Hi guys, this is the first of my Daily Rant Travel series, DR Travel, where I give reviews
of all the exciting places I’ve travelled to around the world. Disclaimer: Please don’t
travel to any of the places that I recommend.
Now that we’ve got that out of the way, in November 2018, I was lucky enough to visit
the mysterious North Sentinel Island which is one of the Andaman Islands in the Bay of
Bengal. I went there because it had really good reviews on Google — currently 4.6 stars
with over 3000 reviews! So it was a sure bet that it was going to being a really good trip.
I know the island has gotten a bit of bad press of late, but we shouldn’t not go because
of a few bad stories. The Western media are known for their bias. Furthermore, from what
I hear, the North Sentinelese people rely a lot on the income that tourism brings. So
if you have some time-off coming up, and you want to have the trip of a lifetime, maybe
you should start planning your next family trip to North Sentinel Island.
So let’s get into the review. I booked our tickets online, and had to fly from Brisbane
to Singapore Airport. From Singapore, we flew to Chennai International Airport in southern
India. And then from Chennai, it took only about 2½ hours to fly to Port Blair on South
Andaman Island. While we flying into Port Blair, we could see the majestic North Sentinel
Island beneath us. It was a wonderful sight!
Port Blair was a friendly city and we stayed in a nice hotel. The next day, I had to organise
our visas to North Sentinel, but that was where we encountered our first issue. I asked
for what I thought was a fairly simple request — a temporary tourist visa to North Sentinel
Island. But the man in the visa office told us, “No visa! No visa!”. I asked him what
he meant, but he just kept replying, “No visa! No visa!”. I told him that I was an
Australian citizen, but that didn’t seem to help.
Anyway, I won’t bore you with the details, but from what I understand, they had run out
of visas, because North Sentinel Island is a very popular tourist destination of late.
I went down to the local cafe thinking that I’d never get to the island, but then luckily,
a local came up to me and asked me where I was headed. I told him I was trying to get
a visa to North Sentinel Island but the visa office had run out. He said, “No problem!
I can get you there! I can get you there!”. I was like, “Really? Can you get me a visa?”,
and he was like, “Yeah, yeah, no problem, no problem!”. So to cut a long story short,
I had to pay him about AU$500. He stamped my passport with the appropriate visa details
and provided ferry tickets to North Sentinel. Too easy! So if you need to go through the
same process, head to the Shangri-la cafe in central Port Blair and ask for Arjun. He’s
a really nice man!
Later that night, I had to travel down to the pier to meet Arjun. I asked him why the
ferry leaves so late. He told me that the waters are generally calmer at night so it
would be a safer trip. Who am I to argue? The boat, admittedly, smelt a bit like fish,
but he said that was just because they were preparing fish and chips for dinner. Fair
enough. The boat wasn’t that nice, but it got me to my destination, so I was happy.
Early the next morning, we arrived at North Sentinel Island. The ferry stopped about 500
metres from shore. I asked them why they couldn’t ferry me all the way to the island, but they
just explained to me that there’s no dock and that the waters are a bit too shallow
for the ferry. Fair enough. However, they did provide me with a kayak to paddle my way
into shore, free of charge. What a nice feature! Occasionally you hear of people getting charged
extra during these sorts of trips, but Arjun and his men were really nice. I highly recommend
them!
So I loaded up the kayak with my luggage, jumped in, and started paddling towards shore.
As I got closer, I could see that some of the locals were gathering on the beach ahead
of me. It was a wonderful sight! They started dancing with their spears and bows and arrows
above their heads. I can only assume it was some kind of traditional welcome dance.
Just as I landed, I noticed that none of the locals were coming to help me with my luggage.
I thought that maybe they wanted a tip, so I offered them some rupee. One of the boys
came up and took it, but unfortunately didn’t help me with my luggage! I guess he didn’t
understand. Anyway, they continued their dance and were kind of ushering me down the beach
towards the rocks. I was thinking that maybe they were giving me a bit of a guided tour
of the beach. I asked them where they were taking me, but they didn’t seem to understand.
I got out my Bengali phrasebook, but they just ignored me.
When we arrived at the rocks, they came to a stop. I asked them whether I should set
up camp here, but they just kept on doing their welcome dance. I just assumed that we
had arrived at the campsite. As I started to pitch my tent, they seemed to have other
matters to take care of and ran back towards the forest. There were still a couple of them
keeping an eye on me, but I guess that was just for safety reasons. It would look bad
if one of their guests got injured or something.
That afternoon, I was able to go for a nice swim and have a relax on the beach. A couple
of the younger lads seemed fascinated by my tent, but then I saw something a bit unusual.
One of the boys pulled out his bow and shot an arrow through my tent. A few of the other
lads followed suit. In total, they punched about 30 holes in the side of my tent. Afterwards,
they ran off back towards the forest. I was wondering, what the hell are they doing, but
then later that night I realised. You see, North Sentinel Island is very humid. They
were worried that I would be a little bit too hot at night, so they added some air holes
to my tent. What a lovely gesture! Sure, my tent was ruined, but it’s the thought that
counts.
