One of the best holidays every and no trip to Europe or
other island destinations can rival this one!
That said let me give you the itinerary we followed (which should be ideal for
a family with two kids (as little as 3 and 6 or as old as 10 and 16)
Day 1-
Arrived in
Port Blair by the Spicejet flight at 12.15pm.
We checked into Hornbill Nest at Port Blair. This is a
guesthouse run by the Department of Tourism, Andaman and Nicobar. The tariff is the cheapest and the views are stunning.
The rooms are decent-sized, clean and
there is hot water. Each room as a view
of the Andaman sea. What more could you
want. After checking in, we decided to
have lunch Peerless Sarovar which is on Corbyn’s Cove beach. We had the most ordinary food and five star
prices. Please avoid this one if you
can.
After lunch, @ 3pm, we decided to visit cellular jail. Enroute, the kids appeared to be tired and so
we repaired to our guesthouse for beers, cold drinks and Snacks. At 6.30, we left for the sound and light show
at the Cellular jail. This show shows
you the grim side of this paradise called Andaman also knows then as Kaala
Paani. For it was infamous for its
cellular that incarcerated political prisoners.
The show is for 40 to 45 minutes and is worth a visit if you can spare
the time. The ride back to our hotel was
beautiful. The road wound around the
stunning coastline all the way up to the hotel and beyond. The moon overhead reflected in the shimmering
waters of the sea. We spent the night in
Port Blair.
Day 2- Port Blair
to Havelock
We caught the Makruzz Ferry from Port Blair to Havelock at
8.15. Our taxi dropped us at the jetty
and a bus (presumably a Makruzz company bus) gave us a ride till the jetty
office. We checked in our baggage and
boarded the ferry. The Makruzz was absolutely
comfortable, clean, air conditioned (that came as a relief in humid conditions)
and spacious. Go for it. We arrived at Havelock at 9.30. The timings are always punctual, no delays at
all. The first sight of Havelock took
our breath away. We were quite expecting
to see dirty, oil-laden waters especially in the jetty area, but the blue,
green waters resting on white sands under it was magic and the magic stretched
everywhere around Havelock. It was like
we were enclosed by a rubber band of white tinged with blue. A porter operating a four wheel cart helped us
with our luggage and deposited it in the waiting taxi. We had booked into Dolphin resort in
Havelock. This resort is operated by
Tourism department as well. The location
was stunning- bang on the beach close to beach no 2. Again the same view- white sandy shallow
beach with waters that dappled green, blue, turquoise. Could we have asked for more? Check in was a pain as we got our rooms at
2pm after which we had lunch in the resort restaurant and then headed straight
for the beach.
The waters are safe for
kids as they are shallow for at least 100 meters into the sea.
We swam like we were in our pool with kids and inflatable toys floating
around. We didn’t have to worry about
the kids as there are no waves and waters are shallow, the littlest kid in our
group (3yrs) was like a tiger in these waters.
So there you have an idea. The
waters here are quite rocky so you need to select a sport with less rocks/
corals but it is not a big deal. Just plonk
all your stuff on the beach (books, water bottle, towels, camera) and get in
the waters. We easily spent 4 hours in
the waters and came out only when the sun set which is at @ 5.45 and even then
we lingered, such is the allure of these waters. We spotted a guy whose hobby was underwater
photography and who visits these islands at least twice a year, we spotted bird
life and fish who were frolicking alongside us in the waters. For dinner we went to Wild Orchid restaurant
next to Dolphin. It was OK nothing exceptional but it did the trick- it served
us beers, the kids got their cola fix.
Day 2
We decided to go snorkeling today at Beach no.2 (I needn’t
tell you about the waters and sand again) Our driver Sujith dropped us at Beach no.2
right into the hands of the snorkeling
folks. And even before we could go
inside the waist- high waters, we spotted shoals of fish- some were shaped like
eels, some were the amazing shade of black.
They took is in a group of two.
