The last day at Neil Island....

Day 4: Neil Island

The days started early during our stay at the Andaman. The cool breeze and an amazing breakfast by the beach. Just what you would want on a holiday! The morning activities had almost become a routine - getting up early, having breakfast, then a walk by the beach and off to Bharatpur beach. We left for Bharatpur beach on our cycles around 10 am. Since the deep waters of Neil Islands are unexplored, we thought of doing snorkeling here. The snorkeling is done at Bharatpur beach at the rate of INR. 400 per person for a short distance and around INR. 600 for a long distance. We opted for the short distance one. So let me brief you on the snorkeling done here. A person comes with each one of you and they give you a buoy, mask and snorkel apparatus consisting of a tube. The buoy lets you float on the surface of water, in case you do not know swimming, the mask makes your vision under the surface of the water clear as without this your vision under water will be blur, the apparatus lets you breathe as your face is submerged under the water surface. Hence these are the necessary things for snorkeling.

So the activity starts by the person taking you until waist deep water and helping you get adjusted with the mask and the apparatus. You will be asked to wear the mask and the apparatus and then the buoy will be given and then you will be asked to float holding on to the buoy around you. Once you are comfortable, you will be taken for the final ride where you can find beautiful fishes and corals. Its a plus if you know swimming since you will be floating on the surface of water only for this activity. Also, the timings for snorkeling are such that they don't coincide with ferry timings. The fishes seen were butterfly fish, clown fish, clams, corals and many other different colorful fishes.

Trees near Lakshmanpur beach

We were done with this and still had some time left for lunch. Hence, we played around for a while in the waters and then headed back to the resort. The delicious lunch was served and then we headed towards the Lakshmanpur beach which is the beach on which the resort is located. We read some books, clicked some photos and it was time for the sunset walk. As usual we saw the last sunset of Neil island and were back at the resort.

Part of one of the uprooted trees

Kewda

Dead shells and coral parts on Lakshmanpur beach

 Throughout the stretch of Lakshmanpur beach, we saw huge trees or huge barks of trees lying on the sand. When inquired we got to know that these huge trees were uprooted during the tsunami of 2004! Also, you can see lots of dead shells on the beach and by lots I really mean lots of them. There is also one plant called as "Kewda" in the local language which is seen abundantly in Andaman and we were told that the fruit of this plant is used by the tribals! Neil island made us feel one with the nature with its serene beauty adn we hope to be back soon!

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.