It was one fine afternoon I was returning back from the weekly shopping from the supermarket. After waiting for a long one hour I finally got an auto-rickshaw. As the Diwali festival was commencing I had to buy many ingredients for preparing sweets for the festival. I somehow managed to keep all the things in the auto-rickshaw. The driver found it very hard to come out from the hectic road traffic. After struggling for nearly 10 minutes we manage to escape from the crowd. For the next 10 minutes, the journey was smooth and the cool breeze absorbed my sweat and tiredness. As I was started to relax suddenly I jumped like I got some electric shock. For a second I couldn’t understand anything. It took a few seconds for me to come back to the normal state. I just inquired about the matter to the driver. He just first apologized for his mistake. I asked him for what? He said he didn’t notice the hump and that was the reason why I felt discomfort. Within the next 10 minutes, I reached my home safely. Over there my parents were tensed for me being late. They helped me to carry the bags. After quenching my thirst I told them the whole incident. I started cursing the driver for his carelessness and also the government for taking measures to control the booming traffic in the city. My dad asked me to control my temper. He said that such incidents are part and parcel in everyone’s life. As I was born and brought up in a foreign country, adjusting with such limited resources in India is really difficult for me. Hearing to the conversation my mother joined us.
She asked me to consider the lives of people who have very little or never got an opportunity to travel by road. I just asked her are you joking mom. We are living in the 21st century and according to the reports the whole world is completely developed and I don’t think there would be anyone in this universe that hasn’t traveled by road. She smiled and kept her palms on my hair and said such people are there in the world and a small portion of them are living in Andaman. I asked her is that the Andaman and Nicobar Islands- the famous Indian archipelago. My dad nodded with a smile. It is really very difficult for me to believe that the islanders have never traveled by road. It is not like roads are not there but the islanders mostly like to depend on water transportation my mother said. She also added that there are many places on the island which are yet to be explored therefore roads could not meet all the corners. I was really amazed, over here in Madurai where we used to rarely get a chance to travel by water and over there in Andaman people have rarely seen roads in fact. So strange. I asked them, how the tourists who avail of tour packages from various parts of the world would be visiting the island. He said that either by airways or waterways.
To travel from one island to another, islanders, as well as tourists, rely on the ferry services or row canoes on their own. The ferry services are considered as the cheapest and the best mode of transportation. Islanders have to pay low charges when compared to travelers who visit the island by availing of the tour packages. The charges may vary according to the size and facilities provided by the ferries. My dad told that there are mainly two types of ferries available in Andaman. They are known as Government ferries and Private ferries. The directorate of shipping services (DSS) directly operates the government ferries. The government may not provide all the modern amenities like a private cruise but always turn out to be the friendly transport services for the common people. As they do not have online booking services travelers will have to queue up in counters. They provide their services to not only the famous islands like Port Blair, Havelock Island, Neil Island, Baratang Island, and Diglipur Island but also to the regions which are least explored such as Mayabunder, Rangat, Campbell, Long Island and Hut Bay or Little Andaman.
I asked my father to share something he knows about the private ferries. Private ferries are operated by private companies. Among them, Makruzz Gold is one of the prominent ferries in Andaman. It was constructed in the year 1996 and has the capacity to accommodate 330 passengers in a single go. It is also considered as one of the luxurious cruises in Andaman. Therefore the tickets are a little bit expensive travelers above age 2 are requested to avail of tickets worth 1000 INR. Traveling in Makruzz Gold will definitely provide a marvelous experience. The next one is the Coastal Cruise. The Coastal cruise was constructed in Singapore and has the capacity to carry 218 travelers at a single go. When compared to Makruzz the Coastal Cruise is really affordable. Travelers above 2 years will have to pay INR 600 onwards whereas tourists below 2 years are supposed to pay INR 105. And the last one is the Green Ocean cruise. The speed of Green Ocean is similar to that of the Government ferry. When compared to other private ferries the Green Ocean’s speed is comparatively low. As the cruise is spacious and allows passengers to walk over the deck it is a paradise for nature lovers and photography enthusiasts.
Through my parents, I came to know a lot about Andaman and their modes of transportation. I was amazed by their lifestyle. I expressed my wish to visit the stunning islands. My dad told that he will fulfill my dream by availing of the packages. I inquired from where he is planning to buy the packages. It is through the famous travel partner called Andaman Tour Travel. He also said that it is the leading travel partner who crafts the packages to Andaman at affordable rates and provides excellent hospitality services.
