[MaserQ]

Excellent write-up aryasanyal. Thanks for sharing your beautiful pictures of the gorgeous Andaman & Nicobar. Your cost break-up will be useful for prospective travelers.

Undoubtedly, our archipelagos have the best beaches in India. Ironically, a beach holiday in certain parts of south east asia can work out cheaper than a trip to either Lakshwadeep/Andaman & Nicobar. Even the ship transfer is not exactly cheap.

[aryasanyal]

Originally Posted by abhimanyu s

Arya sab',

Amazing and informative travelouge, excellent and descriptive photography. Surely tempts me to visit these island's.

Thanks abhimanyu_s!
A visit is surely due from your side. The islands are beautiful.

Originally Posted by rahul20_6

Thanks Arya for the information. I will be planning a trip Andaman Islands in coming January. Your thread is very useful to plan mine.....

Sure Rahul. January is the right time.
Hope all the relevant information helps you in planning your trip.

Originally Posted by RGK

Excellent travelogue Arya. Been there when working in an airline.
The plane crossed the trunk road to land into the runway. During landing, the road traffic was stopped. I think they have expanded the runway now and the road is rerouted.

Wonderful place and many of the places there resemble Goa.

Thanks RGK!
Yes you are correct, the road has been re-routed towards the southern and south-eastern side (Garacharma locality). Now there's no Gilbraltar-like situation anymore.

The places do resemble Goa, but I found the islands to be better in every sense - they are far less commercially exploited, more pristine. Hope it remains this way.

Originally Posted by Steve_Austin

Nice travelogue AryaSanyal - Makes me feel nostalgic (Grew-up in these islands). Inspires me to plan a trip for with the wife and kid sometime soon.

Thanks Steve_Austin! You sure grew up in a beautiful place. You SHOULD take your wife and kid there. I am sure they'd enjoy it.

Originally Posted by Steve_Austin

And one tidbit for the North Bay Light House pic -
That's the same picture on our 20 Rupees Bill (minus the catamaran)

Yes, the folks there told me about it. Thanks for confirming the same!

Originally Posted by MaserQ

Excellent write-up aryasanyal. Thanks for sharing your beautiful pictures of the gorgeous Andaman & Nicobar. Your cost break-up will be useful for prospective travelers.

Undoubtedly, our archipelagos have the best beaches in India. Ironically, a beach holiday in certain parts of south east asia can work out cheaper than a trip to either Lakshwadeep/Andaman & Nicobar. Even the ship transfer is not exactly cheap.

Thanks MaserQ. Hope the information is useful.
Yes, our archipelagos are expensive compared to the south-eastern counterparts. But things are changing. The authorities are opening up more and more islands to foreigners.
Couple of posts above, you'll find that the sea-plane services have started making places more accessible. Lots of new resorts and hotels are springing up on the eastern coast of Havelock Island.

But all these have a darker effect as well. Goa is a very good example of the darker aspects of this kind - ask old Goans.

Regarding Lakshadweep - I believe they should remain as inaccessible as they are now. They are atolls and are facing a serious threat due to global warming. Remember they are part of the same chain as Maldives, and visiting Maldives is super-expensive.

The reasoning behind this is probably to discourage the fragile islands from being swamped with tourists day in and out, thus allowing them to be sustainable for a longer time.

[aryasanyal]

We reach Aberdeen Jetty, and are super tired and super-hungry. Since we plan to visit Cellular Jail post-lunch, we decide not to go all the way to the Aberdeen Bazaar for lunch.

Also, the Outlook Traveller book recommends the Lighthouse restaurant at the Water Sports Complex which is at a walkable distance from the Jetty. Since it's a perfect fit, we walk to the hotel.

Since we have already dined at the Lighthouse Residency on our first evening at Port Blair, we have similar expectations from it's namesake restaurant. But the first sight itself disappoints us.
This is a much older and shabbily maintained joint, frequented mostly by the Port Blair college couples who are probably on a date at the nearby park.

But we have no other option.

Orders follow, service happens and we eat. Food is of the okay variety - nothing great. Even the seafood is okayish.

Port Blair. Andaman Islands. Bad seafood. Somehow doesn't fit. Hard luck!!

Lunch done, we walk up the steps on the hillside to Cellular Jail. We are helped in our directions by a lady traffic constable.
Here I should take the opportunity to mention that Port Blair is probably the only Indian city, where I see more lady traffic constables than men.

