It all started with my wife ‘whooshing’ in enthrallment over an ariel footage of some tropical Polynesian islands, encircled by coral reefs contrasting with the turquoise water. I have always said “Live your life, don’t just breathe your life away”. Adhering to that, she proposed that we should make a trip to the Caribbean Islands someday. Sarcasm ensued thereafter, I have always enjoyed getting her mad, and eventually making it up to her. I however, contemplated on the subject, and my mind sailed over the possible destinations lying in proximity, such as Lakshadweep, Kerala, Thailand, Indonesia, before finally anchoring onto the Andaman Islands. “Perfect! Have read about it a few times” exclaimed my wife. “And it’s quite within our reach”, said I. Having had enough of mountains and snow (for snow is only a day’s drive from where I live in Assam) we were glad to have chosen the Andamans for our trip. What concerned us was our three year old daughter, because we were not sure what it would be like, for the three of us to travel alone in the islands set so far apart from the mainland. Asking any of my friends and their families for company would prove to be futile, since most of them had already made recent holiday trips, and the rest were too domestic. Then up came my wife with the idea of asking her mom and dad, as they were already planning for Singapore and Malaysia. “That would be nice” I said. “But please reassess the whole thing, because we are pretty far down the line as per age is concerned, and that is likely to create differences.” “What the heck!” said my wife. “We would be too busy having fun!”
A series of phone calls and internet surfing ensued for the next couple of days, and we were all set for a trip to the Islands from 3rd to 8th December, 2015. I had booked my package with a local tourism agency in Port Blair, which was seemingly reliable as per the reviews online.
Finally it was the 2nd of December 2015, the day we were all longing for, and me, my wife and kid, my mother & father-in-law all found ourselves seated onboard the 2:35 pm Indigo Airlines flight from Dibrugarh to Kolkata. After a 90 minutes flight we landed in Kolkata greeted by a light drizzle and overcast skies. We checked into a pre-booked hotel near the airport. We had our flight to Port Blair the next morning at 5:25am, had to go bed early. It was raining pretty good, not cats & dogs though, and I wondered what the weather would be like, at the sea!
Day1
We got up at 2 am, and by 3:30 we were at the airport. My daughter was nonplussed and cross, she had never left bed so early before. “I don’t want to see the sea or whatever, just don’t wake me up like that”, screamed my daughter. “Never”, said I. Whoa, what a stern statement from a 3 year old! But she was soon bedazzled by the numerous lights and aircrafts, seen from the lounge. It was still dark when our Jet Airways flight took off, and clouds whizzed past the window pane like huge boulders of black smoke. Eventually daylight set in, and there were thick clouds beneath us, and no blue sea! I reminded my gloomy wife of that proverbial ‘Silver lining in the clouds’, and after almost two hours our aircraft began its descent, and I pointed out the window. “Look, there’s your Caribbean Islands, but in the Bay of Bengal”. The numerous small islands encircled by coral reefs and turquoise waters contrasting with the deep blue waters, presented a mesmerizing sight. “Just what the doctor ordered”, she smiled.
We landed at the Veer Savarkar International airport in Port Blair, a very small airport, for that matter. Good number of foreign tourists were seated in rows filling up the immigration forms for their permits to visit Andaman. They need those, as Andaman and Nicober islands is a Restricted area. I spotted my name amidst the numerous playcards being held outside the airport, and the guy holding mine greeted us introducing himself as Rajesh, and he would be with us for the next six days. He dropped us in our hotel, and we had to get ready within two hours. Let me add here that the hotel we booked was a simple but a good one, with AC rooms, located in the Aberdeen bazar area. We had tightened on our accommodation, as because we would be in our rooms only for the nights, wouldn’t get much time to cuddle up and be cozy, to be honest. The upcoming days apparently would be very busy days for us.
