Backpacking across Paradise - Andaman
Finally found time and thought of jotting down my Andaman Experience ! After a few short jaunts to nearby places over the past year and feeling burnout at work, I was in a need of a break. Looked up a few places that could be done with few days planning and not too far away, and Andaman popped up !So the journey began, with just 2-3days of looking up and trying to figure out a tentative plan.
Once Could reach Andaman ( By Ship or Air) from Chennai and Calcutta and for want of time , I had to go up in the Air. Booked the round trip air tickets from Chennai to Port Blair .The air fare didn't hit me so hard , even though it was booked 3days before the trip .
Once Could reach Andaman ( By Ship or Air) from Chennai and Calcutta and for want of time , I had to go up in the Air. Booked the round trip air tickets from Chennai to Port Blair .The air fare didn't hit me so hard , even though it was booked 3days before the trip .
Looked up a few places on indiamike/tourism website and got some ideas from Mom, who was heading back from Andaman and I was all set. A bright thursday morning , post tennis , quickly put stuff into my backpacks ( no time earlier ,working till wee hrs) and drove down to Chennai in 4hrs flat , with another hour stuck on Mount Road traffic (had to be a political rally) to get to my sisters place.
Journey through Andaman: Port Blair -> Havelock Beach #5(Vijayangar Beach)->Havelock Beach #7(Radhanagar Beach) ->Rangat ->Diglipur ->Ross and Smith Islands->Diglipur->Port Blair
Flights take off and land early morning to lunch time at Port Blair, since its a Naval base and the Airport is handed over to the Services by afternoon.
Day 1 : Chennai to Port Blair
Took the 10am Kingfisher Red morning flight(which was late) from Chennai to Port Blair and was presently surprised by plush red leather seats and the leg room available. I headed straight to the Tourism office , just in time at 1:45pm with chance of boarding the 2pm ferry to Havelock Island but it was not destined. Officials were out for lunch and the lady at the reception had no inkling when they would be back. I was hungry and a bit sleepy and so I went in search of a place for the night's pit stop. At the reception, Seeing a Single woman with a backpack, I had quite a few inquisitive questions , whether I was an Indian or a researcher !! Not the first time I had faced those questions :)
Dumped the backpacks and freshened up and the friendly chap at the reception suggested I go and purchase the early morning ferry tickets from the Shipping Corporation office. Found an auto (Rs 15) and was at the office where there was a bit of a rush and queue ! After an hours wait in the queue, managed a ferry ticket from PB to Havelock at 6:15am next morning. It was 4pm and came out and tried looking for some food but only option was tea and vada that I had to be content with. Once I was done with that I headed to the tourism office again to collect the booking slips and then to the Cellular Jail.
With the evening to myself , headed straight to the Cellular jail, a solitary confinement implemented by the British government to ensure that political prisoners and revolutionaries were isolated from each other during India's freedom struggle. Lot of history in a well maintained national monument. One surely was reminded of the thousands of Indians who laid their lives for the freedom each of us enjoy today.
Day 2 : Port Blair to Havelock Island(Vijaynagar / Beach No# 5)
Wokeup early to catch the 6:15am Ferry to Havelock Islands. The ferry to surprise was well maintained and had AirCon Cabin Seats and spotlessly clean. It was rather freezing inside so I dumped by backpacks and headed straight up basking in the brilliant sunshine outside. As the ship floated through the blue waters , the mind was slowly getting down to its regular speed (away from the modern world ,where you are forced to juggle multitask and take umpteen decisions on the go!) , away from mobile, laptops and modern technology.
The ship reached Havelock in about 2.5hrs and I tried finding a bus to the Dolphin Resort with no luck , so after few negotiations took the Auto(Rs 50) to the well placed resort right on the water front.
After checking in to the resort and a quick breakfast I headed straight to the white sand and turquoise blue waters. I surely had landed on paradise ! The afternoon was spent walking across the breadth of the beach , reading under a shade, watching life come down to its natural pace ! There were very few people (mostly snorkeling or floating) the entire day and I had the entire beach to myself most of the times ,till the eyes could see. Feeling a little hungry late afternoon , I slowly pulled my lazy self up and walked out to a German Bakery for an American Breakfast yes at that hour :)
The evening and night was again spent around the peaceful surroundings of the beach and getting into the groove of the sounds of the waves. Something similar to what goes on inside our minds sometimes, the high and lows and finally the peace!
Spoke to a few people at the resort and found that an auto/taxi to the next beach would cost a whopping Rs300 and was looking for bus routes and was told there are bus to Radhanagar beach starting 7am every hour (Rs 6) from the market bus stand.So hit the sack for another day in paradise
Day 3 : Havelock Island(Vijaynagar / Beach No# 5) to RadhaNagar Beach( Beach #7)
Wokeup early and after a piping hot indian breakfast at the resort , started walking towards the main road to get an auto to the market (Rs10) . Waited around at the bus stop and shortly afterwards the local bus came by . The bus (Rs 6) took about 45mins and passed through a great stretch of green.
