Prelude
Crystal clear greenish-blue ocean water, white sand, amazing underwater exploration by scuba diving & snorkeling, witnessing hundreds of various types of fishes & corals under the water through glass-boat, sun bath in one of the most beautiful sea-beaches in Asia, spending vacation in a resort just beside the ocean water, etc. etc... If you want to experience all these in a single vacation, you have to visit Andaman & Nicobar islands in India. One of the most beautiful coastal landscapes I have ever seen in my life. Surprisingly, seeing the pictures many people didn't believe that it's in India!
In spite of knowing the fact that July is the worst time to visit Andaman islands, we took a chance to try our luck. I agree that monsoon is really the worst time to go there & the chances of sunny days are very narrow. However, we were extremely lucky to experience beautiful weather in second week of July! The plan was to explore a part of Andaman in 6 days. However it's impossible to cover everything in this short time, you need at least 2 weeks to get an overview of all the islands...
After having enough solo trips in abroad, I was really looking forward for a family vacation with my parents. Family trips are something with which you can't compare anything else... an amazing pleasure of life... :)
6th July 2015: We were flying with Spicejet, from Kolkata to Port Blair.
We landed at Port Blair around 3 PM. I didn't go for prior hotel booking, mainly because it's pretty easy to find hotels in off-season & you can choose among many. Most of the hotels in Port Blair are at Aberdeen Bazaar area, which is about 7 Km from the airport. You can get auto rickshaws, buses & private cabs from the airport. While buses will cost less than Rs 10 (& you have to go out of the airport to get a bus) & autos cost Rs 50-70, a cab will take about Rs 150 (you can get a cab ticket in fixed Govt. rate from the airport).
We didn't have any check-in luggage & went out quickly. Just after we came out of the airport, at least 10-15 auto driers started to 'capture' their customers. It was so annoying! Just to get rid of them, I booked a Govt. cab from the airport area, which cost Rs 140. One suggestion: you don't need to pay so much, just go out of the airport & take a bus to Aberdeen Bazaar. Otherwise you can bargain the auto price which will be around Rs 50-70.
Everybody makes tour business in Port Blair! The cab driver was trying to convince us that we should go with his cheap rates for hotels & tour packages, etc. He even took my phone number & tried to call me several times for next two days. Just avoid them & do it in your own. Whatever...
We were starving by the time we reached Aberdeen Bazaar. There are lot of restaurants in the area, you will have many choices. We late lunch in a Bengali restaurant 'Adi Bangali Hotel', which is very famous in the area. A 'Lunch Thali' cost Rs 80 & the quality was good.
Not having much luggage has the advantage of easy carrying around. We explored the area & found a good place to stay, Hotel London. Although in tourist season it costs about Rs 2000 for a 3-bed room, we managed to get in Rs 900. Very good hotel, & the location is also at the heart of the town.
For rest of the evening we just explored by walking & also went to Marina Park (it takes about 10 mins by auto, which cost Rs 25). A quiet & nice place to refresh beside the ocean. Had coffee & popcorn in a nearby cafe & were just walking along the shoreline. The islands far away were looking mysterious in darkness...
Day 2: The plan was to cover local day trips. Had breakfast with Puri-Sabji & called for an auto to visit Corbyn's Cove beach, which is about 6 Km from Aberdeen Bazaar. It takes about 20-25 mins by auto to reach there. Although we paid Rs 450 for a return trip (including waiting time), later I realized that we paid a bit more. In fact you can get a bus & walk little bit if you have time. Ask at the office in the bus terminus.
A small but nice beach to visit, although it's a bit dirty at the other side. Nice sand sculptures by the red crabs around. I think spending an hour at the beach will be more than sufficient. You can do some water activities too. My mother managed to get a fallen coconut & asked a local fisherman to cut it. They gladly did & she offered half of the coconut to that person :) Took some family photos & walked around for a while.
While coming back we stopped at a place called 'Sunset point'. You can get a nice view of the ocean from the top, worth taking some photos.
Went back to Aberdeen Bazaar by noon. Having our time limited, I didn't want to experiment that much & waste time. One of the most important historical richness about Andaman is obviously the Cellular Jail, which was our next stop. About 10 minutes of drive from the town, & within walkable distance from Marina park (search for the long staircase upwards, it will take you almost to the entrance of the jail).
