Rented a car, and a driver, for a four hour tour of the city. I wanted to hit specific sites so I had my guide book and list. Finally a chance to see the sites.
First stop was to be the big lake in the middle of the city with the large statue of Buddha on an island in the middle. But my driver had slightly other plans as we stopped at a "very good shop" for me to check out. Turned out to be all right. I bought some presents to bring back.
We did make it to the lake called Hussein Sagar. The drive around is 12 kilometers. There are a few parks at various points and a water park and an amusement park.
Next stop the Birla Mandir temple. A fantastic site. The temple is a collection of buildings with different shrines for different gods. There are thousands of Hindu gods it turns out. Everything is made of white marble.
It was noon when we arrived and hot as all get out...well over 100 degrees. You cannot where shoes anywhere on the grounds. Thank goodness you can wear socks. Those who had bare feet were hopping and skipping to get from grass runner to next.
There are carvings of various gods and their activities throughout. No photography is allowed. It is quite beautiful. The site is on the highest point in Hyderabad. You can see everything from here. We could make out Charminar and Golconda Fort way in the distance.
Who is that pale bald guy? So much for no photography.
From the temple we went to the Legislative Assembly. Luis and I had been driven by here on the way to Charminar last weekend. I wanted to see the Mahatmi Ghandi statue up close. The driver pulled in front and I jumped out for these pictures.
I wanted to see the Qutb Shahi Tombs which are near Golconda Fort. For some reason I thought there was only one tomb building but there are seven plus several other structures. This site contains large (very large) tomb buildings for the dynasty that built what has become
Hyderabad. It is only a kilometer from Golconda Fort. It is an amazing collection of buildings but they are not too well maintained.
My "tour guide" charged me an exorbitant amount. My fault for not asking before he started his routine. As Bunny so wisely told me, "they need it more than I do."
I was way sweaty and hungry by this time so I had the driver take me back to the hotel. I wasn't out the entire 4 hours but it was long enough and I saw what I wanted to see.
I head back home to night. I leave around 9pm local time which is 7:30am Friday back home. I land in Minneapolis at 10:45am Saturday.
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