Rajesh showed up at 10am and we were all fresh and ready by then. After a light breakfast, we boarded our vehicle and started with the Samudrika Marine Museum. The museum, run by the Indian Navy, has five sections exhibiting the history of the islands, geographical information, anthropology, archaeology and marine life. Starting the trip with this museum turned out to be a good thing because there is a fairly good chance that you might come across many of the things in the museum elsewhere on your trip ahead, and then you would know what to look for and what you are looking at. What fascinated us the most, was the skeleton of a young blue whale , installed inside a glass cabin out on the courtyard. It had stranded on the shores of the islands at some point of time, and has been curated and exhibited since. Next visit was to the Chatham Saw Mill, the oldest and still functioning saw mill in Asia. It is situated on the Chatham island connected to Port Blair by a concrete jetty, and you can drive right next to the mill on the island. There’s a tiny museum there as well. But I was a bit perturbed by the sight of stupendous amount of mature logs being lined up onto the conveyor rollers for splitting. I spoke out my concern, and our lady guide nodded and said that it is really a matter of concern, though the Andaman islands are still full of pristine forests with very old trees, people there have seen how forests have decimated over the years. Human needs have always had the priority over conservation, eh?
We took a quick look at the Anthropological museum and the artifacts belonging to the indigenous tribes of the Islands such as the Jarawas, the Nicobarese, the Greater Andamanese, the Onges, the Shompens etc, mesmerized us. It’s a pity photography is prohibited there, as in many Tribal-dwelling places of Andamans, and has some very intricate reasons; I love to respect those!
The Cellular jail, if referred to as the Heart of the Andamans, won’t be an exaggeration, because it’s a monument Andaman is well known for. The place which was once dreaded by all the freedom fighters in India during the British reign is now a heritage monument. The huge structure, the stark walls along with the crampy cells and gallows had a kind of melancholiness in them. I tried to feel how life would have been, for all those poor souls who were incarcerated here for good, bereaved off their families, friends and everything they could imagine. We reacquired our spirits in the aquarium thereafter, and my kid exuberantly expressed her joy seeing the live, colorful fishes and corals, in the glass tanks. There is a skeleton of a small sperm whale here, exhibited inside a glass cabin on the courtyard outside.
After a gratifying lunch, we were on our way to Corbyn’s Cove beach which is a few kilometers away from the city. It was a beautiful drive, up the narrow road meandering along the coastline all the way to the beach, strewn with coconut palms. The beach was a bit rocky one, and teeming with people at that hour, even vendors. The pandemonium kicked out by the speedboat and jet ski guys blatantly shouting to allure the crowd for a ride, was pretty obnoxious. I sought some seclusion in a far corner, set up my tripod and took some evening shots of the sea, while the others waded into the water. The beach in itself, was a beautiful one altogether. It was dusk by the time we left the beach; tourists are not allowed to venture out into beaches after dark in the Andamans, anyway. We hastily drove to the Cellular jail once again for the Light & Sound show. Our tickets have been pre-booked by our agent, and we took our respective seats, which are arranged in one corner of the jail courtyard. The show was ok, and by the time it ended, it was 7:45. I looked into the dreadfully weary eyes of my daughter and said to her “Sorry dear, you will be in bed soon”.
Day-2
A very exuberant morning for all of us, we were going for diving! My wife was very much perplexed. “Let us reach the spot, I will decide according to the situation” said she. I soothed her saying that her desire for sea-diving would soon overpower her fears. After a light breakfast we reached the water sports complex at 7:30 am, and our agent helped us book our dive with a dive club named Infinity Scuba, we had to make a payment of Rs 3500/- per person prior to the dive scheduled at North Bay island, and if anyone refrains from going for the dive on spot, refund was assured. After the formalities we had to wait for awhile at the water sports jetty for our speedboat. The jetty was not at all a quiet one. There were foreigners, honeymoon couples(which were ubiquitous throughout Andaman ), kids and even feebly old tourists. “ Andaman apparently is turning into a tourist hub”, I thought. Our speedboat showed up with a very stern-looking boatman on the wheels. There were the five of us, along with a young couple on board, and the way the boatman commanded over us, got on my nerves. But his insolence can be misconstrued upon, because these people are responsible for the safety of the tourists, and there are many impudent tourists who act like they have seen every corner of the world, and no rules are going to bind them. Having to deal with this kind of tourists has earned him his attitude. All of a sudden I began to feel pity for our guy!
