In this travelogue, Kulpreet Yadav tells of his family's trip to Havelock Island, staying at the Barefoot Resort.
Two reasons that made us select a weekend at Havelock Island: One, Time Magazine rated the Radhanagar Beach as the best beach in Asia in 2004 (the only beach from India to figure in the list), and two, many of my friends have been recommending it over the years.
Cruise to Havelock from Port Blair
Already at Port Blair, I along with my wife and two daughters departed by a high speed cruise catamaran called Makruzz at 8.45 a.m. on a Sunday. The catamaran, bought by a local company from Damen shipping in Singapore, had a capacity of about 280 passengers seated on two decks in three classes. We chose to travel by the Premium class (the middle one with one way fare per person of 650 rupees) and that got two of us the window seats. The catamaran was 37 meters in length and built to international specifications. While the kids sat next to their window seats, munching chips bought from the central kiosk, my wife and I sipped hot tea, seeing the islands appear and disappear around us. It rained for a while, but for most of the travel of ninety minutes it was clear with a good view.The Barefoot Resort
The driver took us through totally uninhabited parts of the island before finally breaking off on a dirt road, tall trees standing stout all around. So, the arrival at the Barefoot Resort was slightly discomforting for all of us, particularly the children.The biggest hut with a thatched roof was the reception and we were welcomed by the front office manager, Mr. John. He showed us various accommodation options and we chose the duplex Nicobari hut at 6,500 rupees (off season discount included). Made entirely of wood, the structure sits on wooden stilts on all the corners with a large palm leaf canopy on top and has a folding five step staircase that can be folded up to keep the reptiles and insects away during the night.
From inside the hut, the foliage outside could be seen from everywhere: if one wants, through the sliding windows the curtain of which can be rolled up; and if one doesn’t want, still through the glass top bathroom and nylon net sealed three feet difference between the roof and the walls. Within ten minutes,we had our first wave of happiness. It felt strangely comforting to be right in the middle of a jungle, the waves of the sea within hearing distance.
Radhanagar Beach
We threw our travel clothes away and donned our swimsuits. Then all of us ran towards the beach. Through the woods, the beach emerges like a blue green gem initially before you come across the powdery white sand all around it hugging like a pearly necklace. The beach mat, the umbrellas, the mobile phones all abandoned at the edge, four of us jumped into the inviting waters. Though it was midday it wasn’t sunny; the clouds had been playing hide and seek with the sun all day long and we didn’t exactly miss the sun. The Indian sun can be pretty harsh at such places, so we had prayed for a cooler respite and we were lucky to have got just that.The best thing about staying at the resort -- we realized at that moment -- was the fact that since there was no other resort in the vicinity, we had the entire stretch of sea and sand to ourselves. The visitors who come to the beach can reach only up to the far end on the other side, where the road ends, and we could see many of them looking like ants climbing over each other in the hazy distance. It was luxury to be having a beach all to ourselves, a forest guard sitting in the distance on his lookout post, and the manager coming occasionally to check if all was fine with us. It took us two hours before the scenery began to wear its effect off and stomach grumbled with hunger.
The Crocodile Menace
The deadly crocodiles were definitely on our minds when we took the dip. Now, I don’t know how wise we were to venture in waist deep waters, just a little distance from the spot where an American tourist was attacked by a deadly salt water crocodile very recently (God rest her soul in peace). She was incidentally a guest at Barefoot Resort, also the place of our stay. It was a wayward incident, we were convinced by the resort staff. Anyway, what is life without a little bit of risk. That said, we decided to forgo all our earlier plans to go snorkeling. The girls simply didn’t have the courage, and I didn’t see any reason.Dolphins Ahoy!
Next day, having rested really well and woken up to the cacophonous early morning discussions of the local birds, and also having finished an early morning stroll on the beach, bathed and fresh, we were proceeding for breakfast at eight when the Front desk manger, Mr. John, told us about the dolphins. Giving the breakfast a slip for the time being, we scurried through the woods a little distance away, where, as I said before, the road got the visitors to the beach, to be in the middle of the action.A crowd of about fifty people had already gathered but there seemed to be no dolphins. I asked a bystander and he said the two dolphins had been washed ashore an hour or so ago, but the forest officials had put them back into the sea. But we could see their fins in the distance, so we waited. Surprisingly, a little later the dolphins were once again washed ashore. The crowd thronged on the people who rescued them. I learned later they were the forest officials. I hope their efforts revived the drowsy looking beautiful mammals.
