BLISSFUL ANDAMAN

Hola guys!

so here i am again … 😊

with a new travel blogpost …

apologies for not posting here for a while..
okay so ,
We planned a short vacation to Andamans Islands just after our wedding. (yes, you read it right! my wedding ,😀okay now stop congratulating, ill thank you guys later on. and yes soon gonna blog about my simple yet cute love journey 🙂 so stay tuned)

🏝Andaman – Nicobar is a chain of more than 530 islands (some very badly damaged in 2004 tsunami) spread over 700 km, approximately 1500 km from Chennai / Kolkata. Only about 36 islands are inhabitated. Port Blair is the main town in Andaman. Nicobar is much less frequented by tourists. Port Blair can be reached by air via Chennai or Kolkata. Boat service is available but takes too long and is not a preferred mode.

Arrival at Port Blair in the morning and transfer to respective Hotel, After checkin we proceed for a🏝 City Tour of Port Blair with a very kind & helpful autowale bhaiya (Mr.venugopal)

After lunch, we head to joggers park – simple yet Amazing place with a view,

Then we went to Chidiya Tapu –

famous for lush green mangroves, forest cover with numerous chirping birds and Sandy beach (Known as the Sunset Point.& Yes,be aware of crocodiles)

Just after returning from chidiyatapu,we Stayed Overnight at the Port Blair Hotel ,in the morning we left at 3.30a.m., again with our autowale bhaiya to visit the BARATANG ISLAND

(He was always there to rescue us anywhere in Port Blair at any time 😀)

this island visit was arranged by a tour package group. they provided us a AC SUPERCLASS BUS ,a proper veg breakfast,a ferry, and then a speed boat( i thoroughly enjoyed the whole journey,though the temperature was 36° 😞).

You have to pass through a deep forest to reach this place, also you have to take a barge ride and a speed boat ride. The journey is no doubt thrilling. 

You have to follow the convoy while passing through the forest. If you are lucky enough then you can get a glimpse of jarwa tribe but taking photograph or stopping the vehicle is strictly prohibited.

anyway through that amazing boat ride we entered at the mangrove forest to see the MYSTERIOUS LIMESTONE CAVE-

The Limestone cave formations at Nayadera and the vast mangrove covered creeks are the main attractions for tourists in Baratang. The island is known for limestones, which deposit itself either above the soil or under the ground forming interesting formations and layers. You can easily get a boat at the Nilambur jetty, which will take you to the famous caves. On the way you can admire scenic coastline covered with mangrove forests and you even pass trough a mangrove-covered canals making the ride more exciting.
Once you reach the wooden jetty at  you will have to walk down for about 1.2kms to view this beauty of nature. The walls of caves here are covered with massive formations dangling from the sealing like chandeliers.

 

The water is constantly dripping from the sealing making the stalactites and stalagmites shine and glow. The sad part of this sight is that people visiting the caves are destroying these wonders of nature by littering and signing names on the ancient formations.

after returning from the cave then we visited the mud volcano... through a shared car.

(Picture credit- Google Image)👆

mud volcano is the most famous tourist attraction in the island. This is formed by gases and liquids excreted by the earth’s interior. Gases like methane, carbon dioxide and nitrogen are released. There’s no lava spewed out, but mud in a semi-solid state comes out of the volcano. It is a rare natural wonder.

after coming back all tired We were so hungry and couldn’t resist our self to have the lunch asap, it came to us….then after the journey of 3hours we came back to our hotel room .     (yes that was a hectic but a fun  and thrilling day …😃)

🏝Trip to Havelock Island- Radhanagar Beach🏝

The next day, in the early morning at 6a.m we took the

green ocean cruise- Unlike any other cruise Green Ocean has an open air cafeteria on board with ample space and seating for travellers savour the food in style and comfort while soaking in the idyllic beauty of the coastline cruising to havelock island.The cafeteria servers various packaged foods , beverages and others delicacies and is also is the most happening place on the ship (because some groovy music and dancing on the top deck with blaring music will be there for you) .

We had Breakfast in there early, because there’s just so much to do and no time to waste.

after reaching at 

Havelock Island –

Post lunch,  just after freshenup our selves we went to the Radhanagar Beach by renting a scooty,

RADHANAGAR BEACH is one of the most picturesque beach on the Islands. The beach has also been ranked 07th among the beaches of Asia by the TIME magazine.

It is said to be one of the finest in Asia, perhaps rightly so, with white sand extending a long distance in the sea. Natural beauty and cleanliness is preserved. Bathing facility is available at the beach.

 

In Andaman, Sun sets in early – at 5 pm (in November January). And if you are not drinking or dancing, day is practically over at 5 – 5.30.So we went to see the beautiful sunset at kalapatthar .

The Kalapathar beach is situated on one corner of Havelock Island.

The beach gets its name from the surrounding village, which is Kalapathar Village and the black rocks (known as Kalapathar in Hindi) that adorn the coastline here. 

We came across this serene place when we were exploring the entire Havelock Island on our rented motorcycle.

but at night we planned to experience the fun night life at Buddha Garden.