So much history is involved with this jail! Better to read the history before visiting the place, to feel the place more intensely.
The jail premise encompasses huge area. Seven wings are connected to the central tower, each of the wings having hundreds of cells/prisons.
The architecture is same in all seven wings. Each of the cells were designed in such a way that the prisoners didn't have any chance to elope or to interact with each other. A single tiny window high on the wall was the only way to get oxygen & sunlight from outside.
Even the lock system of the doors were so secured that nobody from inside could have a chance to manipulate. I was wondering about the situation when the freedom fighters were sent here to spend the most brutal last few years of their life, how did they feel? I can't imagine of staying even for a day! Didn't forget to give a big salute to those people who laid their lives for the independence of our country...
The jail had a place where the prisoners used to grind the coconuts to make oil (aka Oil Mill). I was reading the histories in the premises. It says that this was the most brutal among all jail labour jobs. Each one was given at least 20 coconuts per day to finish. If they couldn't, they were tortured brutally. Some statues are created to demonstrate different types of torturing...
Visited the hanging room. Uncountable number of freedom fighters were hanged in this room - unbelievable!
There is a small chamber underneath this room, from where the dead bodies were collected. I was wondering, the place inside the chamber where I am standing right now, was the place for last brutal breath of so many freedom fighters...
The roof of the jail is actually pretty nice, you will get good views of the islands around.
The jail also offers light & sound show in the evening, although we couldn't manage time to go for it.
After having lunch, we were wondering if there is something interesting to see nearby. While chatting with locals in a tea-stall, someone suggested the Ross island.
It's about 10-15 mins of ferry from the Marin Park jetty. Ticket cost about Rs 200 per head for a return journey. Make sure that you return by the last ferry, otherwise there is no transport after that time.
A beautiful island! They really maintain the environment & cleanliness. I have never seen so many deer in open area. Also lot of peacocks around!
Walking around the island was a real pleasure. Calm & quiet, lot of animals around & you get the breathtaking view of the ocean around.
Came across some historical buildings & remains of an old cathedral. At the other side of the island we climbed down the stairs to get closer to the ocean & found a beautiful tiny sea beach with white sand & beautiful corals.
We stayed in Ross island for about 2 hours. Nothing much too see, couple of hours is sufficient to feel the breeze from the ocean & to relax... Came across a Japanese bunker from 1940s...
We had reserved next couple of days for Havelock island, one of the most beautiful places in Andaman & Nicobar islands. There are Govt. & private ferries to go there, & obviously private will cost more. Usually the Govt. ferry tickets are in extreme demand during peak tourist season & you need to book in well advance. We got the ticket one day ago from Port Blair harbour. It cost about Rs 500 per head. There are different ferry timings & some go to Havelock via Neil island. We got the 11 AM ferry ticket, which will go through Neil island.
Day3: Checked out of the hotel from Port Blair temporarily, will be back after 2 days. After having heavy breakfast took an auto towards the jetty. We still had 1-1.5 hours left before the ferry timing. Got some snacks & stuffs from local shops, explored the dock area for a while.
Checked into ferry by showing Govt. identity & tickets. Beyond my expectation, the ship had air conditioning! It was actually pretty good. Got seated at specific seat number mentioned in the ticket, no more jostling like local public transports in India. Actually that was the first time I was in a ship & it was indeed a memorable experience.
As the ship was making it's way through the deep blue Bay of Bengal water, we were crossing several unnamed islands. Standing on the deck was making the skin salty. I was wondering how come the long distance swimmers do swim in ocean water in such huge tide! If I had a chance, I really wanted to try once by jumping from the ship & swim for a while ;)
Chatting with your mother on ship deck & planning for future family trips is a real pleasure. She was more excited than me to experience all these! It took about 3 hours to reach Neil island, where many passengers got off. The water was looking astoundingly beautiful - it was crystal clear greenish & plenty of fishes were visible from the surface.
In 10 minutes the ship resumed again. It took another hour or so to reach Havelock.
