Tour Members - Karthik and family
Dates - 31 August, 1 and 2 September 2018
Trip - Chennai - Hyderabad - Chennai
The Zoo is open from 8 AM to 5 PM and closed on Mondays. We reached the zoo by 9:30 by Ola cab. The entry fee is Rs.20 per adult, Rs.15 per child and Rs.20 for camera. The zoo hosts a toy train to go around the zoo and battery cars to see the various enclosures. Interestingly, cycles for hire are available and that makes the day interesting to go around in the cycle as well. The zoo is around 15 kms located from the city. This zoo is one of the largest in the country; first being Vandalur zoo of Chennai. This zoo hosts almost all popular animals, reptiles, birds, a butterfly park (with very less butterflies), nocturnal collections and one small aquarium. We preferred to walk around. We could sight tigers, lion, leopard, Cheetah, hippos, rhinos, deer, giraffe, hyenas, nilgai, giant squirrel and much more.
We spent around 3 hours in the zoo and came out by 12:30. We had lunch at TMH and took some rest at the hotel room. By evening, we started to Hussain Sagar Lake. We took a cab and got dropped at Lumbini park. Hussain Sagar lake is an artificial lake constructed during Qutub Shahi period and fed by river Musi to maintain water in the city. One of the biggest elements of the lake is the tall monolithic statue of Lord Budhha. It is mounted on the Rock of Gibraltar on the lake.
One gets to do boating from the boating jetty in Lumbini park. Lumbini park is one of the important time killers of Hyderabad. Camera and bags are not allowed inside the park, Mobiles are allowed. There is a cloak room to keep our bags safe. There is security check at the entrance including frisking. They take a entry fee to enter the park area which hosts - a water cascade to take some photos, entry to the boating jetty, food stalls, laser show event and a bunch of play and thrill stuffs.
Boating is available in different forms - speed boat, large group boats on individual pricing and family boats for hire. We took a family boat. The queue system with ticket numbers is good and systematic. The boat ride was 15 minutes taking you closer the Buddha statue and a view of the big Indian flag. We came back and had some snacks and did a ride on one of the activities.
The laser show was at 7:30 PM and there was a long queue from 6:30. We avoided the queue and went around the park for sometime and came back at 7:20. The queue was gone and we got tickets at leisure. There is a massive sitting gallery that would hosts 4000-5000 people. There is no point in hurrying to get tickets. The laser show was screened over a water fountain. The show was quite ok with respect to water fountains and lasers. The content was quite boring as it was for accommodating the time which was a repetition of the first 5-7 minutes of the show to make it for 30 minutes.
After the show, we came out and met one of our college friend, Satheesh with his family. We went for dinner at Hotel Amogham. We had starters, soups and main course. The service had to be engaged after follow-ups. They served us food from the buffet menu they had, still, the service was quite slow. The starters were average, however, the main course was good.
We returned back by 10 PM after an interesting day.
Day-3
After breakfast at TMH, we planned to visit one of the palaces in Hyderabad and Salar Jung Museum. All palaces and museums are open only by 10 AM. We had a relaxed start for the day. We booked Ola cab for a 6 hour package until we would get down in airport. The palaces to visit in Hyderabad are Chowmahalla palace, Jubilee hall, Taj Falaknuma palace and Kothi palace.
We has time to visit one of the palaces and the museum. Falaknuma palace now operates as one of the Taj hotels. Chowmahalla palace is behind Charminar and is open from 10 AM to 5 PM. The entrance ticket for adults is Rs.60, child is Rs.20 and camera is Rs.50. This palace is closed on Fridays. These palaces are a reminder of how rich and luxurious the kingdoms were then. Chowmahalla palace is one of the biggest, famous and grand palaces of Nizams of Hyderabad. Chowmahalla means four mahals and they are Afzal mahal, Aftab mahal, Mehtab Mahal and Tehniyat Mahal. All these are within the same premises and part of the walk tour; they are all located closeby. These are behind the main Durbar hall - which is the most decorated place of all.
