Andaman Trip (Condt)

Day Four (2nd half) : Port Blair to Havelock Island

We left the Wandoor Beach around 12 pm to board the speed boat for havelock.

bro, ankita, me
WANDOOR BEACH

We left for Havelock at around 2 pm on a speed boat with around 60 more passengers. Initially we hurried to grab a seat, as it was on first come first serve basis, but soon after, we left our seat to grab the best seat – the huge window near the entrance. Three hours journey was fun and filled with wonderful sceneries.

After inspecting almost all the hotels, huts and resorts of Havelock Island, Bay View Inn Resort was the one we finally checked in. It is just in front of the sea. The sea shore there is ideal for swimming. The sea being so calm and so clear that it makes it no less than an oceanic large swimming pool ;)

Another good thing about this resort is that, boat comes just in front of your resort and takes you to different islands or beaches! And then brings you back to your resort. It saves the time, money and energy that would involve if you go to the jetty to board the boat.

Next morning was the trip to Elephant Beach. We boarded a motor boat which took around 2 hrs to move beside island after island before it reached the beach.

me and bro giving titanic pose

ON THE WAY TO ELEPHANT BEACH

You can swim a little further in the sea to see the exotic varieties of corals and different kinds of fish. We were given a life jacket (or tube) and a snorkeling kit. Initially the guide took us to the spot. I think it was around 30 feet deep and 100 meters away from the beach. And even at that dept, the base of the sea was clearly visible and I could see huge colorful corals and many different kinds of fish. It was like; I was floating on the surface of a gigantic aquarium. First time ever I saw a coral; and fishes swimming around and below me was a wonderful life time experience! (There was a huge black fish and it did scare me a lot.)

corals and fish

(its not clicked by me)

standing tall

ELEPHANT BEACH

Later that afternoon we returned back to our resort. Me and my friend toured around the island on a motor bike, while others were taking rest. Evening time was spent looking at the wonderful scenes at the harbor and we did little shopping before going back to our resort.

the late evening scene at the harbor

to be continued.....

Andaman Trip (continued...)

Day Three: Port Blair Town 3/6/2008

Today we planned to tour in and around the city of Port Blair. We covered Chatam Saw Mill (one of the oldest & largest in Asia), Forest Museum, Mini Zoo, Anthropological Museum, Fisheries (Marine) Museum, Science Centre, Naval Marine Museum (Samudrika), Cottage Industries Emporium (Sagarika) and the famous Cellular jail.

Bro posing in front of an old engine
CHATAM SAW MILL

fighting with a lion
SCIENCE CITY

The museums there are just for the name sake, all they have are some shells, corals, skeletons, some old newspaper clippings, pictures of freedom fighters, snakes, fish, etc. There was not a single thing that seemed interesting or antique to me. In fact one of the museums has fresh wooden art works !

A Pic by Indian Navy
NAVAL MUSEUM

The jail of course was an interesting place to visit. It was open for the tourist. First time ever I went to a jail. We saw the room where people were hanged and even the room below it, where their body used to be dropped after they die! I even locked myself in one of the cell to get the feel ;) The cell size was more than sufficient for a single prisoner. It was even bigger than my college hostel room ;) The fact that freedom fighthers were prisoner here, added the zing!

The view from the roof top was amazing. The deep blue sea, few islands, and the green surroundings forced us to click many pics.

me posing on the roof top of Cellular Jail

In the evening we revisited the Corbyn’s Cove Beach, a coconut palm fringed beach, ideal for swimming, sun-basking & bathing. The later part of the evening was spent in the market (Sabardeen Bazar) of Port Blair.

Day Four : Port Blair to Havelock 4/6/2008

The speed boat to Havelock was at 2 PM , so we decided to spend the first half of the day at Wandoor Beach (near Mahatma Gandhi Jetty). It was a wonderful beach, with so many dead yet tall and strong trees. Though we had very less time, but the beach tempted me and bro so much that we couldn't stop ourselves from diving in!

posing in front of dead tree
WANDOOR BEACH

to be continued.....

Andaman Trip

1/6/2008 ---- 8/6/2008

Day One: Deoghar to Howrah 1/6/2008

After the five hours journey from Deoghar to Howrah, we waited for few hours (waiting room terrace) before moving to Dum Dum Airport next morning.

Day Two: Howrah to Port Blair 2/6/2008

It was an early morning flight to Port Blair. “Can I have a back window seat, and on the left side of the plane?” I had read somewhere that you get a better view if you sit on the left side of the plane while flying to Port Blair. The view through the window was really amazing, especially during the last few minutes, before the plane landed at the Port Blair airport. There were many different islands, small and big. And the sea with different shades of blue was awesome to look at!

Arial view

As soon as we came out of the airport, Dad and bro were surrounded by hundreds of agents, taxi drivers and tour package organizers! Phew! While bro was enjoying it, and was in the mood to negotiate, dad became impatient after a while and he just hired the one who was willing to take us to a hotel for free!

It was a forest department guest house. It ‘s a beautiful place to stay; surrounded by lush green trees and very near to Phoenix Jetty (harbor). After resting for a while, we went to Karvinskov Beach. The water was crystal clear! First time ever I saw a beach with so clear water! Some of us enjoyed a bath there. Bro and dad taught me to float, and then I managed to learn swimming all by myself. After a while we headed towards Cellular Jail.

As it was Monday the jail was closed. We couldn’t see it from inside, but we got the ticket for Light and Sound Show (it’s a musical tale of the freedom fighters who were prisoner of this jail). I was tired and I slept even before the show started and woke up just before it ended. Mom says it was good.

Cellular Jail

Day Three: Port Blair Town 3/6/2008

To be continued…