{"id":50,"date":"2020-05-16T10:02:50","date_gmt":"2020-05-16T04:32:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogarithm.in\/?p=50"},"modified":"2023-01-20T17:51:36","modified_gmt":"2023-01-20T12:21:36","slug":"my-trip-from-male-to-kochi-on-ins-jalashwa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogarithm.in\/?p=50","title":{"rendered":"My trip from Male&#8217; to Kochi on INS Jalashwa"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Yes. I finally got the mail. I am leaving in a few days from Maldives back to home. India. Slight catch though, I am travelling on a ship. It is a trip that takes roughly two hours on a commercial flight. This would take me nearly two days, with a side of misery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br>It is 2020, the year of COVID. I am one of the nearly half million Indian citizens stranded abroad without a way out. I was desperate for any transport back. A Navy ship did not seem to be a bad option at first glance. I got my Itinerary, guidelines, Dos and Don\u2019ts, you know, the complete package. Cannot blame the Indian High Commission of Maldives for the issues I faced till I got onboard; they were as new to this Navy ship thing as I was. I read \u201cNo Smartphones allowed onboard\u201d. That makes sense. It is a Navy ship. Was banking on them allowing my Tablet and PC abroad. Downloaded everything I can to both. Eve of departure, I received a call from the High Commission inquiring my readiness for the journey. I had to confirm If my assumptions were true, only to be shot down. Tablets were no go. Laptop it is then. It has a screen \u2013 that would do. Packed up everything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Operation &#39;Samudra Setu&#39;.<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/indiannavy?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@indiannavy<\/a> ship <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/INSJalashwa?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#INSJalashwa<\/a> arrived in the Port of <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Mal%C3%A8?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Mal\u00e8<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Maldives?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Maldives<\/a> today. Phase 1 of Op <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/SamudraSetu?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#SamudraSetu<\/a> would commence from tomorrow 08 May 20.<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/%E0%A4%B9%E0%A4%B0%E0%A4%95%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%AE%E0%A4%A6%E0%A5%87%E0%A4%B6%E0%A4%95%E0%A5%87%E0%A4%A8%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%AE?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#\u0939\u0930\u0915\u093e\u092e\u0926\u0947\u0936\u0915\u0947\u0928\u093e\u092e<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SpokespersonMoD?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@SpokespersonMoD<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MEAIndia?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@MEAIndia<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MoHFW_INDIA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@MoHFW_INDIA<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/PIBHomeAffairs?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@PIBHomeAffairs<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/PMOIndia?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@PMOIndia<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/zrJB42x6OQ\">pic.twitter.com\/zrJB42x6OQ<\/a><\/p>&mdash; SpokespersonNavy (@indiannavy) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/indiannavy\/status\/1258295121004593155?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 7, 2020<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Indian Navy Tweet showing the arrival of INS Jalashwa at Male&#8217; port<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><br>Come morning of the said evacuation. There was an ugly truth waiting for me. I cannot blame anyone but myself on believing that Indian Navy would be stupid enough to let in any kind of Wireless device on board. Off goes the laptop into the Check-in luggage. The prospect of spending two whole days on a ship without any form of entertainment dawned on me. Hard. I have never spent that long without any of my devices in the last 10 years or so. I have grown so dependent on them. I digress \u2013 this is not a luxury liner and I am not going on a cruise. I am being evacuated here \u2013 a bit more dignified way of saying that they are saving my ass.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote\"><blockquote><p>I am being evacuated here \u2013 a bit more dignified way of saying that they are saving my ass.<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><br>This was not the only hurdle I had to face. There were forms to be printed, filled, scanned and Passport photos that were mandatory \u2013 I went to great lengths to make some, but were ultimately not needed in the end. I will take that over continue my stay there though. It is not like I was not comfortable there, but I did not belong there. I have not visited India in almost a year. Last time I did was for 5 days for a friend\u2019s wedding. I barely spent 2 days at home. My last real vacation was over 21 months ago. I was ready to face whatever they had to throw at me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--nextpage-->\n\n\n\n<p><br>Back to the morning of that evacuation day. It was Friday, 8th of May. Woke up early that day. Packed up all that I can and all the goodies from my friends in Male\u2019. I registered at the initial pick up point in Male\u2019 City. After gifting us a juice box, two packs of biscuits and a bottle of