A trip to Pondicherry & the Andamans

garbage

Acknowledgement: http://jatrapathe.blogspot.com/2008/...-andamans.html.



Sep 2007 and the humdrum of regular life shuttling between work & home was getting to us. So we decided to take a holiday & travel to the Andaman islands. These islands located in the Bay of Bengal are part of the Andaman & Nicobar Union Territory of India. To get there we would have to travel via Chennai and so we decided to include a short trip to Pondicherry in the itinerary. This city is a former French colony & today it houses the famous Aurobindo Ashram and Auroville. Since my parents were interested in visiting these sites, they decided to come with us until Pondicherry and return to Hyderabad thence while we continue on the rest of our vacation. Tickets were booked, rooms reserved & we set off on the 21st on board the Chennai Express. Mom and Dad came to the station well in time while Shantanu & I wrapped up our office chores & finally joined them. The train journey passed off well & we turned in for the night as we were to reach Chennai at 6 the next morning.

Morning arrived & with it came the first jolt of the trip - I was in charge of arranging for our transport to Pondicherry from Chennai station. But there was no vehicle waiting for us as was promised by the guy at the Ashram Guest House who I had spoken to. On calling him up, I found that he had "not recieved" my email confirmation & so assumed that there was no need for a cab. Anyways, we asked around & the only alternative we were offered was to take a bus to our destination. The four of us & our luggage squeezed into a single auto to CMBT - Chennai Mufassil Bus Station in about 20 min, cost 93 bucks. The ticket counter wore a deserted look and so we asked around. A cop standing there heard us & directed us to an ordinary ECR express that was just leaving. We were among the first few passengers but the bus took in many more folks as it made its way to the highway. We found ourselves sharing our seat with another Bengali family. Added to that I had taken an anti emetic drug which made me pretty drowsy. But there was hardly any place to get a decent nap & Shantanu mistakenly hitting me with our suitcase on the arm did not improve things! The road was good though - a toll road with hardly any potholes. Three long hours later we reached Pondicherry & asked the driver to let us off at a place near the Ashram Park Guest House where we had reservations. A short auto ride later, we reached the Guest House & checked into adjacent rooms. Like most other places of religious & spiritual importance, the essence of the Guest House is simplicity. The rooms are big & spacious each with a private balcony facing the sea. Furnishings are restricted to the quintessential but suited our needs very well. We were cash starved & it was also lunch time. So we quickly freshened up & took an auto to Mission Street - Pondicherry's shopping region. We located the ATM as guided by the man at the reception in the Guest House. We then had lunch - South Indian Thali, 33 bucks, unlimited quantity. On the way back, we realised that the Tourism Centre was pretty near the Guest House & so Shantanu & I decided to go down to get some information. The afternoon heat was extremely oppresive & the humidity was stifling. In addition, the trip to the Tourism Centre was not very helpful & so we walked back to the Guest House for a much needed nap. We realised that there was no scope for a conducted tour & so we struck a deal with an auto driver of 250 Rs. for a trip to the beach in the evening.

By the time we woke up, it was around 5. My parents had been long up & were taking a walk in the beautiful garden at the Guest House. We had coffee at the restaurant within the Guest House & then set off to find our auto driver. Dad had struck a bargain at Rs. 150 for the trip to the beach & the auto driver Shanmugham was waiting for us as we stepped out. Since four people in the rear seat would be too cramped for anyone's comfort, Shantanu volunteered to sit along with the driver. Brave decision - he had not bargained for Shanmugham's zeal & enthu in ensuring that we did not miss a sight & so had to put up with a constant chatter of broken English interspersed with a few Tamil words from the friendly driver :-).

It was already dusk when we reached the Repos beach about 7 kms from the town. There was hardly any approach road and the beach was not clean. Nevertheless, we splashed in the water for a while except Dad who is extremely allergic to getting wet. We drove back to the Guest House & it was'nt until much later that Shantanu had realised that he could not find his sunglasses. He had probably misplaced them at the beach! We went out & searched for the shop where we had stopped for a while but to no avail. Poor man was so disappointed! While he grieved over his sunglasses, Ma, Bappi & I went out for dinner. There is an eating joined called "La Terrace" adjacent to the Guest House that boasted of French cuisine. We decided to play it safe & stuck to good old "desi fare". I also got a sandwich & juice packed for Shantanu who was still down when we got back. Anyways, what ca'nt be cured must be endured.