The first thing to get mesmerized was the water at the entry point of the island. I immediately realized that staying a few days in this island is going to be a heavenly experience! :)
The foremost thing to do after getting into the island from the jetty was to search for a place to stay, preferably a cottage beside the ocean. Havelock is a small & expensive place, & you have to search a bit to find the one which suits you. The main public transports are auto & shared jeep. One thing I noticed is that, the auto drivers don't embarrass you. It's upto you which one to choose. The beaches in Havelock are numbered from 1 to 7. Usually people stay somewhere between beach #3 to #5 because it's closer to the market & the environment is nice. The best thing is to hire an auto & tell to drop at beach #3 & then you can explore by walking. Otherwise you can tell the driver to show you a few options.
We hired an auto in Rs 80, including the hotel searching time. The driver was actually very honest. Rest of the Havelock we toured with him. His name is Kartick, you can call him in these numbers: (+91) 9476087859, 7076383409.
After a few searches, we found Gold Star Resort at beach #3 to be convenient & we liked it. Don't know why did people have given such bad rating for the resort, personally I found it to be okay.
I would give a rating 10 out of 10 due to it's supperb location! About 50 meters away from amazing green ocean water, I couldn't find something more exciting. Although in peak tourist season the prices will really make you to think twice, being in off-season we managed to get a room in Rs 1200. Small cottage, but the atmosphere was pretty quiet. I loved the "private beach" so much, so much that I wanted to stay there forever! Unbelievable! You won't believe that it's in India (see the picture below)!
You can spend the whole day by sitting & relaxing in beach chair beside the water. You don't need to book an expensive Mauritius holiday package, this one is wayyy cheaper! ;)
By the time we got freshened up, it was past noon. There are quite a few places to visit in Havelock & we didn't want to miss the real beauty by darkness. Decided to spend rest of the afternoon at Kalapathar beach, which is about 15-20 mins of drive from there.
Extremely quiet place, free from crowd (& that's why I really liked it). There is nothing to do in terms of water activities. But if you want to feel the nature in privacy, you will like it for sure. Good place to swim, almost zero water current. We took a long walk (almost 1-2 Km) to explore the white sand beach. Lot of corals around, along with live tiny muscles. My mother collected quite a few of these & put in my hand - as these were moving, I recorded a video :D (will share the link later)
At the end of the day it was feeling like a place of solitude. Only three of us wandering in the beach, & absorbing the beauty of nature to the fullest. I was wondering about my solo adventures across Atlantic & these family vacations - life has so many shades... :)
We stayed for more than two hours & it was getting a bit dark. There were 2/3 roadside temporary food stalls selling coconut & snacks. Had some snacks & drove back to the resort by the end of afternoon.
Explored the local market for a while. In the evening actually there is nothing to do in Havelock. It's such an empty & quiet place that you won't have anything to do. However, staying in a beach resort has an advantage: you can just sit at the waterfront & spend the whole evening, even the whole night (don't forget to bring mosquito repellent). Had dinner in a nearby restaurant along with delicious fish. If you are in Havelock, you just can't miss the fishes!
I was walking down the beach in the evening. Literally nobody was around, except some foreigners. Actually it was the time for low tide & the whole area was looking like an abandoned place full of big chunks of sand.
Due to time constraint we had the time window of next day only. Went to bed early & hoping for a good weather window on next day.
Day4: I heard heavy rain at late night. While getting worried about ruining the day, I fall in asleep again. Next morning was surprisingly perfect with sunny weather! The driver came after we got ready. Had breakfast from the local market. Our first destination was Light House. Because of some issues, 'Elephanta' wasn't open for public at that time (which is the most popular) & we didn't have any other choice. The purpose was to explore the underwater & snorkelling. Actually you can do scuba diving also. Talk to the resort manager, there are many agencies to do that. It costs about Rs 3500-4000 depending on the season.
The driver took us to the ticket counter at the jetty area (beach #1). Pretty expensive: Rs 800 per head. Plus the charge of glass boat (which you would like to go for sure) is Rs 600 per head. Personally I found it too expensive in terms of what do they offer.
