Phoenix Bay is where one has to go to book tickets for inter-island ships. It's an ancient first-come-first-serve process, where islanders and visitors far exceeding the number of available seats queue up outside the office at least three hours before the counter opens in hope of securing a bunk out at sea. When I was there for my recce in June 2017, it took three attempts and a cumulative effort of 15 hours of standing in sweaty lines before I got a ticket aboard the M. V. Campbell Bay to Great Nicobar.
Ship timings are erratic, as are the schedules for when the single ship designated to the route you're interested in leaves the Bay. A couple of days before the ship is to set sail, a short ad is put in the 2-page local newspaper 'The Daily Telegrams*' following which, a mad rush of people gather outside the booking office a day before departure.
After combing through the Daily Telegrams every morning in the hope of finding a ship that leaves soon and trying to get through to the DSS that simply responded with a bored, "We will advertise when there is a ship leaving" I figured going to Phoenix Bay in person was the only option. Sure enough, there was a ship for Sunday (19th) and tickets for it would be sold on 17th - tomorrow! I called Naushad immediately and decided to get the scooter from him today itself so that I could ride it to the office earlier than the first bus from ANET and ensure that I get a ticket.
Dayani (who had motor-biked me into town) and I ate at Golden Dragon near Gol Ghar. It's a very homely place tucked away on the first floor, enclosed behind a grill door that is opened only if you ring their doorbell. A Chinese couple moved to Port Blair and started this restaurant there, although it feels like they've had to 'Indianise' their food regardless!
Around 4 pm, I bought the scooter. I was extremely excited and felt like the adrenaline of having to stand in line tomorrow had already kicked in. I even bought some snacks for the queue, keeping in mind how hungry I got in the past. I made sure all the papers were in place and left. I spent some time in Garacharma filling up the fuel tank and fixing up new mirrors. It was nearly 5 pm by the time I headed back to ANET. Darkness fell as I was nearing Manglutan and my headlights flickered weakly to a stop. There are no streetlights along that stretch, and a tiny Ishika sitting in my chest let out an internal scream. I made slow progress inching towards a tiny market along the way making use of when other vehicles passed me with their high beams and squinting in the moonlight. Luckily I found a place where I could buy a new bulb and convinced a closing mechanic to fix it up for me. It was nearly dinner time when I got back.
James** really liked the bike and thinks I got it for a steal, given the condition it's in. He played the guess-how-much-this-scooter-costs game with whoever he could find and beamed in his subtle James-like manner when its price was overestimated.
I was exhausted post-dinner and decided to turn in quickly despite the going-away party for a snake researcher who had been around for the past week. Since I had to be up and about for tomorrow's ticketing, I didn't face much resistance.
Before turning in, we had a short gathering at the dinner table about ANET's plan to have an 'open house' of sorts, where the base would be thrown open to all the residents living around it. There's always been a vague question-mark air among our neighbours in Wandoor about what all of us do at ANET. There will be stalls and props and visual representations of all the work that goes on behind our gates (which in reality are rarely kept closed). It's on the 14th of Feb next year and seems like a genuinely great idea. I hope I can come back to be part of it.
________________
*The Daily Telegrams is a double-page newspaper that is circulated within Port Blair. We usually read it a day late, since one of the ANET staff who lives nearby is the only one who subscribes. He brings it to us a day after his family is done reading it. The front page usually has very local news about ceremonies held, some politics, often a programme where someone was awarded a book or certificate, etc. The two pages inside have ads, vacancies, obituaries, birthday wishes and other birth-wedding-death announcements. The last page has some sports news and notices about shipping schedules. It's the cutest 4 sides of islandic information you'd ever come across.
**James is a beautiful man who has been part of the ANET field staff for many years. He's extremely curious and intelligent, and loses no opportunity to learn more about natural history. He can ID plants and birds better than most people (researchers included) on-base. All this being said, he's extremely modest and hard to impress, which means you have to have spotted something super rare to get his eyes to widen a millimeter more than their usual size.
