Master Rushabh Murali S/o Mrs Latha Viswanath & Murali Viswanathan

Deputy General Manager / Reserve Bank of India
Date of Travel: 30-April-2013 / Nights: 4 Package: 6N-4PB2HL
City: Prabhadevi, Mumbai Email: lathavishwanath@rediffmail.com

Hi! Get ready to experience joy, excitement and fun, which I am about to share with you!!

On the eve of my trip to Andaman Islands, my badminton class got over and we came back to our flat. I was very excited, for the next day, we were to fly to Port Blair, the capital of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. We took the 5:50 am GoAir flight from Mumbai to Port Blair via Chennai. When we reached the airport, the check-in counter was very crowded at 5:00 am itself. Next, we went to security check and just managed to board the shuttle bus to reach the aircraft. Our GoAir flight took 1:45 minutes to reach Chennai. At Chennai, after all the hustle -bustle the flight was almost empty before the next set of travellers walked in. Then we took off and reached Port Blair. I learnt that the Veer Savarkar International airport at Port Blair is a defence airport which is also used for domestic flights. The representative of the tour operator myandaman.com met us at the airport and took us to Hotel Sentinel, the hotel booked by myandaman.com.

After that we ate lunch in the hotel and then went to the Anthropological museum, where they showed all about the tribes of Andaman & Nicobar through exhibits. There are totally six different tribes which are Andamanis, Jarawas, Onges, Shompens, Sentinelese and Nicobarese. Since some of these tribes are very hostile, the Government does not allow tourists to go to the areas where these tribes live. After the visit to Anthropological museum, we went to the Aquarium; but it was a poor show. There were some fishes and shells but did not have enough lighting. Then we proceeded to the Cellular Jail. Many freedom fighters like Veer Savarkar were imprisoned there. They were tortured by the British for fighting for India's freedom and having dared to go against the British. The cellular jail had seven wings which were identical and connected to a central watch tower. There was an open ground where the prisoners had to make 60 pounds of coconut oil and 30 pounds of mustard oil and it they couldn't make it, they were whipped by the Jamaadar. The jail even had the gallows where the prisoners were hanged. Our visit ended with a 'light and sound' show which was very good. It depicted the life of the prisoners in the older days. By now, it was dinner time and we were hungry. We went to Hotel Annapoorna, in Aberdeen Bazaar as suggested by myandaman.com. After our food, we walked back to our hotel.

The next day, we went to the harbour to catch the luxury cruiser 'Makruzz'. It took 90 minutes to reach Havelock Island. At the Havelock Island, we were received by the representative of the tour operator myandaman.com, who took us to our resort called Cross Bill Resort. After freshening up, we went to Radhanagar Beach, one of the cleanest beaches to the world. There we had a lot of fun. Then, we came back and bathed in cold water. It too was lot of fun.

The next day, we went to catch a ferry to Elephant Beach. First we bought a ticket for 'sea walking'. The experience was awesome. They fit a helmet on the head and we go down to a depth of 27 feet. The experience of looking at underwater corals and fishes was truly thrilling. On elephant beach, they took us on a glass-bottom boat ride to see all the corals. We saw different types of corals and fish through the magnifying glass at the bottom of the boat. Then we went swimming until our chance came for snorkelling. Snorkelling and glass bottom boat was complimentary from myandaman.com. We returned with our hearts warm with satisfaction after all the first-in-my-lifetime thrills. We had our dinner and went to sleep in our resort, happy and contented.

The next day, we went to the jetty and took the Government catamaran ferry to Port Blair. The return journey was, however, not as comfortable as the onward journey. At Port Blair, we had our lunch and went for a refreshing swim. In the evening, we had dinner and went to sleep.

The next day, we went to Ross Island, where the erstwhile British Officers' and the non-officers had their mess and church. Then we boarded the boat and went to North-Bay Island. We once again went for a boat ride by glass bottomed boat. After about fifteen minutes, we came back to the shore, changed into swimming shorts and went for a swim and snorkelling accompanied by a guide. After a couple of hours of enjoyable sea experience, we swam back to the shore and changed into our dress. We got back to our ferry 'Sea Sapphire' for lunch and went to see Viper Island. On the way, we saw many naval ships. Viper Island was the original 'Kaala Paani' where prisoners were dumped to perish.

The next day, we went to Mount Harriet via Bambooflat in a special boat where both cars and people can travel. We did a nature walk and returned around 2:00 pm. We ate lunch and went to see sunset at Chidiyatapu, which is a place around thirty kilometres from Port Blair.

Our holiday came to an end the next day but I enjoyed every moment!! Bye & thanks myandamn.com till the next trip.

Written by: Master Rushabh Murali, Rushabh aged about 9 years, is the elder son of Mrs & Mr Viswanathan. He is studying in class V of St Marys' (ICSE) School, Mumbai. Sometime I think this initiateive from myandaman.com is so cool and educative that after many years these children would return to this page only to feel proud on themself, their parent and obviously a bit on myanadaman.com. MyAndaman wishes all the best to little article writter.

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