The afternoon sun is getting very hot on our climb up and mom is facing fatigue. We take a break in between and after 20 mins reach the Cellular Jail.

We buy tickets to the Netaji Gallery first and go inside. The gallery is basically a memorial to the activities of Netaji and specifically his trip to the islands. It consists mostly of newspaper clippings and some photos.

Why is Netaji's trip to the islands important?

From History of Andaman & Nicobar Islands - Andaman Yatra.com -

The islands were nominally put under the authority of the Arzi Hukumate Azad Hind of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose. Netaji visited the islands during the war, and renamed them as "Shaheed" (Martyr) & "Swaraj" (Self-rule). General Loganathan, of the Indian National Army was made the Governor of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. On 22 February,1944 he along with four INA officers-Major Mansoor Ali Alvi, Sub. Lt. Md. Iqbal, Lt. Suba Singh and stenographer Srinivasan arrived at Lambaline airport of Port Blair. On 21 March,1944 the Headquarters of the Civil Administration was established near the Gurudwara at Aberdeen Bazaar. On 2 October, 1944, Col. Loganathan handed over the charge to Maj. Alvi and left Port Blair, never to return.

There is a section of the Netaji Gallery where some painters have given form to their vision of freedom and the tortured, chained inmates of the Jail. The paintings are good.

Then we take the services of a guide. A local born Tamilian speaking impeccable Hindi of the purest form, he took us around the Jail museum where models of the Cellular Jail and it's history are displayed.
This gallery also displays the various life-size models of inmates undergoing torture, doing activities, the dresses worn by them, etc.

One can't help but shed a silent tear for these freedom fighters.

Then we move to the main jail compound where the guide explains and takes us around the various parts of the Jail.

From Cellular Jail - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia -

The Cellular Jail, also known as Kālā Pānī (literally 'black water', in the sense of deep sea and hence exile), was a colonial prison situated in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India. The prison was used by the British especially to exile political prisoners to the remote archipelago. Many notable freedom fighters such as Batukeshwar Dutt and Veer Savarkar, among others, were imprisoned here during the struggle for India's independence. Today, the complex serves as a national memorial monument.

Finally, the guided tour ends at the top of the jail, from where we get a beautiful view of the surroundings - North Bay, Ross Island, Aberdeen Jetty, etc.

It's evening by the time we leave the jail premises totally tired but enriched by what we have seen and learned about the dark colonial past of the islands.
We reach our hotel, have dinner and hit the sack early.

Tomorrow we leave for Baratang Island.


The facade of Cellular Jail.


Statue of Veer Savarkar in the park named after him. This is right in front of the jail.


Life-size models displayed inside the jail gallery.


Corridor of one of the wings of the jail.


Inside Veer Savarkar's cell.


View of the Jail compound from the top of the jail wing. The black seats are the ones used during the Light and Sound show in the evenings.


Looking out towards the sea from Cellular Jail.


A wing of the Jail.

[skdking]

Originally Posted by marinegopi

Hey guys

I live in Andaman and would like to be of help to members of this group. If any one is planning to come to these islands and need any sort of help do let me know. I will do what I can.

Gopi

I lived in Port Blair (pbl) for 2 1/2 years about eight years back. So everyone of my acquaintance who wants to visit pbl turns to me for advice.

This time one of my friends wants a programme for a honeymooning couple.

Arrival pbl - 11 Nov
Departure for havelock - 12 Nov
Arrival pbl from Havelock - 14 Nov
Departure to mainland - 21 Nov.

I have applied some pressure on my grey cells and come up with a rudimentary plan for 15 Nov to 20 Nov.

Can I request you to look at it, fill in the blanks, fine tune it and suggest better alternatives, if any.

[AvonA7]

Originally Posted by aryasanyal

Shaheed and Swaraj – these were the names Netaji gave to the Andamans and Nicobars respectively during his visit to the islands. Since I read this, visiting them has always been a fascination. Finally decided to visit them last January (2011).

The planning had started 6 months prior to the actual travel. This was done after reading up tons of online travel guides, reviews and travelogues. In T-BHP, the extremely informative travelogue written by hotstuff (http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...tamilnadu.html) was very, very helpful.

Very detailed and informative travelogue with lots of pics. Rated 5*. Thanks for sharing. Your travelogue can be a good reference for people planning to visit Andaman

[aryasanyal]

Originally Posted by skdking

This time one of my friends wants a programme for a honeymooning couple....

