HYDERBAD CITY-TRIP.

                                              My Weekend trip to Hyderabad City.

The Charminar-Hyderabad.

The Golconda Fort.

It's my first ever trip to Hyderabad City in Andhra Pradesh. Though ,I have earlier covered various other cities of A.P ,but couldn't somehow made it to Hyderabad..... Heard a lot ,above the place, its shopping flavour,food....Atlast ,the oppertunity came forth.This year , the holi holidays combined with Easter ,gave a long weekend break from work. We left from Mumbai by Duranto Express, which leaves LTT terminus around 11:05pm...than its a relaxed sleep untill the next morning 11:05am,when it reaches Secunderabad station.

The Golconda Fort.

The Golconda Fort by night.

The Qutab Shahi Tombs.

The Ruins of Golconda Fort.

 The view of the ruins of Golconda from its topmost point.

The view of Hyderabad City from the topmost point of Golconda.

     We had earlier booked a vehicle from Car-India service,hyderabad,so didn't find much problem to go across to Cyberabad(Hightech City)-Hyderabad,were we were to stay in our friend's place ,Malayasian Township.....It was almost 2 +hrs drive to reach there; After lunch at our friend's place we headed for Golconda Fort around 3:30pm...Its some 45mins drive from Malaysian township.

The  Nehru outer ring road drive-Hyd.

Inside Ramoji Film City.



The Euraka- Ramoji Film City (Hyd.)



The Hawa Mahal set ,inside Ramoji Film City.

"Jab We Met" movie set inside Ramoji.

Shahrukh khan bunglow set ,inside Ramoji Film City.

The Ramayana serial set inside Ramoji.

    The First glance of the Fort ,was really impressive...Now,after taking tickets for individuals & cameras ,we started walking thru' the lanes in the hot sun....Actually , its not recommended to visit Hyderabad in March-to June/July. Its just burning heat,which can tan' a person in seconds....Its a long long walk thru' the various coridors until the stairs for the climb to the topmost portion breaks in; We saw a movie shootingcrew busy at work in the fort.... Our energies were draining off... & I was pushing myself to the max. limit...Could climb only half way  to the topmost point & I gave up...my husband could make it to the top....The whole city of hyderabad looks awesome from such heights.

Hussian Sagar Lake , Hyd.

The Lumbini Park , hyd.

Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, Hyerabad roadway.

Myself , at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport , Hyderabad.

     Slowly I just walked down & made my stopover ,on the lawns inside the fort & waited for my husband to come down.....hardly anything is available inside the fort except very costly icecream sticks( had to satisfy with that only--No water available inside).We waited there inside the Golconda Fort ,to enjoy the light & sound show there( starts from 7pm-8pm).... Tickets charge is 100Rs/- additional besides the entry ticket to the fort. Earlier, I had the oppertunity to see light & sound shows at various places likeA&N(Cellular jail), Pune(Shaniwarwada fort),Delhi(RedFort)....But Golconda's show had a different flavour...lots of music of singer Jagjit Singh ,created a lovely ambience in the midst of broken walls of the fort...Videography/ photography is prohibited for the show;
     Before we made it to the Golconda fort ,we were asked to visit the Qutabshahi tombs(7 tombs)----Well maintained monument indeed, but really a waste of money to payon for the entry tickets of individuals & cameras.... what-soever, a first timer cannot make its worth ,until ,he/she enters inside.
     After enjoying a beautiful Show at Golconda ( A Must- Recommended to watch).... we left for Malaysian township for the night stay... on our way ,we stopped at Tolichowki( for relishing the Kebabs-Biriyani  at Season-4 resturant)......
    Next morning , we had to start early ,as we intended to visit Ramoji Film City............We took onto the Nehru-outer ring road(its a toll road,but surely saved us lot of time)....Our driver asked us to have breakfast just before entering the premise gate of Ramoji Film City.It was a newly started Veg.Resturant---Loved the masala dosa & the watermelon juice there; We left Malaysian township around 8:15am & reached Ramoji Film City by 10:05am. We had to leave our vehicle at the enterance gate & stand to book for the entry tickets---The tickets ranged from 1350Rs/- to 600 Rs/- per person. After all entry checks we were put into buses belonging to the Film City.....We drove up & down the rugged terrain ,inside the Film City for almost 20 odd mins. untill we reached the Main gate of the Film City.Ramoji Film City has been acknowledged by Guinness World Records as WORLD'S LAGEST FILM STUDIO COMPLEX. After standing in line for a while ,we were put into red buses of film city to go around................... It was really trilling to see those places in reality ,which we might have come across in various movies & serials....The Action Theatre,Filmy Duniya, Ramoji Tower,were crazy attractions inside the film studio....Around 2:30pm we were really exhausted & hungry too ...so stopped for a Jain thalli menu at"Chanakya" resturant inside the complex. Around 4:30pm we left to return back from Ramoji---- it had been a life time experience;
     At night ,had the opertunity to enjoy the famous "PARADISE BIRIYANI" of Hyderabad. Next day we started off early too for Charminar ,Salarjung Museum & Chowmahalla Palace trip.... Had a lovely breakfast of Andhra Dosa at Banjara hills resturant.The entry ticket at Salarjung Museum was only 10Rs/- But the amount of checking & body frisking was too crazy ( No Camera allowed inside)....Heard a lot about the museum earlier ...Now we had to decide from where to start on.The salarjung museum is a repository of rare objects from nearly all over the world.... Its too huge to cover the whole in one visit. Loved the European paintings, The vield Rebacca statue is just unimaginably beautiful ....The artifact of pottery,The Clock ,& the double headed statue just made me awestruck..................We could finish only 70% of the museum trip & had to move out first to Chaminar darshan. Its a bustling crowded area. Did a lot of shopping of lovely stone setting bangals & Pearl items there...Had lunch at Charminar Bazar before we left for Chowmahalla palace. ..............Its really a must visit, the granduar of the palace ,its gardens,its collections of Belguim glass chandiliars,cars, armoury...too good an experience...
   It was almost 4pm & we had to hurry up for the Shamsabad (Rajiv Gandhi International Airport)....The drive thru' the outer ring road to the airport ,is itself an experience.... Felt ,as if we were driving thru' the lanes of international City.....
    Though , It was a short trip , but we tried to cover all the beauties of Hyderabad City & brought back the flavour of its Karachi Bakery to mumbai along with us;

