Day 22 to 32: Havelock Island, South Andamans

Asia
March 12th 2010

Published: March 15th 2010

From Varkala, Isabell and I decided to travel together to Andamans, we made an overnight stay in Chennai en route, we went to one of my Cognizant-time hangout joints for dinner, was good memories coming back after so many years. All those friends have dispersed, been so long since I saw them.

We arrived in Port Blair on 28th Feb from Chennai and immediately took the ferry to Havelock Islands, which is the most popular place here (read 8-10 thousand tourists a year).

The ferry ride was a 2.5 hour fun ride, full of beautiful sights of the sun and perfectly blue waters. (Getting the ferry ticket is sometimes tricky if you don't plan in advance)

Upon arriving at the resort, went straight to the beach at the resort and was treated to the most stunning scenery I have ever witnessed. Turquoise blue waters of the Indian Ocean, with the ocean floor visible, still daylight (but dusk), full moon out against blue sky. It was picture perfect, though my pictures do not do justice to the scenery. Spent time till late evening just watching the moon, boats washed in moonlight

The resort is run largely by Bengalis

Ferry Ride on Indian Ocean

(Havelock is predominantly Bengalis), so soon I was getting authentic Bengali food, rather than the menu stuff. And seafood here is yummy

Next day was Holi, so we went out without any gadgets (read no pictures), managed to avoid colors except once 😊 We went to Radhanagar Beach (also known as Beach No 7), its a stunning beach, again tough to capture in words or pictures. There is a section of the beach on the right side, where you first think there are lot of little rocks, but upon closer scrutiny, all the rocks are moving, its an area full of mussels and more one watches, more intriguing they appear

Went to a Holi party to a resort, but here parties start at 4pm and end 9pm and I was still on Mumbai time, so missed most of the party 😊

The sheer beauty of Havelock combined with the far off nature of other places, led to a decision of just staying put here instead of hopping around in Andamans

Went to Elephant Beach which is well known for snorkeling, we had to reach the beach after crossing a swamp (not before we thought we had

Ferry Ride on Indian Ocean

lost our way, backtracked half-way and then returned realizing that there is no path other than crossing the swamp)

There were a group of 6 puppies at the resort, amazingly cute, was fun playing with them

Met many German tourists (they were everywhere 😊 , a Spanish couple with their 19 month old kid (everyone adores her), a Thai woman who was all excited abut her first snorkeling experience, an old British man who won't stop cribbing about how impolite tourists are, a group of Dutch guys who lived on alcohol, a group of Russians (they are the new traveler group in India) and the ubiquitous Israeli (you can't miss them in Andamans)

26 mosquito bites (damn, always turned the mosquito net into a blanket because my blanket would vanish in the night 😊, 10 days (more than I have spent anywhere else in my travels) later, leaving Havelock is a tough choice, but as they say, the journey must go on.

This is a paradise, I will come back to some day

PS: Read "Exodus" by Leon Uris, its one of the best books I have ever read, its about the re-birth of Israel

Ferry Ride on Indian Ocean

in 1948, while giving a historical context of the Jewish people. What amazes me is how can so many nations and its people hate so few people for so long and so strongly. What amazes me even more is what kind of determination, doggedness and sometimes sheer madness drive human beings to create a lush, fertile land out of swamps, deserts and waste and defend their nation when they were outnumbered 1:100 in headcount and no match in arms. Begs the question - is there a limit to human endurance and his ability to fight on, despite all odds? If you read the Jewish history, the answer is no. (Just imagine, two people walked all the way from Russia to Palestine, because they wanted to be free men)

Additional photos below

Photos: 49, Displayed: 24