Travel & Vacation: King Fisher Airlines
Delayed! King Fisher Airlines – our flight from Hyderabad to Bangalore, India
We had the opportunity to visit Jake’s cousin and his family while we were over in India. They were staying in Bangalore so we booked our tickets in advance to fly out to see them. We were flying from Hyderabad to Bangalore and back.
Sometimes timing just isn’t right when it comes to flying! The week before we were suppose to fly to Bangalore Jake got a phone call from KingFisher Airlines saying our flight had been changed……we would now be flying out at a different time and arriving in another city in India (nowhere even near Bangalore). Thankfully we were able to get it worked out and they got us on a plane that was actually going to Bangalore. There was less than 20 people on the entire flight. KingFisher had all their bank accounts froze by the government for not paying their bills and they had consolidated all flights to conserve costs.
We ended up making it to Bangalore safely on KingFisher after several flights changes and delays but we decided it would be better to fly another airline back to Hyderabad since KingFisher wasn’t doing hardly anymore flights! Plus when we flew back we would have to arrive on time for a connecting flight back to home to USA. Good thing we changed airlines because when we flew back to Hyderabad a few days later all the flights with KingFisher were canceled. I felt bad for the employees and anyone with tickets with the airline, but what can you do when an airline goes bankrupt! The airline staff were really nice but from the reports we had heard they hadn’t been paid for several weeks due to the financial problems the airline was having.
On the way back we flew Indigo airlines and they were really great (no cancellations, delays, or problems at all). Considering Jake and I were in 12 airports throughout our travels to and from India and this was the only major hiccup we really can’t complain. Thankfully we were able to work out all the little hiccups and everything went pretty smoothly.
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: Lemon Tree Hotel Hyderabad, India
Entrance to the Lemon Tree Hotel where we stayed in Hyderabad, India. Jake stayed in this hotel for several weeks while he was working. They had four restaurants in the hotel and people to drive you to and from wherever you needed to go. We were able to meet a lot of great people and see some neat places during our stay in Hyderabad.
If your looking for a great place to stay in Hyderabad we had a wonderful experience at the Lemon Tree Hotel. The staff was awesome, the rooms were clean, and it was a wonderful place to stay.
The hotel breakfast area with a TV and tshirts hanging up as decorations. I had a lot of fun reading the sayings on the tshirts, probably one of my favorite sayings was “keep staring I might do tricks” because being an American in India you will have a lot of people watching everything you do. People were fascinated with what you ate, talked about, activities, or what you purchased at the store….really with about anything. They wanted to shake your hand, meet a person from American and ask you questions. You got used to it after while!
View from Jake’s window, the gas station was a busy place with cars, trucks, motorcycles, equipment and other traffic coming and going all day sometimes the line would be so long it was out in the street.
Sign posted in the elevator….should I be worried???? Although the power went off several times while I was there it never happened while I was in the elevator (one time it was literally a moment after I stepped off the elevator)!
Roof top pool, beautiful and relaxing. There weren’t a lot of people that went swimming so most of the time I had the pool to myself.
One of the Jokes on one of the table mats at the breakfast area. Each mat have a bunch of different jokes, stories, and sayings….it was always interesting to read them.
Gas station across the street from the hotel “Indian Oil”. You can see the person with the tractor filling up with gas. Diesel was actually less expensive because the government subsidized it.
In order for the lights and the electricity to work in the room you had to have your room key in this wall mount. It was nice unless you wanted something to charge while your away from a few minutes, although they probably save on energy.
Watching the dump truck on the construction sight out our hotel window.
Outside view of our hotel from the Ohri’s restaurant.
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: Charminar – Hyderabad, India
Jake & I in front of the Charminar – Hyderabad, India
We are actually standing on a small divider between two streets, thankfully it wasn’t during rush hour! Charminar is known as the Emerald City in Hyderabad. The Charminar was a beautiful building made of granite and marble.
Charminar – Hyderabad, India
Charminar was built in 1591 during the rule of Sulltan Muhammad Quli Autb Shah. It was built to celebrate the elimination of a plague from the city. Historians say that he prayed at this very spot for the plague to come to an end and promised to build a “masjid” mosque to remember this prayer. While building the Charminar Quli prayed “Oh Allah, bestow unto this city peace and prosperity. Let millions of men of all castes, creeds and religions make it their abode, like fish in the water.” *
View from one side of Charminar
Looking out from Charminar towards a large temple in the center of Hyderabad, India
Looking down to the sidewalk below from the top of Charminar
Standing at the top of Charminar and looking across at the people on the other side. The various designs and architecture were pretty amazing!
