I was stuck for a honeymoon destination for December, My wife asked me How about the Andamans?? I had not heard much about the place as a happening tourist destination, so I did some research on the net and liked what I read about the Andamans .After reading other’s travelogues I also decided on the places to stay and visit. I booked our flights 1 month in advance and the hotel bookings 2 weeks before our scheduled departure.
So 25th November morning saw us board the kingfisher flight at 6.10 am ( Bangalore-Chennai-Port blair return trip came to Rs 14 k per person) .I had spent some anxious days as those were the days of Kingfisher airlines crises and many of their flights were cancelled. however my stars were smiling and the flights were on schedule..we had our breakfast during the two hour transit wait in Chennai We reached Port Blair at 11.00 am .The view from the sky before you land itself is breathtaking .Andaman islands looks like a diamond surrounded by the blue sea covered by fluffy white clouds.
The Airport is a quaint facility with not much hustle-bustle. Out side the airport you will faced with a plethora of cab driver’s (as it happens in all tourist places in India) asking you where to take you .After fixing a price of Rs 100 (thank you travelogues) we reached our place at port Blair MEGAPODE camping resort . It’s a government resort situated on a cliff overlooking the sea ( https://aniidco.and.nic.in/camping-resort.php A/c rooms Rs 2000 per day) .The view outside the rooms is awesome and you get a nice breeze from the sea if you sit outside.! .The room was dome shaped and was spacious clean and simple. The only negative point is that it is situated 4 Km away from the city centre so rickshaw’s wont be available easily but you can always ask the manager to get one for you .
We had a great lunch consisting of Murgh makhani, rotis and jeera pulao ( bill Rs 400). After a siesta we headed to explore the local market .We went to Aberdeen market and then went to Cellular jail to see the light and sound show ( Rs 40 per person) which gives an insight to the history and freedom struggle in the Andamans. It will surely make you realize why it was called KALAPANI and that because of the efforts of our freedom fighters we are enjoying a good life today. Dinner at our hotel consisted of mutter pulao, malai prawns curry, beer and cold drinks ( bill Rs 450). We sat in front of our dome , overlooking the sea with a nice breeze blowing across, palm trees swaying in rhythm and moon peeping out of the clouds . Just imagine sitting outside your rooms with your loved one’s, listening to gentle breeze, looking in to sunset and cool breeze ruffling your hair.This is how life should be, I thought.
Day 2
The next day morning we went to Rajiv Gandhi jetty (also called Aberdeen jetty) to get ticket’s to go to ROSS islands (ferry ticket Rs 75 , Entry fee-Rs 20 per person camera fee -Rs10 ). Its a 20 minute ride by ferry and is a beautiful island with deer’s, peacocks and duck’s walking around you.It was the capital of Andamans during the British raj . However all the structure’s like the church , water plant are now in ruin’s, but the natural beauty is quite amazing and the island is kept clean and is dotted with coconut trees.you can take great photos here on account of the scenic beauty it provides .The entire island can be covered within two hours.There are full day trips to Ross , North bay and Viper islands but the North bay island is now dirty and mainly used as a site for water sports while viper Island was the place where prisoners were hanged and the only place to see is the gallows which are now in ruins
After Ross Island we went to Cellular jail again, this time to view the beauty of the place .Our guide was knowledgeable ( Rs 100 for guide , entry fee- Rs 10) and when he took us to the cell where Veer Sawarkar stayed, it literally gave me goose bumps.It is now a heritage site and only three out of the seven tours which were built are present now.The view from top of the tower’s was good and we could see the entire stretch of port blair and also see Ross island . They also have a good museum which shows the history of cellular jail. We had lunch at ICY- SPICY (at junglighat) which is a veg restaurant and was recommended in the travelogues .It did live up to the expectations. We also went to the anthropological museum which gives insight about the history of the different tribes in the Andamans, its worth a miss. After a siesta (it gets hot even in November end) we had nice walk upto Corbyn’s cove beach, listening to the waves and watching the sunset .
DAY 3
Next morning 08.30 saw us arrive at phoenix jetty to catch The Makruzz to go to Havelock islands( when we had booked , the premium tickets Rs 700 per person now it is Rs 1400, tickets can be booked via agents only .(https://makruzz.com /site/preferred_agents.html) The catamaran is of international standards and it reaches Havelock in 1.5 hour compared to the government ferry which takes 2.5 hrs with its bumpy ride. We had booked an A/c room ( Rs 2500 per day) at Eco villa palm resort ( https://havelock.co.in/ecovilla) which was quite decent and is at a 15 minute ride from the jetty. Havelock it’s self is a quaint old village type island ( much like Goa) where tourist’s roam about on rented 2 wheeler’s .The sea was 100 m from our room and we immediately hit the water. Lunch consisted of chicken lollypop, prawns fried rice and paneer butter masala .(bill Rs 450) .In the evening we went to explore the village.
Havelock market square is a small cute little bustling place which is centrally located .We also had to go to Dive India where we had our Scuba diving session the next morning(Rs 4, 500 per person) .I was pretty excited about it . Dive India has it’s base in Island Vinnie’s, we chatted with Shekhar one of the instructor who told us to be there by 7.30 am .We had dinner at the Venom which had good music and ambiance .Dinner was good but on the expensive side .( chilli chicken , French fries , vodka , cold drinks cost Rs 750). We had a nice walk back to Eco villa watching the star’s, the full moon and enjoying the solitude of the country side.
DAY 4
The next day after having breakfast (toast butter jam with fried egg’s) we hired a TVS Scotty from eco villa ( Rs 300 per day .at the Havelock market you can get it for Rs 200) and reached Dive India at 7.30 am .We had two more couples coming along with us for our Dive . Our instructor gave us a briefing about the sign’s to be used , the function of each part of the scuba gear and the technique needed for scuba diving .
Due to space constraints I am not able to put in my remaining blog but you see read the complete travelogue and also see the pictures of the beautiful Andamans at https://rajivhegde.in/2012/08/a-trip-to-andamans-one-of-asias-best.html
Apologize for the inconvenience.
Regards,
Rajiv