Travelogues

Barefoot Resorts was the last place I went to which was by choice other than the trips I have to go for my so called professional life. This place helped me to cut off from the so called "real" life by avoiding ANY means of communication :)

While everyone was trying to lure me to visit some place abroad I decided to stick to "Incredible India". My favorite time pass is to google for exotic locations in India and that’s when I came across Barefoot Resorts. This place is located on one of the many islands in Andaman called Havelock Island. Havelock again has many beaches out of which the best one is Beach No.7. This 2 km long beach has 2 resorts, one is the Barefoot Resort and the other is a Govt. resort providing you tent accommodation. Havelock Beach no.7 is quoted by Times Magazine as the best beach in Asia.

The way to reach Portblair is either by ship or by flight. Jet Airways, Deccan Airways and Indian Airlines connect from Chennai or Kolkota. If you have the luxury of time then you can think of traveling by ship otherwise flights are the best option. On reaching Portblair you have to spend a day as the boat to Havelock Island leaves early morning. You can stay in one of the many hotels in Portblair ranging in the 1.5K bracket. Hotel Sun Sea being one of them. You can use the day to go around Portblair like visiting Kalapani Jail, Corbyn's Cove beach, Chidiya Tapu, Jolly Boy Ride etc. If you are lucky with Chidiya Tapu guys over there might arrange you to be stranded in a lonely island where you can play Robinson Crusoe, luckily for a defined time, where they will come back and pick you up at your wish. They charge you around 1K INR for this exclusive trip. On the way you can take a glass bottom boat which will give you your first glimpse of the beautiful Coral life over there. Jolly Boy also gives you an opportunity to snorkel and get a glimpse of the Coral life but unfortunately it was closed for restoration when I went over there. Do not forget to eat in Lighthouse restaurant which serves lovely lobsters at 1K only. 

Early morning you can take a mini ship christened Ramanujam which charges you Rs.200 for first class ticket taking you to Havelock Island 54kms from Portblair. This is a 2hr journey. On the way you already start getting the feel of the beautiful place you are going to. The beautiful beaches fringed with thick forests was a site to behold. To be frank it was a bit boring trip to reach the island and I was thanking my stars that I did not take the ship from Chennai to Portblair which is about a 2 days journey. On reaching the island we just looked out of the port and could see right through to the sea bed as the water was crystal clear. First impression, I was a happy man. Cab was ready to receive me and I was off to Havelock Beach No.7. 90% of the local population is Bengali as these were people who migrated during the Bangladesh partition and have now been staying here for ages. Tourism without a doubt is their source of income.

After a 15mins of drive in the cab we were driven into our resort which is cocooned inside a jungle. Reception team promptly walked us to our room. It was not much time that we realized that the employees take their Resort Name seriously and actually walk around Barefoot. You would find the Manager walking Barefoot all around. As a matter of fact you are asked to open your footwear before entering the restaurant. The room, which in my case, was a double bedded cottage. You climb few steps to walk in to your cottage to avoid reptiles to walk into your room. Prominently marked