The older part of Hyderabad that you can see from the top of Charminar
Jake and I at the top of Charminar.
It is quite funny the unintentional scene we make walking through the streets, markets, and historical places because many people had never met anyone from “The United States of America!” and they were intent on watching what we did and the really brave ones talked with us. I had to laugh looking at this picture afterward and seeing all the people standing behind us “posing” for the picture too! It was a neat experience meeting and talking with so many people on our journeys.
Our Driver was a great tour guide through this part of our trip.
This was the only location he would not let us go into alone. He came with us and we were very grateful! They people at the ticket counter would not allow us to pay for his ticket because it was not “appropriate”. He was an awesome driver, cheerful, knowledgeable, and it was neat to get to know him. We got to see the village where he lived and found out that he and his wife had their first kid, a little girl, this past November 2011.
One of the locals wanted us to put together our hands like we are holding the carving on the wall. Always an adventure!
It was so neat looking out over the city of Hyderabad
Looking at Charminar from the street
According to the local historians it has been said that one of the Charminar towers (or marinets) fell after being struck by lightening. It was repaired immediately and since then no major reconstruction has been done on the Charminar.
Charminar – Hyderabad, India
Charminar is built on four corners of the square with a tower (also called “minarets) in each of the four corners. Each side of Charminar opens to the plaza and you can see local vendors selling goods, food, and many items on the street. Every tower (minaret) is four stories high with approximate total height of 159 feet.
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: Chowmahalla Palace – Hyderabad, India (part 2)
This was a really neat room, it had the various weapons that had been used on display
I am continuing my pictures from our trip to the Chowmahalla Palace in Hyderabad, India. Jake and I packed in several amazing events, learned a lot of great history, and toured the city of Hyderabad. This one one of the neat places we were able to see that day. In the picture above you can see a wall of weapons. It was pretty fascinating to see the various weapons on display. Many of them were made by hand and were used by royalty or famous people in India. They had two huge rooms from floor to ceiling with displays.
More weapons….ouch!
Jake had to explain to me what these seat / basket looking items were
I cannot remember the official name for these….yes there is one, but these are the chairs royalty would set on when riding on an elephant.
Garments and hats worn by royalty
It’s hard to tell from this picture but the royalty wore a lot of gold in their clothing. They would weave threads of gold throughout the pieces making them sparkle in the sun. I have noticed that the people in this area really do like brightly colored and gold items, they wear a lot of “bling-bling”.
Nizam’s Rolls Royce Silver Ghost Throne Car
It was a beautiful canary yellow car (only driven 356 miles)!
Story behind the Rolls Royce Silver Ghost Car
Pretty cool car. They had someone in the display hand washing it when we were there. It is a fun and cheerful colorful, it would be cool to go for a spin in it!
Royal stables with a bunch of old carriages
Pretty flowers in the courtyard at the palace
Bright and beautiful flower at the Chowmahalla Palace, one of my favorites in India!
I had a blast touring the Chowmahalla Palace in Hyderabad, India. It was filled with amazing glimpses into the history of India and it’s royalty. One piece of advice for anyone traveling to this area from USA or overseas, you will probably get stopped a lot, asked questions, pictures taken, and hands shaken.
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: Exploring Hyderabad, India
Young boy putting sugar cane stocks into a juicer
Juice from the sugar cane
You could buy a drink from multiple street vendors who were making sugar cane juice. Jake and I decided that since there was only one cup and we were not sure about the process it was better to pass on this one although it was fascinating to watch.
Watering a herd of goats on the side of the road
It was not uncommon to see a small herd of goats, cows, or chickens on the side of the road. Sometimes they would be laying under vehicles, on the sidewalk or on hard clay dirt. There were not a lot of grassy areas in the parts of Hyderabad that we went so the animals would be fed or have to find food various ways (we even saw a few eating out of dumpsters or trash piles).
