Andamans - Trip to the paradise

Day 1: Bangalore, Chennai and Port Blair

Andaman....The name itself is mesmerizing..!! You may call it A Paradise..!! Andaman had always been on the bucket list..And it was 28th Feb, 2014 when we landed on Veer Savarkar International Airport, Port Blair.. :)

Bangalore does not have direct flights to Port Blair.. We started from Bangalore on 27th Feb, 2014.. We took Chennai Mail to Chennai which was scheduled for departure at 10:40 PM.. I was anxiously waiting for the train to arrive when it slightly past 10:40 PM..!! And finally it was there at 11:40 PM..

It's easy to travel in Chennai through the local trains.. Autos are way too expensive there..!! Pretty much to my surprise we reached Chennai at 5:10 AM..When you reach the station, just walk outside the station arch..From there you need to get to the local train station which is known as Park Station..Just follow vehicle exit from the station and cross the road to get to the Park Station..The station near airport is Tirusulam Station and it costs you INR 5/- from Park Station..The train came on 2nd Platform and the Tirusulam Station was 12th station from Park Station..When you get down at Tirusulam Station, take the subway and you reach Airport..!!

Our Jet Airways flight to Port Blair was scheduled at 10:20 AM..So we freshened up, had breakfast and were all set for Andaman to mesmerize us.. :) I was excited and when we saw the first glimpse of the islands, we were awestruck..!!

First glimpse of the islands..!!

On seeing the clear turquoise waters, white sands and green cover, we knew that the next 10 days would be one of the best vacations of our lives..

Isn't it amazing..!!

We reached Port Blair at 12:20 PM..We had planned Port Blair as just a transit city visiting just the important locations..Diviyum Manor was where we stayed.. It is located just outside the airport and you can actually see the hotel from the airport..!! We had booked the hotels in November itself since March is a peak season..The tariff was INR 1799 + tax for A/C room and INR 1299 + tax for Non-A/C room with breakfast..

Inter-Island commute is through ferries..There are government ships and private ships as well..Coastal Cruise and Makruzz  are the private ships..We had called the hotel 2 days in advance to book Coastal Cruise for Neil Island on 1st March..

After reaching the hotel we freshened up, had lunch and were ready to see the monumental Cellular Jail.. Cellular Jail is a huge jail with solitary imprisonment for Indian Freedom Fighters.. Great freedom fighters like Veer Savarkar were imprisoned here..

Cellular Jail

The gallows, the cells, the oil mills and the huge tree at the entrance tell you what our freedom fighters had to go through to get us freedom..!!

Punishment given to Indian Freedom Fighters

A light and sound show happens in the evening.. It's a must visit place... And the light and sound show is something you should never miss..!! It's a jail with amazing history which tells you why Andaman was known as Kaala Paani..

Veer Savarkar's cell

And here we were at the end of our first day at Andaman..
Cost of Auto from Hotel to Cellular Jail - INR 50/-
Lunch/Dinner for 2 at Annapurna hotel(pure veg) - INR 500/- approx.