Small islands on Andaman

One of the places to visit in the Andamans is the Munda Pahar. The beach is shallow and good for kids to play. They have earmarked some safe zone where you can venture out into the water. 

I liked the way they have carved out the fallen trees into some lovely sit-outs. 

We did some horsing around clicking some pictures. Setting the camera on timer and rushing back to hold the pose in 10 seconds is really a challenge. 

Earlier we had been to the Red Skin Island (from Wandoor Jetty) Before landing on the island they give you a teaser of watching the coral and the sea bed from a glass bottom boat. Photographing the coral through the glass bottom is a difficult task. 

This is a good place for guys who love and study corals. I saw some guys snorkeling in the area. 

It seems the Red Skin and Jolly Buoy are opened alternately for six months. This is to preserve the ecological balance. The ride to all these islands by the ferry always gives you some good view of the tiny islands that Andaman is made of.  

There is a light house which adds to the old world charm. 

It is said that this lighthouse can be seen on the Indian 20 rupee note.

It kept alternating between clear weather and rain, hence the angry clouds.

One of the items that I have ticked off from my bucket list is scuba diving.

North Bay Island is a good place for scuba diving, something that I thought I will never be able to do. 

They give you training for about 15 minutes and assess your confidence level. If you are convinced that you can do it, they take you further out into the sea where you can dive to about 40 feet. 

It is a wonderful world down there and one should not miss a chance to see it. Here is a video on it.

A few things to note about scuba diving, it is not necessary for you to know swimming to dive. The lead weight belt that you wear takes you down and the buoyancy compensator takes you up by releasing a knob.

On the whole, a wonderful experience.    

Ross Island

The first thing that greets you as soon as you land on Ross Island are the deer. They are friendly and gather around you, (mainly looking for food)  

There were instances where the deer tried to escape from the island, maybe due to lack of food or drinking water. 
The island gets its name from Daniel Ross, a marine surveyor. It became the natural choice for the settlers (British) due to its commanding geographical location. Settlers went about recreating a home far away from home with vigour, so much so that the island soon earned the name of “Paris of the East” Soon churches, homes for the  British and Indian officers, store houses, shops, printing press, hospital, post office, tennis court, mineral water plant, swimming pool, bakery, library and general stores came up. An entire bazaar and three separate clubs were constructed. About 500 personnel including officers, troops, Indian merchants and families lived at Ross Island.  

The bakery still stands, but is in ruins. 

And so are some of the living quarters 

Since 1979 the Indian Navy has set up a small permanent post here. No one is allowed to settle on the island.  What you get to see are a few air raid bunkers like this one, built by the Japanese during their reign at the fag end of WW-II   

  There are very few who has been to Ross Island and not met Anuradha Rao. 

Its been a life time that she was on the island and has a good rapport with the animals and the birds. The deer, squirrel, and birds  respond to her call. 

Once while feeding the deer I noticed a squabble between two deer. She immediately called out to them by their name and told them to stop the fight. That is when I realized that she had names for each one of them.

When the Japanese invaded, her grandfather, who was involved in the Indian freedom struggle at that time, was a prisoner of the British on the island. He was executed by the Japanese on the suspicion of being a “British spy” 
The bread that she feeds them is without yeast. She says that Yeast is not good for the deer and can even kill them.

The island which was 200 acres in size, lost about 130 acres due to the earthquake in 1941. The 2004 tsunami also took its toll of the island but on a lesser scale as the main impact was on Nicobar and not Andaman.

Like Ms Anuradha Rao said, “its only when you visit such places and understand their history that you can comprehend the scale of the sacrifice made by people of another generation, so that we can live in freedom”

Havelock Island

The ferry from Port Blair to Havelock Island was a pleasant one

We stayed at Dolphin Resort at Havelock Island and I must say it was perfect for the view and the location. 

Run by the government, it was neat and clean with some good staff. The rates too were reasonable when compared to similar accommodation in the vicinity. When we checked in, it was low tide and that gave us some opportunity to explore the beach.

I liked the general ambiance and layout of the place. This tastefully lighted swing is one example 

As Andamans is in the far east, the sun rises before 5 am and sets around 6 pm (compared to IST) So it’s a good reason to get up early to catch the sunrise.

I liked the way they had maintained the huge trees and the landscape, including labeling the trees.

And with all that greenery around, one can’t miss the birds.

Nearly 105 species and subspecies of birds are endemic to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, i.e. not found anywhere else in the world. Some of them are Nicobar Megapode, Edible Nest Swiftlet and Narcondam Hornbill.

I was lucky enough to spot some Edible Nest Swiftlet 

It is intriguing to see them easily hanging on to a wall and building their nest. They are from the swift family and live in colonies. 

They are found in caves, clefts in a cliff, or sometimes even in the nooks of buildings. The nest is made from layers of solidified saliva. These nests are later used by humans to make bird’s nest soup. (hence the name Edible Nest Swiftlet) The Chinese believe that it promotes goodhealth, especially for the skin. The nests have been in Chinese cooking for over 400 years.
Was fascinated by this common sparrow (not so common now a days in the cities)

Noticed many two wheelers with the yellow number plate. They were available on hire - a good way to commute within an island.

 The Radhanagar beach is not far off from this place (about 10 minutes drive) 

This beach is clean and good but as it is famous, the beach is a bit crowded.

It would be advisable to avoid the eating outlet by the name of The Mohwa at Radhanagar beach. 

The food was not palatable and things were overpriced.

I walked for some distance on the beach and got this shot nicely framed.

While I was admiring the blue waters a couple decided to take in the view. I clicked once more from the same spot. Now comparing both the pics I think the second one gives more life to the picture.

Next post – The North Bay Island and Ross Island.