water, they took us to the Airport next, which is on another island. Hardly a 10-minute trip. Saying that the Velana International Airport was crowded would be a gross understatement. People were everywhere. Queues merging in and out, all over the place. No social distancing or precautions. Just a lot of desperate people excited to get home. I got in a queue. It would be more precise to say I cut one. I know that it is not a glorious thing to do, but in that situation, I was ready to trade my honor for a faster way back home. That was the first queue in the whole trip of the many \u2013 many more to come. After I got in through the initial checks, my temperature was recorded for the first time along with my passport number. On the way to the baggage scanner, in my next queue, I was scanned\/photographed once again. After baggage scanning, I was in yet another queue where I got the boarding pass. It was past 1000 hours. I left Male\u2019 at around 0730 hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Well-begun is half done! <br><br>First visuals of Indian nationals arriving at the Ferry Terminal in Mal\u00e9 to go through necessary checks and procedures as they prepare for evacuation by <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/INSJalashwa?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#INSJalashwa<\/a> later today under Operation <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/SamudraSetu?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#SamudraSetu<\/a>. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/MissionVandeBharat?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#MissionVandeBharat<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MEAIndia?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@MEAIndia<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Z8tQ1G3XN4\">pic.twitter.com\/Z8tQ1G3XN4<\/a><\/p>&mdash; India in Maldives (@HCIMaldives) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/HCIMaldives\/status\/1258586791260667906?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 8, 2020<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">HCI Maldives Tweet with pictures of the initial pick up point.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><br>Two more queues later, I had submitted a form and paid my fee for the trip. It was 40 USD. A bit less than what I would normally pay for the same trip on a commercial airliner. It was waiting time now. For the lesser beings that were not lucky enough to cut in the first queue. Lunch was served. Vegetable Biriyani. It was good or I was too hungry, does not matter much either way. After lunch I was on another queue. Precisely the 6th one that day \u2013 to board a bus. Back to Male\u2019 then. It was around 1200 hours. They took us to a port \u2013 looked like a commercial port with a lot of containers. Got out and guess what? Another queue. This time there were chairs. Thank goodness. But my luck ran out there. By the time I reached the chairs, the next bus arrived with a bunch of pregnant ladies and the gents all had to give up their chairs for them. Ok, I get to keep a bit of my honor after all, I guess. A dash of disinfection, a tight mask that chaffed the back of ears and some more temperature scans and questions later, I was standing in front of the long metal ramp that leads to the behemoth INS Jalashwa. It was said to be the third largest in Indian Navy. An Amphibious transport dock, the only ship to be purchased by Indian Navy from the US. It was originally christened as USS Trenton back in 1966. It is old, but it still looked very intimidating. The ramp was very narrow. Too narrow for my trolley luggage. Had to lift that 25 KG roller all the way up. They seated me inside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"798\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/192.168.1.39\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/10091417.jpg?resize=1200%2C798\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-69\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogarithm.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/10091417.jpg?w=1500&amp;ssl=1 1500w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogarithm.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/10091417.jpg?resize=300%2C199&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogarithm.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/10091417.jpg?resize=1024%2C681&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogarithm.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/10091417.jpg?resize=768%2C510&amp;ssl=1 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">INS Jalashwa<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<!--nextpage-->\n\n\n\n<p><br>A huge common area inside. Metal floor. I had too many things to scan with my curious eyes. It was not long before a Navy personnel took us to our accomodation. Bunk beds with four levels. About 30-40 CMS between each of them. No place to sit anywhere. Just two days I thought. I can manage. Went to the toilet and that is when my heart sunk a bit. Not going into the details, I would rate it below average. I have lived almost all my adult life after graduation away from home, a lot of it travelling as a field engineer. Have seen several accommodations of varying levels of comfort. I had put this solidly among the worst of it. Again, it is not a luxury liner, I get it. Just think of it this way. When I am asleep in my bed, I would have 15 people in a radius of one meter from me. I have not seen worse situation anywhere other than in an Indian passenger train at peak hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote\"><blockquote><p>I have not seen worse situation anywhere other than in an Indian passenger train at peak hours.