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Showing posts from November, 2018

Lakshadweep Samudram experience - 2

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Overview: Kavaratti is around 18 hours sail from Kochi. We were greeted by bright sunshine, and a welcome tender coconut drink. The glass bottom boat ride was offered complimentary along with Samudram package. The clear waters of Kalpeni made it easy to peep at the corals from the boat. We registered for scuba diving programme as well, which didn't require swimming skills. I was briefed about scuba diving, and did a mock drill in shallow waters and did some breathing practice. We were taken in a group to the middle of the lagoon, from where we were supposed to jump. It was a magical dive, with colourful marine life and beautiful corals, and I had never experienced like this before. We came back from our dive and played by the shore for sometime. Buffett lunch was served in the afternoon and we were taken on an island tour in the evening. The same schedule was followed for the next 2 days in Kalpeni and Minicoy. Kalpeni has a massive stretch of land with turquoise waters and has a

Lakshadweep Samudram experience

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Overview: I finally booked the Samudram package to Lakshadweep islands after a few months of planning. The bookings were open from the 1st week of Oct after monsoons. The booking process is pretty easy through the Govt website, but the tickets get filled up pretty fast. They also keep slots for waiting list in case of cancellations. The cruise starts from Willingdon Island in Kochi, so we took an overnight train from Bangalore to Ernakulam. Kochi welcomed us with grey skies and slight drizzle. It takes around 20 mins to reach Lakshadweep Wharf from Ernakulam railway station. We need to queue up for the boarding passes at Lakshadweep Wharf. There was some chaos and confusion at the boarding pass counter, as there was only one person managing the show, and the queue was building up. The officer had to search for the boarding passes and get the papers signed. Also he had to put the T-shirts and caps into a bag and give it along with the boarding pass. After a wait of around 45 mins, we