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travel

Attempt to start writing while returning from the eight day Bangalore vacation and visit

My plans of spending this New Year’s eve on the beaches of the Andaman Islands have been squashed. As it is I am frightened of floating on my back in the sea. To top that, a friend who sails with the Indian Navy, tells me that a tourist swimming off the Radhanagar Beach on Havelock Island, in the area locally-known as the “Aquarium”, was attacked and killed by a Ghariyal or probably a saltwater crocodile.

And here I was thinking sharks were bad. I nicked my knee once – on Elephant Beach on the Havelock Island – and scrambled out of the water for fear that I might be attacked by sharks who would obviously be attracted by the blood.

The only marine animal / thing that has given me any pain was this jellyfish that caressed my ankle in the waters off Anjuna Beach in Goa. It was excruciating. I was limping. Someone peed on the burn as well.

Come to think of it, there’s also something off the Radhanagar Beach – but only in one section of the water – very small stings, like pin-pricks, all over my skin. I remember that from my first trip to the Andaman Islands. Never found out what it was. Invisible to the naked eye.

Wrote this after seeing this during my bi-monthly visit to Boston Big Picture.