Hyderabad

Few days back I saw this article in rediff, it lists out the 5 things to do while visiting Hyderabad. It comprises of the normal stuff – Pearls, Biryani, Ramoji Film City, Chudi Bazaar and Charminar, Golconda et al. While I do not dispute their prominence to any tourist visiting Hyderabad, but for me – who has started his 6th year in Hyderabad – these things hold scant importance, if any (except the Biryani at Paradise).

So I compiled my own list of things to do in Hyderabad. I am aiming for five points, lets see how many can I come up with.

1. Eat Street: Sitting beside the Hussain Sagar, with cool breeze caressing you, and a multitude of eating options to choose from; for me this is the best place in Hyderabad. Get down from the MMTS at Necklace Road Station, cross the road and enjoy the food with a view.
2. Durgam Cheruvu: Also known as the Secret Lake – this lake tucked away in the depths of Madhapur provides tranquility amidst the multi-billion dollar transactions going on a stone’s throw away. An advice: do not visit in evening; the road adjacent to it will be packed with vehicles. Best time to visit Durgam Cheruvu is late night. And do not miss the Tea from the cart that stands opposite Cyber Gateway.
3. Tilak Road on Sunday or M.R. Book Stores at Punjagutta or Frankfurt Book Store near Odyssey: The books you would find at these obscure second hand bookshops defy imagination. On Sundays, the entire Tilak Road, near Abids, is swarmed with vendors selling books – no categorization of books, keep searching through them till you get tired or find some gem tucked underneath. Generally an armful of books would cost hardly 100 bucks. M.R. Book Stores & Frankfurt Book Store are bigger second hand book shops, books are categorized properly and are a tad expensive then the Tilak Road books – but here too the sheer number of books is mind-boggling.
4. Drive around KBR National Park: Do this once and I am sure you would wish for one more drive. The minute you enter the roads surrounding KBR National Park, you can feel a marked drop in temperature. The roads curve around the National Park, with varying degrees of slopes. It is a roller-coaster drive with you being in control all the time. Again the same advice – best time to visit is late night. Do not go on these roads in evening unless you want to be swathed in dust and smoke.
5. Ice Cream at Mozamjahi Market: Ahead of Nampally, you would find Mozamjahi Market. Look for Karachi Bakery (the taste of Fruit Biscuits of Karachi Bakery cannot be described – you have got to taste it), opposite Karachi Bakery; you can easily find two ice cream shops housed in a building of the 19th century architecture. I do not remember the names of the ice cream shops, but I can still feel the taste tingling my tongue. I have never had better ice cream, at a cheaper price. No ice cream costs more then 15 bucks and at 15 bucks you get three slices of different flavours along with fresh fruits and jelly – Tutty Fruity is simply lip smacking. Another favourite has been the Kulfi – I think it costs 8 rupees.
6. Kachoris @ General Bazaar
7. Chowmohalla Palace
   

Did I miss any spot?

Technorati: Hyderabad, Tourism, Tourist Spots, Eat Street, Durgam Cheruvu, KBR National Park, Tilak Road