After literally flying for about 10 minutes on the speedboat we were at the North Bay Island. This island along with the Ross Island is situated very close to Port Blair and seems to be at a stone’s throw away from each other. The North Bay Island is a beauty in itself. The gravel that we walk on back home is replaced by pieces of dead corals here. You can barely walk without stepping on corals here. There are rows of shacks on the shore which are in fact, the Dive Club counters, and we took no time in finding ours-‘The Infinity Scuba’. We were handed over a medical questionnaire to be filled up before the dive. Let me add that one should conceal no issues regarding one’s health here, as it might be perilous for the dive. My father-in-law admitted having a perforated eardrum earlier, and despite being quite used to the water, he was recommended to stay back. My mother-in-law very reluctantly agreed to go, but refrained at the end. Me and my wife put on our dive suits. The dive was preluded by a training session in shallow water, where we were taught to breathe through the apparatus and the underwater hand signals and all other possibilities were briefed about. My wife was petrified, and I was distraught seeing her pull off at the final minute. Her instructor however, managed to persuade her to come along, and we were dragged into deeper waters. Let me tell you that you need not know swimming and even if you did, try not to swim. Your instructor would hold you by your oxygen cylinder and drag you down under. Once our masks were underwater, we were bewildered by the view. We were lost amidst the plethora of colorful fishes. It was a different world down there. I could recognize many fishes from the museum. The Zebra fishes which were everywhere, the clown fishes dancing among the sea anemones, the vibrant butterfly fishes and the various coral formations. There were photographers down there with us, and one of them signaled me to put my feet on a coral rock for a pose. I hesitated, for there are lots of venomous marine animals living among the corals, stonefish and lionfish, to name a few. In fact we got to see a lionfish in a crevice among the corals. I signaled to go deeper, and I was taken down the reef to touch the sandy sea bed. Down in the depths pretty big sized Groupers and Parrotfishes lurked. Then just before surfacing, we saw a Banded Sea Krait, a marine snake wriggling among the corals. That was intimidating, as it is a highly venomous creature, though sea snakes seldom bite. My instructor later said that he had never seen it there earlier. No wonder he had refused, when I signaled to move closer, to have a good look at the serpent. My wife was enthralled. “it would have been a pity if I didn’t do it”, she stated. There are in fact, much more superior diving sites than this, in the Andaman. The water was a bit murky there as well. Yet this diving experience was something to treasure, for us. The dive club handed over Certificates to us for the completion of preliminary diving, as well as CDs containing underwater photos and videos. My little girl was busy playing with her grandpa on shore, quite oblivious of the fact that her mom & dad had gone under the sea. “What!” she exclaimed. We had our lunch in one of the numerous stalls on North Bay. These people come here for business from Port Blair in the mornings and leave in the evenings every day. A lot of stalls selling food, souvenirs and other merchandise created a pretty busy and crowded scene which, most of the travelers won’t anticipate to be there. These set aside, the view of the North Bay Light House (which appears on our 20 Rupees notes), against the backdrop of the blue sea, enhances the beauty of the island.
From North Bay we headed straight to Ross Island on our boat. This small and beautiful island served as a residential colony for the British officers and staff, and there were ruins of old buildings all around. Clubs, residential quarters, a church, a swimming pool, all in dilapidated conditions, even a graveyard. The island has a beach too, facing the open sea, and it had faced the full fury of the tsunami and has been destroyed. My kid was mesmerized by the very tame chitals (Spotted deer), peacocks and rabbits. A lady named Ms. Anuradha looks after them and she calls them by names, and the animals and birds follow her all along, even the wild bulbuls, an overwhelming sight! I took out my 400 mm telephoto lens which I hardly part with. A majestic White-bellied Sea Eagle hovered above, offering some shots. Earlier in the day I shot a Brown Coucal, which is endemic to the Andaman. Can’t seem to subdue my affinity for birding! By sunset we were at Port Blair again. “Phew! What a Day!” We ruminated upon our diving experience until late that night.