Anyway, we were about 10 people in the boat & sailed towards the light house area. Beautiful weather, crystal clear ocean water & amazing islands around - a place like heaven! We reached in about 10-15 minutes. You can call it a place of corals. Everywhere you look it's only corals of different types. Beautiful! Basically the idea of the trip was nothing but stay at the island for a few hours, do water activities (which are f**king expensive & bullsh*it), snorkel & come back. Initially I thought that they will provide snorkelling costumes, although I was proved totally wrong. If you are interested, bring extra suit. However, I find it worthless to do snorkelling there because you can see everything in shallow water, you just go a few feet further & get wet for nothing. I didn't.
At some point I got really bored because there is nothing to do. We were waiting for the 'glass bottom boat' to come from main island, which was the most exciting part of the trip. A boat having glass at the bottom, through which you will be able to see amazing live underwater life including corals, plenty of fishes, & other creatures. The boat tour lasted for about 15-20 minutes & it was really worth paying the money. Due to the boat movement & insufficient lighting condition I couldn't capture the actual beauty, but the things we've seen will remain in memory forever.
While coming back, we visited the mangrove forest area. After coming back to the main island & after having some light food, called the driver & we were ready to go for the main attraction of Havelock island, Radhanagar sea beach. In 2004 it was elected as the most beautiful sea beach in Asia by Time magazine!
It took about half an hour to reach there. We needed to have lunch. However, Radhanagar sea beach is a very expensive place. If you enter in a good restaurant, make sure that your budget is enough. But there are lot of roadside 'Dhabas' which are cheap, & the food quality is also good. We had rice in lunch & slowly started walking towards the beach.
Mesmerizing beauty! Greenish blue ocean water & white sand, with the coastal line filled with series of coconut trees. A perfect place to spend holidays, relaxing & sun-bathing. It's the most famous beach in Havelock & most popular among the foreigners.
Walking down the harbour line was a pleasant experience, it's spread over one kilometer area. A good place for swimming also. Actually the Kalapathar sea beach is just behind the little hill in the picture above.
We were talking to the locals. They were saying about their sad life due to negligence from the Govt. to support them. Their life is totally based on tourists, most of the business is coming from tourism. The depressing part of a famous tourist spot is that, you never come to know the life of insiders, you only see the polished surface.
There are some Govt. accommodations available just beside the sea beach. Spending a few days can be really worth.
Spending a couple of hours at Radhanagar was a memorable experience. I didn't want to leave. I wish if we had more time to stay in Havelock! One night is just nothing. Alas, had to go back. Didn't forget to capture some family moments...
We had to wait for another hour at the main jetty for the ferry. Don't miss drinking coconut delicious water in Andaman. Each coconut contains more than one liter of water! I have never seen such big coconuts in my life.
Reached Port Blair around 6-6.30 PM. Explored the busy local market of Aberdeen Bazaar in the evening. We had the window of one more day. As we had already seen the underwater through glass boat in Havelock, I abandoned the idea of repeating it again by going to Jolly Buoy island (for which you have to get a permit). Instead of another probable good destination to Baratang, we decided to go to Wandoor. It's nearby & buses are available. Actually for going to Jolly Buoy, you have to go through Wandoor.
Got the bus information from the bus stand office (extremely rude behaviour of the stuffs) - buses to Wandoor leave in almost every hour. You can hire a cab, but it will cost at least Rs 3000-4000, whereas return bus ticket costs Rs 120.
Day5: We boarded the bus around 9 in the morning, no need of advance ticket. It took about an hour to reach there.
Another beautiful sea beach! Splendid colour of water & picturesque islands around - heaven! I think this place is not publicized that much like Radhanagar.
Unbelievable colour of water & the islands were enough to compete with Thailand sea beaches. Less number of tourists made the place more attractive. You can literally walk through crystal clear shallow water. But be aware of crocodiles!
With so many things to complain about life, when you spend an amazing family vacation in an amazing place, you are bound to feel that life isn't so bad :)
As my father was relaxing on a bench, along with my mother I started walking along the shore line.
Lot of fallen dry trees on the beach, & absolute quietness. We walked almost over a kilometer.
