Travel & Vacation: Food & Fun in Hyderabad, India (Part 2)
Chef standing in front of a large tree inside the restaurant. Really neat place to visit with delicious food!
Anyone want some fresh fish for dinner? This is the display of fresh whole fish in the market, you could smell it long before you could see it!
Whole green curry chicken in the bakery ready to take home for dinner. It looks a little interesting but their curries were pretty good, however, I did not try this one.
This one in the meat section kind of made me sick looking at it……goat mutton. You could by goat brains to cook up for dinner (from what I hear it is a real treat). Not sure if I could muscle through this one and pretty sure the girls would have a hard time too because goats are “pets not food” in their little world.
What a great place to eat, the kids seem to LOVE it! Very neat idea for a restaurant…..an auto-rig shaw with a table and booths for families. The kids can play and drive it too!
The shark mouths (see the teeth) have “digustive” salts in the bowls. I didn’t try these because I noticed several people just using their hands to dip into the bowl instead of using the bowl to scoop it. Love the table too, the stand is a stack of tires!
The receipt for the dinner litteraly came in a tin “bill box”.
Puppet play and music in the entry of the restaurant
A variety of delicious Indian food – curry and rice, veggies, pasta and more!
Naan….the amazing Indian bread that is served with practically every meal.
Neat fresh watermelon fruit basket, looks yummy!
And the best is for last……dessert! Carrot cake and vanilla ice cream. The ice cream tasted different from what we get in the USA, it almost had a creamier texture. The carrot cake was good but not quite like my Mom’s homemade carrot cake! 🙂
Really neat Dadu Maluj Sandwiches with cool outer decorations on the outside that looked like alumimum fool and paint but it was edible.
Large waterfall outside another one of the Ohri’s restaurant buildings on the other side of town. Most of the Ohri’s buildings had several different types of restaurants in one building. You could choose to eat Indian, Chinese, American and once you get into the building. Some of them you had to book a reservation in advanced to get into they were so popular.
We went to one of Ohri’s really popular restaurants an India buffet. On this plate is a variety of meat cooked with Indian spices to try.
AMAZING Indian dish (I wish I could remember the name of it)! It makes my stomach growl just looking at it. It was a mix of sweet and crunchy, but it was a beans and meat mixture….so delicious!
One thing I didn’t realize until going over to India was they enjoy what we call “crunchy chicken”! It is normal to be eating a chicken dish and find a bone. I think they do it to add more flavor to the meal but it surprises you the first few times. You are just more careful when you eat chicken!
The “Travel and Vacation” series is an insight into our trips together as a family and ways we relax. Life is short and we were thrilled to have the opportunity to build memories with family and explore of of the most amazing places during our time away. Explore with a good attitude, look for fun, and it will be an awesome trip jammed packed with positive memories. It is refreshing having some time away from the regular routine. Make it a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet new people and learn. You just might see or try something new that takes your breath away!
Travel & Vacation: Shilparamam Park in Hyderabad, India
Entrance to Shilparamam Park. It was pretty close to where Jake was staying in Hyderabad, India.
Water fountain in the park
Hyderabad’s version of the duck boats! Not sure I would want to go splashing around in the water though.
Not sure about the wiring in the park! This was a pretty common sight in the various places we visited. I am sure Jake’s cousin who is an electrician would have something to say about this one, ha!
Jake patiently waiting on the bridge for me to catch up!
Peaceful pond full of duck boats looks so pretty.
Cow with its horns painted blue and all decked up pulling a cart with items they plan to sell at the market place
Huge elephant statue you walk under to get to another part of the park.
This was interesting…..in the park they had a section which was a museum that told some of the history of Hyderabad, India and trades found in the area but they did it using all props.
Sankranthi Festival Display – outside props that were part of the museum portion of the park. I loved the bamboo fence, it was really pretty!
The largest patch of green grass I saw in Hyderabad! It was a field for concerts inside the park. Grass was not something you seen a lot of in the part of town where we were located. I bet the cows, goats, and other livestock I seen on the streets going through trash to find something to eat would have loved a chance to nibble on this grass!
Cool waterfall in the park….the smell reminded me of Reedy River at Falls Parks. Beautiful but not ideal swimming or splashing around in water.
Watching a group of people in the park play a party game. It kind of looked similar to “Duck, Duck, Goose” or “Musical Chairs” They were having a lot of fun!
Elephant fountain in the park. The bottom row of fountains are elephants spraying out water through their noses. We were told that elephants were a symbol of “good luck” so you see them often. Although we have been told various stories as to why they are good luck and what type of luck, not sure which is accurate or if there are just several stories that go along with the elephant symbol.
“Living Rock Gallery” inside the park. The rocks have plaques on them explaining their symbolizism and place of honor. I have heard of rock gardens but never a living rock garden so it was something different that I haven’t seen before.
If you pause for even a split second or happen to look in the general direction of someone’s shop they will rush out to greet you and try to get you to look at the items they have for sale. This guy was trying to get us to buy his fabric. They did not hestitate to sale you anything from rugs, to flowers, pottery, clothes, knick knacks, bangles, spices, and much more! Most people were ok when you said “No, thank you” but there were a few who would literally follow you around asking you to look, touch, and buy their items. You could spend an entire day going from shop to shop and having them sell you their goods if you wanted to, thankfully I am not a big shopper and Jake had already purchased a couple items for the kids before I arrived.
