White sands, blue seas and green green forest… aahh Andaman!

Not to mention blazing sun and the incredible Jarawas! Andaman and Nicobar islands is really an archipelago of small isles separated by blue waters in all hues and geographical features. On our five day trip we experienced pristine beaches, glorious white sanded beaches, underwater life, an ancient stalactite & stalagmite cave, aboriginal men and an inspiring peek into the Nationalist movement.

We had made up our minds to heave our butts off the humdrum of Chennai life to see something unique and experiential.  A possible trip to Mauritius got cancelled and our eyes fell on A&N islands as we had already imagined a ‘waterful’ holiday! My brother’s school friend Raghu runs a diving school there in the Havelock island, and helped us make our bookings for stay and touring the islands. We were particularly interested in snorkeling and going close to the mysteries under the seas. My friend Anita, a travel enthusiast ignited our, especially daughter Shaila’s interest towards snorkeling.

While Raghu was putting together an itenerary for us, I scoured the internet for best air fares. Fares hugely vary from day to day and the lowest I could find was about Rs 10000, per person round trip.  Ship travel operated by the Government of India is also available if you have 2.5 days to spare for travel. http://www.and.nic.in The ships ply once a week and bookings must be done well in advance. I hear that ship travel is an experience in itself! But personally as a first time traveller I had my share of ferrying from island to island in those 5 days! And the ship fare is nearly the same as airfare!

So we landed at Veer Savarkar Airport at Port Blair in the wee hours of April 13, 2010. This capital of the A&N, at first sight looked like any other small town elsewhere in India – complete with its tea shops and Francis tuition centres! But driving away from the airport, we came to wide roads flanked by very Government looking buildings including a huge State Library till we came upon the breath taking vistas of the harbour which is like our local bus terminus for the inlanders! But much more beautiful and much less crowded.

We checked into the hotel which look much less glamorous than its website photos. But by that evening, the hotel had grown on us and we looked forward to getting back to our room every evening. Shaila was disappointed by the unkempt pool, but as one of the hotel staff pointed out and we  later enjoyed, when she had the pick of the best beaches to swim in, why would she need a pokey little pool?

After a hearty breakfast of toast, omelettes, aloo parathas and fresh guava juice we set off for the morning’s lesson in history! First stop – the infamous Cellular Jail of Kaala Paani… actually a magnificient heritage centre today.

We entered into a museum which housed photographs and artifacts of some of the well known freedom fighters who had been housed there in the 19 & 20th centuries.  Our guide Mustapha in mellifluous Hindi, explained the history and the pathos of the place and the people who had been there. We saw the brass vessels used for gruel and water as well as those used for collecting urine. We saw life like models of prisoners chained liked animals, and an Indian sepoy beating a chained prisoner. The sack garment used to garb repeat offenders (read- those who raised their voices against their British captors. Their hands would be tied up above their heads and they would be left to bear the heat and itchy garment and beaten for days together. All of the prisoners were nationalists and freedom fighters. There were no criminals housed in the jail. In the beginning, the British would leave the captured on the island, because there was no chance of escape. But when a few did brave the hostile environment and escaped they built this jail. Once imprisoned in Kala Paani, they had no hope of returning to their ‘mulk’ and seeing their families again.

Later we got to see the sound and light show which was really inspiring but in very flowery hindi. The narrator was an ancient peepul tree whose voice over I am sure was by the venerable late AK Hangal.

That evening we travelled to Havelock islands where we were treated to a glorious sunset at the Radha Nagar Beach, Snorkeling adventure spotting corals under sea at Elephant Beach and a dream like beach on our own resort – the Symphony Palms. As pictures speak more than words, I shall say no more and only show more…

Since we were not allowed to take pictures of the Jarawa tribes (an indigenous Andamanese tribe,) I will have to resort to words. We opted for a long day’s tour into the thick jungles of Middle Andaman where the Jarawa tribes reside.

June 5 2010 - Started writing this post more than a month back and still not completed! How awful can that be? So I am going to just post the rest in pictures and captions…

View from Veer Sarvarkar's cell

Ancient stalactites and stalagmites cave in Barren Island. A short trek from the the shores of a deep mangrove forest, this place should be called Paradise islands.

View of the 'Barren Island' Mangroves from the Sea

The Jarawas are an ancient hostile Negroid tribe of the Andamans. They are not allowed to be photographed. However we drove as a convoy through the forest to see them. They stand by the roadsides and make a sign asking for tobacco - an unfortunate habit they seemed to have picked up from 'civilisation' that passes them by.

They appear like this in person. This image was picked up from www.thierryfalise.com

Islanders use ferries and helicopters for their daily commute. Cars, Buses and Heavy vehicles are also ferried between islands.

Andaman's public transport!

Tried capturing an image of flying fish in the seas... in vain. Beauty that is so transient!

The demographic composition of the islanders is made up of Bengalis, Tamils and a few people from other states of India. They are largely employed by the Government. We struck up an acquaintance with this man - a forest department employee and his wife (Tamils)

Shyla and a pair of German backpacking girls befriend each other on the ferry.

Sighting Havelock from the ferry. Still about half hour away.

The sand here is fine, white and firm - your feet don't sink in

Glorious sunset at Radha Nagar Beach

Eco Friendly huts on the beach

A wonderful pattern by crab movement on the soft sand

The inevitable Eyesore!

Artistic shot by Srini!

Symphony Palms is the place we stayed at Havelock Island. A few minutes after we reached this place at night, a path down the property lead to a small private beach - which was truly dreamlike. Quiet, small waves, starry sky. A boat silhouetted against the moonlight...

A cosy wood cottage, built in island style

The dream beach in daylight

A lone tree... an endless horizon

on a dunghee to snorkel - Elephant beach

Elephant beach

Snorkellers at Elephant Beach

Sunrise in the forest - on the way to the Jarawa settlement

Our boat took us through nearly 3 kms of thick mangroves on either side, the shrubs forming a low canopy overhead.

This is a mud volcano that spews cold ash as opposed to lava volcanoes. The ash renders nearby landscape infertile -hence the name Barren Island

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