Since it's an honeymoon, I wouldn't want your friend to rush things. Honeymoons don't happen everyday.

First things first, Havelock deserves more than 1-2 nights. Stay at least 3 nights, enjoy the magnificent Beach No.7, go scuba diving, snorkeling - spend time walking along the other beaches on the eastern coast - Beach no.5 & 6 are also beautiful, though a bit more crowded.

Here's my suggestion -

11 Nov - Arrival Port Blair (In the evening watch Cellular jail light and sound show)
12 Nov - Departure for Havelock
15 Nov - Arrival Port Blair from Havelock
16 Nov - Ross island
17 Nov - Wandoor beach / Jolly Buoy (beautiful snorkeling site)
18 Nov - Take seaplane to Diglipur (road journey is a bit too long, though interesting).
19 Nov - Visit Ross/Smith Islands - these are absolute beauties, I have heard.
20 Nov - Arrival Port Blair from Diglipur
21 Nov - Departure for mainland

The Diglipur part can be skipped if they want a much more relaxed trip, with nothing else to do.
I have skipped Chidiya Tapu and Corbyn's Cove, because once you experience Havelock, these are mere nothings. Rather visit the Cellular Jail during the day and the Anthropological Museum.

Originally Posted by AvonA7

Very detailed and informative travelogue with lots of pics. Rated 5*. Thanks for sharing. Your travelogue can be a good reference for people planning to visit Andaman

Thanks much for the rating!!
Hope that this log will encourage and help people visit the islands.

[marinegopi]

SKDKING

Refer attachment. Made slight modifications. Do let me know if u need anything else.
This is my No. +919434262877

http://www.and.nic.in/beta/transport/seaplane.php

Seaplane link.

[aryasanyal]

We wake up early as the taxi is supposed to arrive by 7:00AM. The journey is long and we plan to take advantage of an early start.

Our destination for the day is Baratang Island, sandwiched between the larger South Andaman and Middle Andaman islands.
The road we shall take is the Andaman Trunk Road (NH 223), which is the lifeline for the northern Andaman islands.



Our first target is Jirkatang check post, which marks the southern border of the Jarawa Reserve on South Andaman Island.
The Jarawa Reserve is not open to free-flowing traffic. There are scheduled convoys during the day which are monitored and guarded zealously by the local forest police force.

We check-out of Hotel Shreesh and start at 7:00AM with a plan to catch the 9:30AM convoy at Jirkatang.

Port Blair city is soon left behind as we race towards the north through the narrow serpentine Andaman Trunk Road. Reminders of the 2004 Tsunami are still visible throughout the countryside.

We reach Jirkatang around 8:45AM, well within time for the convoy. We are actually the first vehicle for the convoy.
Since we have nothing to do before the convoy starts off, we spend time walking towards the temple next to the check-post and loitering around.

The devastation of the Tsunami.


Convoy timings from Jirkatang.


The temple at Jirkatang.


Slowly more and more vehicles arrive and the convoy takes shape. At 9:30AM, two armed guards join the convoy - one inside the first vehicle and the other inside the last vehicle - and the check-post opens. We start our journey inside the Jarawa Reserve.

No photography. No stopping. No overtaking. No giving anything to Jarawas. Upper speed limit is 40 kmph.

The forest is lush green, dense and devoid of any noticeable human activity except the road maintenance crews in action. We cross numerous Jarawa tribals whom we see mostly chit-chatting with the road maintenance crews. Some of them are clad in modern clothing while most have nothing on.

They wait for 'gifts' from passing vehicles, and according to our driver they are addicted to modern biscuits, spirits and other food thrown towards them by passers by despite the strict vigilance. Law enforcement still has a long way to go.

After about an hour we are at Middle Strait Jetty - the northern end of the Jarawa Reserve and the South Andaman Island.
Baratang Island is on the other side of the strait.

There are no bridges spanning the strait. The way to cross is ferries. Ferries which can accommodate large vehicles as well as the human occupants of the same.

The Middle Strait Jetty.


Our van getting on board the ferry.


The Nilumber Jetty from our ferry.


The Middle Strait.


We board the ferry that comes calling within 15 mins of our arrival.
On the other side lies Nilumber Jetty. It takes us about 15 mins to cross over.

At the jetty, we book up a tour to visit the limestone caves and board the motor-boats towards the caves.

