Thoughts on Hyderabad

January 9th to January 12th, 2019

Photo by Abhas Mishra on Unsplash

What I Did

• We arrived at our final destination in India, Hyderabad, via a 2 hour flight from the hills of Tirupati. Up to this point, I had enjoyed and valued my experience in India…but I had never, in anyway, envisioned living here for any extended period of time. Hyderabad changed that. We were once again lucky to be staying with friends’ family members, who arranged drivers to pick us up at the airport and take us into the city (about 45 minutes inland).
• Driving from the airport was an awakening experience in itself as you see the city transformation materialize the closer you get inwards. Skyscrapers, highways, massive complexes are sprouting up in every direction you look. This is all a recent development, as political divides and regulatory changes have opened a brand new wave of economic development for the region. I am really interested in future city building, and optimistic that India will house some of the cities of the future. I worry lots about how sustainable and safe these cities will be…as much of it is unregulated.

• The first thing we did after dropping our bags off was visit a local (touristy ish) market and shop around for some cool souvenirs and gifts for friends. Indian salesman are like nothing else, incredibly persistent and extreme negotiators.

• We visited the Charminar, a famous mosque that is an incredible view to look out at. It is surrounded by a bustling market with lots of walking around to do.

• One of my friends’ family members was kind enough to take us to her business, where she project managed construction sites. We toured several construction developments…really amazing

• We ate a lot more homemade foods! Like our previous experiences eating homemade Indian cuisine, we left extremely full and satisfied with everything. We also went to eat Western food, which was extremely refreshing! And we went for drinks one night which was a fun experience (everything in Hyderabad closes by midnight!).

• We went for tea at the Taj Falaknuma Palace — one of the nicest buildings I have ever stepped foot into. I had also never “gone for tea” before, but it was a really cool experience eating lots of foods and feeling way way out of place.

• We played basketball and Mario Kart with my friends’ cousins which was super fun!

And that was our last stop in India! We then flew to Hong Kong…