Travelogue ATripToAndamanIslands.by.ArindamBasu [UsAb]

7/26/2019 Travelogue ATripToAndamanIslands.by.ArindamBasu [UsAb]

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Travelogue - A Trip to Andaman Islands, Narrated By: Arindam Basu

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Travelogue - A Trip to Andaman Islands(28-Mar-2013 to 04-Apr-2013)

Narrated By: Arindam Basu ([email protected])

Andaman & Nicobar Islands, a Union

Territory of India, located between

Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea, is

believed by many as a dream

destination. The exotic Beaches,

breathtaking views of Mountain and

Sea and the presence ofJarawaTribe

make it a unique tourist destination.

To add to these, there is the dreadful

Cellular Jail that reminds of the Indian

Independence struggle and the

punishment of the Kaalapani.

I was on the lookout for affordable flight tickets from Kolkata to Port

Blair for long and suddenly I got flight tickets at a rate of Rs. 3963/-

per head one way, when there was an airfare war going on in the 3rd

week of February 2013 when Jet Airways, Air India, Indigo and

Spicejet announced cheaper tickets. I booked the tickets on 18-Feb-

2013 for travel on the dates between 28-Mar-2013 and 04-Apr-2013

by Air India. It was a 7 Night-8Day duration Trip to Andaman Islands.

Once I arranged the tickets I started collecting all the information

related with the Hotels at Port Blair and the places of interest at Port

Blair. Wiki Travel website is the best site to start with getting details

on any place to visit. I obtained details of the places of interest and

the islands to visit. I collected information of the Package tours

availability related with Andaman and the places that are visited for

5nights-6days/6nights-7days tour. Andaman Island is spread across a

vast area with Port Blair being the Capital City located at South

Andaman. The Tour chart I prepared covered most of the places andmuseums of Port Blair along with nearby Islands that are mostly

visited.

I also had plans to visit the places at Port Blair where I used to stay

when I was very young and visited the place 32 years ago in 1980

when my father Dr. Ajit Kumar Basu working under Central Govt. was

transferred to Port Blair for 2 years to establish the Central Research

Unit (Homoeopathy) at Middle Point, Port Blair.
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]


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Holidays. The Timing are 9.00 AM to 2.00 PM.

The saw mill has a Forest Museum displaying

wooden items and also photos of different

Beaches and places around Andaman.

Outside there was a Chatham Memorial and

a landmark as Pillar of the Planet. We saw

the Saw Mill machines and the log wood andthe tracks with rollers where the logs are

dragged for cutting. We also saw the place

where the large wooden logs were

submerged under water in open sea behind

the mill. There was also a Ship loaded with

logs behind the mill at the Jetty.

We came outside the Saw Mill and went

towards the Chatham Jetty at the back of the

mill. There was a Ferry Boat approaching the

Jetty named as M.V. MUS. On asking itsdestination we came to know that it will be

going to Bambooflat (located on the island

opposite to Chatham and a 15 mins Boat ride)

and we quickly got the tickets for the boat at Rs

5/- each. It was a new experience to see a

number of bikes and Auto, along with cars like

Zen and Tavera getting loaded on the Ferry Boat

along with people.

On reaching the Bambooflat Jetty at around

11:45pm we enquired on the return ferry andcame to know that there is a 01:15pm ferry to

Phoenix Bay, where we need to go to get the

tickets for Havelock Island to travel on 30thMarch.

There were many Jeeps lined up at Bambooflat

that asked for Rs 300 for a trip to Mount Harriet.

Since we had limited time we thought to take lunch

at a roadside food stall named Hotel Sakeena and

skipped the Mount Harriet. We then went to

Phoenix Bay Jetty at Port Blair by boat named as

BELAto Book the tickets for the Havelock Islands to

travel on 30thMarch. We need to fill up forms for the Govt Ferry Ticket to Havelock and tickets

were charged at Rs 300 per head. My daughter was given a discount of 50%.


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We moved ahead towards the

old church in ruins. It was too

hot to walk and is suggested to

have a cap to cover your head.

We reached the church which

was open at the top and its walls

were in ruins. We could notice

the sea beach behind the churchon the other side of the island.