The next day looked promising. Shantanu had sufficiently gotten over his loss of the sunglasses and joined us in making plans for the day over breakfast at the Guest House. Breakfast was good albeit slightly expensive. On the agenda was a visit to the Aurobindo Ashram & associated departments. For guests staying at the Guest Houses aligned with the Ashram, a lunch & dinner is also included coupons for which are available at the Guest Houses. The Ashram is about a 1.5 km walk from the Guest House. The main building houses the living quarters while the different departments surround it. Sadly these were closed as it was a Sunday. So we visited the main area and sat awhile under the big banyan tree in the courtyard. We also visited the library where Ma and Bappi bought a few. Sri Aurobindo holds great significance not only to India's mysticism and philosophy but also to the Indian freedom struggle. He entered politics around the time of the First Bengal partition from 1905 to 1912 and was one of the founding members of Jugantar party, an underground revolutionary outfit. Awaiting trial as a prisoner, he read through the Gita which brought him spiritual upliftment. From then on until the last of his days, Sri Aurobindo turned to the exploration of the subtle realms of human existence and, as a consequence, developed a new spiritual path which he termed Integral Yoga.

As we did not have any luck at visiting the other departments associated with the Ashram, we went down to a Vinayaka temple nearby. After spending some time there, we started walking towards the Ashram dining hall. The arrangements were all in place - short tables were placed on the floor and mats placed for seating. There is also an arrangement of chairs for those who find it difficult sitting on the floor. The food is served by the Ashram volunteers and comprises heaps of rice, a big bowl of sambar, bread, curd and bananas - simple but filling. While Shantanu walked back to the Guest House, the rest of us took a rickshaw and all of us turned in for a siesta. Unfortunately there was a power cut and the humidity & heat made sleep difficult.

Towards evening, we decided to head out to Paradise beach and backwaters about 7 -8 kms. from the town. I had negotiated a deal with an auto driver who was there at the Guest House gates for us when we stepped out. After an auto ride of about 20 mins., we reached the ferry point. There are different arrangements for the backwater cruise and the trip to the beach. We took the big boat and after a pleasant 15 min. ride, we reached the Paradise beach. This was relatively cleaner and we spent about 40 mins. there before we caught the last boat back to the ferry point.

The auto drivers in Pondicherry are very helpful and this was revealed on our trip back to the town. By then we had decided that none of us wanted to take the ECR bus back to Chennai & were on the lookout for a more comfortable conveyance. On asking the auto driver, he took us to the bus station where Shantanu & Dad got all the requisite information. We headed back to the Guest House and were in for a major treat. It was the day of the Ganesh idol immersion & since our Guest House was on the beach road, we caught the entire procession. It was a very colourful affair with Ganesh idols small, HUGE and of all sizes in between made their way to the ocean accompanied by music, colour and loads of fanfare! It was a treat for the foreign tourists as they had probably never seen such an event. We had coffee at La Terrace and returned to the Guest House. We had planned to attend a meditation session in the evening but by the time we located the place, the gates were closed. So we walked back to the dining hall where we had dinner - this time the meal included milk, a dessert and a piece of sweetmeat. The entire meal system is run by the ashram volunteers who cover everything - from the seating to the cleansing of the dishes. The guests are asked to dispose any leftover food in the trash after which the dishes are handed to the volunteers. They in turn soak the dishes & bowls & spoons in huge tubs of soap water and then clean them dry. Quite a painful task but the volunteers went about their job with absolutely no sign of any discomfort!