There are a few souvenir shops & tea stalls at the beach. We stayed for a couple of hours more & were relaxing. Was feeling sad because the vacation was almost over. Although good things are best experienced with little amount :)
The bus is available in every hour. Came back to Port Blair by evening. In our whole trip, surprisingly we experienced amazing weather, & on last evening, it started raining. Probably this time luck was doing some favour for us ;)
Next day we had flight at noon. A beautiful vacation came to an end, but memories will remain forever... hope to come back again, to explore the places we didn't get chance to explore this time. For now, good bye... :)
 |
| Yes, it's in India & not Hawaii or Caribbean islands! :) |
In spite of knowing the fact that July is the worst time to visit Andaman islands, we took a chance to try our luck. I agree that monsoon is really the worst time to go there & the chances of sunny days are very narrow. However, we were extremely lucky to experience beautiful weather in second week of July! The plan was to explore a part of Andaman in 6 days. However it's impossible to cover everything in this short time, you need at least 2 weeks to get an overview of all the islands...
After having enough solo trips in abroad, I was really looking forward for a family vacation with my parents. Family trips are something with which you can't compare anything else... an amazing pleasure of life... :)
6th July 2015: We were flying with Spicejet, from Kolkata to Port Blair.
We landed at Port Blair around 3 PM. I didn't go for prior hotel booking, mainly because it's pretty easy to find hotels in off-season & you can choose among many. Most of the hotels in Port Blair are at Aberdeen Bazaar area, which is about 7 Km from the airport. You can get auto rickshaws, buses & private cabs from the airport. While buses will cost less than Rs 10 (& you have to go out of the airport to get a bus) & autos cost Rs 50-70, a cab will take about Rs 150 (you can get a cab ticket in fixed Govt. rate from the airport).
We didn't have any check-in luggage & went out quickly. Just after we came out of the airport, at least 10-15 auto driers started to 'capture' their customers. It was so annoying! Just to get rid of them, I booked a Govt. cab from the airport area, which cost Rs 140. One suggestion: you don't need to pay so much, just go out of the airport & take a bus to Aberdeen Bazaar. Otherwise you can bargain the auto price which will be around Rs 50-70.
Everybody makes tour business in Port Blair! The cab driver was trying to convince us that we should go with his cheap rates for hotels & tour packages, etc. He even took my phone number & tried to call me several times for next two days. Just avoid them & do it in your own. Whatever...
We were starving by the time we reached Aberdeen Bazaar. There are lot of restaurants in the area, you will have many choices. We late lunch in a Bengali restaurant 'Adi Bangali Hotel', which is very famous in the area. A 'Lunch Thali' cost Rs 80 & the quality was good.
Not having much luggage has the advantage of easy carrying around. We explored the area & found a good place to stay, Hotel London. Although in tourist season it costs about Rs 2000 for a 3-bed room, we managed to get in Rs 900. Very good hotel, & the location is also at the heart of the town.
For rest of the evening we just explored by walking & also went to Marina Park (it takes about 10 mins by auto, which cost Rs 25). A quiet & nice place to refresh beside the ocean. Had coffee & popcorn in a nearby cafe & were just walking along the shoreline. The islands far away were looking mysterious in darkness...
Day 2: The plan was to cover local day trips. Had breakfast with Puri-Sabji & called for an auto to visit Corbyn's Cove beach, which is about 6 Km from Aberdeen Bazaar. It takes about 20-25 mins by auto to reach there. Although we paid Rs 450 for a return trip (including waiting time), later I realized that we paid a bit more. In fact you can get a bus & walk little bit if you have time. Ask at the office in the bus terminus.
A small but nice beach to visit, although it's a bit dirty at the other side. Nice sand sculptures by the red crabs around. I think spending an hour at the beach will be more than sufficient. You can do some water activities too. My mother managed to get a fallen coconut & asked a local fisherman to cut it. They gladly did & she offered half of the coconut to that person :) Took some family photos & walked around for a while.
 |
| Happiness is: family vacation! :) |
While coming back we stopped at a place called 'Sunset point'. You can get a nice view of the ocean from the top, worth taking some photos.
Went back to Aberdeen Bazaar by noon. Having our time limited, I didn't want to experiment that much & waste time. One of the most important historical richness about Andaman is obviously the Cellular Jail, which was our next stop. About 10 minutes of drive from the town, & within walkable distance from Marina park (search for the long staircase upwards, it will take you almost to the entrance of the jail).
So much history is involved with this jail! Better to read the history before visiting the place, to feel the place more intensely.