We walked down the stairs available to the Ferar Beachwhich is on the opposite side of the island. The

beach though did not have enough length to walk, and it was a short span of beach section with nice

water and sea view. We moved ahead and saw the Cemetery, Health Center, little Sweet later pond, a

small childrens park. We finally reached the Cafeteria and I visited the Smritika Ross Memorial, a

museum showcasing the history of Ross Island. We walked back to the Boat by 11:15am.The boat cruised the Harbor points like the Phoenix Bay,

Chatham Island and NSRY Jetty. We saw the ship Harsha-

Vardhana (uniquely identified from its chimney style)

standing on the NSRY Jetty besides the Chatham Island.

There were many Navy ships standing there on the Jetty.

I went with my daughter to the Drivers Cabin of the boat

and the Boat Captain allowed my daughter to hold the

boats wheel so that I can take a snap.

We finally reached the Viper Islandat 12:41pm. It was told

by our guide that we should see the island and be back

within 15 mins. The island has a hill on top of which there is

the Gallows build by the British to torture the Indian

Freedom fighters. This place was called the Viper Chain

Gang Jail.

It is believed that the name of the island is derived from the

vessel named Viper in which Lt. Archibald Blair came to

the islands in 1768 and the vessel met with an accident and

its remains were abandoned near this island.

We started our trip towards the North Bay Island

at 1:10pm. We reached North Bay (Coral) Island

at 2pm. The island is lined with Coconut trees

with a distinct Light House.

If you have a clean Rupees Twenty Note with you,

you may simply open it up and flip it over to see

the North Bay Island along with its Light House

visible on the reddish Note.

Our boat MV Saroj was anchored at a distance

from the Beach and we took turns to get on

smaller boats to reach the shore. The water is not

much clean and it is rather murky. There are

underwater corals very near to the beach shore

and most of these are destroyed by people walking on them unintentionally. One can do Snorkeling here


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but I feel that with such unclean murky water, the effects of viewing the Coral are not good here

compared to Elephant Beach (Havelock) or Jolly Buoy Island. One can also do Scuba diving here.

When we were in the waters, my friend Rajib was bitten by some fish which left a mark on his right foot

calf muscle and this scared us out of the water here.

We left North Bay at around 5:10pm and reached the Port Blair Water Sports Complex by 5:50pm. We

took dinner at the Gagan Restaurant, in front of the Clock Tower, and prepared for the next day early

morning trip to the most awaited, Havelock Islands. Thus we concluded our day two tour.

Day3 (30Mar2013, Sat) Havelock Islands(Govindnagar Beach, Radhanagar Beach)

Early morning we reached the Phoenix Bay Jetty by

5:40am. It took some 5mins by Auto from our

Hotel. One has to show picture ID Proof to enter

the Jetty for travelling on the inter-island ships. We

boarded the 150 seater Passenger ship M.V.

Bambookawhich left the Phoenix Bay Jetty of Port

Blair at 6:20am. Our seats were in the 2ndbottom

level of the Ship. The seats were of not much use

because once the ship left the Jetty, almost all the

peopled, excluding the old, went for the deck.

I was very excited on the ship, since I last travelled on a big ship in 1982 when I travelled from Port Blair

to Kolkata by Harsha-Vardhana. My daughter enjoyed being on the ship and we frequently went up to

the deck and sometimes to the 1stbottom level and sometimes to the 2ndbottom level.

The ships Captain allowed all the people to see the

Ships Control Room where the Captain Rakesh

Nanda was sitting and we could see the GPS and

many other automated controls on the dashboard.

People were allowed to go to the front of the Ships

deck and enjoy the cool breeze.

The ship was built in 2008 at Vishakhapatnam, with

an overall length of 40.4 meter and with a speed of

12.5 Knots.

From the ship we could see the North Bay Islands passed by and also the Jarawa Reserve Island on the

way to the Havelock Islands.


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We reached Havelock IslandsJetty by 8:40am. The

water at the Jetty was crystal clear and the color of

the water was light green.

We had confirmed an accommodation at Havelock

from the Raam Niwas Hotel at Port Blair. We were

lodged in the Radhakrishna Residency just few

minutes walk from the Jetty and on the Jetty Beach

front.We immediately went out to the Jetty ticket

counter to book our return tickets from Havelock to

Port Blair for the next day. There was huge rush at

the counter at that moment and it took more than

an hour to get the tickets.

We had asked for a Car that will take us to the

Govindnagar Beach and the Radhanagar Beach and we

started our car journey at 11:05am and reached the

Govindnagar Beachby 11:15am.

The Beach here looks stunning with the color of thewater varying from very light green to deep green in

different layers. The shore is lined with submerged

trees that add to the beauty of the beach.

