India trip log, 15 June 1998

Monday morning, we had breakfast at the house, then Rao dropped Krishna, Vasu and me (and our overnight luggage) off at the bus station in his little car. We took an Andhra Pradesh state bus to Hyderabad, stopping at the bus station at Suryapet at about the half-way point. I used up a whole roll of film taking pictures of the countryside, houses etc. along the way; many of them actually came out. The road from Vijayawada to Hyderabad is in pretty good shape. But it is a two-lane road that carries about as much traffic as I-64 between Louisville and Lexington. The bus driver was always having to swing out to see if there was a gap in the other lane so he could pass a slower vehicle. Plenty of other buses and vehicles were passing the bus. I was glad I wasn't driving.

An interesting rocky hill somewhere west of Vja., 15 June 1998A hill serves for both religion and communication (along the road to Hyderabad), 15 June 1998A Hindu temple in a town along the road, 15 June 1998(click to see big picture)A Christian cemetery along the road to Hyderabad, 15 June 1998A interesting and probably sacred hill along the road to Hyd., 15 June 1998A close-up of the top of the hill.A mosque (?) along the road to Hyd., 15 June 1998A mosque that has seen better days, along the road to Hyd., 15 June 1998A bare hill with a huge statue on top, along the road to Hyd., 15 June 1998A close-up of the statueA modern building near the outskirts of Hyderabad, 15 June 1998A close-up of a message painted on a cliff.The Communist Party is alive and well in India. This is in a small town west of Vijayawada, 15 June 1998Some rectangular mounds (of brick?), 15 June 1998. I saw many of these along the road. Maybe they are kilns?

In Hyderabad, we walked to the Blue Moon Hotel near the Begampet and Amirpet areas of Hyderabad and checked in, then K. and I rested a little, while Vasu went out. It was now late in the afternoon. We walked from Amirpet to the central Abids area of Hyderabad. (Click here to see a map of Hyderabad.) We visited Birla Mandir, a new Hindu temple (mandir) built by the wealthy Birla family of industrialists. Vasu described it as the temple of love. As in all Hindu temples, shoes are not allowed, so we had to check our sandals in a booth at the base of the hill on which the temple sits. From the top of the temple, there is a good view of the surrounding city. We spent some time exploring the temple and lining up to be blessed by a priest (for a little money) and visited the temple's gift shop, where I bought a map/road guide of the city. After we retrieved our shoes, Vasu led us down various streets to where we met some friends of his outside their apartment. (Vasu worked in Hyderabad for a couple of years.) By then it was dark. We ate some North Indian food (butter paneer naan [flatbread made with milk products], some kind of masala, and Manchurian [a breaded cauliflour dish]) at a restaurant Vasu knew nearby. Then we headed back to the hotel.

Back Forward
Previous day Next day