We put our snorkeling gear, the safety ring around our shoulders/ waist
and were led in for our first sighting of under-water marine life- we saw
trigger fish, live sponge, a host of asymmetrical sea life throbbing and
pulsing and closing instantly as they sensed out coming. Sadly the coral has bleached but you do spot
some yellow and purple coloured coral here and there. Our group snorkeled twice. The kids were having so much fun with this
relatively easy activity that we decided to buy our own snorkeling equipment
which is nothing but a mask with a tube attached to it and of course an
inflatable water-bed. We had a dozen
coconuts with sweet water and ate the coconut inside it that was so tender that
you couldn’t scoop it, it came slipping through your fingers like mercury. Amazing and I could live on this stuff. We came back at @ 2pm just in time for
lunch. We went to Munjoh Ocean resort
for lunch and thought that we should spend some part of our vacation here as
well. After coming back at 4pm we hit
the beach as the kids were clamoring to try out their new snorkeling gear. Beach till 6pm and then back for bath and
dinner.
Day 3
We checked into Munjoh that came as a relief after the
relatively spartan digs of the government guest house and just as we were
wondering if the beach could get any better, we were handed another stretch of
a beach that was wider, whiter, bluer, greener, clearer, shimmering like a soft throw beckoning us toward
it. But before we could dive head-long,
there was sea-walking to be done at Elephant Island. Reluctantly, after check-in and packing our
swim suits for sea walking we set off for the jetty. At the jetty, we bought our tickets for
sea-walking and got into a motor boat that would take us to Elephant Island. Our package also included snorkeling.
After a 25 minute wonderful ride in the azure
waters, we had to leave the boat and get onto a big, two storied boat that was
anchored off the beach. We changed into
our suits (though you don’t need to, you could be in your shorts or pants as
you are going down to the ocean floor anyway, it is just convenient to wear as
little as possible). For sea- walking
which literally mean walking on the sea floor- we were lowered onto a ladder
which was fixed to the walls of this ship and that went right to the
floor. You get down just so your head is
above the water. Then they lower an astronaut-type helmet onto your head that
rests on your shoulders. As soon as it
is lowered, your guide pushes your head down into the water so that the
pressure prevents the water from entering the helmet. Then you descend the ladder and onto the
floor. We had difficulty adjusting to
the pressure as you get no time to deal with pressure at all. It happens in an instant and you are
constantly breathing hard to keep the water out and also gulping to keep relieve
the airplane-like pressure on your ears.
My 10-year old son was thrilled and terrified and he chose to leave
almost immediately. The sea-walk lasts
around 10 minutes, you are at eye level with corals and the amazing marine life
that is actually well and living. But
most of the time is spent on ensuring that you pose right next to the fish/
corals and you are struggling to stay in one place at the same time breathing
right, gulping and it all happens to fast that by the time you are relaxed enough
to enjoy the marine surroundings, the guide is nudging you towards the
ladder. And just like that it is
over.
You change, you are handed a CD of
‘you’ with fish and corals and it’s time to get off the ship into to the boat
that then speeds you the Elephant beach for some more water ‘fun’- snorkeling. There are hundreds of people there- most of
them day-trippers who are there for a couple of hours before heading back to Port
Blair. The waters again are exceptional
(just as everywhere in Havelock) but there are just too many people. Snorkeling too is no fun though you get to
see enough fish. It just is no fun when you have snorkeled at Beach No.2. For me Elephant Island trip was a
disappointment, a very expensive piece of disappointment – sea-walking comes at
3,200 per person and the ride to Elephant Island sets you back by 720 Rupees per
person. The ride was great though.
Walking itself lasts just 10 minutes and you are rushed through the
route (which is maybe 20 paces or less) and the photo- op. So skip it If I may advise you and instead go
for snorkeling at a leisurely pace at Beach no. 2. It costs just 600 per
person and the guy is willing to negotiate if you are a larger group. You can also have daab (coconut water) at 10
buck a pop and chat with the guy who sells it as he scoops the tender coconut as you
are resting on an upside down boat. The
atmosphere is friendly and there is no hurry at all to get anywhere.
