I am a guy who likes to travel a lot n most of the time alone... but this feb. I was on a trip to Andaman islands with my family.
We had bookings for air tickets form Kolaktta to Port Blair n from Port blair back to Chennai.
Actually I must tell you the truth I wasn’t much excited about the trip... I was a bit busy with my work then and didn’t wanna leave.
So we went to Kolkatta n boarded on the flight.. after abt 2 hrs of a slightly uncomfortable flight the magnificent picture opened up of the little islands of andaman. It is a breathtaking scene from up there ...little spots of land in the infinite blue ocean.
As we come down to the small but cute n efficient airport of portblair we were swarmed by hotel agents.. but as luck would have it for us. We got a booking in the ’andaman teal house’. Its a guest house run by the tourism dept of A&N islands.
I would like to take this oppurtunity to praise the dept of tourism of A&N islands. The andaman teal house is just the perfect place to stay with nearly every room offering a scenic view of the sea shore. The staff is very courteous n helpful. Even the lunch n dinner makes u feel at home while u wonder how diiferent it feels to be away from the home in these secluded islands...
Now for the fun part... the city of portblair offers a nice n secluded beach at corbyn’s cove. Also the city has many museums like the anthropological museum, the aquarium n also the chatham saw mill.
The CELLULAR JAIL is the biggest attraction of portblair n all tourists must visit the place. The jail now converted into a national museum displays the hardships of the inmates who fought for the nation. There is a light n sound show at evenings which has been organised in such a wonderful manner that it is sure to make u feel patriotic.
There is the mahatma gandhi marine national park n the much talked abt jolly buoy that we couldnot visit due to strike of ferryboatwallahs... but instead we went to north bay on a jet boat. The ride was truly exciting with waves tossing us up n down(the lifejackets are a must...) . North bay offers u clear calm waters with corals n sealife open to human scrutiny. You can do swimming n snorkelling n theres glassbottom boat rides for those who don’t wanna get wet.. I was with my sis n we did a lot of swimming n snorkelling.. its the beauty beneath the waters that leaves u in such an awe.
Next we went to ross island which tells u the story of the english settlements on the island. Now everywhere the buildings of yore are covered in the Bargad tree roots..its an indian naval base now.
Chidiya tapu is another nice place to collect corals. sunset point on the way offers a beautiful view.
Havelock islands are to be visited by a jet boat ride. It takes a whole day to visit these islands. the radhanagar beach at havelock will make u thank god for creating such beauty in this world. Golden sands n naughty waves....pure bliss.
Mount harriet is another place we visited. You can see the islands n sea from the top of this hill n the scenes are really good. You can trek from here to madhuban n the trek is really exciting cos the forest is dense with flora n fauna which are unique to the island.
We got back from port blair to chennai totally loaded with the memories of these emerald islands....
Some details n travel guidance
---book ur rooms at andaman teal house beforehand by calling at the tourism dept number. they accept drafts. get the tel numbers from the site of A&N tourism.
---travel with tourism dept buses they are helpful n don’t charge much.
--- take along cotton clothes.go for casuals n beachwear. shop for clothes n other local products at portblair....
---before visiting beaches make sure abt the timings of lowtide n high tide... ---make friends.. the andaman ppl are very nice.
Air fare (one side)-- abt Rs. 7500 per person
Stay at andaman teal house
Rs. 400 - DB NON AC
Rs. 600 - DB AC
Thats it if u get time n feel like it. Go visit the andaman n nicobar islands it will make u feel blessed.