Alighted from the bus and the Dome Resort was right on the beach ! The govt. run resort with just 2 tents and 3 domes on the Radhanagar beach is located perfectly and maintained well.
Radhanagar beach was again wide stretches of water and a lots of greenery at one end . The water seemed a little rough and the tides higher. I soon filled up my backpack with water,camera and books and headed straight to the beach. This beach had a few more people and I started waking towards the other end . I took a dip in the water and then went ahead into the shade and just read till late afternoon. Later I walked around the nearby village and the only food option was the Dhabas around where I had a nice Indian Thali (Rs 40) and again some more wanderings around. I wanted to head out Diglipur and figured the easiest would be to take a ferry to Rangat and not go back to PB , so asked around for the timings for the ferry and bus connections for next day. The caretaker put me in touch with a person who it seems had seen me at the Dolphin Resort and a govt official and he told me that he will arrange for the Ferry tics the next day ! I just trusted him and took his mobile number.
After a snooze in the air conditioned comfort I headed to the beach and to my surprise , there were loads of tourists who were there taking a dip or simply enjoying the brilliant sunset. I figured that with very limited lodging options at this beach, most tourists just come there for a short jaunt and head back. As the sunset and i headed to the resort the care taker told me that i was the only guest out there ,so imagine having an island stretch and the whole resort to yourself. At night I took out my small portable iHome speakers and ipod and had some good music for company. Having placed an order earlier for dinner at the nearby Dhaba I headed there to another great home cooked meal, again the only person there !
Vast majority of the local people there are Bengalis and then Tamilians , though most speak fluent hindi. But once they start talking and knowing that I know a bit of both, they would soon start conversing in that language.
Day 4 : Havelock Island to Ranget
Life has a different rhythm and pace here , people have all the time and seem so happy and contended . I was surely comparing this to the world we live in the cities in our corporate lives where every second seems to matter and for what ??
Soon I boarded the ship and I was headed towards Ranget , a 3hrs journey with sun out in its glory. I again dumped my backpacks in the freezing air conditioned cabin and headed back outside . I turned on my ipod and sun bathed as the ferry slowly cruised through the lovely blue surroundings!
Reached Ranget around 1pm and took a share jeep (Rs10) into town . I had asked the jeep guy to drop me at the bus station to head towards the Govt Guest house(Hornbill). It was sweltering hot and I saw the run down bus waiting , jam packed with people and I somehow managed to lug in with my backpacks. The trip to the guest house at RRO , took about an hour through winding stretches and me trying not to bump/crash into the people around me .There was no sitting space and even the standing space I found was packed. I survived that bit and reached the guest house and found that there was no food available at that hour. Walked around to find a small tea stall nearby who said he had opened his shop only two days back and he managed to give me some rice and dal from his family lunch. You would only find such hospitality in such small places.
So after a homecooked meal and some rest , headed straight to the beach nearby. There is a fishing community there and also turtles seem to be visible sometimes. I couldn't find turtles at that time and was told that they appear late night and when the tide is high! I headed back and there was TV in the room , watched some sports and then headed to the same small shop(only one there) for dinner. The folks running it , a bengali couple with their teenage daughter were very friendly and asked loads of questions . Whether there were bengalis in bangalore , how was i traveling alone and such and they even forced me to eat more. I doubt you would get a city hotelier to request to take more servings of food !
I spoke around and found that the first bus to Diglipur came around 4:30a.m. , So I set the alarm and prayed I wake up on time.
Day 5,6,7 : Ranget to Diglipur and Ross& Smith islands
Wokeup at 4:00AM , it was pitch dark and not a soul in sight on a chilly morning . Soon I saw a dim light at the same tea shop nearby ,from the night before and headed straight there. The shopkeeper was starting his day , kneading dough, getting everything ready. He started chatting with me and then his wife soon joined in , helping setup shop.
The bus turned up dot at 4:30am and so began the journey to Diglipur , across some great green stretches of forest.
It was Sarswati Puja that day and the bus slowly started getting filled with beautifully dressed school kids and teachers heading for the celebrations.
Reached Diglipur at 8:30am , a journey of 4hrs in a govt. bus (Rs 50) and then took a local bus to Kalipur (Rs10) and 30mins away where Turtle Resort, another govt. resort was located. On the way passed through several villages -Durgapur, Sibpur, Kerelapuram and figured majority of the locals were Bengalis/Malyalis/Talimilans. There was no food available at the resort at that hour since the staff was on holiday for Sarswati Puja. However , the care taker did fixup a hot cup of tea. There were no possible shops or dhabas anywhere nearby. The caretaker was very helpful and said he would fixup lunch by noon ! The resorted is located at a remote village -Kalipur and you can see the highest peak of Andaman - Saddle peak and also the beach nearby. After doing some washing(clothes had been piling up) and a piping hot lunch, I just decided to take a snooze for few hours.