The Middle Strait is infamous for salt-water crocodiles, amongst the most feared predators. I keep watching to have a glimpse, but seems like the high tide has kept them away.

The noon sun is beating down hard and we are getting restless sailing down the strait, and then it happened!

The boat suddenly swerved left into a creek shaded by dense mangroves on both sides. The heat of the sun disappeared under the green foliage and our excitement knew no bounds. The 'wow' moment of the day.

This is my first venture into a mangrove creek and the sudden turn of events was awesome.
We reach a small jetty and get onshore. After a walk of 30-40 mins through lush green fields of paddy we reach the limestone caves. Folks are excited to see the caves and the guide explains it all to us.

But having seen the massive Belum caves just a couple of weeks back, I am not very impressed. After spending some time, we are back on the track to the jetty. We board our motor-boat and are back at Nilumber Jetty within the next hour.
Back at Nilumber, we ask our driver to take us to some restaurant for lunch. It turns out to be a road-side dhaba, but for famished and hungry souls, it is manna from heaven.
Post-lunch we resume our journey to our destination - the Dew Dale Resort.

The resort is bang on the main highway, and is a beautifully maintained property in a very picturesque setting.
We check into our cottages, and change into fresh clothes as we have to go back to the jetty again. This time to visit the Parrot Island, said to be the overnight nesting ground for thousands of parrots.

Colorful shop at the Nilumber Jetty.


The mangrove creek en route to Limestone caves.


Limestone cave at Baratang Island.






The Dew Dale Resort, Baratang Island.


Our room at the resort.


Not many visitors visit this place, since it entails a night's stay at Baratang. And also because the boat charges are on the higher side. After bargaining hard we make peace at Rs.1600/- for ours.

We are on our way down the strait for the second time today, but this time towards the opposite side. After about 30 mins we reach Parrot Island. Well, it's not exactly an island - it looks more to be like a agglomeration of mangroves trimmed naturally into a circular form. But there are small islands spread across all around us. It is beautiful as the day slowly gives way to night and we are here thousands of miles away from home in the middle of a strait, surrounded by small islands with tall trees and mangroves, waiting for some birds to arrive.

The sun slowly makes it's way down towards the horizon and suddenly the birds start arriving. First in a trickle, and then a swarm. Hundreds, maybe thousands, of them from all across. Interestingly, none of them settle down on any other island in the vicinity. We are mesmerized watching this.

It is dusk now, and the last lights of the day are upon us. With the sun the warmth of the sunlight has left us. It is pretty chilly and cold. Our boat turns on the engine and starts on it's journey back to the jetty.

We are soon back at the resort and take a walk around in the dark. After a good dinner, we log off for the day. It has been a tiring but beautiful day. How I wish we could stay here for some more days - away from the din and bustle.

Anyone visiting here, I'd recommend staying at this beautiful place from at least 2 days just to unwind. Unfortunately, we have to start for Port Blair tomorrow morning for the last part of this journey.

View from our boat near Parrot Island.


The Parrot Island.


We enjoyed a beautiful sunset from the boat near Parrot Island.

[aravind84]

Man, thats one hell of an experience and an awesome write up and narration. I am sure you had some of the best days of your life.

My sis is planning for an honey moon at Andaman and this thread is what i was looking for. Full of details, info and beauty. Am sure after seeing this she is not going to miss out.

Thanks for sharing

[aryasanyal]

Originally Posted by aravind84

Man, thats one hell of an experience and an awesome write up and narration. I am sure you had some of the best days of your life.

Thanks for sharing

Thanks for the wishes, aravind84. The islands deserve to be visited at least once. It's truly one of my best experiences till date.

[Thamizha]

Beautiful travelogue and awesome snaps.
I am planning something during beginning of next year. Could you help me out with the expenses, contacts and any info which would be useful. Thanks in advance.

[Kool_Kid]

Many thanks for sharing this with us , it brought childhood memories for me, I visited these in 2002 with my family ( LTC option).

Off Topic
I was told by our guide that Japanese have hidden lost of Gold , petroleum , arms and ammunition underneath many islands which they failed to recover before war ended . When India gained independence Japanese send out delegation to get that wealth out but was refused.
These treasure some time do get accidentally recovered when doing new constructions. I heard that they discovered Hugh oil depot once while demolishing old govt living quarter. Not sure if this is true or just someone imagination running wild.

