Port Blair - Andaman Series #2🏝️
Let's start from where you get off, the first step
Let’s get started with the Andaman things.
We reached Andaman by flight from Chennai around 2 PM.
I have elaborated on the cruise options in the previous blog of the Andaman Series. You can find it here.
You will get taxi options inside the airport itself. Or else you will have to talk to taxi drivers outside the airport premise, who will anyways come and talk to you😂
Most drivers are good at talking in Tamil and Hindi. Fortunately, we got a driver with whom we talked for the whole trip.
We stayed in ‘Symphony Samudra, Port Blair,’ far from the city, near Chidiya Thaapu Biological Park. If you want to witness good sunsets, I suggest this place.
For the first time, I saw a purple sunset (below).
I have attached the plan for the entire trip below.
Cellular Jail
Timings - 9 AM to 12 PM and 2 PM to 5 PM, Everyday
A historical place to visit in Andaman. History says an older jail was maintained on Ross Island (the dilapidated structures are still available to visit on Ross Island). The British then moved the jail structures to Port Blair Island.
This jail was the ultimate point where the Indian freedom fighters were brought for a life sentence and slavery. Many people never reached back to India from here. The fighters' names are written in the top tower of the Cellular Jail, even today.
The structures are well-maintained and give a sense of goosebumps to all Indians.
Ross Island and North Bay Island
Timings - Depending on weather conditions, continuous ferry services are available. The ferry would take around an hour, so plan your trip accordingly.
Reach the Water Sports Complex; you can reach both islands by order through a ferry. There are agents available at the gate to get you into a ferry.
Ross Island (also known as the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Island) is the older jail structure (as mentioned above), and the dilapidated buildings are still available. You will see a lot of deer roaming around at the entrance. You can see old churches, weapon rooms, infantry, etc.,
It would help if you walked down the hill to see the army tower memorial, walking through a long wooden bridge on the seashore. A very photogenic place to visit.
North Bay Island is the next one you will be visiting. This island has nothing to roam around but has some petty shops to purchase things. I would suggest not to; there are better places to buy souvenirs.
This island is better for doing two activities - Semi Submarine Ride and Dolphin Glass Bottom Boat Ride.
Semi Submarine has 45-degree glass windows that give a view of the corals and the fish. The Dolphin Glass Bottom Boat has a 90-degree glass flooring that gives a clearer view.
Skip snorkeling and glass bottom/dolphin rides if you plan to do scuba diving.
This is the decreasing order of best experiences - Scuba → Snorkelling → Dolphin Boat → Semi Submarine💕
I did the Semi Submarine, and it was over worth it. The images are below.
North Bay Island is captured and printed on the older INR 20 note.
![Image Behind the Indian 20Rs Note [Must watch]](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!vOa0!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe6416383-cbbd-4468-881f-30e3da9979f5_657x284.jpeg "Image Behind the Indian 20Rs Note [Must watch]")
Chatham Saw Mill
Timings - 8.30 AM to 2.30 PM, Except Sundays
Chatham Saw Mill is the sawmill in Chatham Island of Andaman and Nicobar Islands in India. Andaman’s forest has a lot of good timber and was getting good timber imported from Burma due to its proximity. To make the economy out of it, the sawmill was started.
It was set up in 1883 to meet the local requirements of saw and timber for construction works. The state government owns it. It is Asia's largest and oldest saw mill.
Samudrika Marine Musuem
Timings - 9 AM to 1 PM and 2 PM to 5 PM, Except Mondays
Personally not a fan of museums, but if you would like to visit one, this is it.
Run by the Indian Navy, the Samudrika Marine Museum is a must-visit while traveling to Port Blair.
On display are informative pieces and artifacts of the islands’ ecosystem, the tribal communities, flora and fauna, the animals, and the marine life. There is also an aquarium within the premises.
Wanna see the runway clearly?
The Andaman Airport’s runway is visible from a mountain slope, where the government has also made a small park. A crowd gathers here to see the takeoffs clearly.
As said in the previous blog of the Andaman Series, the Tamil and Bengali communities dominate, and you will get both cuisines in Port Blair.
Seafood is not really the attraction at Port Blair, as the locals love to preserve the marine ecosystem, which attracts a lot of crowds here.
Stay tuned to witness scuba diving and meet some Nemo friends in the next piece.
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