The village around Havelock's main jetty is small and scruffy. Most buildings are made from wood. The shops are tiny wooden affairs offering basics such as lentils, rice and tea. I stocked up with a bottle of water and a random bagged snack, then started to walk the road southwards along the island's coast. Goats strolled idiotically alongside me as I picked my way around the occasional cow or hen. The side of the road was lined with towering palms. Amongst the palms are makeshift camps and homes consisting of bamboo and palm leaf. Children stopped to say hello. Old men looked up from their work and stared blankly as I continued my walk towards village no.3.
It started to get dark, so I pulled in to the left and seated myself on the floor of a small restaurant in the camp 'Eco Villa'. I ate a paneer curry with a glass of freshly pulped papaya, then booked myself into hut no.7, a small thatch of bamboo, and palm woven to form a basic abode. Inside was a light, a fan, a mattress and a thriving infestation of ants.