Next day we had planned to visit Auroville. This was the last day of this leg of the journey for me & Shantanu as we were to leave for Andamans that evening. Ma & Bappi would be staying an additional day at Pondicherry and then return to Hyderabad. Auroville was founded in 1968 by The Mother. The idea was to set up a universal town where men and women of all countries are able to live in peace and harmony. Today there are about 2000 inhabitants in this model town across 44 nationalities. Accomodation is self financed. Donations & contributions from the departments associated with the Ashram also add to the Auroville's economy. We first spent some time in the visitor center where we were also shown a movie on the Ashram. We then decided to pay a visit to the Matrimandir. This is a meditation center and an often represented piece of architecture. The walk to the mandir was about 10 mins. long but the sultry weather made it seem longer. And when we finally got there, there was some restoration work on & so we could not enter the Mandir. On the way back, we put Ma & Bappi on one of the electric golf cars that ply between the Mandir & the visitor centre while Shantanu & I trudged back. Shanmugham was there waiting to drive us back. He proved to be a very friendly guide and his enthu in ensuring that we appreciate his city and the current government was unmistakable. Before driving us to Auroville, he also took us to some local temples that had tall idols of many gods. He was probably a bit disappointed when we did not display the same interest as say a foreign tourist, but we could not help that! By the time we got back to the town from Auroville, it was 1 and we were starving. Lunch was at La Terrace - that had become our local kitchen. Shantanu & I had already checked out of our room that morning & after lunch the four of us rested awhile in Mom & Dad's room. Then Shantanu & I left for our bus to Chennai at 4 pm & reached the bus station with about 45 mins to spare for the 5 o clock delux bus. It came on time but did not seem keen to embark on the journey; finally at 5:20 pm, the conductor turned on a video cassette of Tamil songs at a volume high enough to wake up the dead & the bus finally left the station. Our request to turn down the volume of the music fell on deaf ears (with the music blaring so loud, can you blame them?) and all in the bus except us seemed to be enjoying the show; so the two of us put on brave faces & endured the pain. Shantanu was also concerned about how we would get to the airport from the bus station at Chennai as neither of us knew the city and it was getting to be dusk by the time we reached. On talking to the bus conductor, we ascertained that Guindy would be a good place for us to get off which we did & then took an auto to the airport - cost us 120 bucks. Next hurdle - getting inside the airport. At 9 pm, we were too early for our flight that was scheduled to leave at 4:40 the next morning. I had to put my superior negotiation skills to work & finally managed to convince the guard to let us in. All around people were eagerly watching the final match between India & Pakistan at the T20 cup, but we were too hungry to be bothered by that. After feasting on some sandwiches at the Taj outlet inside the airport, we plonked on the chairs & tried to get some sleep before the flight.

Morning 2 am and we sleepily walked to the other terminal where we needed to check in. We shamelessly jumped the queue for baggage check & earned ourselves some choicest rebukes; but we could'nt care less. Chennai airport did not appear to be equipped for the huge crowd of peple who were travelling at that time of the day - chairs were few and not in very good condition. Nevertheless we waited for the flight & finally went on board & promptly fell asleep. Couple of hours later, the plane arrived at Port Blair's Veer Savarkar airport. We got off and walked (you heard me right) across the runway to the terminal to claim our baggage. Baggage handling is arcane, but we recieved our bags within 10 minutes; sometimes things move faster the old fashioned way. Once we left the airport, we were met by our tour operators - Andaman Holidays who transported us to our hotel - the Sun Sea resort. The hotel looked a little worn out from the outside but the location is too good - bang in the middle of the city. Infrastructure seemed to be remote; then again tourism industry in India is still in its infancy compared to Europe or elsewhere. Also the 2004 tsunami wreaked havoc on these islands as we were to witness later.

Having freshened up & eaten breakfast (mostly south indian spread but filling), we decided to look around. Our tour operators would pick us up at 2:30 pm to visit Corbyn's Cove & then catch the Light & Sound show at the Cellular Jail. So we caught an auto & asked the driver to take us to the biggest shopping area. He drove us to the Aberdeen market which is the biggest shopping area there. Walking through the market reminded me of MG Road at Hyderabad ages back - small shops with dim lighting, limited display & loads of shop boys trying to get you to come inside. After strolling for a while, the afternoon sun got to us & so we headed back to the hotel for some shut eye. Post siesta & a light lunch, we set out accompanied by our guide Rajesh to Corbyn's Cove. We stopped at the Port Blair Science Centre which houses many interesting displays. The approach road to the beach was heavily damaged in the 2004 tsunami & we could still see proof of the same. There did not seem to be much of a road, more of a pathway and at many places, trees that were uprooted by the waves still lay across. Often our car would have to stop to let a vehicle from the opposite side pass as the road was not wide enough to accomodate two adjacent vehicles. The beach at Corbyn's Cove was calm and the water felt heavenly on that hot sunny noon. We spent a really long time at the beach and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

