TRAVELOGUE - Havelock

Before heading out abroad for your next vacation, think not just twice. With the plunging rupee, your trip will not just be burning a hole in your pocket, but also leave you frustrated, given the over-crowded Europe destinations and swarming public beaches.

A tip for the wise: Go to Havelock instead.  It’s situated in the Andaman. A jetty from the Port Blair harbor will take you safely to the most pristine place I’ve ever seen in my life, Havelock Islands. For beach-lovers like me, it’s total paradise!  The mangroves, the crazy variety of flora and fauna, colorful butterflies, sea-turtles, exotic birds, all make for a nature’s treat. The “Beware of crocodiles” boards hanging around many beaches may spook you, but what’s travel without a little adventure?

Scuba diving, snorkeling, water sports are the usual ingredients that spice up a beach vacation. But, Havelock has more to offer – sea-walking. You don’t need eye-masks, fins and oxygen cylinders for that.  Sea-walking is a relatively uncomplicated process. You just have to wear a heavy framed glass helmet, connected by a hose that pumps air, so that we don’t run out of oxygen. You also need to learn some basic hand gestures to be used in case of emergency.  And then what we experience is sheer bliss. The feet touching the warm and cuddly sea-bed, the enthralling experience of ogling and touching the corals, feeding the sea-creatures, the magical joy of having tropical fishes swim around you is unbeatable! 

Havelock nurtures a vast expanse of pure and serene sandy beach line. The islands are breathtakingly beautiful and picturesque, for the turquoise clear water and the unpolluted skyline which makes for splendid sunset photo-shoots.  

The Radhanagar beach is the hotspot. The reputed Time magazine named it as Asia's best beach in 2004.Apart from the water sports, it has an elephant-ride facility, which makes for an amazing joyride on the beach.  It’s gorgeous and silky white sand backed by the forest, makes for a tempting invite. You can sun-bathe all day, read a book, lie on a hammock, and keep an eye out for the glass-bottom boats.

The local beach shacks offer fresh seafood, to be gulped down with beer and local munching snacks. The food is delicious and yummy.  The refreshing coconut water keeps the sun and humidity at bay. The bikes are available on rent, and make for an economical ride. The calmness and tranquility of the place has to be experienced to be believed. It’s uncommercial, unlike Goa, and inexpensive, unlike foreign destinations, which cost a bomb.

Havelock makes up for the peace and calmness which gets lost in the hum drum of metropolitan city life. It reminds you on what you’ve been missing on lately – your very own self! Because when I was in those deep waters, with nothing but my own thoughts, and could hear no one, but my own breaths, I realized there was a lot more to life, which remained explored, till date.