Hyderabad Weekend

I am sorry for such a delay on this post. This week was a rough week as I found myself sick with food poisoning. I wasn’t feeling well on Monday chilled after breakfast and then took a nap. I was feeling a little better after nap then it all went down hill and I just got worse. Caroline decided I needed to in because I had lost so much fluid and was very dehydrated. So our friend Tibin came and picked me up and took me to the hospital on campus. He has a motorcycle, which is just called a bike here, so I got my first motorcycle ride. It was fun but I was still not feeling great at all so couldn’t really enjoy it. I got worse at the hospital and they gave me an injection and three medicines to take over the next three days. I was not in good condition to ride the motorcycle home so I got an ambulance ride home, my first time being a patient in an ambulance. So I took the drugs and laid low for the rest of Monday and Tuesday. I am feeling better now and sticking to simple foods and avoiding Indian food. If there is one thing I miss most about home besides the people, it would be food.

Our weekend in Hyderabad was a success! First of all a huge thank you to Palak and her family for their wonderful hospitality! Palak is in AOII with me at MSU so it was great to see her and have guides who live in the city!

Journey to Hyderabad

Our journey began Friday morning when the hotel failed at booking our taxi to the airport. Despite the fact that we booked a taxi and confirmed three times, when we went to the front desk at our scheduled departure time they reported that our reservation was never received. A bit irritated and annoyed we arranged another taxi and bartered for a better price. We got to the airport with sufficient time before our flight. After checking in we were told our flight was delayed three hours. So we camped out in the airport for a while and passed the time by playing cards and eating lunch.

When I walked off the plane onto the runway in Hyderabad and felt the wind and was not immediately sweating, I knew I was going to like Hyderabad. Palak and her mom met us at the airport. We grabbed some food before heading to their home. We stayed at Palak's uncles guesthouse which is on the same floor as Palak's house. After settling in a bit, we headed out with Palak's mom to see the waterfront and Buddha Statue. The statue was in the middle of the lake so we took a boat there. It was just turning dark so the statue lights turned on which was pretty. We got a popsicle thing that I forgot what it was called but they filled a cup with ice and then stuck a stick in it. They then poured flavored syrup on it and then sucked on it. It was kind of weird but good!

Shopping at the market

Saturday morning we went to a huge market in Hyderabad. There were a variety of shops and lots of them! I was able to get some good souvenirs and practice my bartering. Palak’s mom was much better at bartering and was fun to watch especially because she spoke in the native language so we wouldn’t even know what she was saying and then she would just say a price.

Nightlife in Hyderabad

We went to a bar with Palak and her friends. The bar was at a hotel near Palak’s house. We waited in line to get to the top floor where the bar was. As we arrived at the front of the line, the bouncer kindly informed Tim and Bob that there is a dress code and shorts are not allowed. Both of them had on khaki cargo shorts, which were not appropriate for the bar. We ventured out to buy them pants. We stopped at the first store we saw that sold men’s pants. They both tried on some pants and walked out of the store with their new purchase. A well-known DJ was there that night and we met him in line for the elevator. Tim mentioned that he bought pants just to see him. Once inside the bar, the DJ made a shout out to the boys who bought pants. It was a fun night hanging out with Palak and some of her friends.

Paparazzi at Golconda Fort

After breakfast at Palak’s house on Sunday morning we headed to Golconda Fort. The entrance fee for us “foreigners” was 100 Rupees while the fee for Indians was only 5 rupees. Once inside the fort we started the climb to the top. The view just kept getting better as we could see more of the city. A group of people had kind of followed us and we noticed them taking picture of not only the scenery but of us. Experiencing this before we just kept walking. As we reached the top, people started asking to take pictures with us.  We stopped and took a few but wanted to take our own pictures too. The crowd of people just kind of followed us around the top of the fort. Once we pulled out the MSU flag to take a picture they swarmed. It was like we were taking prom pictures. It was windy so we had to make sure the flag was secured so that you could tell what it said in the picture. As Bob took our photo so did about a dozen other people. We had to move on our way because so many people were asking for photos with us.

Spartan Pride at Golconda Fort!

Charminar

After the fort we headed to Charminar. Our driver dropped us off a block or two from Charminar and we made our way through the crowds to Palak’s mom Saree store. This store made personalized sarees. So you can pick the design you want and they will stamp it or screen-print it. Palak’s mom was picking up one she ordered last week and ordered another for a friend. Caroline picked out a fabric color and a design and we watched it get made. It was really cool to see all of the different patterns and prints available.  The smell of screen-prints was very strong so it was nice to be back on the street away from the smell. We headed to Charminar and climbed the spiral staircase to the top. I counted the stairs on the way down and there were around 52. The view from the top was very good though. We could see down the busy streets in all directions There were so many people walking, street vendors selling things and rickshaws/cars moving people around and bikes/cycles weaving around it all. I can’t believe there are not more accidents on the streets. After our descent down we did a little street shopping before heading to lunch at Chutney’s, which is a restaurant near Charminar.

Charminar

View of the busy street from the top of Charminar

Journey Home

Lunch at Chutney’s was not very good for me. I felt very sick and upset stomach after eating a few bites of my meal so I decided no food was better than bad food. We headed to mall because we had some time before our 9pm flight. Caroline was able to get some pants she had wanted. After some shopping we got delicious ice cream. I got chocolate cookie and it was really good. We made a stop at a bakery on the way to the airport because Tim wanted to get some biscuits. We arrived at the airport 90 minutes early for our flight to ensure time to check in and find our gate. As we checked in, we were informed that our flight was delayed to 10:30 pm. A little frustrated, we now had plenty of time to find our gate. We killed time in the airport and grabbed dinner. After talking to an employee and both managers, I convinced KFC to give me a grill cheese sandwich and only charge me for two slices of cheese, which was 48 Rupees. I felt vey successful and was very satisfied by the sandwich which was more like a cold cheese sandwich with lettuce but nonetheless a success! We found a taxi back to Ginger quickly after landing and were on our way home, so we thought. The drier pulled up to the other Ginger Hotel in Chennai. I did not even know there was two Ginger Hotels in Chennai but we had found the other. After explaining we need to go to the other one, our driver made a few phone calls and got us home.

We saw a camel on the way to airport. It was just walking down the road!

Camel!

Besides getting sick after returning home from Chennai, it was a very fun weekend. Despite getting sick this week, Caroline and I were productive in our research. We were able to tensile test our virgin sample on the Instron. There was some slippage so we need to test another sample and adjust the grip pressure. Once we figure out the grip pressure we will continue with the other tests.

This weekend we are headed to Bangalore. We are taking the train there Saturday morning and then exploring the city. Sunday we are hoping to go a zoo. Then Monday we have a tour of the GE Plant before heading back to Chennai! I am excited to travel again and see Bangalore! I hope that everyone enjoyed their Fourth of July Festivities at home!