Adventures in Andaman: an Overview of What to do

After two days of traveling because of all the missed flights we finally arrived at our destination: Port Blair, Andaman Islands, India. The airport in Port Blair was incredibly small and easy to navigate; therefore, we were able to find our driver rather quickly. He took us straight to our hotel to get settled in.

Our hotel was quite charming. It was in a good location–fairly close to the airport and near the marketplaces in town, yet still less than a 10 minute drive to the beach. We really enjoyed this as we had a chance to enjoy the beaches and tourist attractions, but we were also able to rest quietly at night, away from the noisy crowds. Plus, the hotel was super cute: a comfy queen size bed, TV, free WiFi, a living area–and a spectacular view. It was also extremely reasonably priced, right around $40 per night. (If you are interested, please email me at kideanaround@gmail.com and I can probably get you a good deal with the owner.)

What is there to do?

Once we got unpacked, we couldn’t sit still for long. We couldn’t wait to get out and explore our surroundings.

We went straight to the beach!

Lukas loved being in the water, scanning the shore for sea shells, and of course, exploring the old outposts.

We went to the beach several times during our stay, but we also had a great time exploring local museums.

We visited three historical sites/museums during our visit:

• The Anthropological Museum in Port Blair

While this museum would not allow photos, they did have amazing exhibits and photos of the Andaman and Nicobar tribes and early settlers. Many rare photos of these tribes line the walls as well as full replicas of their smaller village huts and houses.

• Chatham Sawmill

The Chatham Sawmill is Asia’s oldest and still-functioning sawmill. While touring the sawmill, you can see artistic woodwork, learn about the island’s natural animal inhabitants, and see bomb pits left by the Japanese in WWII.

• Cellular Jail

The Cellular Jail in Port Blair was used by the British to house Indian political prisoners. Many of the prisoners who lived (and died) in this jail were part of the Indian Freedom Fighters. It really was eye-opening to the struggles of the Indian people. It was absolutely humbling to see.

I even (unintentionally) got a photo of the first Indian flag to fly over India. It was posted in Port Blair–I had no idea!

 

While we had an incredible time touring Andaman, I still feel like there was so much we still didn’t get to do. We didn’t get to see Havlock Beach–ranked as the number 5 beach in all of Asia. We didn’t get to travel to the mud volcano or visit the science museum, among other things, but I still enjoyed every moment of our visit. And perhaps, one day, we’ll return…