Andaman Sojourn - Light, Sound and Much more

A trip had to be planned. A much needed break had to be taken. But when?? Where?? A plethora of opinions started flowing. “Dude, Goa It is”, “No, let’s take a short trip to Yelagiri”, “Nopes, Kerala.. Houseboats, Backwaters .Yes, that’s the place to go”, “How about Ghattikallu, Hill Station, Awesome weather, Campfire, Oh yes!! This is it guys” and blah blah.

And finally after one month full of ramblings, the decision was made. Andaman it was and  everyone was on the same page with this. The plan was made, tickets were booked, and after what seemed like an eternity, It was finally show time baby. The 2hr journey from Chennai to Port Blair was undertaken in an aircraft from the fleet in Kingfisher Airlines. Undoubtedly the worst airplane I have flown in till date (Or maybe, I should just be grateful that they took off). It was largely an uneventful journey, thanks mainly to an omelet listed as a Non Vegetarian meal (Seriously?).

The descent towards Veer Savarkar International (?) Airport, though was much better, giving me some phenomenal views of the Bay of Bengal and numerous islets, one of which just had one tree. Yes, One, SOLITARY tree. Finally we landed , claimed our luggage and off we went in search of our rooms in a guest house. Oh yes, before I forget, The Veer Savarkar “International” airport has to be among the smallest airports in the world. I never thought there could be an airport smaller than Chandigarh’s, but here it was. Hiding away under lapping waves of the ocean and the canopy of palm trees along the shore line.

View from the Corbyn's Cove beach

The plan for the day was to frequent Corbyn's Cove beach and the Cellular jail, with a Light and Sound show as a special attraction. The Corbyn's Cove beach was around 30kms from Port Blair. The roads were beautiful with sea on one side and a small hill on the other. Talk about Scenic beauty. The beach was a sight to behold. Palm trees, blue waters and most importantly, CLEAN. Yes, being a regular to Marina and Elliots beach I had to bring this up.

I also had my first experience of riding a water scooter. The thrill of scooting while scootering on sea water at 60-70 kmph, with some drifts and turns was Awesome. I must thank Mr. IforgotHisName for helping me out with the machine and its mechanics. A walk across the length of the beach was followed by tender coconut for Rs.10. Why do they have to cost Rs.30 in Chennai?

The prisoners would not have had this much fun for sure

So, after some more lazing around on the beach, we were off to Cellular Jail. I was personally pretty excited to check out this particular site just to affirm If it was indeed as bad as It was made out to be.Lo and Behold! By the looks of it, It was. A museum there gave us an insight into the the various torture techniques used in the prison, and the glum fate of the various freedom fighters who had been imprisoned there. The cells were stingy, inhuman.. The less said, the better for just like beauty, grotesque too fails your lexicon.

And, finally, It was time for the Light and Sound show. Again, the less said, the better. For completely different reasons though. None of us could bear it for more than 20 minutes, as it was nothing more than random lights and voiceovers, describing the horrors of “Kaalapani”. The story would have been impressive for sure, but the presentation was unimpressive.

Tip for anyone travelling to Port Blair – Don’t fall for the bait and go to the Light and Sound show. Use that 1 hour scouting for souvenirs instead.

That was it for day 1. Dinner and then back to our rooms, chattering away into the night about completely irrelevant and rubbish topics. Day 2 held bucketfuls of promise in it. The fun was yet to begin.