My first day in heaven. Andaman!

Yeah, yeah I know. It's been a LONG time since I've posted anything here.
Now, in my defence, I'm lazy. That IS a fact!

But also, I'm working on like a million other things, none which won't make any sense at all.

Now back to continuing my previous post about my journey to & through Andaman, which in my opinion is a piece of heaven on earth. Why do I say that? Read on...

Prior to landing in Port Blair. Diamonds!

Still Day 1:

I had done enough contemplation during my flight from Kolkata to Port Blair. So much so, that I decided to never contemplate again, and that turned out rather well for me.

As soon as the flight entered the airspace of the Andamans, my eyes got fixated out the window. There was no looking anywhere else from there on. The most beautiful cluster of islands, looking like a bunch of diamonds in a velvet clothing. I knew I was in love.

The flight landed, and I got out after thanking the surprisingly polite and helpful Air India staff.
When I got into the Airport, all I could think was to get out there, and then head straight to a beach. But a mix up caused the flight luggage to take 30 minutes to get to the luggage belt. I waited, all the while making up plans in my head for the rest of the day.

The moment I got my bag, I literally ran out of the Airport, searching for my name on a piece of paper (prior arrangements, eh!).

Here it was, slightly misspelled but recognizable. The driver turned out to be the nicest person you could meet in the Islands, and that says a lot since they are a welcoming bunch.

I was taken to the Hotel. Alright, alright, a guest house, and a pleasantly good one at that!
Put my stuff down, freshened up a bit and was ready to hit the beach in no time. The driver was waiting outside the guest house, took me to the beach nearby, Carbyn's Cove Beach.
And what a place to be. The water as clear as it comes, the sand as fine as it gets, the people as few as can be!

What a beach!

About the people part, I really don't like crowded places, you never really know what to do there. Have a look around the place or try your best not to bump into anyone. That is what I like about Andaman, few people. And if you visit in the month of May-June, even fewer.

Now, don't get me wrong, it wasn't a deserted place ( it's a beach not a desert after all :p ), there were people there still. But there weren't as many people as there are in, say, a Goa beach, where you literally can not get a Selfie without 10 people in it (exaggeration is a license I overuse sometimes).

The weather was warm, since it was around 1 PM. But it gets so much more better as the day goes on. The weather is among the best things about Andaman. It's in the range of 15-25 degree celsius almost throughout the year, a pleasant change from the extreme variations of New Delhi (0 - 48), and the extreme hot weather of Goa (like 30-50). And god know how much I hated Goa because of it's weather. Went there in December (for New Year's), and almost had a heat stroke during the afternoon. In December!

No such problems in Andaman, I personally like the weather in May-June (off season), because it rains almost every day at 5:30PM dot! And I'm not one to complain about rain! If I need to get away from the world and disappear (which I probably would soon enough), I'd disappear in Andaman, so that shortens the range for the search team. If there's any!

I spent about an hour at the beach, since it was getting late for the Anthropological Museum. Now, if you know me, you'd already know that no matter how much I deny it, I really am a Museum person!
I have been completely mesmerized by history, and collectible things ever since I can remember. So no points in guessing that I absolutely loved it. There's so much to see there, from the tools used by the natives of Andaman, to the kind of houses they used to live in to the diverse flora & fauna of the islands. Believe me, you can spend an entire day in that museum and still come out wanting to go back inside.

A model of Cellular Jail (Kaala Paani) in the Anthropological Museum.

A model of an Andamanese Tribal colony.

Exited the museum around 4 in the evening, headed straight to a restaurant to have my lunch.

After lunch, went straight to the Cellular Jail. Now I know what you're thinking, you're thinking I didn't pay for my lunch and ended up in a Jail. No. That's just not my thing!

The entrance gate of the Cellular Jail, aka Kaala Paani.
Tried my best to take a shot without people in it.

Cellular Jail btw, is very famous in Pop Culture in India. It also goes by the name of "Kaala Paani", yes the one from the phrase "Sazaa-e-Kaala Paani". The one where a lot of our Freedom fighters spent countless years for trying to free their own land. The moment you enter it, it hits you right in the face. Emotions come creeping in and you just can't hold them back. The sheer number of Freedom Fighters that were incarcerated there, and the hostile conditions that they were kept in will bring a tear to your eyes, at the very least.

More about that in the next article, which I promise, will arrive next week. Since it has the kind of tonal shift that it demands a separate blog post, and not just a mere mention here.

See you in Kaala Paani next week...