Make shift homes on the side of the road
It was pretty common to see make shift homes like the ones above near the road. Basically the people didn’t have the means to build or buy a home so they would collect items they found on the side of the road or trash to build a shelter for their family. Many of these homes were so small and open you could see right through them.
I did not see a lot of horses in Hyderabad but was able to find this one on a side street
Brina and Karlie wanted to know if I saw or rode any horses while in Hyderabad. At least in the city of Hyderabad I only saw a handful of horses. This one was on a side street and was beautiful so I took a picture of it for the girls.
Local Bakery in Hyderabad
Most of the stores and people selling goods to the locals or tourists would set up shop on the side of the road in these little stalls. Anyone could come to the “market” and shop at the stores along the road. According to our driver the stores did not open until late morning but would stay open late at night. Many of the shops would bring everything they could to sell every day and at night they would pack everything up to take it home. The “stalls” were not rented it was first come first serve so if you wanted to get a good location you would arrive early to set up your store for that day.
Hyderabad “general store” on the side of the road
As you can see from part of the sign this is a General Store which sells anything from balls to play dough to toys to chips and more. The family would set up shop and sit until someone came to shop. When you came into the store they would try to sell you almost anything while trying to convince you it is a great deal. Bartering is very common in this area too, although foreigners tend to a pay a premium price.
Notice the balconies and rooftop
This building is a combination store set up and apartments for residents. If you look closely at the picture you will notice that all the balconies (even the top ones) have bars covering the entire opening. Why? Because people are desperate enough that they will climb up the building, over the balcony, and break into the apartment to steal. One of the major problems with these bars covering the balcony is when they have a fire, there is no place to exit other than through the stairwells inside the building which can be dangerous. Now look at the roof, see the barbed wire at the top. Why? If people could climb or get to the top of the roof then they can climb down into the apartments below so they place barb wire at the tops of buildings to help keep the residents and their apartments safe.
Do you see the spiked object on the front of this car?
I noticed that on the front of some cars there was a “spiked” object. After seeing them in a couple different spots where Jake & I were sightseeing I asked about them and found out that these were on the vehicles of government officials. It really isn’t a spike but an India flag rolled up and on special occasions they will unroll the flag.
Bicycle loaded down with goods
The streets were very busy in Hyderabad. You would see cars, trucks, rigshaws, auto-rigshaws, bicycles, people walking, animals and more. It was pretty common to see someone pushing a bicycle or cart full of goods down the street. It looks like this guy is planning to work on plumbing or sell plumbing hardware.
Roadside market
They love brightly colored items. These are two more stores on the side of the road. You can barely see the divider between them. One store is selling kids clothing, peacock feathers, and knickknacks and the other store N.K. Store was selling “All Marriage Items and Meena Herbal Powder” according to the sign.
Hospital in Hyderabad, India
We wanted to walk through some of the street markets so we parked in the hospitals parking lot. Next door was a walk-in free health clinic. Made me very thankful for the health care and hospital we have only minutes from our home in South Carolina. You will often see people walking with a limp from an earlier injury that they never got medical care for or when they got care it wasn’t set right.
I saw and experienced so many things during my brief stay in Hyderabad, India. The people I met and interacted with the regularly were extremely kind, hospitable and generous. Several times while driving down the street you would have an old man with a missing limb or someone begging you for money. At one spot as we were walking one lady came up to me, knelt down, held out her hand and said “Sister….Sister…..please help”. It broke my heart to see so many people pleading for help. While I couldn’t help everyone it was nice to share what little we had with those around 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!
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!
Travel & Vacation: First Day in Hyderabad, India
Alligator made out of bread at the breakfast buffet in the hotel. Some of the animals they made out of bread everyday were pretty amazing.
I was so excited to finally see Jake again after being apart for almost a month! He was waiting patiently at the airport when I arrived at 2 am in the morning in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India. It took me over an hour to get through security, customs, and find my luggage. Jake had to work that day so after breakfast together at the hotel I was left to entertain myself. It was pretty easy to stay entertained, there are so many things to see. I literally could have stood at the hotel window and watched all the activity on the street below with all the cars, trucks, people, rigshaws, auto-rigshaws, stray dogs, and everything else it was quite mesmerizing.