We came back at @ 3pm and were hungry. Right on Havelock jetty is a two storied
wooden structure that says Barefoot Bar and Brasserie (discount the ‘bar’ part,
they no longer serve) . we went in and
ordered Pizzas, virgin mojitos, garlic bread, chicken Franks (the most amazing
chicken franks ever) and of course coke and apple juice. The weather was great and the sea breeze did
the trick. We lunched at the waterfront! With great views of the jetty. We could
see the sea planes and water scooters and clippers that bounded on the seas. All in all a great way to end our not so great
sea-walking experience. Water-front
dining/ lunching? In Mumbai? No way! Chennai? Are you mad?
Back at the hotel, the kids were already on their way to our
pool/ sea by the waters of the Andaman with their snorkeling gear and so were
we. We played Frisbee, swam, just
floated and rode the gentle waves till 6pm.
Back at the hotel, the kids climbed into a Jacuzzi as I emptied whatever
bottles I found in the bathroom- moisturisers, shampoos, shower gel. The roaring Jacuzzi was a delight, we settle
in for chilled mojitos and beers as the children shouted and shrieked in the Jacuzzi. End of Day 3
Day 4
The big day! Diving! Can you imagine, we were going diving with Doongi Dives outfit run by Nikhil Kalra, a gentle soul with a smile
and if it is anybody you are going to entrust ‘yourself’ to, it has to be this
calm, unruffled person. Strangely there
was no trepidation. My brother and I donned out wet suits and got into the Omni
that would ferry us again to Beach No.2.
We were first time divers, never ever having experienced anything like
diving outside of TV. We were given our
instructions in water by Amit who would
be my guide and god underwater.
After all you are leaving terra firma and delving into the womb…..:)
(well not quite, for you are always a couple of seconds away from the surface and
sun) just the same when you are inside, you feel like you are in Marina Trench!
We were asked to float on our backs and then gently tugged into the waters for
our gradual descent in to the sun lit interiors of the Andaman sea. The pressure was nil and you got time to
adjust to the mask, the breathing (you are breathing in pure oxygen from the
cylinders) and the pressure. And there
you are, floating as one with the fish and the myriad sea creatures who are
sure are looking at you in curiosity!
There were sea cucumbers, clown fish, trigger fish, white salmon, eels,
carnivorous sea fauna that shuts its wide mouth if a fish get in, and hold your
breath- an octopus……. . I swam among these creatures, and there was wonder on
my face (albeit covered with a mask, you couldn’t see it) It was the best 25 minutes of my life and
worth every penny and anxiety and doubts if you have had before you went
in. Amit, my guide, constantly used hand
gestures to confirm my comfort (like Buddha mudra- form an O with your index
finger and thumb) I was exhilarated. It was
as natural for me to float in the ocean as it was for me to walk on land. There were absolutely no teething troubles-
no pressure troubles or breathing problems. The trick is to completely give in
to your instructors and their suggestions.
Listen to briefing before diving carefully and do exactly as they
say. My prize for this diving trip was a
certificate and a CD with pictures and a video.
Also I came away with an addition for diving. I went for my second dive the next day! Back at the hotel, we had lunch and thought
about checking out Beach No. 7 or Radha nagar Beach- voted as the best beach in
Asia blah blah….
Now it was nearly 3pm, the kids were tired, sleepy and we debated
if we wanted to visit the beach as a tourist or would we rather stay at our
private paradise? After all how much
more beautiful would Beach No. 7 be? But
we gave it and were on our way to Radhanagar beach. Well the kids were in for a disappointment as
rings are not allowed and we wouldn’t let them go in without a ring. So swimming was out. The beach was thrice as wide as out beach and
the seas were rougher, the waters were the same turquoise blue that we have now
come to expect. We hastily beat a
retreat. Beach no.7 is always crowded
with tourists and so it was just not our thing.
For somebody who has gotten used to a heavenly stretch all to herself,
why would I want to spend time on a beach filled with two hundred other people.
We quickly took some pictures and were back on ‘our’ beach J
Day 5
Having been there and dived in, I wanted another taste and
this time, I was under water for a full 35 minutes. I am definitely getting my PADI
certification! It was our last day on
Havelock and we would be checking out at 2pm. The ferry back to Havelock was at
4pm. We thought of having one last ‘waterfront’
lunch and were glad we did it. Munjoh gave us a free ride till the jetty, we
checked in (ticket check in only, no baggage check in), after our lunch we
clicked a few snaps in the jetty and boarded the Makruzz for a relatively tame
Port Blair.
