Mrs Varsha Belagavi and Mr Durlabh Kumar Rawat
Area Sales Manager / Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd
Date of Travel: 20-December-2012 / Nights: 6 Package: Custom Package
City: Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh Email: rawat.durlabh@gmail.com
Nature: What I loved about Andaman and Nicobar Islands is the natural beauty and clear surrounding. Beaches are very beautiful and clean, beaches are abandoned (Not crowded) which give you your personal space with your love ones.
Jolly buoy, in Wandoor about 30 kilometers from Port Blair, is a very small island loved the place, completely green and surrounded with green sea water. It is advisable to go there in your private boat so that you can enjoy your time as per your wish. Here you will love the clean water (No littering around as government doesn't permit water bottles to this island), you would love site of underwater life through snorkeling, sun bath and unleashed wind.
Radhanagar beach, Havelock Island: Rated best Asian beach by Time magazine, it is a big beach with lot of tides, you can enjoy the sun bath there and if you are looking to tan your skin, this is the place. Go there in late morning, enjoy the water and sun shine in noon, have local sea food and enjoy the lazy environment on beach. In evening take a long walk with your love one and by 5 you can come back to your resort.
Ross Island, Port Blair Island: Definitely deserve your visit to this historical island, which use to be the capital of Andaman and Nicobar Islands before independence. You will also love the local sea food there.
Mount Harriet in Port Blair: For mount Harriet your car will also travel with you on ferry to save your time: and then road travel of 30 minutes and you will be on the top of this hill. I loved the view of islands from this hill. The other way to go to this place is trekking through jungle. I am sure will love this place too.
Weather: If you are a north Indian and travelling to Andaman Islands in peak winters then you will feel like in heaven. Very pleasant weather 25 - 30 C, clear air, sunny and breezy.
As soon as the plane lands on the quiet airport in Andaman Islands, it got me thinking if this is the place we really chose to spend our 7 days' vacation. Our smiles were back as soon as we passed lush green surroundings, coconut and palm trees waving in the wind welcoming us, sparkling seas and warm hospitable people.
The very day we paid a visit to all the heroes who sacrificed their lives for the independence of this country at the Cellular Jail, the light & sound show took us back in the times of the struggle and our eyes welled up as we heard the brave-hearts stories.
For the fish lovers, this is the ideal spot to be, as we made our way to the famous lighthouse for a fishi-liscous dinner with an assortment of sea-life prepared in the local spices of Andaman Islands.
The next day we headed for Jolly-Buoy Island and took a drive to Wandoor beach to catch the ferry, the drive was a feast for the eyes as we passed by green fields and long roads dotted with cows and buffaloes grazing with nirvana in their eyes. The moment I laid my eyes on Jolly Buoy Island, I couldn't believe that I was on planet earth any more as it was beautiful beyond words, with blue\green water everywhere and brown beaches dotted with lush green trees. We swam to our hearts content, looked at the underwater beauty through snorkels and probably clicked a dozen photographs of the colors of water which has all the shades of blue imaginable.
Our next destination was Havelock Island, a two hour distance from Port Blair, Andaman Islands where we boarded the famous Makruzz luxury cruise, a light and a modern ship; we hardly felt the time pass by till we reached Havelock. If I tell someone that I have seen clear water with no even one spec of waste in it then people wouldn't believe it but that's exactly how the water was in Havelock, clean, pure, beautiful and so full of life. Our tour from myandaman.com guide took us through the beautiful green fields again en route to the resort that awaited us. The resort booked by our tour operator myandaman.com was clean, beautiful and all the natural resources used to build it. As though we went back in time where the houses was built by mud, with coconut leaves thatching the roof and wooden furniture dotted the rooms. The view of the beach was breathtaking. Aquamarine green and blue merged waters, the sun were welcoming warm and I could see many foreigners making good use of it. The same evening we headed for the Radhanagar beach, known to be one of the beautiful beaches in Asia. We swam with the waves, made sand prints and watched the sunset.
The sunset was beyond words, as though we were calm and serene till our souls, and the reflection spilt across the clear waters, making the water look on fire.The effect of Andaman was as such, as though the hustle bustle of the city was left far behind and all our worries and tensions drowned in the water, making us feel full of life again.