The jail premise encompasses huge area. Seven wings are connected to the central tower, each of the wings having hundreds of cells/prisons.
The architecture is same in all seven wings. Each of the cells were designed in such a way that the prisoners didn't have any chance to elope or to interact with each other. A single tiny window high on the wall was the only way to get oxygen & sunlight from outside.
Even the lock system of the doors were so secured that nobody from inside could have a chance to manipulate. I was wondering about the situation when the freedom fighters were sent here to spend the most brutal last few years of their life, how did they feel? I can't imagine of staying even for a day! Didn't forget to give a big salute to those people who laid their lives for the independence of our country...
 |
| Jail corridor |
The jail had a place where the prisoners used to grind the coconuts to make oil (aka Oil Mill). I was reading the histories in the premises. It says that this was the most brutal among all jail labour jobs. Each one was given at least 20 coconuts per day to finish. If they couldn't, they were tortured brutally. Some statues are created to demonstrate different types of torturing...
Visited the hanging room. Uncountable number of freedom fighters were hanged in this room - unbelievable!
There is a small chamber underneath this room, from where the dead bodies were collected. I was wondering, the place inside the chamber where I am standing right now, was the place for last brutal breath of so many freedom fighters...
The roof of the jail is actually pretty nice, you will get good views of the islands around.
The jail also offers light & sound show in the evening, although we couldn't manage time to go for it.
After having lunch, we were wondering if there is something interesting to see nearby. While chatting with locals in a tea-stall, someone suggested the Ross island.
It's about 10-15 mins of ferry from the Marin Park jetty. Ticket cost about Rs 200 per head for a return journey. Make sure that you return by the last ferry, otherwise there is no transport after that time.
A beautiful island! They really maintain the environment & cleanliness. I have never seen so many deer in open area. Also lot of peacocks around!
Walking around the island was a real pleasure. Calm & quiet, lot of animals around & you get the breathtaking view of the ocean around.
Came across some historical buildings & remains of an old cathedral. At the other side of the island we climbed down the stairs to get closer to the ocean & found a beautiful tiny sea beach with white sand & beautiful corals.
We stayed in Ross island for about 2 hours. Nothing much too see, couple of hours is sufficient to feel the breeze from the ocean & to relax... Came across a Japanese bunker from 1940s...
We had reserved next couple of days for Havelock island, one of the most beautiful places in Andaman & Nicobar islands. There are Govt. & private ferries to go there, & obviously private will cost more. Usually the Govt. ferry tickets are in extreme demand during peak tourist season & you need to book in well advance. We got the ticket one day ago from Port Blair harbour. It cost about Rs 500 per head. There are different ferry timings & some go to Havelock via Neil island. We got the 11 AM ferry ticket, which will go through Neil island.
Day3: Checked out of the hotel from Port Blair temporarily, will be back after 2 days. After having heavy breakfast took an auto towards the jetty. We still had 1-1.5 hours left before the ferry timing. Got some snacks & stuffs from local shops, explored the dock area for a while.
Checked into ferry by showing Govt. identity & tickets. Beyond my expectation, the ship had air conditioning! It was actually pretty good. Got seated at specific seat number mentioned in the ticket, no more jostling like local public transports in India. Actually that was the first time I was in a ship & it was indeed a memorable experience.
As the ship was making it's way through the deep blue Bay of Bengal water, we were crossing several unnamed islands. Standing on the deck was making the skin salty. I was wondering how come the long distance swimmers do swim in ocean water in such huge tide! If I had a chance, I really wanted to try once by jumping from the ship & swim for a while ;)
Chatting with your mother on ship deck & planning for future family trips is a real pleasure. She was more excited than me to experience all these! It took about 3 hours to reach Neil island, where many passengers got off. The water was looking astoundingly beautiful - it was crystal clear greenish & plenty of fishes were visible from the surface.
In 10 minutes the ship resumed again. It took another hour or so to reach Havelock.