<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><br>I changed the mask given by them for one of mine which was not as tight, but the damage was done. I could not touch my ears already. I dared not to take off my mask though, even when sleeping. Being a person with extreme motion sickness, I was completely prepared with two sheets of Avomine. I had to take one at least half hour before I start my journey and must take one every 6 hours. The only side effect was drowsiness for me \u2013 which helped me sleep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Meanwhile..a sneak peak into the preparations by the <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/INSJalashwa?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#INSJalashwa<\/a> crew to receive the passengers!<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/MissionVandeBharat?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#MissionVandeBharat<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/SamudraSetu?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#SamudraSetu<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MEAIndia?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@MEAIndia<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/indiannavy?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@indiannavy<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/oXXsqgoaCX\">pic.twitter.com\/oXXsqgoaCX<\/a><\/p>&mdash; India in Maldives (@HCIMaldives) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/HCIMaldives\/status\/1258627527368556545?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 8, 2020<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">HCI Maldives tweet showing the accommodations onboard the ship.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The Air conditioner was not the best. It does spit out a lot of air, but not the cool kind. Mind it, there were messes were the AC was a champ, but just not in mine or the ones neighboring mine. They were loud. I was sleeping right next to one, but the vents were facing away from me. I could almost see the air come out of it yet cannot feel any of it. I was hot the entire trip. Humidity was high. I was sweating profoundly; the mask did not make it easy. I was planning not to bathe the whole trip, but that was not an option end of the day. The Ship was still anchored at this time. People were still boarding. People who were waiting in queue since the morning. I could not help feeling a bit pleased and guilty at the same time for jumping the queue that morning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--nextpage-->\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Op <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/SamudraSetu?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#SamudraSetu<\/a> Phase 1. <br>Arrival of the first batch and pre-embarkation actions at <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/INSJalashwa?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#INSJalashwa<\/a> at Male<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SpokespersonMoD?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@SpokespersonMoD<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/indiannavy?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@indiannavy<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/5XLVhE3TUn\">pic.twitter.com\/5XLVhE3TUn<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Defence PRO Visakhapatnam (@PRO_Vizag) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/PRO_Vizag\/status\/1258659936923537408?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 8, 2020<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Defence PRO Vishakapatanam Tweet showing the boarding procedure.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><br>It was around 2300 when the ship finally started moving. I had already taken my third pill. I was starting to feel its effect weighing down on me. I went down for that day. It was a bit tricky getting into the bunk though, the AC was starting to condense, and it was producing a lot of water. I had to manage to some how keep my shoes near my section, and then climb up the metal beds to reach my bunk without getting my socks wet by the floor. It was a bit hard the first few times, but then I got the hang of it.<br>On a side note, I and a few other passengers had a little talk with one of the Navy guys in our mess. He gave us a lot of information on the whole ship. He said that the ship could travel the distance in under 12 hours at maximum speed but could not do it always due to efficiency reasons. He also shared that their bunks were much better than ours and the ladies were provided something like theirs. Pregnant ladies got even better accomodation as they really need it. We, expendable men, were relegated to these bunks, which are usually used for transporting army personnel in war. It was all good if we were actually at war. But in times of a pandemic like this, I think they should have thought twice before arranging such a transport. That said, next day was little better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote\"><blockquote><p>The view up there was surreal<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><br>I woke up to seeing people rushing in the walkway right in front of me. There were some announcements going on. Apparently, they a couple of other warships have joined us in our journey, as escorts. We were all invited to the open deck at top to observe. I went up. The view up there was surreal. Middle of the ocean, clear early morning skies, ships around us, a helicopter above us. I just stood there for hours. It was a nice place to be. Fresh air after a long time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">A rendezvous at sea \ud83c\udf0a !<br><br>Western Fleet ships Mission-deployed in the Indian Ocean Region join <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/INSJalashwa?