Wokeup and asked around about bus to town around and was told it comes every hour and i had just missed one. So walked around the village and then to nearby Kalipur beach.
At the resort met an elderly german couple over dinner and figured the gentleman was coming to Andaman 2nd time in 3 months and was interested in snorkeling and turtle spotting. They mentioned there was a possibility of turtles appearing around 1am that night , So I told them I will put my alarm and wake them up and we could head to the beach. After dinner and some reading wokeup at the late hour and all of us with our head lamps(pitch dark outside) with just stars above we headed to the beach. And as luck would have it , it was low tide and no turtles were visible.
I spoke around the caretakers and managers at the resort asking them how to get to Ross and Smith Islands in a cheaper way . They said they will ask around to see if any new guests coming in would go there and as luck would have it they found a pair who would be headed that way post lunch and also had a car. So I spoke around and we headed to the beautiful Ross and Smith Island.
The speed boat charged 500Rs per person and we were there in about half n hour. The islands are separated by a small stretch of sand that gets submerged during high tide and it becomes on single island. The island was the ultimate in what one would expect a beach to be like. White sand , Crystal clear water and with the sun out , one could see various shades of blue all around. I counted and found just 4 more firangs there !
I spoke around to find out more about heading to Saddle peak but was told it would take atleast 4hrs one way and would need to start early in the morning. The whole of this trip was really lazy and not a really active one and I didnt feel motivated enough to wakeup early and trek solo for 10hrs with just water at ones disposal . No food other than meals at the resort available. So, i ditched the plan of going trekking and spent the day just walking around the village, speaking to the locals and finding out what I always have that people with the least amount of resource and working to get their next meal are happier than lot others. They have the glimmer in their eyes and the contentment missing in most people around in cities.
I was slowing gearing up to get back to the connected world .I had picked up the bus ticket to Port Blair earlier for next day that left Diglipur at 7AM and to get to town I had to take first bus out of Kalipur at 5AM. The caretaker told me to stand at the main road by 4:30AM since the bus could come in early.
Day 8 : Diglipur to PortBlair
So I was up at 4:00AM and at the main road by 4:30am , It was pitch dark and one could only hear the sounds of the small creatures around and for almost 1.5hrs since the bus didn't turn up and I was wondering what if I missed the connection to Port Blair. And then I saw a bus being driven like a maniac come and I got in and we was at Diglipur in record time to get the 7am connection.
The bus to Port Blair ,a journey of 10hrs passes through some green scenic route and also through the Jarwa Resereve. The bus and us also pass through several stretches where we need to board the ferry along with the bus to get to the next landed spot.
Jarawas , are group of Andamanese Negritos are believed to be the most isolated in human history. Only 400 remain today !Ever since migrating from Africa an estimated 30,000 to 60,000 years ago, they have lived in the Andaman forests without any contact with the outside world, protecting their privacy by being relentlessly hostile to outsiders. The Indian Government has demarcated a tribal reserve for them to lead undisturbed lives. This is a jungle spread over South and Middle Andamans. However the forest has a highway passing through that connects the South and Middle Andamans and conveys are allowed several times a day ! There is a court battle going on to close the highway down but the local people are against it since its their life line and cuts down travel time to port blair drastically. You will find curious Jarawas standing along the road , some women dressed in nothing holding a baby at their waist or even some in a red girdle of sorts. I also some young Jarawas at the forest entrance and on the way in modern shorts and t-shirts.
I reached PortBlair around 4pm after a long day of bus travel and with no lunch(the only thing available at a short stop was oily/spicy fish and rice that I couldn't force myself to taste) and couple of cups of tea and biscuits. I took an auto from the bus stand into Paradise Inn , the same place I had stayed on the first day. Very basic but clean and friendly staff. After a bit of rest I headed to the Bengali hotel nearby for the first meal of the day and then called it a day early to be up for the flight early morning next day.
The week I spent at the peaceful Andaman (and yes with no water sports , that an adventurer in me would have liked to do in normal times) did rejuvenate me and I was slowly getting back to my normal self and was dreading heading back to the ever busy connected world where every second counts for nothing earth shattering.
Pictures on Flickr: Andaman
Useful Links :
- Andaman Islands on Wiki
- Andaman Nicobar Tourism
- WikiTravel -Andaman and Nicobar Islands
- Hotel Listings
- Smart Travel Asia-Andaman
- Lonely Planet -Andaman and Nicobar Islands
Port Blair : Basic Budget hotel , clean and friendly person at the desk - Paradise Inn ,Moulana Azad Road
Havelock/Ranget/Diglipur : Govt Guest house/Resort booked at Port Blair .. Clean Rooms and Great Location .
Can be booked via phone 03192-232694 and reservation slip collected from Port Blair
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