Andaman with besties

The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are a group of islands at the juncture of the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea. More about it here 

A trip of our college girl gang was pending for long and 2018 was the year when it seems the universe conspired to make it happen.

The discussion started sometime in May/June’18 among the 5 of us - Pooja, Sonali, Hena, Sameet and myself.

After numerous messages back and forth, time of the trip got finalised. Travelling alone meant taking care of work schedules, kids’ schools and exams, any family functions and so forth.. The only feasible time for all 5 together was August/Sept. The dates got finalized – 30^th August- 3^rd Sept

Next, the place had to be decided. Our travel dates fell in the midst of rainy season and this year most of India was experiencing heavy rainfall… again numerous messages back & forth, we decided that this time it was Andamans.

All excited, the next few months seemed to fly by in the anticipation of meeting besties after such a long time… checklists were made and shared, stay booked and all other logistics were taken care of. 

Probably the place didn’t matter much.. its always fun wherever friends meet.

Our meeting point was Chennai and from there we were to take flight to Port Blair. Pooja and Sonali were to fly in from Dubai, Hena from Delhi, Sameet from Hyderabad and myself from Pune.

Everything was set and everyone was excited when we got a msg from Sonali at midnight that said -"Lost my passport, will have to cancel the plan" . My first reaction was "pls don’t joke.. its no time for one!!"… but then she really HAD lost it.

Sameet was facing some health issues in the family and was also not reachable in the morning due to work…

The excitement dying down, all of us started getting second thoughts.. should we cancel the plan??

Eventually four of us spoke and decided to move ahead with the plan… 

Phew!! All that last minute stress… didn’t realise but the excitement had dimmed. The day went on as usual and it was time to board the plane.

I had a midnight flight and reached Chennai at around 3 am. Pooja was to reach from Dubai at 5 am…  Time passed between trying to take naps and checking the watch.

Got a call from Pooja.. 'hey where are u? ive landed!!' It was around 5.30 am by then… all excited, I started to look for some tea while waiting eagerly for her to reach the domestic airport from international one.

And we met finally after about 5 years!!

Had a delicious south Indian breakfast and the usual boarding routine started.

We went in the flight and there was Sameet with little Shayaan waiting anxiously. We hugged and went towards our seats…Small pleasures 😊

I caught up on some sleep in the plane and we reached Port Blair around 10.30… Came out of the plane and there was Hena standing at the gate… Had a group hug and im sure we would have irritated a few passengers by our giggly-animated-excited gestures…but who cares when u meet friends after so long!!

We were all like young college girls again with loads of gossips, non stop stories and a care-free attitude that we had lost somewhere between work-kids-family and stuff.

We had about 2 hours at Port Blair and we decided to visit the cellular jail.

The Cellular Jail, also known as Kala Pani (Black waters), was a colonial prison in Andamans.The prison was used by the British especially to exile political prisoners.

Today it is a national memorial monument and is one of the must-visit places in  Port Blair.

It reminds one of the cruelty faced by our ancestors, that got us freedom. A sense of sadness filled us up by the time we were out of the Jail. Had few moments of silence and some discussions on history lessons, post which we moved towards the ferry port.

The only way to commute between islands is the ferry. During good weather there are a couple of ships moving to and fro, but due to monsoons there was only one cruise available- the Macruzz.

It’s a wonderful experience for most, however I have motion sickness and was just praying that we reach soon.

The cruise is quite good with comfortable seating. Basic food is also available.

It was a smooth journey and we reached Havelock Islands safely.

Our stay was booked on the Havelock Islands Beach Resort . It is at a stone’s throw distance from the port. The cab was waiting and we were taken to the resort comfortably.

There was some confusion at the reception with the bookings. Also the internet connectivity is very poor there due to which it took a while for things to sort out.

All sorted, we moved on to our cottages to relax a bit. Reaching Havelock Islands is quite a task, which we had not realized initially.

However the nascent natural beauty more than makes up for all the fatigue. Our cottages were right infront of the beach. The sea almost came to the cottages when it rained. It was nature at its best!

We spent the evening of 31^st at the resort.. just relaxed, caught up with each other, had some wine and strolled around in the resort. The resort also had a rustic feel to it and no internet connection probably added to the charm. We were literally ‘out of the world’!

Next day’s attraction was the kalapatthar beach.

It supposedly has a beautiful view of sunrise. Hence we planned to get up at 5 am and view the sunrise.

It rained very heavily that night but the morning was clear and we were all ready to head out. We missed the sunrise, but the beach is really beautiful. 

It has white sand and clear blue water. We had fun just strolling around on the soft sand feeling the cool breeze,. The black rocks that lie along the seashores make a bright contrast with the silver sand. Green dense trees surround the beach from all sides.

It also makes a beautiful backdrop for pictures.. and who can stop the girls from clicking numerous pics !!

Our next place was the Radhanagar Beach. It is rated as one of the best beaches in Asia.

It also has soft white sand and turquoise blue water. We spent a lot of time there enjoying in the water, on the sand, clicking pics and just goofing around.

Tired by evening, we headed back to the resort.

The evening went by relaxing, sipping wine and chatting at the resort. There was a musical evening going on and we had a good time listening to music and relaxing.

Andamans is famous for its water sports and we were very keen on trying Scuba Diving there. But due to bad weather, most places had stopped scuba diving for few months.

Luckily for us, a place next to our resort was taking people for scuba. We booked our slots for the next morning and reached there around 6am.

It is recommended to go for scuba in the early mornings as the water is clear and as the day progresses, the visibility in the water decreases.

All excited, it was a first for all of us. Sameet decided to go snorkeling with Shayaan and the 3 of us, Pooja, Hena and myself went for scuba diving. We were given the black full costumes and some plascticky footwear.

Dressed up, we headed to the beach.

We were given oxygen cylinders and the mask, a short demo by the guide and were asked to practice breathing under water for some time.

It looks quite easy but all the gears and surroundings made us a bit nervous.

We did bit of practice and were asked to move forward with the guide. They took us in and we were under water looking at the beauty of corals and little fishes. It was a short dive, probably due to bad weather… but definitely an experience for life.

About 45 minutes later, we were all back with huge smiles 😊

Next day we again took lots of pics at the place we stayed and were headed back to Portblair.

The cruise back was a rough one… but we managed to reach the airport right on time.

Hugging each other, it was time to go back to our routine lives.

The trip came to an end but it brought us all a lot closer…

As we grow older, we realise that all the differences we felt when we were younger didn’t matter at all. It’s just the comfort and warmth of being with each other that makes everything worthwhile.

We missed you a lot Sonali !

                                                                   It is my happy place 😍