The first thing to get mesmerized was the water at the entry point of the island. I immediately realized that staying a few days in this island is going to be a heavenly experience! :)
The foremost thing to do after getting into the island from the jetty was to search for a place to stay, preferably a cottage beside the ocean. Havelock is a small & expensive place, & you have to search a bit to find the one which suits you. The main public transports are auto & shared jeep. One thing I noticed is that, the auto drivers don't embarrass you. It's upto you which one to choose. The beaches in Havelock are numbered from 1 to 7. Usually people stay somewhere between beach #3 to #5 because it's closer to the market & the environment is nice. The best thing is to hire an auto & tell to drop at beach #3 & then you can explore by walking. Otherwise you can tell the driver to show you a few options.
We hired an auto in Rs 80, including the hotel searching time. The driver was actually very honest. Rest of the Havelock we toured with him. His name is Kartick, you can call him in these numbers: (+91) 9476087859, 7076383409.
After a few searches, we found Gold Star Resort at beach #3 to be convenient & we liked it. Don't know why did people have given such bad rating for the resort, personally I found it to be okay.
I would give a rating 10 out of 10 due to it's supperb location! About 50 meters away from amazing green ocean water, I couldn't find something more exciting. Although in peak tourist season the prices will really make you to think twice, being in off-season we managed to get a room in Rs 1200. Small cottage, but the atmosphere was pretty quiet. I loved the "private beach" so much, so much that I wanted to stay there forever! Unbelievable! You won't believe that it's in India (see the picture below)!
You can spend the whole day by sitting & relaxing in beach chair beside the water. You don't need to book an expensive Mauritius holiday package, this one is wayyy cheaper! ;)
By the time we got freshened up, it was past noon. There are quite a few places to visit in Havelock & we didn't want to miss the real beauty by darkness. Decided to spend rest of the afternoon at Kalapathar beach, which is about 15-20 mins of drive from there.
Extremely quiet place, free from crowd (& that's why I really liked it). There is nothing to do in terms of water activities. But if you want to feel the nature in privacy, you will like it for sure. Good place to swim, almost zero water current. We took a long walk (almost 1-2 Km) to explore the white sand beach. Lot of corals around, along with live tiny muscles. My mother collected quite a few of these & put in my hand - as these were moving, I recorded a video :D (will share the link later)
At the end of the day it was feeling like a place of solitude. Only three of us wandering in the beach, & absorbing the beauty of nature to the fullest. I was wondering about my solo adventures across Atlantic & these family vacations - life has so many shades... :)
We stayed for more than two hours & it was getting a bit dark. There were 2/3 roadside temporary food stalls selling coconut & snacks. Had some snacks & drove back to the resort by the end of afternoon.
Explored the local market for a while. In the evening actually there is nothing to do in Havelock. It's such an empty & quiet place that you won't have anything to do. However, staying in a beach resort has an advantage: you can just sit at the waterfront & spend the whole evening, even the whole night (don't forget to bring mosquito repellent). Had dinner in a nearby restaurant along with delicious fish. If you are in Havelock, you just can't miss the fishes!
I was walking down the beach in the evening. Literally nobody was around, except some foreigners. Actually it was the time for low tide & the whole area was looking like an abandoned place full of big chunks of sand.
Due to time constraint we had the time window of next day only. Went to bed early & hoping for a good weather window on next day.
Day4: I heard heavy rain at late night. While getting worried about ruining the day, I fall in asleep again. Next morning was surprisingly perfect with sunny weather! The driver came after we got ready. Had breakfast from the local market. Our first destination was Light House. Because of some issues, 'Elephanta' wasn't open for public at that time (which is the most popular) & we didn't have any other choice. The purpose was to explore the underwater & snorkelling. Actually you can do scuba diving also. Talk to the resort manager, there are many agencies to do that. It costs about Rs 3500-4000 depending on the season.
The driver took us to the ticket counter at the jetty area (beach #1). Pretty expensive: Rs 800 per head. Plus the charge of glass boat (which you would like to go for sure) is Rs 600 per head. Personally I found it too expensive in terms of what do they offer.
 |
| Notice the boat having my name... I own it ;) |
Anyway, we were about 10 people in the boat & sailed towards the light house area. Beautiful weather, crystal clear ocean water & amazing islands around - a place like heaven! We reached in about 10-15 minutes. You can call it a place of corals. Everywhere you look it's only corals of different types. Beautiful! Basically the idea of the trip was nothing but stay at the island for a few hours, do water activities (which are f**king expensive & bullsh*it), snorkel & come back. Initially I thought that they will provide snorkelling costumes, although I was proved totally wrong. If you are interested, bring extra suit. However, I find it worthless to do snorkelling there because you can see everything in shallow water, you just go a few feet further & get wet for nothing. I didn't.