At 4 pm, we set off on the return journey to the Port Blair city. The ticket counter for the light & sound show at the Cellular Jail opens at 5 pm and we spent the intervening time in a small park - Veer Savarkar park located opposite. Our tour guides treated us like royalty & stood in the line to buy our tickets. The tickets are priced at Rs. 10 and so there is a long queue at the entrance. Once we got in, we were quickly herded into our seats and the show began at 5:30 pm. It was in Hindi & although I liked it, Shantanu thought it could be better. But for both of us, it triggered a thought process - what is that quality that differentiates a fighter from an ordinary man, that gives him the courage to defy authority & stand for what is right, that inspires him to fight for another's freedom and not shirk from even embracing death for it? To all those brave sons of India - Thank You seems to be too inadequate, yet we are genuinely grateful to you.

The next morning, we are to set off for Havelock island. The ship was to leave Port Blair at 6:30 am and so we woke up at 5 am and sleepily accompanied our tour guide to the harbour. On hindsight, booking this packaged tour at Andamans was the best thing that we could have done. After all infrastructure on this island is still in its infancy and we would have definetely missed the boat if we had relied on local transport to get us there on time. Of course, the ship, M.V.Deming finally left the harbour 30 mins behind the scheduled departure time - true Indian punctuality :-). And the cruise itself was a rude shock after our wonderful experience at Greece (am I comparing apples & oranges here?). It felt like we were in a coffin or like we were pigs or cattle being carried to the slaughter house - the room was dirty, the seats were tattered, no question of anyone adhering to their seat numbers and worse, none of the fans worked making the entire atmosphere extremely stifling. How I managed to fall asleep there is now beyond me, but after a few hours, I woke up to find Shantanu missing. I ventured out to the top deck and found him taking pictures of the beautiful surroundings. We also managed to see some flying fish and even a green turtle swimming in the waters. After about 3 hours, we reached Havelock. The tour guide from Andaman Holidays was waiting for us with the vehicle and whisked us off to Silver Sand beach resorts. While we checked in and sipped in our welcome drink, the bell boy named Chotu carried our luggage to our room. The resort was extremely beautiful - lush green all through with two storied cottages set up neatly across the place. We were on the second floor of the last cottage in the hotel & the room was vast - king sized bed, sofa, two extremely comfy easy chairs and a neat & clean bathroom. After being cramped on the ship for 3 hours, it felt heavenly! While Shantanu freshened up, I ordered breakfast. Wonder if it was the fact that the first meal was complimentary or whether I was genuinely hungry (by the time we discovered the snack bar on the ship, it was time to leave), I ended up ordering aloo parathas for myself & a sandwich for Shantanu. The food came & we literally gorged on it :-D. Lunch was to be served at the restaurant and we were to order the food atleast a half hour before so that it would be ready on time. On Chotu's recommendation, we opted for grilled pomfret. To reach the restaurant, one has to leave the resort, cross the road & walk over to the other side. The restaurant faces the sea and it felt extremely relaxing eating there. We mostly had the place to ourselves and hardly saw anyone during the meals we had there during our stay at Havelock.

Hunger satiated, we took a short nap until 2:30 pm when our vehicle came down to drive us to Radhanagar beach or Beach no. 7. The drive to the beach offered a typical rustic picture - infrastructure wise, Havelock is remote compared to even Port Blair and a single road appeared to run across the length of the island. The drive was bumpy and slow but the surroundings made up for it - small huts in the middle of lush green fields, children playing without a care in the world and ducks & chickens fearlessly crossing the road. From time to time, we saw groups of Europeans who rent two wheelers & navigate their way on the path as much with ease as a native driver. No wonder these folks had at one time conquered half the world! Havelock has an area of some 92 sq.km. and is the largest of the islands which comprise Ritchie's Archipelago. Our destination, Beach No. 7, better known as "Radha Nagar" Beach, is one of the most popular beaches on Havelock and was named "Best Beach in Asia" by Time in 2004. And once we reached the place, we were not surprised. For a change, the beach is extremely clean. And the sea looked extremely beautiful - foamy white waves gurgling forward as if calling us in for a game. Shantanu quickly opted to take a bath and spent a lazy 30 mins in the water. All over the beach sand, you could make out the patterns made by crabs; Nature is the best artist. It began to get dark and although we really did not want to leave the place, we had no choice. While our driver got the car, we had tea at the small shop outside the beach. Back at the hotel, there was nothing much to do and so we spent a blissful evening taking in the serene atmosphere around us before retiring for the day.