I explored a little bit but stuck near the hotel, went swimming, and tried to keep myself awake so I could adjust to the different time zone. India is 9 1/2 hours ahead of our time here in South Carolina. Thankfully Jake didn’t have to go in until later that morning and he had a driver come pick me up late that afternoon to take me to his place of work so I only had a few hours to entertain myself. Here’s a few pictures from my first day in Hyderabad:
I loved the Hotel’s packs of sugar, each sugar pack had little ants printed on it.
It was so much fun to meet the people Jake had been interacting with for several weeks. The guy that brought us coffee the first morning I was there for breakfast always had one waiting for us at our table before we sat down. A couple of the hotel staff said it was great to finally meet me, Jake had talked about me and they had seen me on Skype. The service and people at the hotel were amazing.
The hotel had a beautiful roof top pool.
After exploring for a little bit I decided to get my vitamin D and go for a swim. It was refreshing and relaxing, I only saw two other people in the pool the entire time I was at the hotel maybe it was the time of day or just not a popular activity. It was a very peaceful place to hang out.
Watching traffic from the hotel, the red box looking item in the back right of the picture is a police box (you can actually see the police officer sitting in it).
You see these a lot at busy intersections in town that don’t have traffic lights. During rush hour the police officer will come out into the middle of the street and direct traffic. It looks pretty crazy seeing a person standing in the middle of cars going every direction. As you can see in this picture cars, motorcycles, auto rigshaws and everything else are sharing lanes. There were many times I could have rolled down the window and touched the person next to me because the vehicles get so close in traffic (especially the motorcycles) and many times there are no lanes marked or you’ll meet a vehicle going the wrong way. With all the traffic there is also a steady stream of honking even during the night.
A lot of construction going on in HiTech City, Hyderabad.
Jake was even there when the first McDonald’s in the HiTech City of Hyderabad opened. These are just a few of the buildings going up next to the hotel where we were staying.
Guards at the gate outside the hotel, before a car can enter the hotel property it must be checked by the guards.
Twenty-four hours a day they had a set of guards on the outer perimeter at the gate and another check point with guards prior to entering the hotel. See the shiny rectangular object in the middle of the picture, that is a mirror they use to check under the cars for bombs. Every car had to be checked prior to entering the property.
Taking a few minutes to relax and catch up on all the news in India on my first day in Hyderabad! The Times of India newspaper – March 16, 2012
Pepsi was in India but it looked and tasted different.
I am not a huge soda (or pop as some call it) drinker but I noticed in Hyderabad Pepsi appeared to be more popular. The can looked different and when I snagged a sip from Jake the taste was noticeably different too. Another interesting thing I noticed is that our cans are 12 oz cans the ones I saw in India were 11 oz cans.
Jake received a beautiful boutique of flowers upon his arrival in Hyderabad. By the time I arrived several weeks later the flowers had dried but they were still really pretty!
It was a really sweet and thoughtful gesture from the people he worked with overseas. The people we encountered during our time in India were very gracious and hospitable.
Part of Jake’s team in Hyderabad. It was really neat to meet everyone and spend a little time with them.
I came over towards the end of the work day and was able to talk more with the different team members over their evening snack. Two of the workers gave Jake & I their snack so that we could see what it tasted like. This is just another example of the kindness and generosity we experienced while visiting India.
Jake’s office in Hyderabad
Even though we saw this office many times on Skype during our time apart it was nice to see it in person!
Catching up on my current events with “India Today” while waiting a few minutes in the lobby for Jake.
We ended the evening with a quiet, romantic, and delicious dinner together.
After a busy day of trying to stay awake so I could adjust to the new time zone this was the perfect way to relax and catch up. The food was amazing and the service from the restaurant staff was excellent! Jake was so thoughtful, he had picked out and bought a pearl necklace for me which he gave to me that evening. I didn’t realize until reading about it but Hyderabad is also called “Pearl City” and well known for its pearls.
Just as we got back to our room at the hotel a beautiful display of fireworks started going off outside our window, talk about perfect timing! A lot of times on Friday evening during a Holiday (and I arrived on a Holiday week) they will celebrate by lighting off fireworks. I arrived on the weekend of the Hindu “Ugadi” Holiday which is celebrated as New Year’s Day and the celebration of Spring.
It was a great first day in Hyderabad. I am thankful for the opportunity to travel and experience such an awesome culture!
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!
