The Andaman Islands form an archipelago in the Bay of Bengal between India, to the west, and Myanmar, to the north and east. Most
are part of the Andaman and
Nicobar Islands Union Territory of India, while a small number in the
north of the archipelago, including the Coco
Islands, belong to Myanmar.The Andaman Islands are home to the Sentinelese people, who have had no
contact with any other people. The name of the
Andaman Islands is ancient. A theory that became prevalent in the late 19th
century is that it derives from Andoman, a form of Hanuman, the Sanskrit name of the Indian God.
Day
1 :Bangalore to Port Blair
GoAir
291 at 8.10 AM on 4th Feb was ready to take off where we (Myself and
Bharath) reached Hyderabad Airport at 9.30 due to a stop.From there we flew to
Port Blair in the same flight and landed straight into Vir Savarkar
International Airport at 12.20 PM.Avinash, our guide was waiting to pick us to
hotel Shompen which was 5 min drive.We checked in and left to Annapoorna hotel
nearby on a walk for our lunch and had yummy north Indian thali.Luckily we
could survive till 1 PM since our breakfast was done at BLR airport earlier in
the morning .We went to our hotel,rested for a while.We were supposed to start
from the hotel to Corbyn’s Clove beach, our first destination in Port Blair.
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| Corbyn's Clove Beach |
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| Corbyn's Clove Beach |
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| Relaxing at Corbyn's Clove Beach |
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| Footh path near Corbyn's Clove Beach.A beautiful view |
As
per the schedule, our driver was waiting at 3 PM.We headed to the beach, had a
walk,took some pictures and rested at the banks of the beach.The drive was
beautiful with ocean just beside the road.Bhel puri was quite tasty too ! Later
we moved to Cellular Jail.Driver dropped us just few mtrs away from the jail
and we had to contact another guide Netaji , who had the entry tickets.It was a
2 min walk towards the jail.Netaji handed our tickets and after a 10 min wait
in the quite, we entered the Jail for the Light & Sound show, our second
destination.
Built
in 1906 by the British Government, it silently stood witness to the tortures
and ruthless atrocities meted out to the convicts, who were imprisoned in this
jail. The prison acquired the name ‘cellular’, as it was entirely made up of
individual cells which were meant for the solitary confinement of the prisoners,
cutting them from contact with each other. Several eminent revolutionaries of
India have been imprisoned in this jail, and they include Babarao Savarkar,
Vinayal Damodar Savarkar, Barindra Kumar Ghosh and Batukeshwar Dutt amongst
others.
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| Near Cellular jail |
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| Park in front of the Jail with the idols of freedom fighters |
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| Cellular jail |
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| Inside the jail people waiting for the show to start |
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| All set for the light & sound show |
The building originally comprised seven
wings, intersected from a central watchtower. A guard used to keep a check on
the prisoners from this tower. In addition, the Cellular Jail also has a large
bell, which served as an alarm during emergencies. Each wing in this jail was
three storied, which consisted of altogether 698 cells, each cell measuring 4.5
metre x 2.7 metre. The cells had built-in ventilators at a height of 3 metre.
The building was subsequently damaged due to earthquake and tsunami, and today
only three of the wings remain intact.
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| Light & Sound Show |
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| Light & Sound Show |
The Cellular Jail is today acknowledged as
a National Memorial monument. In addition, visitors can also enjoy a Sound and
Light show in Hindi as well as in English conducted during evening within the
premises of the Cellular Jail. This program depicts the heroic Freedom Struggle
and the sacrifices made by our freedom fighters and truly touches the soul of
every Indian. The show gives us a brief idea about the brutal happenings in the
jail prior to India’s independence and other historical events regarding this
place. The place also has a Martyr’s memorial, a museum, and a photo gallery
and art gallery as well, reminiscing India’s struggle for independence. The
Cellular Jail was used by the British Government to deport political prisoners
to a secluded archipelago and hence earned the name ‘kala pani’ meaning ‘black
waters’. The wings of the
building were branched out from the central tower like the spokes of a wheel,
which were so designed such that the frontal side of a cell in a spoke saw the
back of cells in another spoke. This idea was meant to make communication
between prisoners impossible. The sound
and light show is one of the most engaging attractions that Port-Blair has to offer. Aimed at telling the
story of the history at cellular
jail, it is a perfect blend of both information and entertainment. For those
interested in indulging in a brief presentation about India’s heroic freedom
struggle the Sound and Light show is definitely worth a visit.After enjoying
the show, we headed back to our hotel .Netaji was all set to describe us about
our next day schedules.We also paid 5000/- for Scuba diving sessions which was
supposed to be done in Havelock Islands.Had dinner at Annapoorna hotel.Aloo
Parota and veg biryani was very tasty and ended our first day of the trip.
Day
2: Port Blair to Havelock.
We
had our breakfast at the hotel Shompen,left to the Port at 7.30 AM to take our
ship to Havelock.Netaji was waiting for us near the gate.He handed us the
tickets(to and fro) and guided about the route to ship.ID card was mandatory at
the check in counter.Bags were scanned and after leaving the luggage,we were
taken to Makruzz ship in a bus.
