A B-plan called the Andamans

India's Hawaii, the Andamans. We got to make a 3-day trip to this beautiful place. Started at Pt. Blair.

Day 1: afternoon visit to the cellular jail (Kala Pani). The light & sound show, doesn't have the Disneyland glamor, but it gives an insight into life in prison during the 30 year British-rule period starting 1906. The jails became occupied again in 1942, when the Japanese took control of the island for 3 years. Cells were single occupancy, 4.5m*2.7m in size with thick walls, with the front passage made of thick iron bars, no toilets (maybe buckets) or sinks (or water taps).

Day 2: we went to North Bay. Just a few miles from Pt. Blair. There is a coral reef off the shore. We went snorkeling! The equipment wasn't great, but we had our fun being floated over the corals and the colorful life around it.

Day 3: morning ship to the Havelock island. This is where the b-plan is set for. 3 hours after leaving Pt. Blair, we reached RadhaNagar beach. RadhaNagar is surfing paradise. Tourism hasn't developed to the levels this place deserves. The 2004 tsunami, poor transport arrangements from mainland India or Pt. Blair, high corruption in absence of media might be some causes for its slow development, but the beauty I saw came out straight the Travel channel. Sri Lankan co. Barefoot is facing little competition at Havelock.
GovindNagar beach is another beautiful beach 12 miles away from the first one on the same island. Water flows parallel to the land mass, so surfing isn't possible, but just off-shore, scuba diving is. The video below is from the serene waters of this fine untapped beauty.

Ratan Tata made a 2-day trip a while ago to the Havelock. Something tells me the Tatas are eyeing investment in the area. A local forest department official mentioned crores are flowing in from businessmen in New Delhi erecting resorts on the island, tourism is about to grow real fast.

Andamans (and Nicobar) have a 6-8 lakh population. Many refugees from Bangladesh during the Indo-Pak war of 1971, and recently many from Tamil Nadu in to setup commercial activity. English, Hindi, Tamil, Bengali are some of the languages spoken on the islands. 90% of the islands are green. I saw lots of coconut and banana trees.

If you like water and tourism, now might be the time to plan some investment.