The “Travel and Vacation” series is an insight into our trips together as a family and ways we relax. Life is short and we were thrilled to have the opportunity to build memories with family and explore of of the most amazing places during our time away. Explore with a good attitude, look for fun, and it will be an awesome trip jammed packed with positive memories. It is refreshing having some time away from the regular routine. Make it a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet new people and learn. You just might see or try something new that takes your breath away!
Travel & Vacation: Golconda Fort – Hyderabad, India
Golconda Fort in Hyderabad, India. The external walls of the Golconda Fort in Hyderabad, India and my “tour guide” (aka Jake) waiting patiently for me to snap a picture.
Jake and I were able to spend one Saturday and see several places in Hyderabad. Thankfully we had a great driver that got us from place to place, there was only one spot he wouldn’t let us go by ourselves. The Golconda fort is over 400 years old and was once famous for its diamond mines. It is said that the world-renowned “Kohinoor” diamond came from this fort.
A map of the Golconda Fort, the girls are fascinated with maps!
We had many people offer to give us a tour of the Fort (some were quite persistent too) but since Jake had gone with a guide previously he knew enough of the details and history to show me around. The Golconda fort is built on a granite hill and has 8 gates (or Darwazas as they are called in local language).
Inside the main gate (called Fateh Darwaza )at Golconda Fort
In the 16th century the Qutub Shahi kings built the Golconda Fort. The fort was originally called “Golla Konda” in Telegu which is the official state language of Hyderabad.
Place where they set up a farmer’s market in the fort
The area next to the market was the gardens where they would grow fruit trees and other vegetation. When we were there it looked like they had replanted several trees in the gardens.
The view as we were hiking up Golconda Fort in Hyderabad, India
The story regarding the fort has been told many different ways and has variations like any piece of history….. Around 1143 a shepherd boy found an idol in the rocky hill called ‘Mangalavaram’ which was given to the king, Kakatiya, who built a mud fort. Over the next 60 plus years the Qutub Shahi rulers transformed the original mud fort into a beautiful granite wonder. Golconda Fort remained a marvelous granite fortress until the Mughals invaded and plundered the fort.
The “Queen’s Pool” at Golconda Fort.
Pretty massive pool, not sure if it was used as a pool or a water retention for the rainy season or both. We went to the first in the early morning because while we were in Hyderabad the temperatures were getting over 100 degrees with humidity and not always any breeze. Thankfully they had trees planted along the way so we could enjoy a little bit of shade as we hiked up the fort.
Looking through the fort to the city of Hyderabad below us
It was pretty amazing thinking about how much time and energy it must have taken to build this huge fort. The fort overlooks the old city of Hyderabad.
There are stray dogs everywhere and since one of Jake’s co-workers got bit by a wild stray dog (and had to go to the hospital) I decide it was safer to give the dogs a pretty wide path….you never know!
This dog was actually looked pretty healthy but I wasn’t taken any chances.
Entrance to the Sri Jagadamba Mahankali Temple inside Fort Golconda
The sign lists the people on the “trust board” for this particular temple. The temples were one spot that I didn’t notice any litter and seemed to have people in the area watching the activity going on in the temple.
Jagadamba Temple inside Fort Golconda
We had to take off our shoes to go up to see this temple. The guy is currently lighting the candles and preparing the area for the next worship. It broke my heart seeing people praying, worshiping, and giving to this idol (and to many other idols throughout our trip)…..they have to work hard to “earn favor” and good standing from this idol made out of rock.
An altar where they burn incense and hang items to bring good luck before entering the Jagadamba Temple.
Seeing this brings tears to my eyes. The people I met were amazing, kind, and generous yet this altar is a reminder of how traditional Indian religion affects many generations.
I was amazed at all the liter inside the Fort which is a historical monument.
This made me appreciate those who work hard to keep our national parks and monuments clean. On the flip side there were not a lot of places to dispose of your trash. Many of the local people will go completely barefoot even on the hot stones or rocky ground. I lost count of the number of shoe soles I found laying along the paths like the person literally walked in their shoes until they fell off their feet.
Entering the royalty chambers of Fort Golconda.
I bet it was pretty amazing during its height season, wouldn’t it be neat to get a glimpse of what it looked like during that time!
India wild “squirrel” oh how Skipper would have loved to chase this one scurrying around looking for food in Fort Golconda
Aw….we found a trash can with the words “Use Me” written on it….funny part is there is trash all around it but not much in it!
Hyderabad has several official languages, one of them being English. Thankfully almost everyone we met could speak English so it was fairly easy to have a conversation with people and they were eager to talk with us too. I did notice that the men and boys would walk right up to us shake our hand and talk. The women and girls were much more reserved, often times I would feel someone looking at us or hear giggles, if I made eye contact or extended the invitation to start the conversation only then would the majority of women speak to us.
The “Travel and Vacation” series is an insight into our trips together as a family and ways we relax. Life is short and we were thrilled to have the opportunity to build memories with family and explore of of the most amazing places during our time away. Explore with a good attitude, look for fun, and it will be an awesome trip jammed packed with positive memories. It is refreshing having some time away from the regular routine. Make it a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet new people and learn. You just might see or try something new that takes your breath away!