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| Makruzz Ship to Havelock |
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| Makruzz ship |
Ship started at 8.30 AM and reached Port Blair
at 10.15 AM.Journey was good.Ship had a snack couner and TVs to entertain us.There
were around 250 passengers.We collected bags & met Siva,waiting for us near
the exit point.He was our guide in Havelock.He took us to Hotel Symphony Palms
which was just 5 min drive.We checked in by 11.45 AM.Phulkas and aloo curry
quenched our hunger which we ordered from our room in the same hotel.After
resting for a while , it was time to see Radhanagar beach, one of the top 10
cleanest beach in Asia.We recahed there at 3.30 PM.That was an amazing view.
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| Symphony Palms |
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| Symphony Palms |
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| Radhanagar beach |
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| Radhanagar beach |
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| Bharath posing |
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| Sunset at Radhanagar beach |
We
took a long walk, rested for a while under the trees.People began to gather
during suset.That was a wonderful sunset experience.Later, we had churmuri and
moved to our hotel at 7 PM.Netaji was waiting for us in the hotel lobby and
briefed us about the next day program.Dinner was super good.
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| Radhanagar beach |
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| Beach view |
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| Symphony Palms beach resort |
After sumptuous
dinner we had a walk on the other side of the hotel .The area was so calm and
peaceful along with the cool breeze from the beach side.That was all about day
2, a peaceful one !
Day
3:Elephant beat at the Havalock
Siva,had
informed us to start at 7.30 AM sharp to Elephant beach.Breakfast was served at
the hotel .From there we went to the port to wait for our turn in a boat to
reach Elephant beach.Siva gave us juice bottle and guided us to take Shiek
boat.There were 8 of us & it was 15 min journey to the beach.There were
safety lockers,change rooms and bathrooms for tourists with light refreshment
shop.We changed our clothes and started to snorkel.Bharath was facing
difficulties intially but as he got used to the technique, we decided to
explore a little more deeper .It was amazing 20 min snorkelling
experience.
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| On the way to Elephant beach |
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| On the way to Elephant beach |
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| In Shiek boat |
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| The clear water |
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| Elephant beach |
Thanks to our trainers for such wonderful pics and videos.Those
colorful fishes and corals took our breath ! I swam for a while & Bharath
too tried his luck in swimming but not was not successful !There is 3 hrs time
duration to spend in Elephant beach.
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| Corals |
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| Me snorkeling |
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| Bharath |
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| Fishes |
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| We :) |
Oh yeah , it’s called elephant beach since
there were Elephants intially in the thick forest nearby .There was also an
Elephant by name Rajan (As described by our driver the next day)which was so
famous world wide.It would swim under water ! but unfortunately passed away 4
yrs back.We left the beach at 11.45 AM and reached port by 12.15 PM.1000/- had
to be paid near the port for the advance snorkelling sessions.We reached hotel
at 1.00 PM.Driver insisted us to try veg food in Anju Coco Resto which was 5 min
walk from the hotel.It was a super hot day.Finally we ordered onion , aloo
paratha with mix veg curry.Very delicious I must say ! Siva explained about the
next day program in the evening.Rest of the day was rest time with dinner in
Symphony palms and a small walk in the beach side opposite to the hotel.
Day
4 :Scube dive ,Havelock to Port Blair
We
were instructed by Siva to leave to Scuba at sharp 7 AM .After having aquick
breakfast, driver took us to Barefoot scuba diving place.We were given a
suit for diving session.We had to wait
for half an hour after which training was given with the safety precautions and
hand signals.Scuba diving was amazing experience.Corals , varieties of fishes
took our breath away.We also received a certificate for the successful
completion.
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| Scuba diving at barefoot scuba |
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| Scuba diving at barefoot scuba |
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| Scuba diving at barefoot scuba |
Driver picked us up at 10 AM and took us to Kalapathar beach.It was
almost 20 min drive.kalapathar got is name from the black stone in and around
the beach.It was too hot but the view was spectacular.Driver was keen in taking
us to a small walk path beside the beach.That was a cool 15 minute walk.From
there we touched beach and had a long walk chating and taking pictures.Driver
gave us lot of information about the place and the corals.Coconuts was
something in Bharath’s mind.
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| A small trek near the beach |
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| Driver Explaining about the plantations to Bharath |
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| Kalapathar beach |
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| Kalapathar beach |
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| Kalapathar beach |
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| Kalapathar beach |
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| Kalapathar beach |
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| Kalapathar beach |
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| Kalapathar beach |
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| Kalapathar beach |
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| Kalapathar beach |
We drank tender coconut water and left to another
hotel which was a part of barefoot just opposite to boat jetty.It was lunch
time.Pizza and chocolate cake with ice cream was quite good.Siva met us at the
hotel and helped us check in the luggage for us.It was time to say bye to the
beautiful Havelock at 4 PM.Macruzz gold took us to Port Blair at 5.45 PM.Driver
insisted us to visit Sagarika Emporium before 7.PM.
We checked in hotel Shompen
and immediately left to Emporium.Souviners were too good.We shopped at 2 places
and came back to hotel.Veg Biryani,Shezwan noodles and soup was the favourite
menu for dinner in Annapoorna Hotel.That was day 4 for us.
Day
5:
Breakfast was served at the hotel after which we had to
check out for the drive back to airport at 9.30 AM. Port Blair to Chennai was the first
flight in Indigo 542 at 11.45 AM.We had
to wait for almost 3 hours in Chennai for our next flight to Bangalore at 5.25
PM.We reached bangalore at 7 PM.
Andaman trip was
suddenly planned and it turned more than we expected.Too good I must say.Beauty
of Andaman Islands is captured in our hearts forever.