That evening, I had a wonderful sleep — the air holes really helped out. Early in the
morning, I was planning to go for a walk in the forest, but then the locals came back
again and gave me another welcome dance. I was a bit confused — I mean, they had already
welcomed me. I thanked them for their assistance last night setting up some air holes in my
tent, and I offered them some more rupees for their efforts. Again, a boy came over,
took them from me, but nothing else. I told them that I’d like to head into the forest
for a walk, but they kept ushering me back towards my tent. Perhaps they wanted something?
Luckily, I had brought a few jars of Vegemite from Australia, and a couple of soft koala
toys. I headed back into the tent and started rummaging through my bags to look for them.
At that point, a couple of the locals shot a couple of more arrows through my tent to
make a few more air holes. I told them, “I’ve got enough air holes! It’s cool enough.
Thank you very much”. They looked at me a little bit strangely.
Anyway, I gave the young boys the koalas, and the adults the Vegemite. The adults obviously
hadn’t seen a screw-top jar before, so I helped them open it. They took a whiff and
immediately threw the Vegemite into the ocean. I thought that was a bit rude! I saw out of
the corner of my eye that one of the boys had put his koala down on a large rock. He
then started bashing it with another rock. I said, “No, no, no! You hold it! You hug
it! It’s a soft toy!”. He didn’t seem to understand, and he instead threw it on
the sand and started stabbing at it with his spear. I think they must have thought it was
some kind of pinata. I guess they thought there would be some kind of chocolates or
sweets inside. That’s understandable. Unfortunately, I didn’t have any chocolates on me, so they
had to make do with the koala stuffing instead. They seemed to enjoy pulling out all the stuffing
and throwing it in the water.
After I gave them the gifts, they seemed to want me to head back to the tent. I guess
they wanted me to pack up, so I did. While I was busy packing up the tent, I noticed
that a few of the locals had starting pulling my kayak up the beach. I thought, “Oh, how
nice of them! They’re preparing my boat!”. But then I saw a few more men come down from
the tree line with thick branches in their hands. They circled around the kayak and started
pummelling the hull. The kayak was completely ruined! I thought, what the hell are they
doing!? They then placed the branches around the kayak and started to light a fire, and
then I realised! They were giving me a lovely send-off! I felt so honoured! While the boat
was burning, they started doing their welcoming dance again and ushered me towards the water.
Perhaps their welcome dance is the same as their goodbye dance?
Anyway, I realised, my stay was up and gathered my belongings. I used my suitcase as a raft
and paddled back towards Arjun and his team. As I was paddling back, the Sentinelese shot
their arrows overhead, splashing in the water around me. I couldn’t believe it! It was
their version of a 21-gun salute! They were obviously honouring my departure and giving
me one of the best send-offs I have ever experienced!
All in all, the trip to North Sentinel Island was a great experience. I give it 4-stars
out of 5! I would have given it 5-stars except that there were a few hiccups along the way.
The visa process was a bit problematic. The air holes in the tent could probably have
been misinterpreted by some travellers as being some kind of wilful property damage.
The boat-burning, although nice, could be seen by some as being a bit presumptuous.
However, these are only minor grievances. The North Sentinel Islanders are a wonderful
people. They were very hospitable during my stay, despite some of the cultural misunderstandings.
They made me feel welcome with their traditional dances and gave me a great send-off with the
boat-burning and the 21-arrow salute. If you’re looking for a travel location that’s a bit
off the beaten track, North Sentinel Island is for you!
What a wonderful and memorable experience!
Just as a note to the North Sentinel Tourist Board — if any of their staff are listening,
that is — I would have been happy to give 5-stars if a few minor adjustments were made.
First of all, the Sentinelese should probably brush up on their English a little bit before
accepting too many tourists. Too many misunderstandings can occur.
A pamphlet or brochure on arrival would have been a nice addition.
Something to explain some of the cultural practices and differences.
Although I was very grateful, shooting air holes into a tent could probably be seen
as a workplace health and safety risk. Perhaps they should be provided with some
kind of hand tool to achieve the same outcome? Or at the very least, make sure that nobody
is inside when they make the holes.
They should probably also be taught a little bit about foreign cultural practices. Although
they were happy to take my Vegemite, their reaction wasn’t very nice when they threw
it into the ocean. I suppose based on the smell of it, they thought that I was trying
to poison them.
The boat-burning was a fantastic event, but again, they probably should consider the health
and safety of those around them, and probably should seek permission before burning people’s
property. Perhaps later down the line, you could install a couple of seaside bungalows
and maybe a cocktail bar or similar. That would really bring in the tourists!
All in all, it was a great experience. I don’t mean to dis the Sentinelese. The Tourism Board
did a wonderful job considering the circumstances. I wish all my listeners a safe journey, and
if you do choose to go to North Sentinel Island, I hope you find it as rewarding and momentous
as I did.
Next time on DR Travel, I’ll be travelling to Mogadishu in Somalia. It’s meant to be
a real hoot! Until then, safe travels!