Chak De! India: Hyderabad Highs and Lows

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This past weekend Leala and I took the plunge and headed out on our first non- guided trip. We took a semi- sleeper bus from Pondicherry to Hyderabad. It was a 14 hour trip with only two bathroom stops, but we had friends waiting for us in Hyderabad and it was well worth the discomfort. While in Hyderabad we stayed at The University of Hyderabad; three Hendrix students are currently there. One, Connor, is in India for the year, while Paige and Gilly are there for the semester like Leala and I. Gilly was able to arrange for us to stay in their hostel, Tagore. We fit into the student crowd there so we ate for free! The rooms were great and I took the first hot shower I’ve taken in three weeks… a magical experience.

We got in Friday morning and then Gilly took us to a market (the name of I can’t remember). We did some shopping and it was so laid back- which is unusual for shopping in India. Only one time did a shop owner get annoying: I didn’t look at his store and he followed me for a minute. I told him I didn’t want to look and then he offered to buy me tea or a coke, and then he would leave me alone. Needless to say I gave him a dirty look and he got the picture. Friday night we went to a club called Liquids. It was ladies night, so free drinks for girls from 8:30-10:30! It was a lot of fun and I met some nice Indian girls as well as got to know other international students from University of Hyderabad.

Saturday Gilly, Leala and I went to Golcunda Fort. It is this massive, ancient structure that looks like it is part castle and part maze. Some of it is situated on the top of a large hill, and if you climb to the top there is an amazing view of the city. Later that night Leala and I went to an Indian mall and had pizza and ice cream… it was delicious. Our stomachs were killing us because we weren’t used to that kind of food. We both put on a brave face and took the bus home. It was dark, raining and there were no women out, but we did it after asking men who looked nice enough to help us.

Sunday we went to Charminar, a huge building/temple with a shopping area. I got some jewelry (Hyderabad is known for its pearls). Later that evening we ran into some trouble trying to leave Tagore and get to our bus to take us back to Pondy. Basically one guard at the University was a jerk, and the rest of the people we met (including a shop owner, university student, and our auto-rickshaw driver) were kind and helpful. We made is back Monday morning, caught the bus to campus, and then hopped on a boys only bus and asked them to stop at the women’s hostels- I didn’t miss a single class on Monday and best of all we made it to breakfast!

This Thursday we all leave to go to Bangalore and Mysore. I will post again after the trip, as I am sure I will have more stories to tell.