Andamans of the Emerald Hills and Azure Waters !

What do you do when your friends are busy frolicking about in water like mermaids and you don't want to go in.

You walk along the beach on the white, soft and powdery sand .....
 

You click crabs.

You admire the emerald hills and the endless blue expanse of water.

And since you cant seem to have enough of the Blue water, you try clicking it from different angles ! 

And wish you lived right here, in a hut like this :P

As the afternoon lengthens into evening, you watch the water change into an amalgam of white and light blue -green.

.

And then the sea turns dark and brooding as the sun prepares to set ...

And then as you watch the sunset, the phrase "Sun setting over the Horizon" takes on a whole new meaning ! 

Can you see the tiny bit of Sun .... 

And finally, you watch awestruck as the water and the sky is painted a rosy Pink. 

A day well spent, wouldn't you say ! 

These pictures were shot at Elephanta Beach where a lot of people come for Snorkeling and Scuba diving. But we reached there in the afternoon, when even the Nariyal paani wallah had sold off his wares and left. We had the whole beach to ourselves. Devoid of all the touristy noises and people, It was very quiet and very peaceful. It felt almost like being stranded on an Island  - A very beautiful Island !

Andaman Adventures - A paradise called Havelock

I am not much of a water person. I am more of a mountain person and have only been to the Beach a few times in my life. So my friends were very surprised when I signed up for a trip to the Andamans.
But I had heard  people rave enough about the virgin Islands and crystal clear waters of the Andamans. I wanted to see if it really lived up to its reputation ! 
And I was not disappointed.  Andaman is truly a paradise, a glowing emerald in the blue waters of the Bay of Bengal.

We spent most of our time at Havelock Island. The Island is breathtakingly beautiful and our days there were filled with walks along the beach, chilling out on hammocks facing the sea or in doing water sports.

This is the Ship that took us to Havelock Island from Port Blair.
   

The boat ride took us about 2 hours.The water  was a never ending blue and it was wonderful to watch the play of the clouds above.

And when we got tired of the monotony of the water tiny flying fish flew along our boat to keep us company. They were very small and we would just see a flash of silver before they would disappear in the water. It was fantastic to watch.

First view of Havelock.

The island is known for its beautiful beaches, Radha Nagar and Elephanta being the most popular. The Radha Nagar Beach is considered one of the most beautiful in the world.


 It had just finished raining when we left for the Radha Nagar Beach. Everything was a emerald green.

 The beaches in Andamans, unlike most of the beaches in our country are very clean. The sand is almost white and the water is crystal clear. I think this is because the Island is still lesser known as compared to other beaches. Its is unspoiled and totally pristine.

I walked along the beach, admiring the endless, never ending blue, and felt like a small  insignificant speck of humanity in this vast beautiful world that God has created. 

I simply couldn't get over the waves. I clicked pics after pics of them, wishing that I could somehow capture the roar of the water in the pics as well !

And then we saw the most glorious sunset ! 

The sky above, and the water below seemed to be on fire. 

Z is for zzzzzz

Caught this little monk sleeping standing up at one of the monasteries in Ladakh. He remained in this position for about 10 minutes after which he woke up to his head nodding off !

He saw me observing him keenly with my camera in hand and he ran off sheepishly :P 

Y is for Yacht !

I took this snap while sitting on the banks of the Toronto Bay. There were many boats passing by. A few of them were sail boats like the one above, but most of them were speedboats. 

The speedboats were sleek and fast, rushing by with a roar as their owners raced them over the waters. I am sure there is some sort of adrenaline rush and thrill in riding a sped boat, but somehow I preferred these slow and sedate Yachts to them.

I felt very serene and peaceful looking at them ... I believe that they were trying to tell me that life is all about slowing down and savouring every mile of the journey instead of speeding through it !