Check in was again a nightmare as the reception at Hornbill
resort told us that we did not have reservations. After the problem was sorted out, they said
that they didn’t have any extra mattresses.
Well were a group of 8 people- 4 adults and 4 kids. We asked our kind
driver Guddu to buy us two mattresses from the Bazaar. He was completely bamboozled but realised the
problem. So after arranging our own mattresses
we checked in and had dinner at Sinclair Bay view further down the road.
Day 6
We visited the cellular jail and were surprised to see it
maintained in pristine conditions. The
walls are white-washed, everything is spick and span, the information is neatly
tacked, I went inside Veer Savarkar’s cell but it was too white-washed and
sterile to feel any horrors that he experienced. I mean to say that I actually felt good after
visiting the jail , the roof has great views of the sea and we spent an hour on
the roof, just standing like we would on our balcony, mute, spellbound by the
views. I apologize here, but the cruelty
and injustice is not on our mind when you fix your sights in the sea.
After the visit, we thought we would visit Ross Island but decided
against it as it is another incarceration structure in ruins and with kids, we
wisely refrained from going (even without them we wouldn’t have gone, for what
is the use of a beach if we can’t go in?) We had lunch at TSG Emerald which is
a bit inside the city and has no views of the sea at all. The food was OK, but our stewardess was great
going by the name of Vanilla- Cute. It
was almost 3pm and we debated about what to do next? Our driver suggested we
visit Chidiya Taapu for a view of the sun-set.
The ride was about 40 minutes and a perfect time for the kids to have a
small nap. The decisions was great,
after ups and downs (in which we got a glimpse of the island of Port Blair) we
reached Chidiya taapu- a narrow sliver of a beach which is a part of protected
forest area with mangroves that rich and fish and reptilian life. There are sign boards warning the visitors of
potential dangers of crocodiles, tides, fish that harm and corals that cut into
your flesh. I found a rich haul of
shells. My brother and his little one napped
on the wooden benches while we explored the beach. What I would suggest here is if you have the
time, you should do a boat-trip through the mangroves. The forest police clear the beach goers at 5
as it is forest area and you can watch the sun-set a little further down the
road. It is a great spectacle. But honestly, if you have been to Havelock ,
Chidiya Taapu is a bit of a comedown.
That being said, the analogy is having tasted god’s own nectar, would
you be willing to settle for ice cream (however
premium- Hagen Daz, Valrhona……etc etc)
But the time we had, Chidiya Taapu was a wise choice. We headed back to the hotel and had an early
night, we were really tired. Bu the
night was not without its thrills. My
husband got trapped inside the bathroom (the resort supervisor said that and I quote
ad verbatim- yeh to normally screw driver say khul jaata hai. Yeh lock mein yeh problem hota hai) Jackass, shouldn’t
you warn us? Anyway my husband really
scared the wits out the supervisor by yelling “heart attack ayah toh? Darwazaa
tod do. Finally the reception guy came
in and kicked the door- lock and all.
Day 7
Time to come home. I
normally can’t wait to get home, this time though it was with extreme
reluctance. I just couldn’t bear to see
the crowds and be among them. I was
further depressed by the sight of a group of people who were clicking away
pictures of a mural at the arrivals…..it was a god forsaken ‘cultural’ mural of
some men and women and dhotis and sarees with dhols and some such. Jesus! People will click anything! But I am home now and am writing this detailed
blog to encourage more people to go the Andamans. It is the final frontier for the intrepid traveler…Oh
you may have grand canyon, and Yukon and Alaska and Hawaii, but Andaman is IT. Yet I know I will come back even more raving
mad as I explore more and more of this jewel .
I am putting down some information here that I hope will be of help to
plan your Andaman holidays.
Some Information to help you plan
your trip
Best Time to go-
Obviously from November- March. But for
me first week of April worked equally well and the tariffs were lower that the
Nov- March window.