[aryasanyal]

Originally Posted by Thamizha

Beautiful travelogue and awesome snaps.
I am planning something during beginning of next year. Could you help me out with the expenses, contacts and any info which would be useful. Thanks in advance.

Thanks Thamizha!
I have already mentioned the rough expenses in the following post -

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...ml#post2562589

And all the links to the hotel websites, where we stayed, are given in the opening post of the log.
Let me know if you need anything else.

Originally Posted by Kool_Kid

Many thanks for sharing this with us , it brought childhood memories for me, I visited these in 2002 with my family ( LTC option).

Thanks Kool_Kid!

Originally Posted by Kool_Kid

I was told by our guide that Japanese have hidden lost of Gold , petroleum , arms and ammunition underneath many islands which they failed to recover before war ended . When India gained independence Japanese send out delegation to get that wealth out but was refused.

The Japanese were the last military/colonial masters to have arrived and ruled a part of India - the Andaman and Nicobars from 1942 to 1945.

I am not sure about the gold and fuel part, but there are numerous Japanese bunkers that we came across in Ross Island and some in Port Blair as well.
There is a small Japanese temple in the Gandhi Park of Port Blair (am yet to cover that part) - which seems to be the only structure worth remembering during the Japanese occupation of the islands.

And I was told by various folks in the islands that the Japanese till today aren't permitted to visit the islands because of the atrocities they committed over the common folk during their brief yet violent rule over the islands. Seems that they far exceeded the British in terms of torture and violence towards Indians and Britishers alike, a fact which the islanders, especially elders, haven't forgotten to this day.

Some more information is available in Wikipedia -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanes...ndaman_Islands



Continuing the log...

We have to catch the 9:00AM convoy from Middle Strait Jetty by any means. The next convoy after that is at 12:00PM. Missing the 9:00AM would jeopardize our plans of reaching Port Blair by dusk.

By 7:30 AM we are ready. After a quick breakfast, we check-out of this beautiful resort and are on our way to see the Mud Volcano - a popular tourist draw of Baratang Island.
This early morning visit will enable us to see the volcano at peace before the hordes of day-trippers from Port Blair descend there.

Around 8:30AM, we are at the volcano site.

From Mud volcano - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia -

The term mud volcano or mud dome are used to refer to formations created by geo-excreted liquids and gases, although there are several different processes which may cause such activity. Hot water mixes with mud and surface deposits. Mud volcanoes are associated with subduction zones and about 700 have been identified. Temperatures are much cooler in these processes than found at igneous volcanoes. The largest mud volcano structures are 10 kilometres (6 mi) in diameter and reach 700 metres (2,300 ft) in height.

After a quick tour of the crater, we rush back to the Nilumber Jetty to board the ferry.

The ferry hasn't yet arrived, and we have resigned ourselves to the fate of catching the 12:00PM convoy. But lady luck is on our side.
Due to some reason, the Mayabunder-Port Blair bus is running late and is currently parked on our side. This bus is supposed to be in the 9:00AM convoy, and has to be accommodated since it has already reached the Nilumber Jetty.
Soon the ferry arrives, and we board the ferry along with the bus.

At the Middle Strait Jetty, we are the last vehicle in the convoy and the armed police guard has to be accommodated in our vehicle. This means that we need to re-configure our seating positions.
Our experience with the police guard in our vehicle is good. He tells us lots of stories about his experiences in the posting and about the Jarawa tribe in general.

We soon reach the Jirkatang check post, say our farewell to the guard and are on our way south towards Port Blair.

A lazy beautiful morning at Dew Dale, Baratang.


Walk towards the Mud Volcano.


Climbing towards the crater.




First glimpse of the Mud Volcano crater.


One of the many mouths of the crater.


Mud flowing out of the crater.


Another look at the way to the crater.


The bus that saved our day!


We reach our destination - Hotel Andaman Residency - by lunch-time. After a hearty lunch, we settle down into our siestas. But me and wifey decide to visit the Samudrika Naval Museum, and my mother decides to take care of Aradhya while we are out on tour.

A short auto ride later, we are greeted by the skeleton of a whale at the gates of the museum.

The museum is maintained by the Indian Navy and offers a nice glimpse of the marine flora and fauna of the islands.
The next couple of hours are spent seeing the various sections at the museum - covering the marine geography of the islands, collections of corals and sea shells.
We also visit the small shop inside the museum and pick up some collectibles.

