One weekend I took off to the most talked about island in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands- Havelock Island. About two hours by boat Havelock Island turned out to be near paradise for someone who hasn’t been either to Hawaii or to Bali. The two hour boat ride on a clear day under a blue sky and an equally blue sea was something to remember. We were in a blue sea with several tree filled islands in the distance. I spent the night in shacks on Radhanagar beach. Early mornings, I discovered, was the best time to be on a beach. I was alone on the vast curving beach with just a few dogs for company. The dogs followed me wherever I went. The emptiness and the silence of the beach filled me with a sense of peace I’d been looking all over till now. I spent half the day on the beach and half the day exploring the island.
The second night I spent in a hut in a resort on Beach No. 5. Once again I was on the beach early in the morning even before the sun was up only to be stunned into silence at the vast expanse of blue that stretched before me. It was the only time in my life I felt I was in a picture postcard scenario.
After breakfast, I found a group of tourists getting ready to go snorkeling and joined them. We were about seven of us in that donghie with our hired snorkeling equipment. I, who had swum only in a village well, was going swimming in the ocean, and I couldn’t believe it. If the sea appeared beautiful from the beach it was even beautiful from within. I had my first view of the ocean floor through the clear waters off the Elephant beach. It was a sight I would never forget. The gently swaying corals , the bright colored fish and other exotic marine life filled me with awe. It was like being inside a huge aquarium.
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