An Archipelago Sunset!!

There is something about sunset in wide open seas that appeals to me. May be it is the vibrant colours, may be it is the fact that there is water all around and the sun is the only object around.


Honestly, I don’t know what makes it so breathtaking. It gets even better if you are sailing past innumerable islands in an archipelago and the sun sets against the tiny hills on these islands.


I got a live feel of this when I was sailing from Hut Bay in Little Andaman to Port Blair in South Andaman.


Right through the journey, the entire western side was dotted with small and medium sized islands. Some were tiny flat lands, some had tiny hills that formed cliff like structures while the others looked liked dormant volcanoes with just a peak on the entire island.

 
The entire setting, which was already beautiful, turned into a fabulous show when the sun started its descent beyond the hills in the wide open seas. The sky started changing colours and so did the ocean waters.

 
It truly was a spectacular sight. An archipelago sunset at its awesome best!

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Emerald Waters at Butler Bay Beach, Little Andaman

Butler Bay is possibly the most important tourist location in Little Andaman. It used to be extremely popular prior to the 2004 tsunami.


Today, it wears a deserted look and zilch tourist infrastructure is available here. Which in a way makes this place very special as it is devoid of dirt, garbage, crowds and any pollution whatsoever.


Butler Bay is situated about 10 kms from Hut Bay and can be easily seen from the road that connects Hut Bay to the 28 (Attaees) bazaar.

 
The entire place is dotted with coconut trees and dense tropical forests. The bay is shaped in such a way that one can see the entire bay from any given point.


The Kalapathar Limestone caves are situated just one and half kilometres away (say a 10 minute casual walk). If it is low tide time, then one can walk through the tidal slush and reach faster.


During this walk, one can spot mudskippers and hermit crabs, which love this sub-tidal zone.

 
The Butler Bay in itself is an eye-pleasing sight all around. Be it the silky brown sand, the emerald waters, the foamy white waves or the dense greenery around.


The one thing that stood out during my visit here was the extremely soft sand. The sand was so soft that my feet sank about half a foot with each step.


This beach is conducive to swimming, though one may watch out for the sudden increase in depth on leaving the shores.


Snorkelling is also a great option here as visibility is quite good and it is a colourful and busy world underneath. The coral reefs seem to have been destroyed during the 2004 tsunami, but I felt that they were making a slow revival.

 
Overall, Butler Bay is a great looking beach with near prefect surroundings. I would call it the precious gem of Little Andaman.

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Hut Bay’s Dock!

There is only one place from where one can get into Little Andaman, the ‘Vegetable Bowl of the Andamans’. That place is Hut Bay’s dock!


Only government ferries ply to Hut Bay. Every day there are 2 government ferries that carry passengers into and out of Hut Bay. Sometimes, during holidays and on days of high demand, an extra ship is added to the daily fleet.


It takes about 6 hours by boat to get to Hut Bay from Port Blair. Older ships take approximately 9 hours. This is also the port that lies between Port Blair and Car Nicobar.

 
The dock, in itself is just a raised concrete block. Autos, taxis and buses throng to this place just before the ship docks. At all other times, the entire dock wears a deserted look. But, the dock looks pretty with its azure waters even when it is deserted.

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Kalapathar Limestone Caves of Little Andaman

About 10 kms from Hut Bay town and bordering the Andaman Sea are the Kalapathar Limestone caves.


These natural caves are a splendid sight. The sea keeps battering one side of these limestone caves, while the other side is land.


At some places, the caves have eroded so much that water from the sea is forced onto the land, something like a blow-hole effect, but horizontal.


At these blow-hole areas, one can find a lot of crabs and other colourful fishes. From a good distance, I could spot these large crabs, but by the time I approached their zone, they would go into hiding.


There are various places that one can explore here. Sharp and precarious climbs and crouching slopes leads one to certain caves from where one can get breathtaking ‘blue’ views of the Andaman Sea.


One can also enjoy the stiff sea breeze at such locations while enjoying nature’s beauty. It must be some sight to sit here and enjoy the view of the rough seas during the monsoons. I hope to do this sometime in the future.


The Kalapathar area also has its own private beach. You can hardly see a soul here. Such is the remoteness here. The beach, though, is rocky, staying in line with its rocky surroundings.


A little distance away, one can notice eco-tourism development activities taking place. This stretch was badly affected during the 2004 tsunami, but tourism is yet to be revived even six years after that tragic event. But, deep down, I like it this way in spite of having zilch facilities for tourists like me as it helps preserves the sensitive environment.

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Nicobarese Tribals go on their evening fishing expedition...

While I was at Little Andaman, I got the lovely opportunity to visit the Nicobarese village and its people. These guys look half Thai and half Indian. Since they lost their original tribal homes to the 2004 Tsunami, the Indian government has built them a fully functional secluded settlement about 10 kilometres from Hut Bay.


After spending close to an hour exploring the village and talking to the locals (the locals speak Hindi too), I followed some of the locals to the beach nearby as they were preparing for the evening fishing trip.


Every evening just before sunset, 3 boats with 3 fishermen each, go into the deep seas and drop anchor. When they come back to their village by sunset, their boats are full of fishes. Most of their catch is consumed within the village itself. The surplus is either stored or sold in the Hut Bay market. The most interesting aspect about their fishing trip is their amazing boat which has an extra attached floatation device. Upon asking the tribals, they let me know that this was to allow them to catch some sleep while keeping the boat steady.

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