Andaman Islands

I'm going to Andanam Islands in 2 weeks time (via Madras).

Any practical advice would be appreciated.

I'm looking to reduce my lagguage as much as I can. What suit sould I take?

Do I need 5mm overall or 3mm shorty will be enough? I'm definitelly not skinny so I take cold quite well...

Do they use INT or DIN?

Which power plugs? Is it the same as UK ones?

I'm going to Andanam Islands in 2 weeks time (via Madras).

Any practical advice would be appreciated.

 

I'm looking to reduce my lagguage as much as I can. What suit sould I take?

 

Do I need 5mm overall or 3mm shorty will be enough? I'm definitelly not skinny so I take cold quite well...

Do they use INT or DIN?

Which power plugs? Is it the same as UK ones?

We just got back from there in Feb... Diving was great although we were on the Ocean-Rover and got out to a few places even further off the beaten path.

I dove in a 2mm and my wife dove in a 3mm (both fullsuits). We both wear hooded vests though.

The water was 82-83 in Feb and even with 4 dives per day we were planty warm.

Since she gets cold pretty easily I'd say your shorty will be fine. Several divers were in shorties although one was from Canada so he doesn't count

Can't help you on the plugs though. They have an interesting setup and we didn't have a need to charge anything until we got on the boat.

A word of advice here on luggage... they say one carry-on and sometimes they mean it.

The restriction is enforced at their security point so it is a crapshoot.

They seemed to indicate that batteries were banned but this was not enforced everywhere.

Anything that is powered and could "make a sound" seemed to be an issue as well. Fortunately they didn't realize that my dive computer could beep or that would have needed to be checked.

Never had my carryon weighed though. In fact they hardly looked askance at my large pelican when checking in. Customs was interested tho' and tried to prevent our entry because we had "too much expensive stuff". We managed to get in without paying a bribe at any rate.

Oh, and each flight transfer (like in Chennai on my Port Blair to Chennai to Mumbai leg) means another visit thru security with your carryon.

The young ticket agents are quite suseptible to a smile

From what I remember, Port Blair and Havelock both had Type D (Old english 3 round pin, 1 large earth, 2 smaller round power pins) which is not to be mistaken for the Type M of similar design but bigger pins. Oh gawd don't get me started on the lack of standardization of powerplugs on this planet! Absolute waste of resources!

Also with cabin luggage, no liquids/pastes allowed. Lost my christa lube and lipbalm that way:( Never had problems with expensive equipment by customs. There isn't a ban on batteries except lead acid batteries. Just confirm this with your airline.

Dealing with the Indian customs is pretty easy. They are afraid you are going to sell your equipment in India (where it's even MORE expensive!) so they'll ask you about it. Just tell them you are enroute to Port Blair, show them your tix and booking. Shouldn't have a problem. At most they'll want you to put a bond on the equipment to make sure you leave with it.

Our experience with Indian airline travel was that there are no "real" rules.

Each person we dealt with had their own interpretation of things and only when I asked for them to show me "in writing" where it said thus and so was I able to make much headway.

The upside is that we felt very secure once we got on the plane but it is a challenge when the rules vary form airport to airport.

I do take issue with Drew though... it really doesn't matter what your airline says... when you get to the man in the uniform his interpretation rules the day. You should have seen my discussions about batteries in Chennai

Mark, that is weird because in my trips to India over the years (from Ahmedabad to Thiruvan-something something) I've never had problems with airport customs while carrying camera equipment. They did stop me for carrying a monopod as cabin baggage in 05.

Of course if you have your AAs in a bulletbelt style strap... I can understand why they'd stop you.

I'm going to Andanam Islands in 2 weeks time (via Madras).

Any practical advice would be appreciated.

 

I'm looking to reduce my lagguage as much as I can. What suit sould I take?

 

Do I need 5mm overall or 3mm shorty will be enough? I'm definitelly not skinny so I take cold quite well...

Do they use INT or DIN?

Which power plugs? Is it the same as UK ones?

Well, water temperature is going to be around 30C when you get here, so if you take the cold well, a 3mm shorty will do just fine.

Most of our tanks are INT, and while we do have a few DIN converters lying around, I'd recommend getting your own just in case ours are already being used.

Power plugs are same as the UK ones, yes. We have a few universal adapters at the resort, so even if you have a few funky plugs, we'll get them to fit.

Cheers,

Vandit

Thank you for your advice. I can't wait to go. My camera is already packed, but I'm still stuck at my office for few more hours...

Vandit, are you one of dive operators there?

Thank you for your advice. I can't wait to go. My camera is already packed, but I'm still stuck at my office for few more hours...

What gear are you bringing with you?

Vandit, are you one of dive operators there?

Yep. You're booked to dive with us, I believe (Diveindia). I'm going to be doing some shooting this coming week myself, except for 2 days when I'm booked to teach a class, so I'll try to buddy up with you for a photo-oriented dive.

But I reckon we'd best take this to PM from now on, as it is going a bit off topic.

Cheers,

Vandit (Vinnie)

We were on the same Ocean Rover trip in February when Mark had the camera trouble. The Indians were definitely not allowing more than one carry-on for the guys. They seemed to be a bit more lenient on the women, but still I wouldn't risk my camera gear.

We dove in a full polar fleece covered with a 3/2 mm shorty and were plenty comfortable.

The plugs are not the same as the UK. You will need an adapter for India.

Hope you enjoy it!