Hotel Shompen Port Blair

... destination to visit before returning to the bazaar. Port Blair has was originally established as a prison for political Indian Freedom fighters and other notorious hard lined criminals. The prison was called the Cellular Jail because it was built so that every cell was in isolation from the others. The main views from the front of the small cells were the punishment areas. It was a hard and cruel punishment that was designed not to rehabilitate the inmates but to break them ...

... Transport and accommodation is available with the ANIFPDCL (Room tariff as low as Rs. 150 - 240 per bed in the guest house and Rs. 100 - 200 per head in the huts/cottages at seashore). It is recommended that the availability of rooms may be checked up at the office of the ANIFPDCL at Port Blair before proceeding to Hut Bay. Food: Homely food is available at the guest house of ANIFPDCL ...

... For us, it's much, much more. Day 6 - Saturday, 24th May, 2008 In a place as rich, beautiful and diverse, a week can never do justice to all the sights around. There are bound to be a fair share of misses, but then it's a crime to see everything the first time around. After all, there has to be a good enough reason to return. Of course, all that we saw could be seen many times over - but let's still leave behind something unseen to retain the ...

... hall next door captures on canvas the angst of the period. On the right wing is a more telling exposition of the life and times of all who lived and all that happened within the prison compound. Tableaus, representations, actual items used and informative write-ups do the job to prepare the visitor emotionally to see the real thing inside. Despite having felt the goosebumps at seeing the structure the first time, we can't help feeling the same again. The ...

... cum-changing room in front of the shacks. Dismissing our driver with the instruction to be back by 5pm, we head forward to the waters. We stand open-mouthed at what is, ostensibly, one of Asia's top 5 beaches. Havelock's Radhanagar Beach, popularly known as Beach no.7, has to be seen to be believed. To adjectivise it would have to be a doomed exercise. The golden sands shimmer in the soft sun and the waves fall upon it in splashes of frothy turquoise ...

... us, we set out for the Aberdeen Bazaar to catch up on the sights of the local market and stock up on a beach ball and a Frisbee. That done, and a shower later, we are back at Icy Spicy. Dinner over, we return back to sleep off a hard and bumpy day. The next day will be less hectic but just as exciting - the beautiful beaches of Havelock beckon us. We would need to leave the hotel by 5.30am, so could sleep late - at least by the last morning's standards!

... made by the freedom fighters. After all this - in fact, even without all this - we can't wait to see the jail itself. But that will have to be another day. For the while, we decide to check out the nearby Mahatma Gandhi Park. Not because it is a not-to-be-missed fixture. In the Andamans, which is a good two time-zones ahead of the mainland, it gets dark pretty soon. It is just 6.30pm and the lights are on - it's a different thing that the daybreak also ...

... for those that want. Safety rules at worksites are there to be ignored and generally there is an attitude of, 'what will happen, will happen', or 'in shalah'. At the same time, the country is completely fascinating, building things that you would think cant be built, like ski hall in a mall, an icecafe consisting of ice furnishings in a 50deg summer, an entire subway system to be finished within 5 years and, and and...The beaches are ...

... and the sun. Both of these had the potential to make life on Neil Island very uncomfortable. I had also developed a tropical ulcer on my right foot (courtesy of the English Island sandflies) that had prevented me from going in the sea for some time and was now turning septic. All efforts to halt the discomfort with that Asian miracle medicine Tiger Balm had done nothing to stop the infection setting in. Luckily a Danish woman was at hand who knew something about Ayurvedic ...

... to visit. This used to be free. Last year a cost of twenty dollars was put on it which rose to thirty dollars this year. Now there is talk that it will be raised to one hundred dollars next year, which will at a stroke stop many travellers coming here and put out of business the several relaxed hut camps run by local people yet will not make the slightest bit of difference to the 'top enders' such as the luxury chain hotels that are planned. The islands here are a ...