By evening, we are back at the hotel.
Around 7:00PM we decide to visit the Aberdeen Bazaar - the downtown area of Port Blair. It is a pretty crowded and congested part of the city that is lined with shops selling all variety of stuff.
Then we walk down to the Ananda Restaurant and round off the day with a nice South Indian meal. Our last evening in the islands is a well spent one.

Tomorrow we look forward to returning back to our respective homes.

The whale carcass that was washed ashore on one of the islands.


Padauk - the special wood of the Andamans.


Table Coral.


Finger Coral.


Red Fan Coral - the pride of the museum.


Bivalve shells - these are huge!


Murex shells.


Smooth round variety of shells.

[ramanak]

Originally Posted by SX4LOVER

Nice travelogue and equally nice pics. im still deciding between A&N and Maldives for next year. Daughter will be two and i want it to be the best of her memory. A&N i can get posted too. maldives might not remain forever as it is slowly sinking (thats what i have been told).

Maldives is good but very expensive.If you decide to go to Maldives,check out Bandos island especially the sea side villa (i think it is called this).Though the place is very expensive,the hospitality is exceptional.

Cheers

[aryasanyal]

Again an early morning start. We have already packed up our luggage in bits and parts last night, and give final touches to it now.

As mentioned earlier, we have booked Andaman Residency on the first and last days of our trip only for the free Airport pickup/drop service they provide. Their drop taxi is supposed to arrive around a couple of hours later.
Me and my sister plan to make the most of it and grab an auto rickshaw to reach Gandhi Park.

Why Gandhi Park?

It seems that the only Japanese legacy that is supposed to have survived apart from the Japanese bunkers is a small temple, which is located at Gandhi Park. We want to see that.

From Gandhi Park, Andaman Travels -

This beautiful Park at Port Blair has facilities like children's park, amusement park, entertainment park, deer and bird park, water sports, nature trail,, lake, garden, restaurant and Japanese temple, as well as a bunker. The erstwhile Dilthaman Tank, which was the only source of drinking water to Port Blair has been developed into Gandhi Park in an unbelievably short time of 13 days.This beautiful park at Port Blair has facilities like amusement rides, safe water sports, nature trail around the lake, garden, restaurant and historic remains like Japanese Temple as well as a bunker.

We frantically roam about Gandhi Park searching for that temple. Finally we reach the huge Gandhi statue. This statue is different from the usual Gandhi statue where he is seen walking with his stick. Here, he is sitting and reading a book.
Right behind this statue we locate the section housing the Japanese temple. It is a small wooden box, small enough to be a temple located inside any house.
Inside is a small wooden board with some inscriptions in Japanese. We spend a couple of minutes here and then rush out of the park.
We are short of time.

The Dilthaman Tank, Gandhi Park.


Gandhi statue at the Park.


The Japanese Temple.


Japanese inscriptions inside the temple.


Another view of the well-laid out park.



We walk up to the Raj Bhawan gates located opposite to the Gandhi Park. The guards at the gate forbid us from clicking any pictures citing security reasons.
We hail an auto to take us to Jogger's Park and it takes about 10-15 mins.

Jogger's Park is a small park located on the top of a hill overlooking the Port Blair Airport, and a considerable section of the city. Our Baratang trip's taxi driver had recommended this to us. Upon reaching the park we indeed find it to be beautiful location.
The top of a hill has been flattened out to make way for this park. There are no trees here - probably because of the airport right next to it.
Awesome views of the Airport, Ross Island and the city can be had from here. We spend more than 30 mins here.
And then it was rush hour. Suddenly our holiday is over.

We grab an auto. Reach the hotel. Board the taxi. Reach airport. Flight on time. Great!!

In fact both flights (to Madras and Calcutta) are scheduled to leave within 15-20 mins of each other and both are on time.

Baggage check-in, security are done in a jiffy and we are soon on our way to board the plane. We bid farewell to mother and sister, take a last look and a deep breath of the Port Blair air and board the flight.
Soon we are flying over the city, then the sea and then the clouds. We reach Madras on time and take the local from Tirusulam to reach Park station, where we alight and walk down to Madras Central station.

The Bangalore Shatabdi is on time and we are in our Bangalore home by midnight. A great vacation comes to an end.

It's truly a trip to cherish forever!

Ross Island from Jogger's Park.


View of Port Blair Airport and the city.


Last view of the islands.