Visited Phoenix Bay today since the Directorate of Shipping Services (DSS) was being absolutely useless.
Phoenix Bay is where one has to go to book tickets for inter-island ships. It's an ancient first-come-first-serve process, where islanders and visitors far exceeding the number of available seats queue up outside the office at least three hours before the counter opens in hope of securing a bunk out at sea. When I was there for my recce in June 2017, it took three attempts and a cumulative effort of 15 hours of standing in sweaty lines before I got a ticket aboard the M. V. Campbell Bay to Great Nicobar.
Ship timings are erratic, as are the schedules for when the single ship designated to the route you're interested in leaves the Bay. A couple of days before the ship is to set sail, a short ad is put in the 2-page local newspaper 'The Daily Telegrams*' following which, a mad rush of people gather outside the booking office a day before departure.
After combing through the Daily Telegrams every morning in the hope of finding a ship that leaves soon and trying to get through to the DSS that simply responded with a bored, "We will advertise when there is a ship leaving" I figured going to Phoenix Bay in person was the only option. Sure enough, there was a ship for Sunday (19th) and tickets for it would be sold on 17th - tomorrow! I called Naushad immediately and decided to get the scooter from him today itself so that I could ride it to the office earlier than the first bus from ANET and ensure that I get a ticket.
Dayani (who had motor-biked me into town) and I ate at Golden Dragon near Gol Ghar. It's a very homely place tucked away on the first floor, enclosed behind a grill door that is opened only if you ring their doorbell. A Chinese couple moved to Port Blair and started this restaurant there, although it feels like they've had to 'Indianise' their food regardless!
Around 4 pm, I bought the scooter. I was extremely excited and felt like the adrenaline of having to stand in line tomorrow had already kicked in. I even bought some snacks for the queue, keeping in mind how hungry I got in the past. I made sure all the papers were in place and left. I spent some time in Garacharma filling up the fuel tank and fixing up new mirrors. It was nearly 5 pm by the time I headed back to ANET. Darkness fell as I was nearing Manglutan and my headlights flickered weakly to a stop. There are no streetlights along that stretch, and a tiny Ishika sitting in my chest let out an internal scream. I made slow progress inching towards a tiny market along the way making use of when other vehicles passed me with their high beams and squinting in the moonlight. Luckily I found a place where I could buy a new bulb and convinced a closing mechanic to fix it up for me. It was nearly dinner time when I got back.
James** really liked the bike and thinks I got it for a steal, given the condition it's in. He played the guess-how-much-this-scooter-costs game with whoever he could find and beamed in his subtle James-like manner when its price was overestimated.
I was exhausted post-dinner and decided to turn in quickly despite the going-away party for a snake researcher who had been around for the past week. Since I had to be up and about for tomorrow's ticketing, I didn't face much resistance.
Before turning in, we had a short gathering at the dinner table about ANET's plan to have an 'open house' of sorts, where the base would be thrown open to all the residents living around it. There's always been a vague question-mark air among our neighbours in Wandoor about what all of us do at ANET. There will be stalls and props and visual representations of all the work that goes on behind our gates (which in reality are rarely kept closed). It's on the 14th of Feb next year and seems like a genuinely great idea. I hope I can come back to be part of it.
________________
*The Daily Telegrams is a double-page newspaper that is circulated within Port Blair. We usually read it a day late, since one of the ANET staff who lives nearby is the only one who subscribes. He brings it to us a day after his family is done reading it. The front page usually has very local news about ceremonies held, some politics, often a programme where someone was awarded a book or certificate, etc. The two pages inside have ads, vacancies, obituaries, birthday wishes and other birth-wedding-death announcements. The last page has some sports news and notices about shipping schedules. It's the cutest 4 sides of islandic information you'd ever come across.
**James is a beautiful man who has been part of the ANET field staff for many years. He's extremely curious and intelligent, and loses no opportunity to learn more about natural history. He can ID plants and birds better than most people (researchers included) on-base. All this being said, he's extremely modest and hard to impress, which means you have to have spotted something super rare to get his eyes to widen a millimeter more than their usual size.
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