| Submitted by: Hans Braker & Thea Van Zon, Netherlands |
| Submission Date: 04 February 2005 |
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The gopurams (temple towers) outside are true masterpieces already, and inside we were just in time to witness a puja ceremony carried out by the brahmins (of course). The ceremony involved an incredible noise of bells, drums and other instruments. We did not catch the essence of it all but it was quite impressive with a lot of people joining in the ceremony of light, water and fire.
The priests are really doing their best to get as much money from you as possible for a temple donation; you can fill out a form during which they show you forms of others who gave very generous amounts.
After this ceremony we had some trouble finding the shoe-keeper outside and for a moment we thought our shoes had gone. Luckily enough we found her sitting behind a truck.
We had some Indian sweets opposite the hotel: small cakes in very sweet syrup. Delicious! It was dark already; we decided to return to Madras the next day and fly to Hyderabad because in the south it would stay very wet for several more days.
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Since the train back to Madras would leave late in the morning, we decided to visit Chidambaram's Annamalai university. A large complex with modern-looking buildings. We wanted to visit the department of mathematics which turned out to be at the far end of the campus. It was very hard to find since there were only two classrooms and three offices! We had a look around in the library and a chat with the staff. Interesting meeting!
We reserved at the railway station for the 11.22 Cholan Express, which turned out to be unnecessary since there were even less passengers than the day before. The train was an hour late. We arrived at Madras Egmore station at about 18.00.
We wanted to make a flight reservation at the Indian Airlines office, but from 18.00 to 19.00 the office was only open for cancellations (Kit change p.820). The first hotel we tried was full; we found a room at hotel Kanchi - far too expensive at Rs 320 including all extra charges - where in fact you pay for the looks of the lounge but the room and bathroom are a complete disaster! A general rule we found was that all hotels with rooms above Rs 150 have this same characteristic. We took an auto-rickshaw (Rs 20) to Maharadja Restaurant where we had an excellent meal. The Indian breads - nan, paratha - are great in combination with fruits or curries. We also liked the dishes with cheese.
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After breakfast at the hotel (the well-known toast, butter, jam) for Rs 36, we went to Mount Road for some shopping. Bought books at the American bookshop: six books for Rs 624, a mosquito net (Rs 425) at Witco. This mosquito net has served its purpose very well; used about ten times.
At Indian Airlines we booked a flight to Hyderabad for that same day at 19.00. The fare is $57 per person but if your age is below 30 it's just $43.
Thea bought a salwar (thin ladies' trousers) for Rs 75. She used it extensively during the rest of our stay.
We visited George Town, the harbour quarter, with the impressive red high court building. Because of the festival there were no court sessions so we had to be content with the views of the building. What was more interesting was the view of the court clerks and their enormous, huge paper production. Files were stacked up high, held together with thin strings, papers were absolutely everywere and everyone played magic with the carbon-copy papers.
A nice Indian drink is the green coconut, which is sold at many places for Rs 3 to Rs 5. The nut is opened on the spot and with a straw you can drink the somewhat sour milk. It is very refreshing. Often the nut is opened after you emptied it, and you can eat the rest of the coconut.
We returned by bus (Rs 2) to Mount Road. The buses in Madras are always full and you have to enter and leave the bus in the Indian way: use your elbows and your weight to get through. Took very good milkshakes at Maharadja plus some sweets and sodas (Rs 25). Back to the hotel with an autorickshaw, this time on the meter (Rs 10).
We went to Egmore railway station to take a suburban train to the airport. Absolutely no useful information as to the departures of trains was displayed, but we found out we should go to the second platform, walk to the right and cross the tracks at the far end. There immediately a train arrived which took us to the airport.
At the airport extra security measures were taken since that day two Sikh terrorists had been hung. They were the assassins of the general who had been in charge of the clearing of the golden temple at Amritsar. The Sikhs had announced bombings and during the rest of our stay we noted that extremely high precautions were taken everywhere. The luggage was thoroughly checked; we had to remove the batteries from our torch and take them downstairs to have them put in the registered luggage. The official even wanted us to remove the batteries from our camera but since we insisted that this would spoil all our pictures we were allowed to leave them in.
The plane had a delay of 20 minutes upon departure; the view of Madras by night was wonderful! During the stop in Bangalore soldiers immediately boarded the plane and checked wheteher all luggage still had an owner inside the plane. Only after this check new passengers boarded.
