Neil Island: A Blanket of Dreams

We spent the first week of December island hopping in the Bay of Bengal. Our next destination was Neil Island (Shaheed Dweep). The hypnotisingly blue water of this island was undoubtedly the hightlight of our trip.

In our first 10 minutes at the island, we knew this place was special. Our resort was located at the sunrise point at the Sitapur beach. I had specifically asked our travel agent for this resort, since I wanted us to be at the most isolated part of the island (I will soon tell you why). That decision was rewarding, and the resort was a little slice of heaven! Oh btw, many photos in this post (and in our trip) have been clicked by my sister, Sneha. Thanks Sneha for letting me borrow them :)

Sitapur Beach

We next went for a glass bottom boat tour at Bharatpur beach. It was beyond amazing! It made me feel like a kid, gaping at Nemo’s world; and dreaming of one day getting over my fear of water and diving into the sea. We had a quick stop at Laxmanpur beach, but we missed the sunset. Since the island was small enough, we would have a chance to witness sunrise over the Bay of Bengal the next day (cute, eh?). The weather was still pretty unpredictable, but it did us a favor by bringing beautiful skies and a surprise rainbow.

Left to Right: Laxmanpur Beach and Bharatpur Beach

Left to Right: Glass bottom boat and a Rainbow

I had read online that Neil island is the perfect place for stargazing, particularly for spotting the Milky Way. Sneha had read that it is a good place for witnessing something she had been chasing since quite sometime, bioluminiscent waves! So our attempts to spot these natural wonders began soon after sunset. Although we came up empty on stars and bioluminiscence, we stumbled upon one of the most beautiful sights we’ve ever seen: the moon rising and slowly illuminating the sea. It was peaceful, tranquil and we knew this was as good as it was going to get. The night was turning cloudy! But hey, someone who unexpectedly saw the northern lights aboard a flight cannot give up on nature yet. So we decided to revisit the beach at night. Our alarm rang at 3 am, and we had nothing; except clouds, silence and colorless waves…

After having woken up several times at night to gaze at stars (in vain), we woke up to a cloudy dawn. We went to the sunrise point with a lot of hope. After having disappointed us all trip, the universe finally delivered! As I stared at the sea, my mind went back to the only other East coast sunrise I had ever witnessed. It was supposed to be my last couple of months at Chennai, after which I would be moving on to my next adventure. It was March 2020 and one sudden announcement cut short my time in the city that shaped my career and introduced me to the love of my life. I wanted to watch a sunrise before I left the city for good. A bunch of us friends decided to make it happen, and on our last weekend in Chennai the sun obliged. As I watched the sun come up, I was satisfied but so scared of the future. It is a morning I can’t ever forget… My reminiscent thoughts were interrupted by Sneha as the ball of fire gave us a sneak peek through two clouds before shining upon us in its full glory. This was the easternmost we had ever traveled, and the earliest sunrise we had ever witnessed! We couldn’t have missed this moment for the world. It is funny how one morning can remind you of a pile of broken dreams, and yet fulfill another dream!

I got a window seat on our way back home. As I looked at the islands, I was amazed at how perfect they looked, surrounded by gorgeous blue water. This trip was a reminder that dreams are actually made up of seemingly ordinary events. We didn’t see bioluminiscence or Milky Way or a sky full of stars; but we got to see the most beautiful moonrise followed by a sunrise at an exquisite place surrounded by the people most important to us.

Our trip to Neil island was just 24 hours long, and it went by too quickly. It had its fair share of successful plans and disappointments, but can I be frank here? I was secretly relieved we didn’t get to see everything we’d hoped for, for this will now give us dreamers another reason to explore new places: a new chance to weave magic in our blanket of dreams.