Day-3
The Human mind is bizarre, and with all the good times ahead of us notwithstanding, my exasperation still played an upper hand, in a comical sense. You can’t entirely blame me either, for no one likes to wake up to incessant rains in the morning, while on a trip. The young boy at the hotel with a gullible face and a perpetual smile said that I shouldn’t have rejoiced if it was sunshine either, because that’s the way it is here. The weather in the Andamans may change every hour. It was raining heavily at 6 in the morning and the sky was dark as a coalfield as far as I could see in the horizon. “ We are going to the Jolly Buoy Island and I didn’t want it to be this way” I said. The clear blue sparkling water, the silver sand, the virgin woods and the spectacular marine life was all I had perceived about Jolly Buoy. We set out for Wandoor at about 7:30 am and reached there by about 8:30am. Wandoor is a tiny settlement and is the gateway to the Mahatma Gandhi Marine National Park, and Jolly Buoy island is one of the 15 islands within the Park. Out of these only two are opened for tourists, the other being the Red Skin Island. Both Jolly Buoy and Red Skin are kept open for tourism alternatively for 6 months each. Our entry permits were arranged by our agent, and we had to stand in a queue for the checking. The word ‘Checking, here implies to checking for any sort of disposable plastic material in the bags, because this is an entirely no-plastic zone, even plastic water bottles aren’t allowed. One has to take water bottles on rent from the Forest Department with a security deposit of Rs.100/- per bottle, which is refunded on handing back the bottles after your return. The entry permits were issued at Rs.50/- each. We had to show our ID documents along with the permits at the gate. (You will be needing your IDs in hand wherever you travel in Andaman). A cacophony at the front end of the line drew our attention. One middle-aged fellow was yelling at the security check with utter contempt. Perhaps he didn’t relish the idea of being made to stand in a queue and having his bag checked, in his vacation. We were soon waiting on the jetty to board the ferry assigned to take us. Each ferry carried up to around fifty people, charging Rs-750/- per person for both ways. We travelled through the channel with mangroves on both sides, out towards the open sea, and we could see the picturesque Jolly Buoy Island up ahead in the distance. It was still drizzling and the skies were darker than ever, and so were my spirits!
Being in the protected area, there is no harbor or jetty in the island, and is uninhabited. We disembarked on a floating platform, a hundred meters from the shore. We boarded a glass-bottomed boat and went for a ride during which we got magnificent views of the world of corals and fishes underneath. The visibility of the water was amazing, and we felt like we could easily see upto a depth of 50 meters. After a bombardment of a thousand questions from my little kid, and after about 25 minutes, the ride concluded, and we set foot on the silvery sand of the island. The island is a small one, almost completely engulfed by dense woods, penetrating which, is prohibited. Small thatched roof shelters, changing rooms and wooden benches were set up, and we chose one of them. We left our belongings there and frantically ran into the water. I acted like an imbecile, having ludicrously jumped head-first into the water, and gulped a lot of water in the process. A snorkeling guide was hired and I went for a little snorkeling for Rs.500/-. The experience was awesome. It was crystal clear underneath the surface and I could even count the stripes on the butterfly fishes. My guide held me by my arm and dragged me along, and I could see the Brain corals, mushroom corals, boulder corals, sea cucumber, oysters, clams and the vibrantly colored fishes. I asked him for a favour of letting me swim alone. He reluctantly agreed, but asked me to make it short and I, for the first time made a dive upto 8 feet in the sea all by myself and grabbed a sea cucumber and brought it to the surface. “That is awesome”, I exclaimed, and released it back after a nice look. I was told that we were lucky that day, as fishes are highly active in cloudy days like that. Some big sized parrots and groupers ventured very near to us. The world underwater looks so surreal, it just evokes your aesthetic senses, and you suddenly feel blessed to be born as a human, being able to admire this divine creation. Snorkeling is highly recommended in Jolly Buoy, if not elsewhere in Andaman. My wife and kid enjoyed splashing at waist deep water, and we had a splendid time. The water is ideal for swimming there. By that time, the sun was peeping from behind the clouds. We couldn’t have asked for more!