The collections of the palace - furniture, ceramics, vessels, costumes, paintings, daggers, swords, chariots, cars and much more make the displays. The yellow painted 1912 Rolls Royce Silver Ghost of Nizam tops the collections of vehicles. We spent close to one hour for the palace. One more attraction is the clock tower - Kilwat Tower. The locality follows his clocks' chimes and time for setting their clock. The visit was quite good and worth the trip.
Next, we reached Salar Jung Museum. Entry fee is Rs.20 per adult, free for children and Rs.50 for camera. Salar Jung museum is one of the biggest museums that host the largest collection of single person or one family, that of Salar Jung, in the world. The collectibles are from various cultures and regions across Asia like Myanmar, China, Tibet, Japan, Nepal, Persia, Egypt, Europe and North America. There are so much collection across the geography of India too. Salar Jung III spent his savings travelling across the world and making this huge collections of articles.
The museum is hosted in a modern building across 2 floors and segmented into a whooping 36 galleries ! Yes, 36 galleries. One needs almost the whole day to go through the amazing collection. We would not complete in the available 2 hours for us. We went through galleries by sequence and were amazed by the quality and range of collectibles. Some notable exhibits we witnessed include great collection of highly artistic ivory carvings - made from elephant trunks, walrus tooth or hippo tooth; hundreds of walking stick, musical clock which involves some interesting mechanical and moving parts; paintings from Ravi Verma, sculptures of Hindu Gods, textiles used in his palace for backdrops - made of gold, silver and metal threads and much more. Camera is allowed in this museum.
We went to TMH and had lunch - veg biryani, bisibelabath and curd rice. These rice were also quite good. Then, we stopped by G.Pulla Reddy sweets and bought the popular paper sweet - Puta Rekulu. We also wanted to buy biscuits from Karachi bakery, but the driver suggested to have it near the airport. Enroute to airport by 1:30 PM, we were stuck in the enormous traffic because of a landmark meeting of TRS. Somehow, we managed to reach the airport on time - 2 hours before the flight and purchased few varieties of biscuits from Karachi bakery - Osmania biscuits, coconut biscuits and walnut cookies. All biscuits were very good and super tasty. We reached back Chennai by 7:30 PM.
A nice city visit exclusively first time in our travel. It was made memorable with nice food, culture, monuments and shopping experiences!
Dates - 31 August, 1 and 2 September 2018
Trip - Chennai - Hyderabad - Chennai
Day-1
Started by morning 6:15 flight by Spicejet to Hyderabad and reached by 7:30. We had booked cab through Savaari for 6 hours package. We got picked up by Innova and had some average breakfast near airport at Hotel Udupi. We had idli and dosa there. It was just ok, not bad for a simple breakfast.
Our first spot was to visit Golconda fort; this is in the heart of the city of Hyderabad. One of the Hyderabad’s most popular and iconic monuments, Golconda Fort attracts every tourist with its grandeur and history. The entry ticket is Rs.15 per person for Indians, Rs.200 per person for Foreign Tourists and Rs.25 for Still Camera.The fort is open for public from 8:00 am to 5:30 pm. The fort is famous for its acoustics, stable, water supply system and the famous Fateh Rahben gun. This gun is one of the cannons used in the last siege of Golconda by Aurangzeb. This fort is on a hillock surrounded by the fortress. There are few gathering places, clapping gallery, stable at the foothills. There are 2 ways to climb to the top. The one from the left side after entering the ticketable area is quick to reach - short by distance, but steep steps. In few stretches, the steps are quite high and very steep, quite difficult to climb. The second one from the right side of the entrance, is relatively easy, however, still difficult for elderly members.
We, by coincidence took the right side route, and reached the top. There are views of the crowded concrete jungle as you climb. As we climb, we can see the granary, halls, mosque structures, Durbar hall and a temple at the top. We can also see Akkanna - Madhanna offices. At the top, there is a small temple for Mahakali. On top of the temple, at the maximum point, one gets to see pair of canons!
We then climbed down through the rock arches through the steep steps. We saw few halls, gathering places used as open courtyards all across. Overall, a nice place to see - quite ruined. It took close to 2 hours for us to see the whole place.
