before i get to the topic, let me say this: i finished my engineering!!! i finished my exams and even got my final semester results! i am now a degree holder!!
May of this year must have been one of the most memorable months in my lifetime..
after what i cud say, and eternity, me and my little family took that much awaited trip to the Andamans..
for those who do not know, the Andaman and Nicobar islands are a part of the Indian subcontinent, and you do not require a passport to get there. we were a party of 4, dad, mom, me and bro.
to get to the Andamans, there is a regular flight and ship service everyday from Chennai. we choose the quicker of the two.
it was my first time on a plane. and for those who've already gone a million times on a plane, i don't have to get into the details, and for those who haven't, i'm gonna let it be a surprise.
i loved the plane ride, it was more than awesome! we took the Jet Airways to get to port blair, the capital of the Andaman and Nicobar islands. The plane that i was in was a Boeing 747, white with deep blue, bearing a bold Indian flag.
Ok! faaainne!! i wanted to keep it a surprise for the first timers.. but i cant hold back my tongue!
the aerial views were simply amazing.. i got the window seat, and i couldn't take my eyes off the window...
as soon as it took-off, the aerial view of the city's buildings, road, and the sea shore was overwhelming. it was excitng.. a further 15 or 20 minutes later, all i could see outside the window was white clouds. it was actually a scary thought that if we should fall down right now, these clouds aren't going to hold us up! a further half hour later, this is what i saw. we were way over the cluds, and i had to look down to see the clouds scattered like bits of cotton on a blue floor. the horizon was simply the most beautiful thing i've ever seen.
i could see nothing but the while clouds beneath me, and the clear blue sky before me... the sense of floating was nothing that i can describe with words.. the stilness was so calming... luckily there were no crying babies or coughing adults on board.. and i enjoyed every minute of the stilness and silence..
the weather for a week before our trip was full of rain and thunderstorms, and all flight services to the andamans were suspended.. mine was the first one going to port blair after a week... to see the bright blue sky after a long time, and to know that our long awaited trip isnt going to be cancelled, it was joy without bounds..
let me now show you an aerial view of the andaman islands before we landed at port blair.. it was simply breath taking.. the colour of the water was blue green, owing to the richness of corals there..after seeing the bland waters of the marina back at home, this was like falling into an oasis of icy cool water in the middle of a scorching desert! and i'm not even exaggerating! honestly!
it was about a 2 hr ride, most exciting two hrs... we landed at about a little past 12. before that, i have to tell you this... There are 572 islands in the territory, of which only some 38 are permanently inhabited. Most of the islands (about 550) are in the Andamans group, 26 of which are inhabited. The smaller Nicobars comprise some 22 main islands (10 inhabited).
i dint like the port blair airport at all...but i cant complain... i'm glad that we reached there...we already had reservations at Hotel Abhishekh, which was hardly 10 minutes from the airport. you see, everything in that island was just 10 minutes away! we had a hotel car and driver waiting for us. we got to the hotel, and my dad spoke with the hotel owner, Mr. Bhagat Singh Negi. he's been in touch with us since we reserved, and he's been letting us know of the weather conditions there now and then. this morning, before we left for the airport, he called us to tell us that the weather has improved greatly, and wished us a safe trip. good man. the first thing he said on seeing us was this: hello sir! you brought the sun out with you! great way to welcome a guest!!!
we checked in, and went to our rooms. me and mom were in one room, and dad and bro in another. we were given the keys and a bell boy took our bags. i ran ahead of everyone, and took the room with a view of the bay. it was beautiful. this is the view from our balcony...
before that, once i saw the balcony, i went rushing to open the door, and snapped my finger on one sharp edge of the lock, and my finger started bleeding..
TRAVELLER'S TIP #1: DO NOT GET TOO EXCITED, OR YOU'LL GET HURT!
a little later we had the travel agents come and talk to us, and our 5 day agenda was set. we were given an hour to refresh ourselves, have lunch and get down to the lobby.
we started at about 3:30, for a small city tour. we dint want to waste a minute of the day... there was so much to be seen. the first place that we went to was the science centre, but there was a power outage, so that was ruled out. next, we went to the Corbyn's Cove beach. ok! this was the funniest beach I've seen till now.. back at home, at the marina, you have to walk for atleast some 15 minutes on the beach to get to the water.. but here at the corbyn's cove, you step down from the car, take two steps, and voila! you are in the water!! i guess the water receedes or advances with the tide, and with the week long rain, it wasn't surprising to see the water come till the road. we spent some 20 minutes in the water.. and went next to the Gandhi park.
it was nice, to see lush greenery amidst a small pond, a big huge gandhi statue in gold.. we took a long and slow walk around the park. the climate was subtle, cool and drizzled a little now and then..it was so refreshing compared to the scorching heat of chennai..
after a hot cup of coffee in the park caffetaria, we next went to the most popular Cellular Jail.
there was a Light & Sound show in three languages, and the one we got to was in hindi. lucky us! neither of us knew too much of hindi. dad can speak, mom can read, but none of us knew pure hindi, as was spoken during the show..the show was based on a narrative by a peepal tree that has been there since the time of construction of the jail... this tree seems to have seen all the tortures that the prisoners and freedom fighters were put through...the show was pretty boring, especially because we dint understand, and also because there was this hindi family behind us, constantly eating, chattering, giggling, and completely irritating..
this got over in an hour, and we left. got back to the hotel, had dinner and slept like logs...
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