The adventure streak in us could not be controlled anymore as we headed down the jetty to get a taste of Kayaking. Our instructor from myandaman.com gave a brief on the kayaks, techniques and the ways to make best use of the fish-like boat. We made ourselves in and took up the oars, all ready to paddle across the wide waters. We got used to the paddle, as we picked up speed and kayaked till a point; the instructor then pointed towards the mangroves and gave an option if we would like to go there. We had never seen mangroves before, and my curiosity just pulled me deeper inside. It suddenly enveloped you all around, shutting you from the outside world, the dark green forecast stood majestic, as the birds made their way into them and tranquility hit us to the very core, suddenly we were quiet and mesmerized by the nature's beauty. Our instructor prodded us to deeper inside the mangroves where there was nothing left but the roots and the shrubs deep inside the water, we had to pull ourselves out only with our bare hands and nothing else as waters had narrowed down to just one kayak to go through, after we had learned to maneuver our kayaks to turn around we left the deep thickets and made our way back to the shore. The waters was clean and clear, we could see the grass and the land below and if we stopped longer could also spot some fish, swimming their way through faster than it would catch the eye.
We were so tired that our muscles dropped from the exercise but our hearts pleased and the memories captured in our minds of what all variety the nature had to offer. I think at that point I was almost looking out for options to permanently settle there, what a simple and peaceful live we would lead - swim, eat fish and turn in early to our homes in the evening. We spent time on the beach, had our dinner there and watched the seas splash on the shores in the moonlight. The moonlight too was enough to illuminate the whole beach as we traced the mini crab holes, playing hide and seek with us, their color merged with the sands but could make their outline as they skitter by.
The next day we headed to the lighthouse to dive into the blue, the resort we stayed at had professionals who would take all the visitors and show them the beauty that nature has abundantly created. The boat ride was real good fun as we speeded through the waters, flying on our faces the salt disappearing as it touched the warm surface of the skin. As we reached the shores, the tied the boats and gave us a basic course of the techniques to breathe under water. In a group we watched them with amusement on our faces, with curiosity and anxiety of what lay ahead, but it all soon disappeared as did we under the glittering rays dancing on the waters.
The experts never once let us go and kept checking if we were alright and were exploring the depts. that they had mastered over years, the moment we went in I thought I had reached the underworld heaven, where anytime the mermaids would appear and I wouldn't be surprised. It was magical as the seas were blue and the life all the wide imaginable colors to the human mind. I saw all the fishes and the sea life possible, there was a bed of coral under water and couldn't believe that they are live and waving under the blue. My husband swore that he had seen a clamp much shy to the crowd would shut as soon as we would approach. The fishes seemed as amused to see us as we were to see them, not afraid swimming close by us and exploring us as we were exploring them. I couldn't have enough of the life under water wished I could have stayed much longer, spent more time there, absorbing in as much as I can of what all exists in nature and felt blessed to have experienced them.
When we came up the expression on each of our faces had changed, from being worried and dull we all were bright and beaming of what each one had seen and experienced. We then took a jetty back to the resort and somehow felt as though we had arrived empty handed but were going back with a lot more.
The following day we had to bid farewell to Havelock and I so wished we stayed a bit longer on this beautiful island, I often thought about what could have been the meaning of Havelock and decided it was 'heaven locked in' what people must have thought when they had first seen it.
The very next day the air got turbulent and we experienced the first showers of our visit on the island. Contrary to what one may think of the monsoons on a vacation, I felt so much as peace. We were swinging in our hammocks wrapped in them as we watched the rains beat down the coconut and palm trees, the air heavy with humidity and the seas welcoming them with their open arms. The island seemed to have been washed and it gain stood quiet, green and inviting.
The next day we decided to walk down Corbyn Cove and everyone could not believe but we actually walked the entire way back. This is amongst one of the best experiences we shared throughout the trip, along the shores we kept walking, taking pictures of one other and simply gazing at the seas. I felt the sea is like a new-born , ever changing its expressions, every time had a new face or a new way to define itself, as though as hearts never felt complete and always felt like looking at it a little more.
The time came close to wave it goodbye and I so wished that there would be some way to stay back, I had felt so much at home that while leaving it thought was going to a new place leaving my home behind. The breeze, endless coconut water, our stomach filled with fish I felt like a sailor at sea.
While shopping for souvenirs for our loved ones I was amazed by the gifts as they all were natural and was beautifully hand-crafted. We picked up some trinkets out of sea shells, bags made with coconut leaves and funny faces built in the coconut shells. The corals once dead were treated with some chemicals and beautiful jewelry came out of it.
I think places like Andaman are a tribute to the nature, reminding us of how beautiful and giving it is, always surprising us and reviving us. The time spent there was so much more adventurous, meaningful and fulfilling than any other experience so far, I would urge for people to experience the beautiful nests in their home country first before flying any place else.
Written by: Mrs and Mr Durlabh Rawat, has enjoyed the Andaman Islands at its best. They have captured the each moments very well and scripted it in this article for life long. myandaman.com wishes the couple all the best in their married life. And hope to see you guys again :)
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