At some point I got really bored because there is nothing to do. We were waiting for the 'glass bottom boat' to come from main island, which was the most exciting part of the trip. A boat having glass at the bottom, through which you will be able to see amazing live underwater life including corals, plenty of fishes, & other creatures. The boat tour lasted for about 15-20 minutes & it was really worth paying the money. Due to the boat movement & insufficient lighting condition I couldn't capture the actual beauty, but the things we've seen will remain in memory forever.
While coming back, we visited the mangrove forest area. After coming back to the main island & after having some light food, called the driver & we were ready to go for the main attraction of Havelock island, Radhanagar sea beach. In 2004 it was elected as the most beautiful sea beach in Asia by Time magazine!
It took about half an hour to reach there. We needed to have lunch. However, Radhanagar sea beach is a very expensive place. If you enter in a good restaurant, make sure that your budget is enough. But there are lot of roadside 'Dhabas' which are cheap, & the food quality is also good. We had rice in lunch & slowly started walking towards the beach.
Mesmerizing beauty! Greenish blue ocean water & white sand, with the coastal line filled with series of coconut trees. A perfect place to spend holidays, relaxing & sun-bathing. It's the most famous beach in Havelock & most popular among the foreigners.
Walking down the harbour line was a pleasant experience, it's spread over one kilometer area. A good place for swimming also. Actually the Kalapathar sea beach is just behind the little hill in the picture above.
We were talking to the locals. They were saying about their sad life due to negligence from the Govt. to support them. Their life is totally based on tourists, most of the business is coming from tourism. The depressing part of a famous tourist spot is that, you never come to know the life of insiders, you only see the polished surface.
There are some Govt. accommodations available just beside the sea beach. Spending a few days can be really worth.
Spending a couple of hours at Radhanagar was a memorable experience. I didn't want to leave. I wish if we had more time to stay in Havelock! One night is just nothing. Alas, had to go back. Didn't forget to capture some family moments...
 |
| when father is your friend... :) |
Reached Port Blair around 6-6.30 PM. Explored the busy local market of Aberdeen Bazaar in the evening. We had the window of one more day. As we had already seen the underwater through glass boat in Havelock, I abandoned the idea of repeating it again by going to Jolly Buoy island (for which you have to get a permit). Instead of another probable good destination to Baratang, we decided to go to Wandoor. It's nearby & buses are available. Actually for going to Jolly Buoy, you have to go through Wandoor.
Got the bus information from the bus stand office (extremely rude behaviour of the stuffs) - buses to Wandoor leave in almost every hour. You can hire a cab, but it will cost at least Rs 3000-4000, whereas return bus ticket costs Rs 120.
Day5: We boarded the bus around 9 in the morning, no need of advance ticket. It took about an hour to reach there.
Another beautiful sea beach! Splendid colour of water & picturesque islands around - heaven! I think this place is not publicized that much like Radhanagar.
Unbelievable colour of water & the islands were enough to compete with Thailand sea beaches. Less number of tourists made the place more attractive. You can literally walk through crystal clear shallow water. But be aware of crocodiles!
With so many things to complain about life, when you spend an amazing family vacation in an amazing place, you are bound to feel that life isn't so bad :)
As my father was relaxing on a bench, along with my mother I started walking along the shore line.
 |
| Happiness is: selfie with your mother :) (our skin was totally tanned due to Sun-burn ;)) |
There are a few souvenir shops & tea stalls at the beach. We stayed for a couple of hours more & were relaxing. Was feeling sad because the vacation was almost over. Although good things are best experienced with little amount :)
The bus is available in every hour. Came back to Port Blair by evening. In our whole trip, surprisingly we experienced amazing weather, & on last evening, it started raining. Probably this time luck was doing some favour for us ;)
Next day we had flight at noon. A beautiful vacation came to an end, but memories will remain forever... hope to come back again, to explore the places we didn't get chance to explore this time. For now, good bye... :)
No comments:
Post a Comment