Hyderabad - Part 2

Hope you all enjoyed my previous post Hyderabad - Part 1 :-) This post will cover Day 2 & 3 and the last post on my Hyderabad trip.

Day 2, July 23rd, Saturday

The places we were visiting today were new to all my friends. We decided to start with the faraway place – Nehru Zoological Park. We took an Ola and reached at 11 A.M.

The so-called famous Park: Nehru Zoological Park: -

The entrance fee is 30 bucks per head and 20 bucks for still camera. We took for one phone. This is waste of money. You can take pictures even if you don’t take the ticket but to be on safer side you can buy one.

We were supposed to start from the right, you get bicycles and carts (similar to golf carts) as well. But we started off from the left. You have restrooms, which are poorly maintained, and they charge 2 bucks.

First, you get the aquarium for which they charge 2 bucks again. There are quite some beautiful fishes here.  We just kept walking around and saw monkeys, birds, butterflies, elephants etc. The animals were mostly caged or sleeping or hiding in theirs homes. Then, we reach the safari point where we would see Lions, Tigers and Lazy Bears. The fee is priced at 40 bucks and they take you in a well-contained minivan. We got to see a Tiger and Lion from a near close view, apart from this nothing great.

Then you get to see Rhinos and Hippos. The directions are cleanly shown throughout the park.

The rains were on and off. I just wanted to exit the place. Unless it’s your first time to a zoo, the place isn’t exhilarating at all. Finally after 2 hours we were out from the park.

We took an Ola to Charminar and stopped at the Pista House for lunch. It’s hardly about few meters from Charminar. The food is lip smacking and the biscuits down there are delicious. They are quite cheap as well. Who says only Karachi biscuits are famous in Hyderabad? These are must try biscuits!

Next stop - Charminar and Chowmahalla Palace: -

Charminar- This is in the heart of the city. There was construction going on one part of the Charminar, hence we got a glimpse and left towards Chowmahalla Palace.  The area is heavily crowded and women can go crazy over stuff. The best place to shop unless you know to bargain.

We walked towards Chowmahalla Palace that is about a kilometer from Charminar. Google maps helped us reach to this beautiful palace. Entrance is 50 bucks per head and 50 for the camera. Surprisingly they charge about 250 bucks for non Indians. The place is known for its collection of Vintage Cars.

Apart from that there is nothing much to see here. But off course if you are into history, you will get to see the collection of weapons, the clothing’s, Qurans, Paintings etc. used during the historic period. The history is very well shown.

Salar Jung Museum: -

It was already 4:30 P.M. We took an Ola and headed towards Salar Jung Museum. Thankfully we reached on time to get the tickets. The museum closes at 5 P.M. Entrance here is 20 bucks per head and 50 for the camera. There are two floors with central, eastern and western blocks in each & about 41 rooms spread across the blocks. Each room has been categorized and well maintained. We were there for about an hour and decided to leave as most of the rooms were being closed and we would be late for the laser show at Lumbini.

Again, unless you are into Indian sculpture, arts, textiles, ivory, walking sticks, paintings, pottery, weaponry, armory, furniture’s, manuscripts, it’s quite boring. But the antiques are amazing. You will definitely need about 3-4 hours to thoroughly enjoy the beauty. One of the other delights is the musical clock. Every hour, a timekeeper emerges from the upper deck of the clock to strike a gong as many times as it is the hours of the day. Unfortunately we did not get to see this.

Lumbini Park - Hussain Sagar Lake: -

Ola/Uber - best way to commute rather than hiring a cab in Hyderabad. It costs hardly 60-70 bucks. We reached Lumbini at 6 P.M. The entrance fee is 20 bucks per head. To our bad luck, the show was cancelled due to technical difficulties. There is nothing in the park apart from the show. We decided to go to the heart shaped lake - Hussain Sagar Lake.

There is a ferry that will take you to the center of the lake where there is the magnificent tall statue of Gautama Buddha. The ride is charged at 55 bucks for the roundtrip. The color of Buddha keeps changing. I was mesmerized at the statuette & was at peace. After having spent about 15 minutes, we were taken back to Lumbini Park. Make sure you keep the tickets until you get back.

There is also the Indian Flag hoisted on the banks of Hussain Sagar Lake. Hyderabad is now officially India’s second tallest tricolor flying at a height of 291 feet. The unfurled flag can be seen from miles away & it looks amazing!

There are washrooms here as well. Unclean but definitely better compared to the Zoo (charged at 2 bucks :P).

Last stop - Birla Mandir: -

The place is 1.5 kilometers from the park. We took a rickshaw and he charged us 50 bucks. I was so glad that I was there. The sight is so striking. You are supposed to deposit your phones and other belongings except for your wallet. The main God here is the, Balaji. It was a Saturday, there were so many people & a huge line to the temple. After our prayers we sat down for about 30 minutes. The weather, the place it was perfect. The day got better and better and it ended with a bang.

The second day was just Ok. It was a different experience. I would definitely visit Birla Mandir and Lumbini-Hussain. Charminar - May be for food and shopping. But the other 2 places - probably not.

The night was well spent with a small party followed by visiting Cream Stone at 2 A.M. The beautiful windy weather and company of amazing friends - I couldn’t ask for more. Also, made two new friends. They hail from 2 different states and I totally enjoyed my time with them.

Day 3, July 24th, Sunday

It was a lazy Sunday. I was supposed to meet another friend of mine. We met at 10:30 A.M. at GVK One mall. After having spent for about an hour, we decided to go to Bikanerwala. It’s about 10 minute walk from the mall. He definitely knows my likes and dislikes. We ordered Chola Battura, papdi dahi chaat and cold coffee. The best part about the place is the amazingly soft Rasgulla. It was so tasty, we ended up taking parcel to our homes. I took an Uber to my friends place as I was familiar with the roads by then.

Afternoon, around 3 P.M. we started towards Golconda Fort. It took about 45 minutes to reach our destination. There was no entrance fee because of a festival going on there. So, the fort was heavily crowded and garbage thrown all over the place. It was more like a small trek towards the top of the fort. We were dead exhausted half way through, yet we kept continuing and reached the top in about 45 minutes after taking wrong turns. Either taking a right or left wouldn’t make a difference but we took a right & since there was festival was going on, the way was blocked and we had to climb down and take a left. A magnificent view of Hyderabad as you reach the top spot - spent about 20 minutes and we headed towards our home.

Pictures below -

  

We stopped for Irani Chai and biscuits. These are probably one of the best combinations I have ever had. Also, you get these small onion samosa charged at only 4 bucks. Exquisite taste. I am going to miss this in Bangalore.

                           

 

The night was planned at Kabul Darbar. This is the best place in Hyderabad where you get amazing Afghani food and big thick rotis. Another good thing about this place is you get to sit on Deewan and enjoy your food. Big thanks to my friend and his roomies who took me here. Knowing the foodie in me, Kabul was definitely one of the best ones.

Day 4, July 25th, Monday

The go carting (Runway 9) did not happen. I decided to take rest. Flight was scheduled at 8 P.M. & I was home by 11 P.M.

Hearty thanks to my Hyderabad friends who took care of me, showed me around and made me eat some real good food. :)