It has a wonderful ambiance with the music drafting in from Venom Bar. 

Sometimes it was the live musician and Dj, but the sound was just perfect to have a conversation and enjoy the setting. It’s the perfect place to hang out over coffee or beers, and rather romantic with it’s lighting I would say.The food is simply stupendous! From their Waffles to their Chinese and Thai, everything was to die for!

Next day morning we were ready to do the scuba…….YES I GOT SCARED LIKE ANYTHING…😐 and but then i finally settled myself to do it with all of my confidence.

After doing it successfully i was mesmerized by the experience. and trust me if you guys who haven’t experienced scuba yet,you will also gonna love experiencing it .Yes, gather the confidence,just picture yourself watching a pool of fish swim by in front of your eyes. You are face to face with the most colourful fish and coral. It’s not something you see everyday. It’s not going to flash in front of your window like the sun, it’s not going to cover your universe like the stars. It’s not going to come easily to you; it’s going to require efforts from your side. You’ll have to challenge yourself and take a dive deeper into the seas, into your own being, to rediscover a new world, that is nothing less than a wonder. That is a figment of your imagination cast in front of you like a dream. Like a world of unfenced possibilities, swimming right in front you, making you think that anything is possible if you just believe! SCUBA IN ANDAMANS IS MAGICAL.☺

okay okay okay….then we head back to our resort and had an amazing English breakfast,then headed for the ELEPHANT BEACH by trekking .

here is a boat ride to Elephant Beach but we planned to go there by our own.😮 (which was a bit risky) This trail passes through dense forest and ends up near marsh mangrove land. You then need to pass through this marsh land to reach Elephant beach. (A guide might be required during this trail. The trek is of around 40 Minutes.)

There is a point marked as trekking to Elephant Beach from where you can start trekking. This point can be seen on your way to Radhanagar Beach.

Things to know while Trekking to Elephant Beach

• CARRY ENOUGH WATER
• TAKE A GUIDE
• DO NOT VENTURE INTO THE JUNGLE BY YOURSELF, ITS DENSE(but actually we did)😑
• CARRY MOSQUITO REPELLANT CREAM
• CARRY FRUITS THAT KEEPS YOU HYDRATED DURING TREKKING
• ITS RECOMMENDED TO WEAR SHO

Here you can do water sports including snorkeling, scuba diving, glass bottom boat ride, water scooter etc. are available. Near the beach, corals can be seen and one can even touch the colorful fishes in 4-6 ft of water. Although coral are not very rich in variety, nearly a dozen varieties of fish can be seen. Bathing facility is NOT available at the beach.

… so after a  hectic day, we returned to our resort and took some rest by watching our private vijaynagar sea side and hearing the breezy wave sounds.

Afterwards, …

we came back to gecko dinner ground and i found that my hubby has arranged a surprise for me 😍🙆 Yes , A beautiful candle light private dinner happened there… Wuppi!

Gecko private dinner👆

(😥sorry for the bad pic quality i was very excited and in a hurry back then).

Our – just 2 days spent at havelock GECKO was a whirlwind.

Gecko Hotel – Havelock ……

( Vijaynagar beach)

😆 Now your thinking why i haven’t mentioned the previous hotel name, okay let me clarify this first, because the previous ones are just the old and boring 5Star hotel but this one provides extravagant ocean living…. truly the best accomodation in Havelock,for those who like to enjoy the astonishing quiet beauty of nature and sea.

The little wood houses are lovely ,the beach is clean . Cool combo breakfast.

 Geck o for us was our perfect little holiday away from ‘the holiday’. we got some good chill time, which was exactly what we wanted, and exactly what we got.

we will soon gonna visit this resort as soon we can !!!

🏖trip to neil island , and laxmanpur beach

The next morning, we packed our bags and headed for the cruize

to head to our next destination. We rested for a while and took the entire feel of this beautiful resort

then spent some good time at the private beach of our Hotel (pearl park) all alone 😉😄 …and clicked some photos too 

afterwards we head to bharatpur beach to experience some good and

adventurous water sports like- Glass Bottom Boats,snorkeling,speed boat, jet ski,sea walk .

You guys should definitely go for some adventurous activities to see underwater corals & experience the sea life.I strongly suggest trying the underwater “Sea Walking” and “Scuba” (as i already mentioned earlier) they drop you in the sea bed with an oxygen mask. Then you can literally walk/dive under the sea and check the underwater flora and fauna. You can feel the corals, look at the sea anemone as thousands of colorful fishes swim all around you. You can even feed the beautiful fishes with your own hand.

After all of that we went back to our Resort (pearl park beach resort- huge resort,could’nt cover the whole resort  )

and switched on our chilling mode & had a very good time there as well.

 

And in the early morning at around 4.15 we headed to see the immensely beautiful sunrise at  sitapurbeach .

The beach  here is in a circular shape and open to the sea resulting in a higher tides. There was a small water stream flowing from the Island into the Sea forming a beautiful and natural pattern on the sands.

Natural Bridge:

Having not spent much time at Sitapur, we left for the Natural Bridge for another ten min drive. There is a small trek route to the natural rock formation in the form of bridge.