After the arrival in Hyderabad (actually Secunderabad) at 23.00 we were terribly ripped off by the taxi-driver. It was dark and rainy and all there was at the airport were Ambassador taxis who could just ask anything they wanted. During daytime an autorickshaw would be the best alternative for going to Hyderabad, an eight km drive. Since we had no choice we paid the Rs 150 they asked.
Luckily enough there were free rooms at the hotel, hotel Suhail (Rs 132), not very well located in a filthy alley but very quiet and clean enough. No services like drinks etc. and we asked a hotel clerk to buy us some softdrinks.
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We took breakfast (Rs 20) in the Grand Hotel. Don't try this place! The cups were absolutely filthy and we had to think twice before drinking the tea, although the sugar bread was okay. Hans got stomach problems again that evening, and the causal relation seemed clear.
We went to Secunderabad railway station by autorickshaw (Rs 25) to book seats on the Ajanta-express for the next day. All trains in the direction of Aurangabad were booked up to the next 10 days! The whole system is computerised and this information can be read from terminals.
The booking office is not at a 15 minutes walk from the railway station but you have to walk down the first platform to the left, take some steps down to the left and take the first door to the right (no signs).
The booking office is on the ground floor (Kit change p. 772).
Since Hyderabad is not touristic at all (we spotted one westerner) the Tourist Quota are hardly ever used. We filled in a reservation form, the clerk wrote `foreign tourists' on it and assured us it would be properly taken care of. The next day it would turn out we had indeed been given berths from the Tourist Quota.
The streets around Secunderabad station are great for exploring; many small shops and people just selling all kinds of things in the streets. A good place to sit with a drink and watch everything go by. Here Thea bought a pair of leather slippers (Rs 75).
We went to the Charminar, a square huge building with minarets, by autorickshaw (Rs 20). The city is absolute crowded with cars, buses and trucks which fill the air with exhaust fumes, so a ride is not a real pleasure.
Near the Charminar is the Mecca Mashid, a large mosque, where Hans was allowed to go inside. The front of this building is covered with metal wire to keep birds out, so the exterior is completely spoilt. Here again the guide was trying hard to get us to give generous gifts. He himself got Rs 10 and the shoekeeper Rs 5.
We went to the post office (Rs 15) to buy stamps for postcards we were still looking for. Here we met an Indian who showed us that the philatelistic stamps could be obtained upstairs. This man was determined to have a conversation with us. He insisted on an appointment with us and because he seemed to be quite harmless we decided to meet him in the hotel that evening.
We made a phonecall to The Netherlands. A typical system: we had to pay Rs 200 in advance, had to wait almost an hour before the clerk hinted that it was our turn. The connection was good enough for both sides to say that all was well. After the call we paid the remaining Rs 80.
After a nap at the hotel we went to the beautiful Birla Mandir temple. This temple of white marble lies on a hill, dominating Hyderabad. Because it was late in the afternoon the stones were not too hot; during daytime our bare feet would not have supported the heat! Many Hindu pilgrims visited the inner sanctuary in front of which a long queue formed.
Back at the hotel, Hans went out to get some water but could not find it at any shop or stall. Finally he found out that mineral water was sold at medical shops. With this knowledge we could find water more easily in other towns too. A liter cost around Rs 10.
When Hans got back to the hotel the Indian, Shafeeq, was already there; he had been knocking on our door although we would meet in the `lobby'. After we found a quiet place to sit he explained to us that he was looking for a job in Europe; he did not like America and he thought as himself as a `free-thinking' man... we found him far too romantic to ever be able to support life in Europe. Shafeeq thought the best chance he had was when he would marry a western girl, so would we be kind enough to tell Dutch girls that he was looking for one? The conversation included him putting his hands on Hans' knees, he liked to read a poem to us, and it all felt rather odd to us. We ended up agreeing we would mail him some job advertisements from home, which we did later in November.
We had a light dinner of salted biscuits and Hans used some Orisel because of the stomach problems.
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Breakfast in a restaurant in Station Road. Many people having breakfast, all eating something with curry. Thea took idli, semolina-like small cakes with two kinds of curry - yes, hot.
Then we went to visit Golconda Fort, about six km outside Hyderabad. First to the Nampally bus stop by rickshaw (Rs 10) and then bus 119 which stops at Golconda's main entrance gate (Rs 4.50). It was a Sunday and many people came here from Hyderabad to escape the town's atmosphere. For us it was a good opportunity to take some pictures of the people and their colourful clothes. We climbed all the way up, where the view and cool are a good reward. |
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