Reminiscing those Andaman Holidays

I don’t know how many posts have I dedicated to these flecks of greens and browns, positioned so firm over the constantly undulating Bay of Bengal for centuries now. No I don’t live in this island though I dream for it every day, night and evening; but every time I have visited this place, it has always been so fresh and so new than the last time. I can never have enough of this place; Andaman has always been the insufficient thirst for me which I never want to get over with.

I have written fairly few posts on the destination, I have written post on meeting the people there, then there were couple of bits and pieces of memories, events encompassing the place, but yet it seems I still haven’t told you all, and may be you have also understood, that it’s more than my mind, my emotions bona fide are making me say so.

Did you just let go a heavy sigh!! I don’t blame you actually.. My first memories of Andaman was during 1994, when I was in kindergarten, that time we used to click pictures on those reel cameras and very few Indians would go to Andaman those days. Reason being Air India was the only airline flying to the island (if not considering the ship service, which has been there for a long time) that time and it was too expensive, and the place, mostly used to be thronged with Western tourists, few Indians working on Public sectors and the rich ones not to be left out, but whether havelock, neil or Diglipur were considered as a tourists place then or not, I can’t tell you. I do remember quite some odds and sods of that holiday (quite vivid and satisfactory ones still), but I was surely a tiddly to extol the beauty of a place at that time.

[I got them from my Mother’s treasury]

The second visit was few months after the monstrous Tsunami hit the islands in the year 2004. The island was recovering as she’s been unusually strong to move on from her moments’ disaster with adequate speed. There was hardly any tourists that time for obvious reasons, but that was the time I was grown enough to understand the beauty of travel and therefore to eulogize a postcard destination. Unfortunately we have just few finger counted pictures available from that trip as I accidentally and unknowingly dived into the sea with the one and only family reel camera in hand, and the vibrant red piece of plastic object was savaged to respond to any treatment began a week after!

So next time, I had to promise to be ‘careful’, no going-near-the water-even-to-dip-my-toe and keep my smart phone on full charge along with the digital camera to be handled by the Lady of the house with full authority. Could I have any other option in place??

We all have heard of the tormenting past of the island during British rule, I still remember my counted moments spent inside those immures in one of the wings of Cellular Jail, and those few moments were chilling, choking and so painful. But in all these I also found an incredible information on the internet, as I didn’t find any mention of this locally, even very long before the British came, the island was still in use by one of the oldest and flourishing Indian dynasty, the Cholas. They had set up a strategic naval base in that island to launch an expedition against the that time Sriwijaya Empire, which at present is the famous Indonesia. Doesn’t that amaze you? I was quite thrilled to know this…

You Know, when going to Andaman, people usually plan Port Blair, Havelock and Neil islands. You don’t have the deliberate option to miss Port Blair, as that’s the only airport in that island. My favourite place in this island is Chidiya Tapu for some spectacular sunset, and Wandur beach, as most of the people go to red Skin island, this beach is visited by less people during the day time; a buttery gold beach with Capri blue water, oh how gorgeous can that be? You think I’m saying this because I am so partial to the deep blue sea and the beach? Well, to some extent you are correct but you got to take my words, Andaman and it’s beaches are impressively stunning.

Though the first thing pops in mind is Ross and Smith island if spoken of Diglipur, I somehow couldn’t chose my top 2s in Diglipur, all the beaches are quite different from each other and now I don’t have the accurate word to describe their attraction.

Trust me, I still am thinking what else is left to share!! If you are thinking I have seen it all, No, no, no.. there’s still few left, Little Andaman for example. Yes yes, I surely will visit the place again and next time Little Andaman will be an addition to the rest of the places. Only How soon is the question for now!!