Next stop was Qutub Shahi tombs. The Qutub Shahi tombs are located around 3-4 kms from Golconda fort. The tombs of the Qutb Shahi kings lie together in one place. They are one of the oldest monuments of Hyderabad. The tombs were planned and built by the Qutb Shahis themselves, they form a large group and stand on a raised platforms, one after other in a vast spread place. This resembled like Orchha Cenatophs. The tombs are built in Persian, Pathan and Hindu architectural styles using grey granite and ornamentation, rare of its kind in the world, and vary in sizes - small to massive. The whole dynasty of Qutub Shahi has been buried at one place. The biggest tomb is the mausoleum of Hayat Bakshi Begum. The entrance per person is Rs.10 for adult, Rs.5 for child and Rs.50 for camera.
After completing the walk, we decided to check in to hotel and take some rest. We had started the day by 3 AM as we had a very early morning flight. We had booked rooms at Hotel Geethanjali at Abids near Meena Bazar. This is in mid of the city and anywhere popular is around 5-7 kms radius from here. The rooms were quite comfortable by size. The bedsheets and pillows could have been better. The advantage was location and service for whatever, is ok. They attend to it.
On the way to the hotel, we stopped by Paradise Takeaway and took a vegetarian family pack - consisting of big pack for Veg biryani, 2 rumali rotis, veg manchurian, curd and some plain gravy. The typical Hyderabadi dum biryani was missing in the hit list and cleared by now. The rumali roti was too good with the plain gravy. The ordered portion was surplus, that might help another 3 members to eat. We shared this with the hotel service boys.
After some rest, we started to Charminar by 4:30 PM. We used Ola cabs thereafter for rest of the city tour. Ola cabs in Hyderabad take time to reach - average of 10-15 minutes every time we booked because the abnormally complex traffic of the city. So, if you are using Ola, be prepared for it. We reached Charminar by 5 PM. It was drizzling during the moment.
Charminar is one of the prominent landmarks in India. Char-Minar means four decorated pillars. Charminar was built during the Qutub Shahi dynasty. Charminar is surrounded by interesting assets - Makkah Masjid one one side, Laad Bazaar on one side, Musi river on one and four arches, called Char Kaman on one side. Char Kaman is set of 4 arches constructed one facing the other and treated as important monument in Hyderabad. They are visible from the top of Charminar. All these details are well published in details along with photographs in the gallery in the top of Charminar. Visitors are allowed to climb the top of Charminar till 17:30, starting 9 in the morning. The tickets for individual is Rs.15 per person. no bags are allowed and they need to deposited at the cloak room. The steps are very steep and not easy to climb for elders or physically challenged. Please plan accordingly. We spent around 30 minutes from the top and it was time to vacate.
Makkah Masjid is believed to be built with few stones taken from the original Mecca Masjid. Hence, the name. One can see this well from Charminar.
We came down and went around the Bazaar around. Laad bazaar is very famous shopping stop of Hyderabad. This bazaar is very famous for Hyderabad famous glass and decorated bangles, pearl ornaments and the famous biscuits and Iranian Chai of Hyderabad. We visited Nimrah cafe, quite popular in the area and tasted several delicacies of biscuits and Iranian tea.
The evening continued with shopping of bangles and pearl-wears. Around 8:30 PM, we took an auto to Abids Kamat for dinner. Kamat was not so crowded. The food served was ok. It did not make us think to come another time to Kamat quite surprisingly.
Day-2
The earlier plan was to visit Ramoji film city. However, the high cost of tickets - Rs.1650 per adult and transportation to-fro made us think twice about spending the day in Ramoji film city. We also read from their website that Bahubali set was not open during this time of the year. We changed our plans and decided to visit the Nehru Zoological park.
We had breakfast at TMH - TajMahal Hotel in Abids. The breakfast was super tasty and very satisfactory - idlies, button vada, button idli, pesarattu, hara bara dosa, veg dosa, upma and the filter coffee. The service was quite good as well. Every item was definitely special and tasty. We continued to go there back for following breakfast, lunch and dinner across our trip and tried many of their food and nothing left us disappointed.