We returned from Jolly Buoy and were back at Wandoor at about 2:40 after a one hour 15 minutes ride. We had a scrumptious meal at one of the many small restaurants at Wandoor, and the fried fish was good. Talking about the food in Andaman, it is normal Indian style cuisine, the restaurants served mostly South Indian dishes and some Bengali dishes here and there. We drove thereafter to Chidiya Tapu., which is said to be the southernmost point of mainland Andaman. It offers some spectacular sunset views. The drive itself was one of a kind, with the road opening up and running along the coastline every now and then, strewn with palm trees. At some point the road led through a jungle and I kept my ears cupped for bird calls. Along the coastline we saw many signs that read “Beware of Saltwater Crocodiles”. We didn’t see any, despite scanning the shore from our vehicle throughout the way. It was almost sunset by the time we reached the Munda Pahar beach in Chidiya Tapu. The shoreline there is a rocky one and the place is covered by dense woodland with tall trees, some of the tallest that I have seen. Most of them are Andaman Padauk, the best timberwood in Andaman. I was bewildered by the incessant calls of the birds, one apparently being that of a woodpecker’s, might have been the endemic Andaman woodpecker that I longed to see. “May be next time”, I thought. The sun doesn’t set into the sea but behind a small hillock here, and that’s what makes it a unique sunset. The sunset however, was a brief one for us, for there were still dark patches of cloud in the sky. Pretty unfortunate, though I took some long exposure shots of the sea using my tripod. The numerous calls of the birds had faded away, for it was dark. We left Chidiya Tapu behind us.
Day 4
Our excitement knew no bounds, because we were going to Baratang. This was the hardest of them all. Couldn’t get a decent sleep at night as we had to wake up at 2:15am and at 3:30am sharp we left our hotel. The narrow rural road meandered through the dark woods and occasionally through quaint little settlements. It was still pitch dark and there were no human in sight, except for the cars, motorbikes and bicycles parked by the road outside the gates. People in these islands have little fear of thieves, I presume. Everywhere we went in Andaman, locals reiterated that we can count on the fact that no one is going to rip us off our belongings there. Well, you can’t be so sure of that, but they did sound convincing.
The sky lightened up a bit by the time we reached Jirkatang. This is the check gate from where one has to enter the protected Jarawa reserve, inhabited by the famous jarawa tribe. This tribe is still living a primitive way of life, getting every necessity from the jungle and the adjoining sea. The Government has done a good job in isolating this tribe from the outside world, with a view to preserving their ethnicity. But now the departments are providing things like medical aids in their settlements in the jungle. Photography and any kind of offerings to them are strictly prohibited. The convoy had started to build up as many other vehicles had also arrived. The formalities with the entry forms and ID proofs were done and we had a light breakfast at 5:30 am in the stalls lined up near the gate. There is a public toilet at Jirkatang, helps you to relieve those early morning calls, you know. The convoy was timed at 6:30 am and it was a waiting game then. The place is surrounded by hillocks with tall trees, and I was fortunate to have a sighting of the state bird of Andaman and Nicobar, the endemic Andaman Wood Pigeon. A pair flew majestically high above the trees and soon disappeared. I however, got a few shots of a pair of White-breasted wood swallow, another endemic species of these islands.
