EXOTIC ANDAMANS
Lost in the beauty of the emerald waters;
With a plethora of aqua marine life;
Walking through the lush green mangrove forests;
With an occasional coconut drink to rejuvenate my body and mind.
The rays of the morning sun kissing my forehead;
The tranquility of the night sky bidding me good night.
The granular white sand, the green-grey sea, the tall and magnificent coconut
trees lining the beach;
The chirping of birds, the glorious colors of the sky...
The serenity of the Andamans is truly beyond my capacity to aptly describe.
Highlights :
1. Emerald Gecko ( an Eco friendly resort)
2. Black Beard Bistro ( Emerald Gecko's restaurant)
3. Wild Orchid ( Classy with a bar and beautiful display of fishes,
crabs and prawns to choose for your meal)
4. Welcome restaurant ( a small dhaba in the main market with
yummy food)
5. Golden Spoon ( a smaller dhabi with delicious Banana Fish)
6. Dalia ( Dahlia miss-spelt as Dalia - for noodles and rolls)
7. Andaman Bubbles ( nice cafe for pizzas)
8. Gol gappey/ puchkas/ paani puri at a theli served by a woman
opposite Charcoal restaurant in front of Holiday Inn Resort.
9. Fresh fruits at beach.
10. Coconut water standardly priced at Rs. 30/-
11. Charcoal - Naam Badey aur darshan chhotey
Day 1 :
Reached Port Blair and hailed an auto for Gol Ghar. The auto
guy charged us 150 bucks for a distance of about 3-4 kms. We reached the hotel
at about lunch time and were hugely disappointed on seeing the arrangement
there.
Can't call it the best start to an exciting trip as the hotel we
had booked in Port Blair was actually pathetic. To add to our woes, they hadn't
booked our tickets on the ferry (for Havelock) we had asked them to and had
even paid in advance. On repeatedly asking the manager, he produced tickets of
another ferry by the name of Coastal Cruise. Bitten by the delay in the
process, we decided to take them. We now decided to not let this frustrating
chain of events dampen our spirits and so decided to go out and visit the
historic Cellular Jail. It was a 5 minute auto ride that cost us ₹30/-.
The Cellular Jail shook our inner being. It was a soul stirring
visit. The sacrifices made by the freedom fighters,the torture they underwent
made us reflect in wonder as to what was the force that was driving them!
The light and sound show which followed later was beautiful. The
narration along with light and sound effects was spectacular and touching at
the same time. It was heart- wrenching!
Now came the time for dinner and the foodies that we are, we
headed to ' The Lighthouse' , a restaurant which had been highly recommended by
people. Contrary to the high recommendation, the food was below average, the
ambience or should I say no ambience was horrible and the service was extremely
poor.
Day 1 winded up with a whole lot of disappointment and to top it
my husband was running high fever :-(
Day 2 :
I know it's not turning out to be interesting yet but ironically,
as disappointing as day 1 was, equally annoying was the start of day 2. We had
asked the reception for a wake up call at 5:45 AM, instead got a call at 4:00
AM. Got up and started getting ready only to realise that it was way too
early.
The ferry here requires passengers to check in an hour prior to
departure so we reached Phoenix Bay Jetty at 6:30AM.
As if the turn of events hadn't been frustrating enough, we were
in for a further shock!
The coastal cruise ferry seats we had booked were not the ones
which we got. We were allotted no view, first row, cheapest class seats wherein
we had paid for the higher class. To my utter surprise, the ticket which had
been handed over to me the previous evening was different from the one I had
picked up from the hotel room while leaving in the morning. I still fail to
understand how this happened, however the truth was that we had been grossly
cheated.
Thankfully the coastal cruise staff was empathetic. They heard me
out and offered us an upgrade.
The ferry ride was just about average. It took 2.5 hours for a 1.5
hour journey.
While on the ferry I felt distraught and felt like abandoning this
holiday. What the heck! Who wants so much of tension on a holiday? This was
turning out to be disastrous :-(
In all our troubles, we forgot that it was HOLI that day. We
arrived at Havelock Jetty and were happily surprised to see people in full holi
mood.