Charminar is one of the prominent landmarks in India. Char-Minar means four decorated pillars. Charminar was built during the Qutub Shahi dynasty. Charminar is surrounded by interesting assets - Makkah Masjid one one side, Laad Bazaar on one side, Musi river on one and four arches, called Char Kaman on one side. Char Kaman is set of 4 arches constructed one facing the other and treated as important monument in Hyderabad. They are visible from the top of Charminar. All these details are well published in details along with photographs in the gallery in the top of Charminar. Visitors are allowed to climb the top of Charminar till 17:30, starting 9 in the morning. The tickets for individual is Rs.15 per person. no bags are allowed and they need to deposited at the cloak room. The steps are very steep and not easy to climb for elders or physically challenged. Please plan accordingly. We spent around 30 minutes from the top and it was time to vacate.
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| Char Kaman - Charminar |
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| Laad bazaar |
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| Golconda Fort from Charminar ! |
Makkah Masjid is believed to be built with few stones taken from the original Mecca Masjid. Hence, the name. One can see this well from Charminar.
We came down and went around the Bazaar around. Laad bazaar is very famous shopping stop of Hyderabad. This bazaar is very famous for Hyderabad famous glass and decorated bangles, pearl ornaments and the famous biscuits and Iranian Chai of Hyderabad. We visited Nimrah cafe, quite popular in the area and tasted several delicacies of biscuits and Iranian tea.
The evening continued with shopping of bangles and pearl-wears. Around 8:30 PM, we took an auto to Abids Kamat for dinner. Kamat was not so crowded. The food served was ok. It did not make us think to come another time to Kamat quite surprisingly.
Day-2
The earlier plan was to visit Ramoji film city. However, the high cost of tickets - Rs.1650 per adult and transportation to-fro made us think twice about spending the day in Ramoji film city. We also read from their website that Bahubali set was not open during this time of the year. We changed our plans and decided to visit the Nehru Zoological park.
We had breakfast at TMH - TajMahal Hotel in Abids. The breakfast was super tasty and very satisfactory - idlies, button vada, button idli, pesarattu, hara bara dosa, veg dosa, upma and the filter coffee. The service was quite good as well. Every item was definitely special and tasty. We continued to go there back for following breakfast, lunch and dinner across our trip and tried many of their food and nothing left us disappointed.
The Zoo is open from 8 AM to 5 PM and closed on Mondays. We reached the zoo by 9:30 by Ola cab. The entry fee is Rs.20 per adult, Rs.15 per child and Rs.20 for camera. The zoo hosts a toy train to go around the zoo and battery cars to see the various enclosures. Interestingly, cycles for hire are available and that makes the day interesting to go around in the cycle as well. The zoo is around 15 kms located from the city. This zoo is one of the largest in the country; first being Vandalur zoo of Chennai. This zoo hosts almost all popular animals, reptiles, birds, a butterfly park (with very less butterflies), nocturnal collections and one small aquarium. We preferred to walk around. We could sight tigers, lion, leopard, Cheetah, hippos, rhinos, deer, giraffe, hyenas, nilgai, giant squirrel and much more.
We spent around 3 hours in the zoo and came out by 12:30. We had lunch at TMH and took some rest at the hotel room. By evening, we started to Hussain Sagar Lake. We took a cab and got dropped at Lumbini park. Hussain Sagar lake is an artificial lake constructed during Qutub Shahi period and fed by river Musi to maintain water in the city. One of the biggest elements of the lake is the tall monolithic statue of Lord Budhha. It is mounted on the Rock of Gibraltar on the lake.
One gets to do boating from the boating jetty in Lumbini park. Lumbini park is one of the important time killers of Hyderabad. Camera and bags are not allowed inside the park, Mobiles are allowed. There is a cloak room to keep our bags safe. There is security check at the entrance including frisking. They take a entry fee to enter the park area which hosts - a water cascade to take some photos, entry to the boating jetty, food stalls, laser show event and a bunch of play and thrill stuffs.