The water is calm here and the photographs taken

here were out of the world.

The beach at Govindnagar is very similar to the Neil Island beach photos as seen on the internet.


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Day4 (31Mar2013, Sun) Havelock Islands

(Elephant Beach & return to Port Blair by Ship)

We started our day early and woke up by 6am. We

could see all the boats on the shore and the Beach

No 1 (Jetty) from our hotel room itself, since the

beach was some 30ft away only. In the early

morning 6am, the water level was a bit low but by8am it has risen enough.

A temporary jetty made of plastics materials was laid

out by the locals once the water was high. This was

used to get on board the local boats when required.

We booked a local boat on sharing basis, with

Rs500/head for a trip to and fro Elephant Beach,

including snorkeling charges. The boat carried a total

of 6 passengers. At 9:10am we started for Elephant

Beach. Everyone was given life jackets for safety.

On the way we saw the Havelock Light House.

The boat path to reach Elephant Beach from Beach

no 1, was almost a half circular arch.

We saw many tress and dense jungle near the shore

on the way.

The boat took around 25mins to reach Elephant Beachand

we reached there by 9:35am.

The water was light green and there were a lot of people

enjoying the clear water on the beach.

Immediately getting down from our boat, we were

approached by the Glass bottom boat guy. We decided to

take the Glass boat ride first and hence we get on with it

immediately.


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I feel this Glass bottom boat ride is a must for everyone. It is a lifetime experience to see the natural

underwater world of the sea along with rocks, corals and the differently colored fishes. It is fantastic

experience when you see the water world just beneath you through the glass.

The sea bed filled with rocks was around 20 to 30ft deep as seen from the glass boat.

People who are aged or who do not want to take Scuba diving, Sea walking or Snorkeling, may still see

the water world through such Glass bottom boats.

The guy charged us Rs150/head for the glass boat ride. I feel this is cheapest, since in everywhere else

like Jolly Buoy and North Bay, they charge around Rs300/head.

The glass boat ride was for around 15mins and time passed like anything.

My daughter enjoyed the water to its fullest. I and Rajib did the snorkeling, but I was not much

successful in going in deeper waters. I went to lighter waters but finally aborted my snorkeling mission,

when I swallowed some sea water in the action to grasp breath.

Snorkeling does not require you to be a swimmer, but you need to have control of your breathing when

doing snorkeling. The worst part was you have to put the snorkeling breathing pipes end (which others

have also used) inside your mouth and keep it pressed under your teeth so that water does not enteryour mouth.

I took many snaps with the snorkeling device

and floating device as well.

The sand of this Beach was good compared to

the Radhanagar Beach. The sand at

Radhanagar never fell off the body even when

you rub it, but here once getting off the water,

the sand simply fell off.

As around 11:40am, the water level startedrising and it was also time to get dry.

I collected many broken shells and corals from

the shore.

We started back for return by 12:20pm and reached Beach no 1, Jetty, by 12:45pm. We went straight to

Island Restaurant (Boudir Restaurant) for our Lunch. Then we rested there for few hours and finally

walked to Jetty to catch our return Ship. We saw the Makruzz catamaran boat that left for Port Blair at

4pm.


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The water level was low at that moment and we saw the rocky

boulders besides the Jetty. Two people were seen at a distance

walking on the partly submerged rocky boulders.

It was a nice sight since when we landed on Saturday, this part

was completely submerged in water and we did not notice such

rocky boulders.

We took the Ship M.V. North Passageat 4:30pm from the

Havelock Jetty.

On the way back we saw the sunset from the

deck of the Ship.

Standing on the deck we could feel a cool

breeze and we enjoyed the sunset.

The day was closing and we finally reached

Port Blair at around 6:45pm.

Thus we concluded our Day 4 trip with some

nice memories of the Glass Bottom boat and

the memories of the Elephant Beach.

Day5 (01Apr2013, Mon) Port Blair (Anthropological

Museum, Clinical Research Unit-Homoeo, Lamba Line,

Sagarika, Gandhi Park, Ramkrishna Mission, Marina Park)

The Anthropological Museumis located very near to the

Abardeen Bazaar. Generally most of the museums remainclosed on Mondays, but for some reason there was a Govt.

circular and the Museum was open on that day.

The tickets are Rs10/head and Rs20 for camera charges.

The museum displayed the history of the tribes of

Andaman and their way of living.