The convoy eventually started to move, headed by a Bus with police personnel on board. This is the Andaman highway connecting South Andaman with the middle and the North. Port Blair is at South and Baratang is at Middle Andaman, and it is inevitable that you have to cross the Jarawa reserve. Hence you earn your chance of seeing a Jarawa tribesman on the way. Please note that seeing the various tribes in Andaman cannot be in your itinerary, as no tourism activity involving the tribes is allowed here. Our convoy moved slowly and we were overwhelmed by the dense pristine forest we moved through. The protection of the Jarawa tribe is conducive to the conservation of this forest, and that is a pretty good thing. The drive through the smooth forest road almost lulled us to sleep, but we kept our eyes peeled for any kind of activity. My eyes were red enough to even scare away a Jarawa by then. And there they were, as our convoy took a turn, three Jarawa tribesmen were seated by the road, basking in the morning sun. The curly hair and thick lips pertaining to the negroid race and the red loins that they were wearing, their spears, bows and arrows, everything looked so surreal! One young guy grinned at us while we drove past and an older guy sat nonchalantly in a very pensive mood. We avoided eye contacts, for they can be unpredictable at times. “If I could just peep into their heads to see what they thought of the modern people”, I thought. After one and a half hour drive through 49 kms of Jarawa forest we reached Middlestrait jetty. We had to leave our vehicle at Middle strait and boarded one of the big ferries to cross the strait which seperates South Andaman from the Middle and North. We soon reached the Baratang jetty(also called Nilumber jetty) on the other side. There were two small restaurants by the Baratang jetty serving South Indian dishes. We had our breakfast there and soon blended into the crowd on the jetty to board one of the motorboats that will carry us to the Limestone caves through the mangroves. Again, this was something most visitors won’t like- a crowd, especially in a place like Baratang. You can never be too far away from a crowd in India, can you? Lifejackets have been made mandatory to board a boat everywhere in Andaman, no matter how short the boat ride is. We put on ours and our boat whizzed through the narrow strait lined with dense mangrove forests on either shores. These waters at Baratang are infested by Saltwater crocodiles, and out boatman said they often saw some pretty big ones there, basking on the muddy shores by the mangroves, an ideal habitat for these hideous creatures. No wonder why there were signs near the jetty that said to keep a lookout for these salties and how to take precautionary measures to elude any encounter. Our eyes were fixed on the shore for any croc sightings while our boat cruised through the channel. There were intermittent rains and we were a little drenched. Our boat slowed down and gradually entered the mangrove jungle through a tiny creek, and the experience was breathtaking! Overhanging canopy of the dense mangroves over the water gave the impression of those scenes we see in the shows of National Geographic. We soon disembarked on a wooden platform amidst the mangroves. This is actually a wooden walk, erected over the water which led us to hard ground. A path through the dense tropical woodland through which, we had to walk for about one and a half kilometer to reach the limestone caves. It was quite sultry, and the humidity was killing us. I took long strides, carrying my kid on my shoulders. The limestone cave is a decent one, with some good formations of stalactites and stalagmites. Such caves, even bigger ones are there in our Northeast India, and the jungle is pretty much the same as in Assam. We went by a village on the way with paddy fields and betelnut trees, and it was quite reminiscent of an Assamese village except for the coconut palms. The humidity was soaring, the perspiration was profuse, and we hastily left the cave for some fresh air. On our way back, I was fascinated by the antics of the Mudskipper fishes, a fish which looks more like a tadpole and could walk on land using its pectoral gills as flippers. The tide had gone down and mudskippers and numerous crabs were crawling on the mud among the pneumatophores of the mangroves. The boat carried us back to Baratang in about 20 minutes, and we boarded the vehicle arranged by our agent to visit the mud volcano. I ain’t sure how much the boat and the car charged us, for these were all included in our package. The mud volcano is about 5 kms from Baratang and isn’t much to look at, it just aggravated our weariness. We crossed back on the ferry to Middlestrait, and the return convoy started at 12:30pm, through the Jarawa Reserve. We were fortunate to see a tribal guy again. The meagre-looking guy stood very close to the road, pulling his bowstring at something in the bushes, probably a squirrel. Another one up ahead smiled and made a very casual hand gesture to a policeman on the vehicle in front of us, and we were awestruck. But his face grew sullen the moment the other vehicles came by. Apparently they know and trust the police personnels other than anyone else. We were back at Port Blair by 4 pm. What we missed in Baratang, was the Parrot Island, where a huge congregation of Parakeets can be witnessed in the evenings, when the birds return to the island to roost for the night. But for that one has to stay overnight at Baratang. There are a few resorts available there, and I kept that aside for my next visit. I am good at consoling myself, whatsoever!
