The next to follow should be a sojourn to some of those exotic, uninhabited, and pristine islands near the city. You can head for Wandur (also, Wandoor) on the west coast of the South Andaman Island. Hop on to one of the boats departing from Wandur jetty at 10 a.m. and you are headed for the nearby islands of Grub, Red Skin, and Jolly Buoy (a cruise that takes about one hour through mangrove creeks). Both Red Skin and Jolly Buoy are ideal places for observing tropical marine life and an amazing maze of corals. Glass-bottom boats and snorkeling equipment are available on hire and most hotels and tour operators will let you have details about how to get them. The island also have good beaches ideal for spending a leisurely day bathing and basking. At best, these islands are daylong excursions and no night stays are allowed. Because of the fragile ecological balance of this area, it has been declared a Marine National Park. Also to be found among its rich marine fauna are four species of turtles, the dugong and the salt-water crocodile. The National Park encompasses a total of 15 major islands and several islets

Yet another excursion, in a slightly different direction, is the one to Cinque Island situated 25 kilometers south of Port Blair. If water sports fascinate you, this is the direction to head for. Cinque offers good opportunities for scuba diving, snorkeling and windsurfing. The shallow seas around the island are rich in corals and there are some fine, unspoiled beaches. If you are lucky, you could be greeted by frolicking dolphins. A day at each of these islands will suffice to quench the appetite of most for the sea. But the experience always leaves the visitors with an uneasy feeling. the feeling to long for the more and more of the same

A longer itinerary must include a cruise to Havelock and the nearby Neil islands. Both the islands are connected to Port Blair with inter-island shipping services. The ships being the lifeline between the islands, don. t expect too much of luxury beyond safe passage. But having borne the rigors of the cruise, Havelock will indeed be worth all the trouble. The island has accommodation facilities and visitors can stay overnight to really enjoy the expanses of virgin, unspoiled beaches at Havelock. The waters around the island are also rich in marine life and one cold expect the unexpected: the sight of frolicking dolphins just a little further out from where one is bathing.

The coastal waters of surrounding Andaman and Nicobar Islands is the abode of India. s richest coral reef ecosystem, comparable to any tropical rain forest in productivity and diversity. As the coral reefs are largely undamaged by human activity the fish population is large and diverse. The coral reefs are in far better condition than found elsewhere in the world.

Probably the most important fact that one has to bear in mind is that the Andaman Islands (and their southern cousins, the Nicobar Islands) are not coral islands. In contrast, these islands are just parts of a great submarine mountain range which appear as islands wherever they surface above the sea level. Geologically, therefore, the Andamans form a southward continuation of the Arakan Yoma range in Burma (Myanmar). And it is for this primary reason that not all the beaches that you may see while peeping out of your Boeing. s window are ideal places to bathe and surf. More often than not, the beach rapidly deepens quite close to the shoreline and can be rocky, rather than sandy