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We saw the Bengali Club opposite to the

Anthropological Museum and walked to find the

Clinical Research Unit (Homoeopathy)at Middle

Point, opposite the Sun Sea Resort.

This is the Unit which was established by my father

(Dr. Ajit Kumar Basu), on 23rdJan 1980, working

under Central Govt.

We met the doctors and the associates there, namely

Dr. John, Dr. Prusty, Hasan Ali, G.N. Biswas and

others.

We took an auto and went to Lamba Line(near Dairy

Farm chawk, opposite Airport Gate) to trace the place

where we used to stay in 1980. We found the house and

also the room where we stayed 32 years ago. I was my

daughters age when I was there and hence it was a nice

feeling for me to be at a place of childhood.

Finally we left for Abardeen Bazaar via Junglighat. We

tried to go to Junglighat Jetty, but the guard there

informed that it is closed for now for renovations, since

the jetty was heavily damaged during the 2004 tsunami.

In the evening we started out for Sagarika(Govt. Handicraft

Emporium), very near to the Sun Sea Resort. Unfortunately, it

was closed for Year-end processing. We bought some gift

items from the next Govt. shop, the Khadi Gram Udyog.

We then visited the Gandhi Park, a nice place for childrens to

enjoy.

There was Merry-Go-Round, Toy Train, Toy Helicopter rides,

etc. There were many animal figures with seats on them for

childrens to enjoy.

We then went to Ramakrishna Missionlocated very near to the

Marina Park.

We walked inside and sat there for some time in the Mission Hall.

Finally we started to move towards the Marina Park. My daughter

enjoyed the rides there and then we moved on to our Hotel after

dinner, thus closing the Day 5 tour of the city.


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Day6 (02Apr2013, Tue) Jarawa Reserve Forest, Baratang Islands,

Limestone Cave, Mangrove Forest

We had already booked the tickets of a one day tour of the Baratang

Islands for a visit to the Limestone Cave and the Mangrove Forest

there. This trip was through the Jarawa Reserve forest.

There were two choices of 3:45am Bus for full day tour of Baratang

Mud Volcano and Limestone Cave or 6am Bus for only Baratang

Limestone Cave.We took the 6am Bus since we wanted to avoid the too early bus and as per everyone the Mud Volcano

was not much a site to see. The bus went through Dairy farm chawk, Garacharma, and then finally

halted at Jirkatang check post at 7:44am.

As per govt. regulations any bus/car (two wheelers not allowed) can pass through the Jarawa Reserve

forest in Police controlled Convoys only and guarded by armed Police in each and every Bus. It is strictly

prohibited to interact with any Jarawa people or give them food or even taking photos of Jarawa people,

if at all they are met with during the journey. The cameras and mobiles were asked to be switched off

during this journey through the Jarawa forest.

The convoy timings from the Jirkatang checkpost are 6am, 9am, 12noon and 2:30pm.

The convoy consist of an armed Police in a Motor Bike as the first guard, and then a Govt. bus with 2-3

armed police and then other Buses, followed by around 20 to 30 cars and then again Police Cars.

It is strictly a no-stopping zone, and buses or cars are not allowed to stop during the journey through the

forest.

At sharp 9am, our bus started rolling for journey through the reserve forest. It was a thrilling start and

we were expecting to see few jarawas. The journey length through the forest was around 40 kms and it

took around 1.5 hours to cover the distance. We were unfortunate to notice any Jarawa people on the

way. (no snaps to attach here)We reached the Middle Strait Jetty, which is the other end

of the Jarawa Reserve at around 10:25pm. From there we

were to take a Ferry boat to the other side of the water to

reach the Baratand Island.

The Ferry was loaded with all the people from the Buses

and Cars. The Govt Buses which were destined for Diglipur

and Rangat were loaded on the ferry also.

The ferry took around 20 mins to reach the other side. We

were then boarded onto a boat for our onward journey.


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It was very sunny and with a no roof boat, it was getting very hot and we need to open umbrellas for

covering ourselves from heat. The boat journey started at 11:00am and we went through waters

surrounded by dense mangrove forest. From the boat we could see the Middle Strait Jetty on the other

side where our Buses were parked for the day.

The water was deep green and it was a

fantastic experience to travel through dense

mangrove forest when we reached the last

part of the journey. We have to dodge our

heads from few branches of trees which

were very close when our speed boat was

travelling through them.

We finally reached the stop inside Mangrove

forest for going to the Limestone Cave.

The water was shallow and there were signs of Crocodiles present in these waters.

