Andamans - away from it all!

Sunday, February 25, 2018
Port Blair, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India
In the beginning of February Mani, Roger's brother, came to visit us. After a stopover in Delhi and a couple of days in Hyderabad, we left together for our holidays in the Andamans. 
The Andaman Islands form an archipelago of 325 islands in the bay of Bengal. They are about 1400km away from India and really lie closer to Myanmar and Indonesia; still they are part of India. As a foreigner a special permit is needed to visit and even then, quite a few parts are off limits. The islands are indeed very remote and away from it all. There is quite a bit of Indian tourism with a handful of foreigners venturing there. But it's definitely all very low key. The choice of accommodation is rather drab and supply shortages of all kind of goods do occur. Clocks run slowly and just waiting for a meal could take two hours or more! Also, telephone- and internet connections are mostly unavailable or very unreliable at best.
Our flight there was via Chennai and we reached the main port of entry, Port Blair, within four hours. We spent one day in Port Blair exploring the busy little settlement. The islands have quite a past, as mainly political prisoners were deported here into exile by the British during the struggle for India's independence. The huge prison, called 'Cellular jail' or 'Kala pani', can still be visited and we got a good impression of the harsh treatments in the solitary confinement cells.
The next day we eventually took the ferry to Neil Island (after first being brought to the airport instead of the harbour and then having to find out that the ferry will be leaving four hours behind schedule). The island is very quiet with a small local community and some farming. For one day we rented bicycles to explore the island. We enjoyed the peaceful countryside as well as the various beaches. But at the end of the day we were really happy indeed to return the bikes as we were hurting all over due to the overly bumpy ride on the bad roads. The other days we spent relaxing, fishing, playing cards and swimming (whenever the high tide would allow it, as in low tide it's all rocks and no water). On Neil Island 'Sunset beach' is the most remarkable for it's powdery white sand and pretty (crowded) sunset.
The next ten days we spent on Havelock Island; the most touristy island of the Andamans but still very low key. We stayed at a very basic bungalow resort right on the beach. Unfortunately Roger was not allowed to go out with the local fisherman due to government restrictions. Fishing from the shore was fun but not very successful ;-). Still we enjoyed delicious seafood every day. 
To get around we rented some motorbikes (and after some time even managed to organize petrol as well!). This way we were free to explore the island and all the beaches. The most beautiful of them all being Radhanagar beach, which was once voted 'best beach in Asia'. The beach is very wide and perfectly curved and the water is crystal clear. Here swimming is possible also at low tide and there were even some nice waves to play around. The backdrop of the beach is all wild forest without a single construction. Also, all the Indian guests prefer to stay in bulk within hardly 100 meters of the entrance to the beach; leaving the rest of the beach perfectly deserted and beautifully peaceful for us to enjoy all alone.
Sadly, diving wasn't as good as we had hoped for. All the better sites are quite far out and visibility was bad. We had two nice, deep dives with loads of fish around but after some disappointing ones, decided to let it be. So, two full weeks were rather too much time but then again we were able to unwind to the fullest.
The trip home was pleasant and landing at Hyderabad airport, seeing the smiling face of Ashok, our driver, was really an extra bonus. Him being on time (!) and waiting for us - really just love the security and convenience he provides for us!

Comments

Tom
2018-04-13

Don't know why I miss those entries when they get released, I subscribed to them, yet I don't get email notification. Good thing my lazy brain still reminds me from time to time to check out your page once in a while, so it's always a nice surprise to find new reports and pictures. What a fantastic beach you've been at, just awesome - but my favorite pic is of course that last one in the gallery, too funny ;)

2025-02-10

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