This spot can be best visited when there is low tide. After you trek down you got to witness the rocky beach with limestone rocks spread across the beach which are partially eroded in the salt waters probably due to the erosion with tides over thousands of years. To reach the natural bridge you have to walk through the seashores which is rich in marine life. 

And then we clicked some good pics of the massive natural bridge formation

and continued our way back to the hotel.

And then we head back again to enjoy  the private backyard viewpoint of our hotel.

And guys I must say ,

It was *mesmerizing*.

Okay,then we both got back to port blair again through The 90 min ride in cruise boat by ‘Makcruz’ was excellent. It is a 280 seater A.C. Royal vessel. Experienced a Very comfortable journey.

Just After reaching at Port Blair we went to see the National Monument the Cellular Jail 

When was it built: From 1896 to 1906

Who built it: British

Time taken: 10 years

Where is it located: Port Blair, the capital city of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India

Why was it built: As Solitary Confinement

Architectural Style: Cellular, Pronged

Visit Timing: 9.00 am to 12.30 pm, 1.30 pm to 4.45 pm

When I visited the Cellular jail, there was no denying beauty of the place. The lush green contrast of the lawn against the dull red and brown walls of the Cellular Jail. The whole atmosphere seemed to be damp. It felt as if every object there had a sad tale to tell.it was as if they have seen soo much injustice, that they were shocked beyond their wits and would never recover & know an emotion called happiness.hundred of Indian political prisoners faced tortured in here. The only one positive emotion i felt there was PRIDE. this was evident in the way the buildings still stood erect along with that old peepul tree that the the whole story during the light and sound show of the Cellular Jail in the evening. It felt  good to pay my respect to this torch of tribute a the Cellular jail.

This most dreaded and gruelling colonial prison situated in the remote archipelago was used by the British particularly to exile Indian political prisoners. Isolated from the mainland, this jail, also referred as Kala Pani(where Kala means death or time and Pani means water in Sanskrit) witnessed the most atrocious punishments imposed on prisoners. India’s struggle for independence saw imminent freedom fighters like Batukeshwar Dutt and Veer Savarkar being incarcerated in this jail. The jail is now open to public viewing as a National Memorial, and its museum gives one a glimpse of years of India’s struggle for freedom. and in the evening we witnessed the saga of the Indian Freedom struggle through the Light and Sound Show.

Heres the link to visit the Cellular Jail (for booking) –

http://www.andamans.gov.in/html/cellular.html

(Last day) — In the morning we had our best local breakfast (along with an amazing chai) at a local famous food joint shop no.- 26. (do visit this food joint)

then we headed to visit the corbyns cove.this place is kinda ok-ok,

but if you wanna to shop more andaman gifts for your family and friends then you should visit the place and shop from here ( quiet pocket friendly stuffs are there)

okay so after that we head for ROSS ISLAND

(spent lil time there,as we were in a rush to catch our flight,back to kolkata)

and then we left for the airport…😀❤

Yes,guys i had so much fun on this trip which I’ll obviously cherish forever. I came back so fresh and energised with all the sweet memories and all tanned from our trip. It couldn’t have been any better because of the awesome company I had (my hubby)❤

…….You know they say it right-

It’s always about the company not the destination. If you’ve good company with you, a normal place can become so happening to you. ✌❤

(last but not the least , sharing a small clip with you all lovely people) 》

Recommended dishes and restaurants(including low budget food joint): Blackbeard’s Bistro (gecko) for some delicious continental food , (Something different) another best place to enjoy the food and the surrounding- Buddha garden/ anju coco.

Golden spoon , sea hawk,nandini and there’s another one (OOPS,Sorry i forgot the name of that particular one , this one is just infront of the golden spoon) anyway they all are best ,provides very sumptuous food in a very pocket friendly way.

If your searching for some good veg dishes then go for BLUE SEA HOTEL (Port Blair ) ,Gagan is also a popular restaurant in Port Blair amongst the locals.

And guys everyone’s gonna recommend you to visit Adi bangali (port blair) if your a bong,but I wont suggest that one😥 Aaggh! (Very poor quality of food )

Things one must pack for a trip to ANDAMAN:

Cotton clothes, insect repellant, sunscreen, sea sickness tablet, comfy footwear and if you love hard drinks then carry some good alcohol 😉. (As drinks arent available everywhere in Andaman.

Well,entire territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands has not been declared to be a “dry area”. Almost the entire Nicobar district and certain parts of Andaman form part of region having prohibition. This has been done with a view to protect the interest of the tribals of these islands. However,tourist areas such as Port Blair,Havelock Is. etc are not covered under this restriction.)

{Wardrobe – missamore,coverstoryfsl, kikos closet, oranje clothing, globus,AND,Pantaloons,forever-new,levis,mango}

Do you have any favorite Travel destination? Have you thought of going in Andaman for your holidays/honeymoon? Do you have any questions regarding my trip or any suggestions..Do share your comments below!

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Until next time..travel bugs

Okay so thats all for tonight …

Keep Travelling Peepz!!

Xoxo …

– Siya #bestylechic❤️❤️❤️

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