Review 2... continued from before
Day 2 – We were taken to Havelock. And this is where most of the problems started.
On ferry, it was an awful experience.
It felt like we were sitting in a stifling (Read More)room filled with sick people. Everyone was vomiting around us—and naturally, we did too. Everyone fell sick, some more than others.
When we deboarded, we found out that just for a cost of around Rs. 200, we could have been in the upper class, where seats were better, more spacious, and less turbulent. But apparently, Riya and Naseema didn’t even consider this for us.
A mere Rs. 200 per seat, and we were dumped in that class—after they promised us a 4-star trip!
When I asked Riya about this, she said to talk to Naseema, as once the trip is booked, the local people take care of customers. And I was like, I paid you—why should I speak to Naseema about these arrangements? That’s what I paid you for!
We reached Havelock and checked into De-Forest Resort—a 4-star hotel. Amazing. More suited to honeymooners, if truth be told. Good swimming pool and restaurant. I enjoyed breakfast there, lunch and dinner not so much.
In the evening of Day 2, we went to Radhanagar Beach. It was amazing. Super clean water, great waves—we had a great time.
But just like at temples, my slippers were stolen from the beach. I mean, people don’t change… lol.
Thankfully, drivers were not late that day.
Day 3 – The worst day of the trip. And I mean it. It was supposed to be fun.
It started late. We didn’t plan the trip—the agents did, without consulting us! They said they’d pick us up at 11:30 AM and take us to Elephant Beach. We had no clue about anything, so we agreed.
But the driver didn’t come until 12:15. And when he did, he drove like a maniac, making us almost puke, and didn’t slow down until a shouting match.
We reached the ferry point around 12:40 and arrived at Elephant Beach at 1:45 PM—only to find that the beach closes at 3 PM.
Seriously? There goes everything.
We did paragliding and the submarine ride, but nothing else. No other rides, no complimentary snorkeling—nothing.
Kids were super upset. We couldn’t enjoy either.
We came back to the main island around 4 PM and grabbed something to eat. It was dark when we called the taxi. The driver said he’d be there in 15 mins. We planned accordingly.
After 30 mins, we were still standing in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by barking dogs, and no driver! And even when he came, he parked 200m away and didn’t bother bringing the car closer, saying he couldn’t—while everyone else was doing it. And again, he was nonstop on the phone.
Surrounded by dogs, we were scared. When a dog yelped at my dad, I lost it. What if it had bitten someone? Who would take responsibility?
So I called Naseema and demanded an answer.
We arrived at the hotel around 6, and believe me, until 8 PM, I was on calls with these coordinators, talking to 3–4 parties on a con-call, with everyone blaming each other.
I asked for compensation for missing out on Elephant Island. It wasn’t our fault we were late. The coordinator didn’t even remember that we were there a day earlier and blamed us for coming late. I mean—seriously?
A lot happened that day, and I spent the entire evening on phone calls instead of enjoying a relaxed evening with my husband and kids.
The last call I had with Riya was when I asked for our ferry rides to be upgraded. We had two more ferries to take—Havelock to Neil and Neil to Port Blair.
Riya brought another person onto the call again to talk to me. She really cannot handle difficult situations. She kept bringing different people in to take the blame.
More to continue. with most important details.