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#INSJalashwa<\/a> on her passage from the <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Maldives?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Maldives<\/a> to <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Kochi?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Kochi<\/a> in an impressive display of solidarity ! <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/MissionVandeBharat?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#MissionVandeBharat<\/a> <br>Op. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/SamudraSetu?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#SamudraSetu<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/91Vl0hvpD1\">pic.twitter.com\/91Vl0hvpD1<\/a><\/p>&mdash; India in Maldives (@HCIMaldives) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/HCIMaldives\/status\/1259137656946130944?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 9, 2020<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">HCI Maldives Tweet showing the formation at sea.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><br>It was breakfast time. I forgot to mention the dinner last night. That was the last queue of the day. A pretty long one at that. Turns out ladies do not have to stand in queues, they can walk up to the serving area in hoards and grab food when they want. Pregnant ladies, I understand, but perfectly capable young women? Women had seats to sit while they ate. We could too, if only any of us got the food before them. I stood next to a group of ladies who were all finished but one. They were seated and chatting with each other. I stood there, had my food \u2013 Rice, dal and Vegetable korma. It was good food. And this was the norm for the coming days. I started skipping meals though, towards the end of the trip. Back to present, last night\u2019s dinner had not left any good impressions on me, and I decided to skip breakfast. I had a pack of biscuits in my bag. I shared it with a couple of older guys near my bed. They too had decided to skip food. One of them have even decided not to sleep the whole trip, since his allotted bed was at the lower most bunk. Just CMs away from the slushing mix of mud and water on the floor. The wet floor from last night has turned into a mini ocean inside the ship. It mimicked the movement of the ocean outside, as in it moved from side to side as the ship did.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--nextpage-->\n\n\n\n<p>I had friends with me on board. That was the only way to pass time. They were fairly adventurous themselves. One had even found a way to enter the anchor room, even before we departed. That was our meeting place of sorts. Not many people knew about it, and it had lots of windows to look through. Only place inside where we could do so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br>I saw Navy guys cleanup the water in our sections. They did a great job, but the AC was no slouch. She was as furious as before, pumping out even more water. It was back to mud slush in a few hours\u2019 time. Previously, when we were on the open deck, the Navy officer in charge of us were telling us how this evacuation was the largest of its kind by any country. I was wondering why nobody else bothered to do it though. Hmm\u2026 Well of course nobody was brave enough. Not because it was not hygienic in a pandemic to transport a bunch of people in a Petri dish environment for two days in open ocean. Nope. Definitely not that.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"fr\" dir=\"ltr\">Bon Voyage!<br><br> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/INSJalashwa?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#INSJalashwa<\/a> departs from Mal\u00e9 port for Kochi with 698 Indian nationals on board.<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/MissionVandeBharat?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#MissionVandeBharat<\/a> <br>Operation <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/SamudraSetu?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#SamudraSetu<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MEAIndia?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@MEAIndia<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/PMOIndia?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@PMOIndia<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DrJaishankar?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@DrJaishankar<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MOS_MEA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@MOS_MEA<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/harshvshringla?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@harshvshringla<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/indiannavy?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@indiannavy<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/YjaxMNgzRl\">pic.twitter.com\/YjaxMNgzRl<\/a><\/p>&mdash; India in Maldives (@HCIMaldives) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/HCIMaldives\/status\/1258808931452944391?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 8, 2020<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">HCI Maldives Tweet showing INS Jalashwa departing Male&#8217; port.