After getting down from the boat we started walking and

trekking through the jungles. This was around 1 km walk to

reach the Limestone Cave.

There were rocky pathways and one has to go through uphill

and sometimes downhill during this trekking.

It was a tiring walk and during this trek we also reached a

spot for refreshments using Lime Water and drinks. It took

us around 30mins to reach the Cave.

The Cave was dark and our guide carried a flashlight to show us the inside. There were many natural

shape formations like figures of Ganesh, Paw of Tiger, Lotus, etc. Beyond a point the people were not

allowed to proceed due to risks of some structure getting collapsed. We were inside the cave for around

10-15 mins and then again back tracked towards our Boat.

We took the boat and reached Baratang Jetty for Lunch.


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If one wishes they also visit the Parrot Island to see many parrots

and other birds during dawn. To see this place one has to hire a

boat and also have to stay overnight at Baratang.

Finally we boarded the Ferry to reach the other side of the water

towards Middle Straight Jetty for our return journey. The return

convoy was schedule at 3pm.

It was an interesting sight to see the Buses alight

from the Ferry boat during this tour.

The bus started for return journey at 3pm and

we again passed the Jarawa Reserve in Convoy.

Few of our bus passengers could notice Jarawa

people on the road side during this return trip.

On return the bus passed through the Jirkatang

checkpost and then reached Port Blair, AbardeenBazaar at around 5:30pm.

We saw the gates of the Sippighat Horticulture

farm on the way.

This concluded our day 6 tour.

Day7 (03Apr2013, Tue) Bhutanese Buddha

Temple, Carbyn Cove Beach, Fish Aquarium, Joggers

Park, Ramkrishna Mission

We started our day at around 9am and went to the

Abardeen Bazaar Bus Stand. We saw the Gandhi

statue and the Light House Cinema Hall there.We then enquired about the Buddha Temple and

after tough time we could find the location of the

temple.

This Bhutanese Buddha Templewas a well-known

spot during the 1960s when this area was filled with

Bhutanese monks.

The Bhutanese temple (Phoungyi Kyaung) is associated with many stories and it is believed that the

piece of rock placed at the foot of the Buddha statue has some supernatural powers. It is believed, that

if a person with full dedication to lord Buddha, if asks any question or wants to know about future may

try to uplift the rock piece and if it comes easily, then the results will be fruitful else fruitless.


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First we tried to see if anybody is around to try out the rock.

Then we came to know that the Templepanditlives in the

nearby pagoda building. We met the pandit whose name was

Bhikshu Gyan Priya. We enquired about the story of the

Buddha rock and he confirmed the same. He told that the

Bhutanese people are gone now and the Buddha Temple

(pagoda) is only a landmark now.

The temple was most probably established around 1966.

We finally left the temple with some nice memories.

We went to Archaeological Survey of India to do some souvenir shopping and then took an auto to

Carbyn Cove Beach. The beach was nice but the waters were unclean compared to Havelock Beaches.

There were many shells of various size and color laid all around the beach and I collected many of them

We stayed there for 20 mins and took the auto back to

Fish Aquarium, besides Marina Park.

The aquarium has a variety of display of Sea Fishes, packed

in glass in glycerin.

There were various types of Corals on display and a lot

much variety of shells available. Still photography was

prohibited inside, though Video Photography was allowed!

We then took lunch and after rest went to Lamba Line

again.

At around 5:15pm we went to Joggers Park. It was a hill-top

place with a nice view of the Airport and the surroundings.

We stayed there till dark and saw the view of airport lights lined

up the runway.

Then we went to Ramakrishna Mission again to see the evening

aratiand after doing some shopping closed our day tour.

Day8 (04Apr2013, Wed) return to Kolkata

It was the day of return after a long and enjoying holiday experience. It seemed as if the complete weekhas passed very quickly. The memories of the Cellular Jail, Ross Island, Havelock beaches and the Ship

and ferry travels were all filled in our thoughts all the time even when we took the return Air India flight

which left Port Blair at 8:30pm and reached Kolkata at around 10:40pm.

It is for sure that the memories of the Andaman Islands will stay with us for long and if we get a chance

will visit this place again. All Photos & Videos are taken with my Digital Camera, Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH4 (14.1Megapixel, HD video)

Travelogue ATripToAndamanIslands.by.ArindamBasu [UsAb]

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Transcript of Travelogue ATripToAndamanIslands.by.ArindamBasu [UsAb]