Picture perfect paradise

This is by far the hardest post I’ve written so far. I’m struggling to find the words, to express myself. Why? Because I just spent two weeks in paradise. If you look up “tropical paradise” in the Oxford dictionary, I’m sure you’ll find a picture of Havelock Island in there. Just when I thought India couldn’t get any better, India showed me how horribly wrong I was. And it’s not just a tropical paradise, but also a quiet one. You can sit at the beach for hours without anyone around. However, a couple of days after my arrival, the island didn’t seem so quiet any more. It was time for Holi, the color festival in India. The war was on…

Holi girl

Holi warrior boy

Holi is mainly a North Indian festival where people go around throwing colors on one and another and I thought it wouldn’t be celebrated on the islands. Boy was I wrong. We were walking to the market when we realize we were in the middle of a war. Kids with guns filled with red and green ammo, aiming at our still spotless clothes, we realize we aren’t going to make it. We are going to be colorful before the war is over. Very colourful.

At the market it self, the atmosphere is vibrating with music and colorful people dancing around. “Way too clean” I hear someone say and next thing I know I got a hand full of blue in my face.

No one is safe! Except the spotless policemen handing out candy in the street.

The first time I get hit by The Bucket of purple water I’m thinking, “this can’t be happening”. By the third bucket or so I don’t even bother. After a few hours of Holi, we’re pretty exhausted and pretty colorful as well.

The result of The Holi War

At the time, I was a blond. Several months after Holi, I still had pink stripes in my hair.

Not so blond any more...

The next day we go to beach # 7. The beaches and villages have the exiting names of Village # 1, Beach # 5, Village # 6 ½ (no, I’m not joking) and so on. Beach # 7 has been named best beach in Asia and it is not hard to see why. At the end of the beach is a lagoon of crystal clear water changing from a light turquoise to the deepest blue. The white sand feels warm under my feet and the whole beach is lined with a green jungle. The beach where we are staying, beach # 5, has a different beauty. It is lined with trees that are pretty much growing on the beach, thick branches resting at the edge of the water. Words like beautiful, scenic, mesmerizing all fall short, there are no words to describe this beauty.

Beach # 5

The island has a nice vibe to it too. One night we enjoyed a couple of live acts with travellers from all around the island gathering in one place, the smell of cigarettes and sweat filling the evening air, purple haired and sunburned people sipping on beer, sitting on the hard wooden floor, mosquito bites itching, music filling the entire space. It feels magical and the evening simply makes me very, very happy. Another night we arrange a small campfire at Summer Camp Havelock, as we like to call our little community at the El Dorado resort, sitting around the fire singing kumbaya, roasting marshmallows. Ok, so the kumbaya is replaced by my Canadian friend’s compositions and the roasted marshmallows by a not so chilled Kingfisher...

Summer Camp Havelock!

You hear people say they go to India to “find yourself”, whatever that is supposed to mean. That’s not the reason I came to India, but I must admit I did find a piece of me that had been lost for a very long time. It happened on my last day in Havelock. I left for beach # 7 early in the morning, taking a jeep instead of the bus for once. Watching the scenery that makes postcards look ugly and dull from the back of the jeep with some crazy Hindi pop song blasting through the speakers I arrive and do the 15 minute walk to the lagoon. I’m sitting under a tree watching the waves wash up on shore and it hits me. I feel infinitely happy and my life feels fulfilled. At this very moment I feel no cravings, I'm longing for nothing, perfectly and utterly content with my life as it is. I guess a couple of weeks in paradise will do that to you! With that I would like to thank Picture Perfect Paradise and all the people who shared the place with me. Thank you!

Beach # 7 at sundown

So that's my worthless story of paradise. For some awesome pictures on Holi I'm hoping my favorite American will post sooner rather then later, go to mattwicks.wordpress.com, because a picture is, after all, worth a thousand words!

Brach # 5