Short synopses before I start narrating my honey moon experiences. When I was preparing for my 10th standard board examinations, I read in my history book that India’s freedom fighters were exiled to Andaman and Nicobar Islands in Cellular jail and Britishers used these islands as their holiday package ;) Well that’s history. Lets come to the conclusion at the end of this article. It was always my dream to include these islands in my traveling voyage and I couldn’t find better way to club it with my honeymoon with my Honey :)
Andaman is logistically favorable if you are from Chennai and Calcutta. Got some good offers from Kingfisher airlines. Should really thank Kingfisher who plays a great role in the Indian airline sector and they have really set some amazing benchmarks and standards in connecting different cities of India. Arrived at Port Blair, the capital of Andaman Islands in Veer Savarkar International airport named after India’s great freedom fighter Vinayak Savarkar. First we went to Carbyn’s cove beach with coconut trees nearby, young guys playing Cricket along the coastline, small mountains nearby, group of small islands in the foresight was a treat to watch.
Then we went to Wandoor beach, one of the highly serene beaches which we came across. The small boats in stagnant water with blue skies was simply breathtaking. The beaches in Andaman were very shallow, hardly any tides and more importantly one could see clearly the coral reefs beneath the water. People talk about Maldives, Hawaii, Caribbean, definitely Andaman Islands are on par with these tropical beaches. Tourism has developed only in the last few decades and it was always a prime importance for Indian navy. There are numerous islands where civilization has not yet reached and there are quite of lot of tribal people who are still separated from the rest of the world. Most of the islands got vanished because of Tsunami.
The most thrilling experience was a trip to Havelock Islands by a ship. Had a chance to go to Elephant Islands by Catamaran reserved only for us. The ride to Elephant Islands with my honey is something which I cherished to the core. We both wore binoculars and went inside the water to explore the coral reefs and the shells. That’s something which is worth doing especially in Andaman Islands. I was really surprised with the friendliness of the locals in those islands. Most of them were Tamil and Bengali settlers from the Indian mainland. I never ever felt unsecured or being cheated by the locals which is very unusual in many tourist locations. Visited Radha Nagar beach which is rated as the Asia’s beautiful beach by Times Magazine. Really a long stretch with good view of the coastline. Requested our tour manager to explore unmanned location in Andaman which turned out to be the best spots in our trip.
The highlight of this whole trip is a visit to Cellular Jail. Had a chance to see the light show which depicts the history of the jail and the hardships faced by various freedom fighters. They made a story in a way that the tree which was there for many decades explains all the barbaric acts committed by the British Army Generals. Really made us very touching and emotional. World has gone long way and times have changed and I am so happy that belonged to young generation of Indians where I could afford to make my honeymoon with my wife taking in to considerations of all the hardships which my ancestors suffered and to a state where our life style is on par with the western world. Traveling offers great satisfaction and joy to me and certainly this honeymoon trip with my Anita is something which will reside in my memory forever. Just a phrase from Netaji Subash Chandra Bose museum which inspired me a lot“Forget not that the greatest curse for a man is to remain a slave. Forget not that the grossest crime is to compromise with injustice and wrong”. Grossest – German word…interesting to see in Netaji’s phrase.
Cheers,
Sathish Kumar S
