Day 116 Tues May 9, 2023 Port Blair, India 7:00-19:00

 Day 116 Tues May 9, 2023  Port Blair, India 7:00-19:00(7:00)

Due to forecasted bad weather we are leaving Port Blair two hours early today.  

Today, I went on the shuttle to downtown Port Blair. I walked down the street and met a woman who was also on the shuttle.  We negotiated the best we could with the language barriers between 2 women that speak English and a Tuk Tuk driver that spoke his native language.  We each paid $10. for an hour of riding around and stopping for some photo stops.  It was worth the money.

                                    This is the newest, most decorated pilot boat I have seen.  

These were on the hillside near where our boat was docked.  They look like stupas to me, homes for Buddhas.  

                    The shuttle bus drove us to central downtown and this statue of Gandhi was there.  

Three miles from port to town. A ride should cost about $10.  Port Blair is the capital of Andaman and Nicobar Islands and is a remote harbor serving as an entry port.  A cluster of tin-roofed houses, shops and restaurants, bank, hotels, tourist offices and other offices are located there.  Port Blair receives an average rainfall of about 127 inches and has a mean temperature in the mid-80s F.  The average high is 88 in May, average low is 76,  rainfall totals 17-18” on average and rain occurs about 18 days/month.   Although affected by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Port Blair survived sufficiently to act as a base for relief efforts in the islands.The city is also home to a naval base and coast guard and air force installations. Walking is a good option as Port Blair is a fairly small town.   Port Blair is a market town and tourism is important.  

                                                                Market

                                            Air Force Installations

                                            Entrance to Air Force Base

Hindus are vegetarians and the cow is a sacred symbol of life and should be protected and revered.  The cow symbolizes a life of non-violent generosity.  The cows products supplied nourishment and became associated with Motherhood and Mother Earth

                I remember when I was in India in 2018, the cows wandered the streets and ate garbage.  

December 30th, 1943 is a significant date for all Indians.  Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose raised the Tricolour for the first time at Port Blair.  He declared the Andman and Nicobar Islands were the first Indian territory to be freed from the British Raj.  The Japanese Imperial Forces occupied the islands from March 23, 1943 during the Second World War. On November 6, 1943, the Prime Minister of Japan declared the Islands would be transferred to the Government of Azad Hind.  

                                                            Universal Temple

                                                

Port Blair had a gloomy past, evidenced by the sturdy brick Cellular Jail.  It overlooks the sea on the northeast of town.  Originally there were seven wings jutting from the central tower but the Japanese destroyed four of them. Death and disease in the penal colony caused it to close in 1796.  The convicts were mostly political prisoners and suffered life imprisonment at  hard labor under cruel and degrading conditions. Many were hanged, while others died of disease and starvation.

A short ferry trip to Ross Island is available.  It is the headquarters of the Indian Penal Settlement built by convicts and used for nearly 80 years.  Today the seas were too rough and all excursions to Ross Island were cancelled.  

                                                    Ross Island

Take cash as credit cards are never accepted.  The best buys are wood carvings, shells and spices.  Shops are found at Aberdeen Bazaar.  Vendors expect you to bargain.