The weather turned a little gray the next day with intermittent drizzles. We prayed that the rain gods would not mess our snorkelling plans. We set off from the resort at 8:30 am and reached the jetty in a matter of minutes. Still remember the sight of this huge pig that was there at the jetty, snorting so loudly that it was almost scary! Anyways we got into a small fishing boat equipped with a small motor that would take us till Elephantine Beach - the spot from where we would go snorkelling. The weather cleared by then & the boat ride was fun with waves splashing us from all sides; we were reminded of our ride on the Arabian Sea to St. Mary's island in Mangalore, but the waves there were bigger & wilder. Soon after the boat anchored at a small beach (nothing elephantine about it). We were soon joined by another family. Our boat guys conveyed to us in broken Hindi that we were to wait there for the guys who would take us snorkelling. There was a small hut apparently a changing room of sorts, but completely littered with remnants of a camping trip. Soon after the life guards arrived and to our good luck, they both spoke Bengali. We decided that I would go first and so I geared up. I was first fitted with thick glasses that also covered my nose completely and then given my breathing pipe. Since all breathing during snorkelling takes place through the mouth, one end of the pipe is shaped like a mouth which should be held firmly between the jaws. The other end remains above the water and allows the air to pass. I am a scaredy cat when it comes to most things and this would be my first under water adventure. Would I pass out? My guide spent some time calming my anxiety and showing me how to balance my weight on the life buoy. The idea is to hold the buoy at your chest and once you enter the water, lie down holding the buoy at the chest level and paddle with your feet. The head needs to be held at the surface of the water to ensure that you see clearly as well as are able to breathe freely. It took me a few minutes to adjust to the whole idea but once I got the hang of it, I loved it so much that I went in a second time! I only wish I had a camera that would capture all that I saw there...it was...amazing...like a city underwater, a city bustling with life...corals of various colours & shapes just like the buildings we see on land & fish of all sizes moving in & out. At one point, my guide even plucked out a coral for me to touch. Seeing what I saw down there only made me marvel at His creativity. And the sheer beauty of it all! The green parrot fish...funny name for a fish, I thought, but the beauty of the colours on the skin...amazing!!! Also at one point, my guide made me stand absolutely still...and an entire school of small blue fish surrounded us...man! it felt...WOW!!! Shantanu also went in and unlike me lost his nerve a bit. He forgot the essential rule & started breathing through his nose. Water entered his nose immediately & he panicked. Thanks to the able life guards, nothing serious happened & Shantanu recovered to complete his maiden snorkelling adventure as well as a second trip! Snorkelling & other water adventures are more expensive on these islands as compared to Port Blair but the water is clearer and so the cost is definetely worth it. We played around on the beach while our clothes dried & then set off at 12 noon. Once we reached the hotel, we dried ourselves, had a sumptuous lunch and then took off by the 2'o clock boat to Port Blair. The return journey took only 2 hours and having reached Port Blair, we were driven back to our hotel.

