Port Blair

 After a week long of diving in Havelock, we had a day and a half to hang around in Port Blair. Found a hotel with AC for about 650 in Aberdeen bazaar. Due to the off season morning ferries had been cancelled so were able to reach Port Blair only by late evening. 5.30 pm is late evening here, 6 is practically night. The city  is beautifully well maintained and has many memorials.

The day here started pretty early as well and we left for Mount Harriet at about 7.30. The route involves loading the taxi onto a ferry at Chatham jetty to Bambooflats and then driving ahead. Mount Harriet has a very thick forest cover but the birdlife is fantastic. Unfortunately the weather was terrible and although I did see Andaman drongos, Andaman treepies, fairy bluebirds, Asian brown flycatcher, Olive backed sunbirds, dusky warblers and others, getting photos was almost impossible. After trekking a little we gave up due to the rain and leeches.

On the way back to Aberdeen from Mount Harriet are a couple of museums. The entry fee is minimal on these 10 to 20 Rs with another 20 for a cam. The first was a naval marine museum detailing the Andaman landscape and flora and fauna, while the other was an anthropological museum on the tribes and natives of Andaman. The saw mill was close so we skipped that.

After lunch we walked up to the cellular jail or Kala Pani as it was known. The stretch of road near the jail is truly beautiful with multiple memorials and statues. The jail itself is only a part of what it was. Some of it is now a hospital. The more interesting things to see there are the cells themselves (Veer Savarkar's cell is specifically marked) and the photos from the past. There is a sound and light show on life in the jail as it gets dark which is nice if you don't expect anything fancy. The next day was our flight back so just walked around the city itself in the morning.Really wasn't anything like any city on the mainland.