Boating is available in different forms - speed boat, large group boats on individual pricing and family boats for hire. We took a family boat. The queue system with ticket numbers is good and systematic. The boat ride was 15 minutes taking you closer the Buddha statue and a view of the big Indian flag. We came back and had some snacks and did a ride on one of the activities.
The laser show was at 7:30 PM and there was a long queue from 6:30. We avoided the queue and went around the park for sometime and came back at 7:20. The queue was gone and we got tickets at leisure. There is a massive sitting gallery that would hosts 4000-5000 people. There is no point in hurrying to get tickets. The laser show was screened over a water fountain. The show was quite ok with respect to water fountains and lasers. The content was quite boring as it was for accommodating the time which was a repetition of the first 5-7 minutes of the show to make it for 30 minutes.
After the show, we came out and met one of our college friend, Satheesh with his family. We went for dinner at Hotel Amogham. We had starters, soups and main course. The service had to be engaged after follow-ups. They served us food from the buffet menu they had, still, the service was quite slow. The starters were average, however, the main course was good.
We returned back by 10 PM after an interesting day.
Day-3
After breakfast at TMH, we planned to visit one of the palaces in Hyderabad and Salar Jung Museum. All palaces and museums are open only by 10 AM. We had a relaxed start for the day. We booked Ola cab for a 6 hour package until we would get down in airport. The palaces to visit in Hyderabad are Chowmahalla palace, Jubilee hall, Taj Falaknuma palace and Kothi palace.
We has time to visit one of the palaces and the museum. Falaknuma palace now operates as one of the Taj hotels. Chowmahalla palace is behind Charminar and is open from 10 AM to 5 PM. The entrance ticket for adults is Rs.60, child is Rs.20 and camera is Rs.50. This palace is closed on Fridays. These palaces are a reminder of how rich and luxurious the kingdoms were then. Chowmahalla palace is one of the biggest, famous and grand palaces of Nizams of Hyderabad. Chowmahalla means four mahals and they are Afzal mahal, Aftab mahal, Mehtab Mahal and Tehniyat Mahal. All these are within the same premises and part of the walk tour; they are all located closeby. These are behind the main Durbar hall - which is the most decorated place of all.
Next, we reached Salar Jung Museum. Entry fee is Rs.20 per adult, free for children and Rs.50 for camera. Salar Jung museum is one of the biggest museums that host the largest collection of single person or one family, that of Salar Jung, in the world. The collectibles are from various cultures and regions across Asia like Myanmar, China, Tibet, Japan, Nepal, Persia, Egypt, Europe and North America. There are so much collection across the geography of India too. Salar Jung III spent his savings travelling across the world and making this huge collections of articles.
The museum is hosted in a modern building across 2 floors and segmented into a whooping 36 galleries ! Yes, 36 galleries. One needs almost the whole day to go through the amazing collection. We would not complete in the available 2 hours for us. We went through galleries by sequence and were amazed by the quality and range of collectibles. Some notable exhibits we witnessed include great collection of highly artistic ivory carvings - made from elephant trunks, walrus tooth or hippo tooth; hundreds of walking stick, musical clock which involves some interesting mechanical and moving parts; paintings from Ravi Verma, sculptures of Hindu Gods, textiles used in his palace for backdrops - made of gold, silver and metal threads and much more. Camera is allowed in this museum.
 |
| Veiled Rebecca |
We went to TMH and had lunch - veg biryani, bisibelabath and curd rice. These rice were also quite good. Then, we stopped by G.Pulla Reddy sweets and bought the popular paper sweet - Puta Rekulu. We also wanted to buy biscuits from Karachi bakery, but the driver suggested to have it near the airport. Enroute to airport by 1:30 PM, we were stuck in the enormous traffic because of a landmark meeting of TRS. Somehow, we managed to reach the airport on time - 2 hours before the flight and purchased few varieties of biscuits from Karachi bakery - Osmania biscuits, coconut biscuits and walnut cookies. All biscuits were very good and super tasty. We reached back Chennai by 7:30 PM.
A nice city visit exclusively first time in our travel. It was made memorable with nice food, culture, monuments and shopping experiences!
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