Day 5
“ Today is the last day of our trip, and I am going to make the most out of it “, I stated. We were going to Havelock Island. This inhabited island with a sizeable human population is 54 kms from Port Blair and takes around two and a half hours by ship. We however, had our reservations made in M.V. Makruzz, a high-speed airconditioned luxury cruise catamaran which takes roughly one and a half hours to Havelock. We took the premium seats for Rs 975/- one way per person, my kid being exempted from full ticket. However, I had to pay Rs 105/- for her, over the check-in counter. The Makruzz leaves from the Phoenix Bay Jetty, and has bus service for the passengers from the gate to the counter and lounge. I would hate to call it a lounge, rather a hall with chairs arranged in rows. But the good thing is that you can check in your luggage at the counter and forget all about it, until you receive them upon your disembarkment. The ship departed at 8:15 am. It had beautiful interiors with a snackbar on board. Our seats were located far behind in the corner. The window panes were full of scratches and the view was not at all good. It’s a pity you cannot go out to the deck either. The sea was a bit rough, and the ship rocked while it cruised, and we soon had a ship full of people running around with their seasickness bags. We reached Havelock within the stipulated time, and our guide greeted us at the jetty. We headed straight for the Radhanagar beach, one of the top-rated beaches in Asia.
The lush green vegetation on either sides of the road, the villages with the scantiest of populations, the coconut palms….if you are in search of tranquility, this is the place; everything was so serene about it. Our driver was a very informative one, and he enlightened us with many facts about the island. A twenty minutes drive led us to Radhanagar beach. It was indeed a very beautiful beach, an impeccable one with fine sand, and favourable waves. There was comparatively lesser number of people and no vendors at all. What is fascinating is the beautiful grove of tall trees by the beach which further enhanced the beauty. Among the trees, were bathrooms and changing rooms, separately for gents and ladies. You can keep your valuables in lockers available there as well. We were soon in the water and had some good relaxing time, with the gentle waves lashing at us. I sought some seclusion and lay down on a wooden bench in a corner, trying to enjoy the bliss of solitude. Soon the skies were overcast and before I knew anything, the rain came down in torrents. “What’s new about it”- I yelled! The fine homogenous sand covered each one of us, and we used the washroom. Outside the beach entrance the road was lined with small restaurants as in the previous occasions, and we had a sumptuous meal there. The beach was undoubtedly a splendid one, but I am sure there are many other beaches even more untouched, in and around Havelock. Some of them being the Elephant beach, Laxmanpur beach etc. Neil Island has also got much more to offer, and I would recommend one to spend at least a couple of nights in one of the many deluxe resorts at Havelock, hire a two-wheeler and ride around and explore on your own. Besides, Havelock has got many exotic offshore diving sites adjacent to it. I have marked them on top of my to-do list, on my next visit. We boarded the Makruzz on our return journey to Port Blair and left Havelock at 3:45pm. My mind was in an inexplicable state, and I stared out of my window ruminating on everything that we went through, in the last 5 days. It was dark and we could make out the shimmering lights from the coast of Port Blair up ahead in the distance.
After getting off from the Makruzz at Phoenix Bay Jetty, we were taken straight to Sagarika Emporium for shopping, the last thing in our itinerary. It is a government outlet showcasing all sorts of stuff and souvenirs pertaining to Andaman islands. We collected a few from there as well as the local market. One should be sure to collect money receipts on purchase of items relating to the sea, such as sea shells, corals, clams etc. No such things collected from the wild are allowed to be taken out of the islands, and are confiscated at the airport. Our return flight was scheduled at 8:25 am in the next morning and I had a terrible time completing my web check-in, for the internet connectivity there, is one of the worst in the planet. But I painstakingly had it done somehow before retiring for the night.
Day 6
Our driver threw his warm smile at us for the last time, as he dropped us at the airport. We were all seated in the aircraft, and everything felt so mundane, after all those carefree days we had spent on the island, and I could feel our spirits plummet with the ascend of our aircraft. I looked down to the coral islands which were then, only obscure spots against the dark sea, and I thought to myself “It won’t be much time till we meet again, I promise!”