The Duniyah Cricket Blog

A Brief History

Marco Polo was the first person to make any mention of these islands that lie off the coast of India in the Bay of Bengal. Although he did not actually set foot on any of the islands and merely sighted them on his journey back to Europe. There are over 570 islands, many of which probably are still untouched since the days of Marco Polo which is quite an amazing thought in this modern age where everyhting is so transient.

Some of the islands are still populated by tribal groups known as the Andamanese who have changed very little, although the majority of the tribes have found their way of life eroded as settlers have moved in from the mainland over the last two centuries. The Sentinelese are the last of the tribes to have had little or no contact with modern civilisation and continue to live life in their old tribal ways. They apparently also escaped the Asian tsunami completely unscathed thanks to ancient legends that told them to run for the hills when the sea recedes. Below is a picture that shows a sentinelese man aim his bow at a helicopter that went out to check on their safety after the Tsunami.

How to Get there

A two-hour flight from Chennai or Kolkatta these Islands have become very accesible of late with the arrival of low cost fares in India which make a return fare quite cheap at about Rs 15,000 ($375 or £190). There is also a ship that ferries people from the mainland which takes about 3 days each way! We arrived in Port Blair, the capital, where we had a few hours to kill before boarding the ferry for Havelock Island our ultimate destination.

Port Blair is quite a small place by Indian standards, but it has its own charm. The main tourist attraction in Port Blair is the rather gruesome Cellular Jail which was constructed by the British to jail Indian Freedom Fighters. I found the place rather bleak and could really see why these beautiful Islands were once referred to as “Kala Pani” (Black Water).

We had lunch at the Fortune Bay Welcomegroup hotel in Port Blair which offered a decent lunch buffet while killing time waiting for the ferry. The ferry itself takes around 3 hours for the journey to Havelock Island and is reasonably pleasent as the ferries are large and quite stable. Once you arrive in the island you are struck by the clear waters even in the ferry jetty which is quite something considering the amount of pollution from these large ferries.

Havelock

Upon disembarking from the ferry we were greeted by a tropical rainshower but lucking we were in the Hotel jeep before getting very wet. We stayed at the Barefoot Resort which is apparently the best place in the Island and it truly does not disappoint. The hotel is laid out in individual villas in the forest behind what is locally known as Beach No.7 (Radhanagar Beach). By the time we arrived it was already starting to get dark (thanks to the islands being on Indian Standard Time which means it is dark by 6.00 pm), so we werent able to get a truly good view of what has been voted the best beach in Asia by time magazine. Walking barefoot on the sand even in the dark did ram home the fact that the sand was incredibly fine and I was very much looking forward to my first view of the beach in full glorious technicolour the next morning.

Each villa in the hotel (there are only 18) are made from local woods entirely and are quite luxuriously appointed with elements of local architechture and design. My one complaint would be the wood is too dark and means that the inside of the villa always feels a bit dark, especially as it is set in the “forest” behind the beach. However overall I would give the look and feel of the place a thumbs up. I recommended to the hotel that they put up path lights as its almost impossible to find your room at night as it gets so dark out there and after a few beers you have no chance of getting to the right room!

It also has to be said that the quality of food leaves much to be desired in this hotel. The food was quite poor and even the quality of seafood given its location was substandard. For a hotel trying to cater to the high end they have a lot of work to do on that front. The staff were friendly, but sometimes seemed to not know the most basic local information which was disappointing. I have to say the manager of the place was very good and always able to give the right information if he was around.

The beach I have to say did not disappoint and the waters were absolutely crystal clear and the cleanest I have seen of any beach around the world. It probably helps that ours was the only hotel on beach no.7 and from what I could see we were practically the only people on the beach.

On the other side of the Island is the more popular Beach No.5, a haven for gap year students and budget travellers. The accomodation is more modest which keeps the prices quite affordable, with most of the beach huts built just behind the beach as well. I could really see why a lot of people end up staying on this tropical paradise for upto a month. The beach here is also as pristine as Beach no. 7 and if anything the waters are slightly calmer as the bay is shielded by a neighbouring island which keeps the sea calm and perfect for swimming. One of the highlights was chilling out on the beach in the evening with a few beers and kicking back and watching the absolutely view of the night sky - I could truly see the milkiness of the milky way for the first time in my life.

One of the highlights of our stay in the Island was a snorkelling trip we took to one of the many coral reefs that abound in these waters. The area we went to was aptly named Button Island after the tiny little speck in the water shaped like a button. The variety of fish we could see was absolutely amazing - groupers, clown fish, nemo fish, some people also saw turtles but alas i missed that. The waters are very clear even though the day we were out the sea was a bit choppy so I supsect it was not as clear as it could be on a really calm day. All in all I would say that the variety of fish was comparable to what I have seen in previous diving and snorkelling trips in places like Thailand. The remoteness and the undiscovered feeling that you get from the Andamans is a bonus. For the keen divers out there the Andamans could truly be a mecca, with the variety and new dive spots that are yet to be discovered.

Overall I would say that the Andamans are well worth a visit for those that like a relaxing beach holiday. There is a range of accomodation from I could see and there are plenty of things to do - from relaxing on the beach to snorkelling to getting a PADI certification. My one complaint about Havlock Island is the standard of food, which was quite average but its not disastorus either.