We took an auto to reach Emerald Gecko, an Eco friendly resort
located at beach no. 5. The reception people at the resort paid the auto
wallah. The best part was the auto ride. As it was holi, we were greeted with
pichkaris, balloons and coloured water. It was thrilling to see people in full
holi mood.
What we saw at Emerald Gecko, lifted our spirits! We had booked a
split-level bamboo lodge. The lodge overlooked the emerald waters of the Indian
Ocean. This looked like a perfect ray of hope in the dark clouds that had
shrouded us on the first one and a half day of our holiday.
It was fun to colour people of different nationalities at one
place. After playing holiday, we soaked ourselves in the sea to wash off the
colours. The ensuing lunch at Black beard bistro was satisfying. The day winded
up with relaxation and then dinner by the sea under the moonlit night at
Emerald Gecko.
Day 3:
Travel blogs had recommended Radhanagar beach as one of the best 5
beaches in Asia, so we decided to visit that beach. On the same route is the
Elephant Beach. We planned to hit Radhanagar beach first and then on the way
back go to Elephant beach. Pangs of determination hit us hard. We wanted it to
be an action packed day. After a complimentary breakfast at the resort, served
by our cheery-chirpy attendant, Sheela, we set off on the scooty.
Vroooooom......off to the beach!
Reached Radhanagar beach, did some knick-knack shopping and then
reached the beach. Undoubtedly the beach was beautiful. Light blue waters till
wherever you could see.....it was nice but the waves seemed to be too high and
the waters didn't look too safe to wade in.
After spending about an hour there, we moved on to our next
destination, Elephant beach.
Reaching the beach was a task as it was almost an hour long trek
through the jungle. The walk had started to tire us, when suddenly the small
jungle trail opened into an unbelievable sight! Words fall short when I think
of describing the splendour of that place. The sight was truly spectacular!!!!
The emerald of the waters with white uprooted trees fallen around
made such a sight. We quickly made our way into the waters and it was
definitely the best part of the holiday so far. The waters were crystal clear
and colourful fishes swam just below the surface of water.
Snorkelling is a famous water activity there and how could we not
do that! Along with an instructor, we decided to try it. Swimming is one thing
which scares me immensely. Being a seafarer's wife doesn't help me in that
matter and I'm extremely water phobic but it was something I really wanted to
experience. So there I went as I was assured that no swimming skills were
required for it, and I'm so glad I took the plunge!
The corals of Elephant beach are just so beautiful! The plethora
of colourful fishes are a sight to behold. Left, right and
centre.....everywhere just colour and beauty!!!! All three of us experienced
this and were super elated. We decided to buy snorkelling equipment as soon as
we would reach the main market. Some more lazing in the waters and on the white
sands and then we had to make our way back as it was already evening. On
reaching the main market we had dinner at Welcome hotel, a dhaba. Again we were
in for a pleasant surprise, as we hadn't expected much from the place but I
must say that the Pasta was just fantastic! The taste is still settled on my
palette. Hubby and lil boy enjoyed some fresh crabs which they chose themselves
to be cooked for them.
Back to the resort and an early retiring to bed.
Day 4:
This day was reserved for the much anticipated and even more
exciting Scuba Diving!
The clarity of the waters in Andamans allow for some great
snorkelling and scuba diving. Now this was something I was quite apprehensive
about.
As mentioned earlier, I have no experience of waters but I was
assured that diving has got nothing to do with diving. Andaman Bubbles was the
dive shop we chose for this expedition of ours. After some coaching and then
donning on our diving suits, we were all set to plunge into the deep waters.
For this activity, we had to go to North Bay which is a diving site owing to
its coral reefs and enchanting marine life. A short drive with our instructor
and our diving gear and there we were, shoulder deep in waters, masked with
oxygen cylinders, ready to indulge into once in a lifetime experience of
diving!!!
What pushed me further was the uninhibited thrill in my child's
eye. I'm sure he had no inkling that this stint was to unveil such an exotic
marine life in front of him!
We went deep into the waters, enjoying every moment of our dive,
spotting fishes, corals, turtles and what not! The water was so
clear.....swimming along with the fish in their own home felt so wonderful. We
managed to go 30 meters into the water while being happily clicked by our
diving instructor. It was an out of the world experience.