Best base in Port
Blair and also the Cheapest- Hornbill
Nest operated by the department of Tourism.
It’s impossible to book by phone- phone lines do not work and email
(what is that). You need to have some
local person go there and book it for you. Tariff is as low as 1000 Rupees per
day.
Booking Hornbill Nest-
I booked mine with the help of Mr. Arvind Patil of Maharshtra Mandal (09732476001). He will go to Hornbill nest and put down an advance for your reservation. Always ensure that you have a booking receipt. He will give you his A/ c number and you can
transfer the advance to him. He does it
as a favour and it is not his business. My suggestion is to take a
usable gift for Maharashtra Mandal or leave a donation or give him a small fee
(say 500 rupees) . The tariff for the
rooms here is 1000/- per day. The rooms
are sea facing. The resort is located on
Corbyn’s Cove beach.
Meals at Hornbill
Resort- You need to tell them in advance about your dinner/ lunch plans and
also tell them what to make and how much.
The food is home-style. We usually had fish fry (passable) dal with
light tadka, rice, mix vegetable and jeeera rice. You can but liquor once you get into Port Blair
and ask them to chill it for you in
their fridge. Water here is
potable. So I suggest you simple refill
the water from the filter here and not buy bottled water and add to
environmental woes.
Transportation at
Port Blair and Havelock- Contact Guddu for taxi- 09476071444. And you can
plan your Port Blair itinerary with his help. You can ask him to book your
sound and light tickets for you.
Number of Manager at
Department of Tourism- Mr. Rajesh -9474212595.
After you get confirmation
from Mr. Patil that he has booked your for the your dates, call up Mr. Rajest
and get a confirmation from him. He will
ask somebody to look into the reservation book and confirm.
The tickets also have pre-assigned seats. So everything is
chilled.
Diving- Doongi Dives at Munjoh Ocean Beach Resort. As you drive along from the Jetty towards beach No.2 you pass by plenty of diving outfits. They seem to be good- Andaman Bubbles and Island Vinnies's also seem good since i have communicated with them and gut feel was positive. Finally i can vouch only for Doongi Dives since I dived with them. But the other two outfits have equally good reviews on Trip advisor. You can decide depending on which one is closer to your acco.
Ferry tickets- Again since there is a government hand in this, you can book only by physically presenting yourself to the ticket counter. But not to worry. I discovered a website that does your job for you- http://www.paradiseandaman.com/ferry.php. This is not a real time website. They go to the counter to get your tickets. I got mine on the second day of my filling up their form and transferring the payment for tickets. My contact person at Paradise Andaman was Ms. Tamara Sutreena- 09933287276 / 09531923560. Friendly and helpful as are all the islanders on Andaman. Just remember when dealing with them be polite and soft not aggressive and business-like
Booking Dolphin
Resort at Havelock- As with Hornbill, ask Mr. Patil to book it for you by
paying an advance. Be very clear with
dates and ensure you have a booking receipt.
Here paper is the Ultimate
Reality. If Mr. Patil is not able to
scan and mail you the booking receipt, ask him to send it with your designated
driver (which is what I did. Guddu gave me my booking receipts upon arrival in
Port Blair). Internet lines are very
fragile and intermittent. So count on it (or rather don’t count on it). The
tariff again is 1000/- for deluxe, 2000 for semi-deluxe and 2500 for super
deluxe.. There are villas as well but don’t
even bother. Unless you are Sonia Gandhi’s
son, supreme court judge, first cousin of Raghuram Rajan’s secretary’s wife’s
first cousin, you won’t get itJ
But never mind, all accommodation is spacious and 50 meters
from the beach. Tell them in advance
about your meals, confirm if they will give you extra mattress and always keep
the booking receipt pinned to your chest.
If you are tired of this then move to Munjoh Ocean Resort or
Sea Shells Resort. They are luxurious
and what can I say, they are non- government, everybody is welcome!
All these numbers are fresh from my use and as as recent as
14th April 2014.
Go ahead, pack your swimsuits, ring, inflatable bed and get
on a flight to the Andamans.