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>That said. The I Salute the navy for all the efforts they put into making our lives a little better. They did not make the decision to bring us. They were ordered to. And they did a tremendous job at that. It was a good day. They served lunch, which was the same as the dinner last night. I was really hungry, so I did my time to get to the food. There was another temperature check this time. I got some sleep afterwards and then we were all again called back up on the open deck for sunset. Had a briefing on what was going to happen the next day when we arrive at Kochi port in India. Sunset was again, surreal to my eyes at least. They finished up some formalities that were still not completed, from the boarding day. Turns out they had to stop the boarding process towards the end and do the rest on the ship after the ship had started the journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br>They put on a movie that night. It was one I already watched, still I took the excuse to stay on the open deck. Skies were clear and amazing. Up until lightning blades were visible on the horizon. Everyone was instructed to return to their mess. I went down early that day, skipped the dinner chore. Half tired from the pills I were taking and other half from heat exhaustion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--nextpage-->\n\n\n\n<p><br>It was Sunday. Barely. 0100 hours. A friend of mine woke me up. He was really excited about reaching home. I bathed that day. It was hard, but I powered through. We were in the anchor room from 0130 hours till 0600 hours. Just waiting for a glimpse of land in the pitch blackness of night. There was none. After that, we went to the open deck. To watch the sun rise. It was too cloudy for that though. After a while, we gave up. Friends went down for breakfast. I chose to have tea only.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote\"><blockquote><p>Just waiting for a glimpse of land in the pitch blackness of night<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>After breakfast, we went back up. After an hour or so, finally, land. We could see buildings, far away. We were asked to clear the deck at that point. All of us rushed to the common area. All our luggage was kept in a line there. Last day\u2019s briefing had information on disembarking procedures. Women and family first. Gents would be called up on district wise. At that point though, nobody seemed to care. Navy personnel tried their best at containing the crowd and were failing. It was even more hot and humid there with roughly 700 people in the same place, packed into a corner, to make way for disembarkation. Everybody just wanted to get out. Seemed like everyone forgot about COVID. Masks were on shoddily on everyone\u2019s face, but that was pretty much the only form of protection. At one point we were sleeping on top of each other, tired, waiting for our turn. We were provided another meal. It was Vegetable Biriyani. Starting and ending with the same meal. Poetic in a sense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">There&#39;s no place like home!<br><br>Passengers of <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/INSJalashwa?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#INSJalashwa<\/a> receive a rousing welcome as they disembark in <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Kochi?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Kochi<\/a>. <br><br>Opeartion <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/SamudraSetu?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#SamudraSetu<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MEAIndia?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@MEAIndia<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/indiannavy?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@indiannavy<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/F2VBqGkcPU\">pic.twitter.com\/F2VBqGkcPU<\/a><\/p>&mdash; India in Maldives (@HCIMaldives) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/HCIMaldives\/status\/1259359339128614916?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 10, 2020<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">HCI Maldives Tweet showing disembarkation.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><br>It was noon when I finally got out. On land. After 48 hours on board that ship. Cannot say I would miss anything there, but it would be an unparalleled experience for me for sure. For a long time to come. I once again thank Indian Navy for taking good care of us. But I cannot say the same about the decision of bringing people in this pandemic situation using such means. There are more ships to come after mine. I sincerely hope no one with COVID gets on any of these ships. If they do, there is very little we can do to stop the spread.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"entry-summary\">\nYes. I finally got the mail. I am leaving in a few days from Maldives back to home. India. Slight&hellip;\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/blogarithm.in\/?p=50\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &ldquo;My trip from Male&#8217; to Kochi on INS Jalashwa&rdquo;<\/span>&hellip;<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-50","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogarithm.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogarithm.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogarithm.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogarithm.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogarithm.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=50"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogarithm.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":112,"href":"https:\/\/blogarithm.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50\/revisions\/112"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogarithm.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=50"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogarithm.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=50"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogarithm.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=50"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}