Out of the waters, we hit bed for an afternoon nap and then spent
rest of the day, just enjoying the solitude of the place. What is enchanting
about Andamans is it's virginity. The clarity of the waters, the speckless
beaches and the civilized people....all add to the charm of the place.
Dinner for hubby was the famous Banana leaf fish at another dhaba,
Silver Spoon while I happily munched on to rolls and noodles at Dalia while
chatting up with a French Couple.
Day 5 :
Done with everything and not having adequate time to visit another
island, we had to now decide what to do with this day. Kala Patthar Beach was
quite close to our resort and so we thought of going there. Strangely the place
didn't excite us at all and so encouraged by the fun we'd had on Elephant
beach, we happily decided to spend our day there yet again :-)
I must say that it was the best decision of the day. Ask me why?
Well.....it turned out that the previous day we had reached the beach on low
tide, and today it was still morning, so there was high tide. As soon as we
finished our jungle trek, we were taken aback. The entire way up to the beach
was flooded with water!!! What fun!, we thought, and quickly and happily took
our slippers in our hands and waded through the waters. It wasn't easy though
and many would not have really enjoyed it but we decided to make the best out
of it. Clicking, recording, we reached the sandy beach. The water was even more
beautiful today. It was a breathtaking combination of Green, Blue and Purple!
Never having witnessed such beauty, I stood there with a gaping mouth.
Soon, my son brought me to senses as he hit the waters with the
newly bought snorkelling equipment, this time to witness the beauty on his own.
Dad and son bonded well into the waters while I gaily sat on the beach reading
my novel, glancing at my darlings and refreshing myself with coconut water in
between. Turn by turn we took our dips and soaked into the bliss of those
divine waters. It was evening and we had to head back to our resort.
Dinner was as Wild Orchid, a restaurant with amazing ambience and
a wide display of sea food to choose from. Dad and son feasted on some prawns
and fish, while I managed to eat just something. What else does one expect as a
vegetarian....hate myself for being that at times :-(
Day 6 :
The last day of the trip. Best time to laze and enjoy the last day
of bliss.
We had reserved this day for no activity but for lazing at our
resort. Lunch was at the bistro and then evening we just went out for a ride.
Charcoal was one place we wanted to explore but it was a major turn off. We
ordered for a mocktail, only to hear that their blender was not working. We
ordered a tandoori dish to be told that their tandoor was not working.
"Naam badey aur darshan chhotey" is what aptly describes this
restaurant.
Fuming, we came out from the place and thought that out evening
had been ruined when I spotted a lady selling gol gappas/puchkas/pani puri at
her theli. Enthusiastically I ran across the road to her and waited for
my turn. Needless to say, that was the best thing I did that day. What amazing
gol gappey!!! Each one made me crave for another one. Okay okay.....now I'm
finding it hard to resist. Looks like will have to treat myself to gol gappas
tomorrow but where on earth would I find that divine taste!!!
Again some delicious dinner..... the yummy Pizza at Andaman
Bubbles cafe.
Off to bed.
Day 7 :
Last morning at Havelock. With heavy hearts, I packed the bags and
made our way to the Jetty. This time around we got our tickets booked on
Makkruz which was definitely far far better than coastal cruise by every
standard. Reached Port Blair, checked into a hotel, had some South Indian meal
and then went off to visit the museums of the place. First was the
Anthropological Museum and then was the Samudrika Museum. Both museums were
nice. It was great to know about the culture and history of Andamans.
Some shopping at the government outlet, Sagarika Emporium and then
we went off to sleep to catch our flight the next day.
With happiness and sadness as a mixed emotion, we bade goodbye to
the beautiful land of Emerald waters.
The best part of the trip was no network coverage, no TV, no
Internet.....total cut off from all the materialism of the world.
Life has certainly much more to it than just work, TV and
phone......though I myself admit to the absolute necessity of these, yet at
times the simplicity of life takes over all these worldly entanglements and you
feel freed from the shackles of the materialistic world.
So do take out time and experience the raw beauty of nature and
life.
