Day 3 and 4 October 8, 9 2002
After our return from Jolly buoy islands we all set for Havelock.

The ship that was to ferry us was scheduled to leave at 6.30 a.m. A good 4 hours ferry to this island that lies to the east of Port Blair.

The ship was fairly big and could house more than 200 odd people. The insides was nothing to extol about! Badly maintained and a room with plastic moulded furniture for people to sit. Two pedestal fans placed in the front and a blaring speaker with crappy music.

Four hours was pure torture till we reached our destination. Our in-charge picked us from the port and we checked in at the Dolphin Inn. These are cottages on the seashore. We had the two best cottages ;) after all we were vip guests ;)

There was nothing much to venture in Havelock. It is a small island. We spent the afternoon till late in the evening in the beach playing in the waters. The sand was again patterned in spirals by the small crabs :) Had a nice hot cup of tea and some nice garam garam pakoras ;) at the cafetaria on the beach (Radhanagar beach). We had the in-charge with us and had a nice long chit chat with him about the local politics and he came out with his life story of how he managed to keep himself there even though initially he had to face a lot of probs with the local political goondas! Poor fella :(

It rained that night and we could see the waves hitting the sides of the wall of the platform on which the cottages were built. It was a fearful sight if one would start thinking of the worse... We though didnt give much ear to the lashing of the waves had a great toast with champagne inside our cottage (it was my aunt's 70th birthday :P) and then it was followed by sumptuous food from the restaurant. At first we thought of going to the beach and having the meal there, but then decided against it ( as the champagne could not be chilled :( We had befriended some guys/gals who had come from Mumbai ;) on the beach at Jolly Buoy and they had come to Havelock too! They heard about the birthday and had arranged for a bonfire and cake :( but unfortunately we were not aware of it and had cancelled the plan to the beachside :(((((((((((((((((((((((((((( We came know of this the next day at the port on our way out of Havelock ;)

The return was by the same 4 hr ship. There is a speed ship at 2 p.m. which can take us back in 2 hrs but it is a small ship and could carry only 100 ppl :( So we decided to go by the 10 a.m.scheduled ship to suffer the 4 hrs of torture :(

DAY 4 9TH OCTOBER 2002- Light and Sound show at Cellular jail

We reached around 3 p.m. and felt such a homecoming when we reached our
hotel room in Peerless! Had our evening tea with nice pakoras ;) and went up to have a quick hot wash after that sweaty trip in the ship :P . We had decided to go for the sound and light show at the cellular jail in the evening.

It was 6.30 p.m. and the Bolero arrived with Salaam to take us to the Cellular Jail. We had our mosquito repellent cream on ;) and all set for the evening show at the Cellular Jail. The next 1 hour went so fast taking us back in time to the period when the British ruled India. The show was spell bounding. The show starts off with the relaying of the tale of the bad wicked jail warden, by an old peepal tree that has been in the compound of the jail over the years. The tree (voice by Om Puri) tells us all that has happened in the past. It was a very depressing thing to hear all the stuff that the prisoners had to go through :( - the torture that they went through. History coming alive inside that jail was something that would make us all humble :(

Day 5 to be contd...

wow !! Beaches do relax u isnt it? I have been to many a places on the western coast of India and they all have amazing beaches. The ones on the Saurashtra line r very beautiful. Somnath, Dwarka...etc.....sigh*

Ab to we live in a land locked state. Door door tak beaches ka naamo nishan nahin. India is truely diverse.

Nimiiji, Day 5 of Andamans please post keejiye

Sorry Lata I was bit under the weather

Back to normalcy

DAY 5 10th OCTOBER 2002 - ROSS ISLAND - MT. HARRIET - WATER SPORTS

A clear sky and a great weather despite the downpour the previous night, started off our day with cheer and mood of gaiety.

We drove down to the port again to get to Ross Island. Ross Island is about 1/2 hr by the boat and is clearly visible from Port Blair (esp., near the Cellular Jail).

Ross Island was earlier the capital of Andamans. When the British landed there, they were on the lookout for a place that could provide them water supply. Ross Island was a great source of water as wherever they bored, water sprung out! What remains of the Island are the ruins of the old settlement. The buildings have almost collapsed with just the walls standing erect and over the past 50 years peepal trees have grown over them.

There were building remains of a mineral water plant, a printing press, a church and several other buildings where the officers lived. A swimming pool was along the side of the western part of the island. The island is a very small one and one can walk around it. The Indian navy has still occupied a corner of the island which is closed for the public access. If you remember I had mentioned that Andamans was occupied by the Japanese army for 3 years and on this island we found many Japanese bunkers. We went through one and it was a very intriguing experience. We moved ahead and clamboured down the stairs that lead to a dark tunnel. The tunnel moves on to find 2 side small rooms where probably the Japanese stocked their ammunition and food, when they used to stay there alert to keep a watch. The tunnel then moves on to come out by the side of a rather rugged terrain and one has to hang on to the rocks to get out.

There is a museum and a cafetaria in the entrance of the Ross Island. It was a great educating trip to the island. Fortunately, the guide who showed us the place was thorough with the history and was able to pinpoint the details of every place and when questioned was able to answer it all.

He said he had spent quite a time in the Public library reading all the literature about Ross Island. I picked a small brochure kind of book released by the Navy which gives a nice detail about the island.

By lunch time we were back in Peerless (which had literally turned into a second home for us ). Salaam our driver told us that we should be ready by 4 p.m. to go to Mount Harriet.

Evening - MOUNT HARRIET

The highest peak in the South Andamans towering at 365 metres above sea level, Mt. Harriet was the summer headquarters of the Chief Commissioner during the colonial rule.


The road to Mt.Harriet is about 1 and 1/2 but if you take the ferry across it takes you just 15 minutes to get there, after which there is another 1/2hr drive up the mountain. The climb was not a very steep one and was more or less like going up the western ghats of Karnataka. The flora was nearly the same except for the bamboos which are found growing wildly on the ghats. I was hoping to meet at least one tribe on my way up but of no avail (

We reached the top and lo! There was the beautiful park with a guest house. There was a view point from where we could see the rest of valley below and the sea on the yonder. The view point was a wooden platform with a roof and it was great standing on it and to look around. There was a tree house on the path that kids would love sitting up there and playing. The guest house was clean and had a well-built bedroom. Not bad to stay for the weekend mebbe the next time I go over to Andamans.

We spend about an hour there watching the surroundings over a cup of tea
It was almost 5-ish when we left the place. Salaam bhai decided that we must all enjoy the water sports down in Port Blair. So off we went there on our return to Peerless. We engaged a speed boat (100 per head not bad i say!) and we took a couple of rounds. The speed boat took us upto Ross Island and the place looked so different from what we saw when we were on it in the morning! Hmm interesting view indeed!

It was almost 7 when we were through with all the speeding and returned to Peerless for our last nite at Andamans Had a hearty meal and burped and hit the sack early to get the morning flight at 8.30 back to CHENNAI )

That?s all about our trip to Andamans...

Regards,
N

Nimii,

Njoyed reading it. Thanks a lot for sharing it with us