Back to Port Blair and Day 4 of our visit to the wonderful Andamans and the program for the day was a visit to North Bay island & Ross Island. By 9:30 am, we had reached the jetty. There was some confusion about which boat would carry us and we went through a couple of inter boat transfers before we finally made it to our boat. Owing to the "contacts" of our guide from Andaman Holidays, we were allowed to sit inside the captain's cabin; later we realised that we were not the only privileged ones, two other couples from Bangalore soon joined us. Anyways the cabin was spacious and sheilded us from the rain. "Master" as the driver was called also allowed me to steer the boat for a while :-). By the time we got to North Bay island, the rains settled down to a light shower and we all got off for a round of snorkelling. Disappointing set up - just a few makeshift cabins where one has to change, a small canteen serving south indian meals, a vendor selling biscuits etc. and a questionably secure locker room where we are to stash our belongings. It is sad that neither the Government nor any big private player has bothered to invest in these parts. In all fairness to the locals, they make a huge effort to ensure that the tourists have a good time including a minimal charge of Rs. 250 per person for snorkelling and a 20 bucks charge for the locker. Anyways, once we had changed and secured our belongings, we were all bundled into glass bottom boats which would take us to the middle of the ocean. These "famous" boats are normal canoes with a 8 by 1 sheet of thick glass at the center of the floor through which the tourists view the corals. One has to be extremely careful while stepping on it but the glass is not very clean & offers a murky view of the corals despite the guides constantly splashing water on it. Once we reached the middle of the ocean, the snorkelling guides began escorting groups of 4 - 6 people for about 30 mins of snorkelling. Unlike Havelock, there was a huge crowd here - a Bengali family of four, an elderly Bihari couple, four young men from Chennai, two old Bengali guys. Some of them were excited about going snorkelling while some were not so sure. Thanks to our stint at Havelock, we are pros at this game :-) and so were able to go through the whole round very comfortably. Sadly, the water was not very clear and owing to the rains, we only got to see a turbid view of corals; we were certainly glad that we had gone snorkelling in Havelock! Once we got back to the beach, we changed back into dry clothes and snacked on some biscuits. After a while we set of to visit Ross Island. Named after the marine surveyor Sir Daniel Ross, this was the original seat of the British adminstration in the Andamans and home to a thriving community, largely due to the presence of clean drinking water sources. Known as the Paris of the East, the island had a protestant church, a market place, a bakery, bunglows, swimming pools, club houses, cemetery and what have you. In 1943, the island was occupied by the Japanese who converted the place to a military set up and put up war bunkers. When Japan surrendered at the end of WW II in 1945, the island was returned to the British until the Indian independance in 1947. Today the island houses the ruins of the British and Japanese occupation and also shelters some deer and peacocks. We got ourselves some coffee and then explored the island on foot. Finally at 3:30 pm, we returned to the boat and arrived back at Port Blair in 15 minutes. We had gotten so used to being pampered by Andaman Holidays that the absence of a vehicle at the harbour came as a rude shock. By this time, it started raining heavily and we had absolutely no where to go. Few frantic phone calls later, our driver showed up - turned out that he was told that the boat would arrive after 4 pm. Anyways, all's well that ends well. Also this small misfortune revealed the generous nature of the locals - a policeman offered us shelter from the rain, a cab driver opened his vehicle so that we could avoid getting drenched.

Day 5 of our trip and a nasty surprise. We had a 10 hour gap before our flight to Hyderabad from Chennai and had booked a hotel room so that we could freshen up and also get some rest. We also had plans of driving down to Mahabalipuram. Unfortunately the ruling DMK party called for a bandh in Chennai on the same day and all transport was expected to be off the roads. So we faced the prospect of spending almost an entire day at the airport. Anyways we made a few calls to Yatra.com asking them to cancel our hotel reservation. While still awaiting a response from them, we got ready for our Port Blair city tour. We first visited the Anthropological Mueseum which offered loads of information on the various aboriginal tribes on the different islands. We then drove down to visit the Cellular Jail. The last time we were there only for the Light & Sound show and this time we got a chance to visit the jail. Cellular jail or Kaala Pani as it was commonly known is one of the darkest chapters of the Indian freedom struggle. The history of using the Andaman island as a prison dates back to the First war of Independance in 1857. Built over 10 years & completed in 1906, the Cellular jail housed some of the many famous Indian freedom fighters. This included Vinayak Damodar Savarkar or Veer Savarkar in whose honour the airport at Port Blair is named. The entire structure comprised a central watch tower with seven arms. Each arm consisted of a three storey building comprising the prison cells. Today only three of the spokes remain standing. David Barry, the jailor considered himself the God of the land & subjected the prisoners there to extreme torture - physical & mental. The prisoners were tied to the yoke & made to extract coconut oil - a job normally done by cattle. The cells themselves are 4.5 metres x 2.7 metres in size with a ventilator located at a height of three metres and prevented any prisoner from communicating with any other. The Empire of Japan invaded the Andaman islands in 1942 and drove the British out. The Cellular Jail now became home to British prisoners and, later, to members of the Indian Independence League, many of whom were tortured and killed there. During this period, Subhash Chandra Bose also visited the jail. The INA was an ally of the Japanese army and Netaji met the Indian prisoners of war. He renamed Andaman & Nicobar islands as Shahid Dweep (island of the martyr) and Swaraj Dweep (island of self governance) respectively. In 1945, the British reoccupied the islands after World War II ended. Next on the agenda was a visit to Samudrika, a maritime mueseum and a local zoo. Finally we reached the Chattam Saw mill - the largest of its kind in Asia. We saw the entire process of how wood from different forests across the islands is converted to logs of timber and finally shaped into different artifacts. On the way back we stopped at some local shops for some souvenir shopping and returned to the hotel for lunch. The afternoon itinerary comprised a trip to Mount Harriet - the highest peak in South Andamans. But to our bad luck, the road was closed to facilitate some repair work. So our guides took us to Chidiya Tapu. This is at the far end of Port Blair. It is famous for attracting a variety of birds, especially during sunset. However the wet weather was not very conducive for bird sighting. The beach was also inaccessible as this place was also heavily affected by the 2004 tsunami. We spent some time watching the sunset & playing in the water before we drove back.

