Day 5 : Three Islands tour, Port Blair

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Today we visited the three islands near Port Blair namely Ross island, Viper island and North Bay island. A package ticket can be bought at the Aberdeen Jetty, Port Blair. If you are agoraphobic, avoid the tour since it is the most popular tour of the Andaman package. The first stop is Ross island, the former capital of A and N, once glorious and magnificent and now a host to few ramshackle buildings and trained deer, squirrels, ducks and cats. One cannot miss the energetic, outspoken, passionate and no-nonsense tourist guide Anuradha Rao with her voice booming across the island. She has been on the island for the last 40 years, has a thorough knowledge of the island's geography and history, has befriended all the animals on the island and is a strict vigilant on the senseless few among the crowd who tease the animals and vandalize the public property. Here "Sansani Khej" Aaj tak style of talking makes the one hour island entertaining and informative. The next stop was Viper island, so named because a ship names M.S.Viper sunk near this island. The island is uninhabited and is supposed to be infested by venomous vipers. The island used to be a prison in the British era and one of the method of execution, it is said, was to tie the prisoner to the tree and leave him over-night to be bitten by venomous snakes and insects. There is a gallows house at the island but nothing much to look at. The island is also a stage for the histrionics of the boat guide who talked emotionally and vigorously about the freedom fighters and lamented in the loud Nana Pateresque style on the lack of respect in the generation next about our freedom struggle. A couple of whiskey pegs in the morning was his fuel for the act. The next stop was the North Bay Island, a stop for the package included glass boat ride and snorkeling. There were 2 ferries with around 300 tourists fighting for the boat rides and snorkeling on the small patch of the beach. It was literally a Girgaun Chowpatty. Snorkeling was disappointing with the crystal clear water turned roily by the incessant crowds. We were deeply thankful to Malik for arranging a beautiful albeit illegal snorkeling trip at Havelock. On the journey back to Port Blair, I met the interesting family from the Baratang once more. The guy works for the Indian parliament and being a travel enthusiast does some serious long traveling between the two session. We got talking and finally agreed to do a trip together, possibly the Ladakh trip. Back in Port Blair, we had a dinner at a hotel that also offered 'snorkilling' and "scuba divining' services !

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