Blogs from Havelock Island, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, India, Asia

The term “Island” itself makes us ecstatic. And this itinerary is about our own “most visited” island in Andaman-the one and only “Havelock Island”. Andaman and Nicobar Islands even though geographically isolated, is an integral part of our country. It’s like a beautiful princess kept secured and hidden from the eyes of the rivals. Its exquisite beauty is beyond comparison and still unexplored. Travelling is my passion and I had a craving for visiting this place from the day I learnt about it. I had started my journey to this celestial abode during the fall considering the favourable weather in that latitude at that time. And the day I landed there, it was one of the happiest moments of my life. The island was by far more beautiful than my fantastical imagination. We took our flights ... read more

Havelock, one of the Andaman islands. We searched long time for the internet access and even longer for the postcards. If you knew how slow the connection here is, you'd understand why this post is so short... oh and the laptop broke down too. EDIT: I'm writing this from Bangkok, since there was no chance to fix it at Havelock. The laptop continues to be on strike, so thank God for Internet Cafes and Gaming Centers. But back to Havelock island. There are some lovely restaurants all over Havelock called "Barefoot"B3 Restaurant and Brasseries, which are somehow connected to the Hotel Resorts (same name) and Scuba Diving centre. They have an internet cafe too, right next to the fish market/big market downtown. Just keep in mind you should ask for the price first, since the internet ... read more

Port Blair – the place that hums! (Sorry not the best start to Paradise!) The Spicejet flight from Kolkata to Port Blair (capital of the Andaman & Nicobar Islands) takes 2 hours. Surprisingly we are 2 of only 4 foreigners on the flight – the rest are locals from West Bengal. After landing we have to get our permits (locals don’t need these) but the system seems very quick and costs nothing but a bit of time. The surprise for us was that they actually stamp your passport (awesome, just like the old days – even though this is a domestic flight!) The first thing that hits you is the humidity ………… and then a quick second later the smell! Clearly they have problems with their drainage systems and this is repeated at various points in ... read more

In the morning, we wanted to have dosa breakfast at the same place again. We were taken to Kayak office "diveindia" in taxi. We were quoted Rs 3500 for both, which seemed a bit steep, but compared to other countries, comparable. Once we reached the office, we discovered that Kayak guide lady has actually advised against going at that time because its too hot and we will be blinded by sun's reflection on water. I can see that, but someone our agent did not communicate that to us. So we agreed to go in the evening, and now we had half day to kill. The guide wanted us to go back to hotel in taxi and bring us back at 2:00, but we did not want to go all the way back. Good decision as it ... read more

We started our journey to Andaman at Chennai airport. Flight to Port Blair was normal. On landing itself we could feel that we are on a tropical island, though different from other islands we have been to. The vegetation here seemed sparse and there was the usual disorder of India. We had booked the ferry ticket to other island through an agent and expected him to send someone with the tickets to airport. Someone came, and he knew nothing about the tickets! Ferry terminal was a short ride from airport and this man charged us Rs500 for that, totally outrageous. We were ready to pay that price when the deal came with tickets in hand at airport so that we could relax have lunch etc. Then we had to stand in line in sun for the ... read more