Last day of our stay at the Andamans. Today a visit to the Red Skin island, part of the Mahatma Gandhi Marine National Park is on the cards. A 45 min drive took us to the entrance of the park. A special permit is required to enter the park which our travel guides had already secured and the ticket includes snorkelling charges. Also no plastic is allowed on the park. One has to pay a deposit of Rs. 100 in case one needs to carry any plastic to the island which is refunded once you bring back the same with you. We started at 10 am accompanied by a huge crowd of mostly Bengali families in a nice big boat. The cruise was good but the intermittent showers played spoilsport. 45 minutes later we reached the Red Skin island. We got off from the big boat & were driven to the island in smaller boats & groups. The beach is basically a small strech where the boats anchor. The rest of the island is covered with dense bushes and tall trees. I opted out of snorkelling today; the mood did not feel right. Shantanu took off in the light rain. His guide spoke Bengali and soon struck a deal - Rs. 100 extra for venturing into deeper waters where there was chance of viewing sea cucumbers. Shantanu managed to get a good view of many sea cucumbers, some of them apparently almost the size of a grown man. Once all the enterprising snorkellers had returned, us non snorkelling 'junta' were put on the glass bottomed boats and driven to the middle of the sea to view the corals. The water here offered a better view compared to North Bay but paled in comparision to Havelock. Once this was completed, the entire group walked to the other side of the beach to get into smaller boats that would convey us to the bigger one. We were ferried back to the park entrance where our guides were waiting for us. On the drive back, we said our good byes before getting off at the hotel. We spent a leisurely evening & turned in early as we had an early morning flight to catch. Our tour guides were promptly there at the hotel at 5:30 am the next day & drove us down to the airport. Our flight was at 7 am & we reached Chennai by 9. No thanks to the strike, we were confined to the airport until late evening before we finally boarded the flight back to Hyderabad.

theyyamdancer

Thanks for this excellent write-up, Garbage. And you have a great blog too!

__________________
"Wandering seemed no more than the happiness of an anxious man." - Albert Camus

ashishu

hello can you please give information on your travel agent. he sounds reliable.
thanks

atala

I have a question.


How did you manage to get reservations at the Park Guest House? Are you or your father somehow related to the Ashram, somehow known to the Ashram Guest House managing gang, or are you totally unrelated tourists who called to see whether you could make a reservation?

Generally, the Ashram guest houses provide reservations only to people known to them, that's the background of my question.

A small correction. the following is not the case:
Auroville is not related to the Ashram in any other than the founding way. There is no financial tie between the two.

But perhaps you meant to say that Auroville has many production units which contribute to the financial funds of Auroville. All the stuff that you might have seen in the Auroville Boutique in the Visitor's Center is stuff made in Auroville, and nothing there is from the Ashram in Pondy. It is not important for the visitors, but for Auroville the independence from the Ashram is of vital importance. The SAS, the Sri Aurobindo Society is a very wealthy and powerful organization in India, but Auroville decided early on in its history that it did not want to be associated with it in any way.

Your text here is quite informative and must have taken a lot of detailed notes to compile.