INTO THE WILDERNESS OF KAZIRANGA-INDIAN RHINO'S LAST REFUGE.

     INTO THE WILDERNESS OF KAZIRANGA-INDIAN RHINO'S LAST REFUGE.

The Hornbill .

A herd of elephants or a family of rhino,passing by suddenly breaks the serenity of Kaziranga National Park in Assam & makes one aware of ones presence for a moments,before he chooses to immerse again in the awe of nature. The innate beauty of the placetransforms even the devout city person to marvelous nature lover...All this on the bank of the majestic Brahmaputra river.... spread over verdant green flood plains of 470sqkm in the Golaghat & Naogaon district of Assam, the UNESCO World Heritage site is renouned for its successful conservation of one-horned rhino. The park has 4 main areas.... The Agoratoli range, the eastern part comprises of forest dotted with grassland & water bodies.....its the longest stripe in the forest. The Kohora range is the most accessible area. The Baguri range in the west is the shortest circuit but has the highest rhino & buffalo density. The 4th is Burhapahar range includes the additional area attached to the park.  The park is home to Big5- 1 horned rhino,Asian Elephant,Wild buffalo, tiger & swamp deer.............Its dream destination for bird lovers. Almost 500 species of birds are found here.... the great -wreathed hornbill, fishing eagle, vultures etc.etc.

MYSTIC SHILLONG-CHERRAPUNJEE.

                MYSTIC SHILLONG & CHERRAPUNJEE IN MEGHALAYA.

Though it was my first visit to Meghalaya region but I happened to come across lot of beautiful snaps of my friends  taken in this region...............So, my impression in my mind was" a land amongst the clouds"............. As we hit the meghalaya region , i was very much disappointed by the sorry state of affair.............trees being trashed down, beautiful green mountain slopes cut down by bulldozers....& dust engulfing us as we moved on.....Yeh , i can understand for development of the region ,roads r required BUT ............................this is just painful to see;
     Since its end of winter season, the region  looked very dry with falling leaves,making the trees look naked....We stayed in the heart of the city ,so could easily go round the market place at Shillong....Nice place to go round shopping for jackets & lovely boots but we hardly need any such stuff here in mumbai ,so it was a better idea to drive upto the Shillong Peak to capture the glance of the whole SHILLONG City...............It was indeed a lovely place to see the city from top.... But truely speaking ,people in Meghalaya have very well learnt to loot the tourists pocket. At every spot we went to see ,we had to shell-out 30/-Rs for individual,100/- for a small digital camera ,20/- for car parking & 300/-+ for video camera.............. Just crazy!!!!!! We thought to stop using our video camera; Next we went to see the" Airforce Museum"............... lovely collection indeed.... But as it was mention:"NO PHOTOGRAPHY INSIDE" ,we left all our cameras in the car ; later learnt that we can use our cameras.............Felt bad; Sign boards shouldnot have misguided people.....
    The Elephant Falls ,was good one ....but we didnot feel like going upto its lowest level....

 Next we started off for CHERRAPUNJEE................As we entered Cherrapunjee,the roads were not good upto few kms....moreover, it was a single road for both up & down traffic........... than the road start on a twist & turn curves thru' the jungles.... everywhere,the road construction work was on ,along with limestone cutting & coal extracting sites(open cast). Warden Falls site was quite good,but since it was winter,only a narrow strip of water was flowing down. Nohkhalikai water falls site was lovely but not upto my expectation...................Had lunch at a nearby dhaba at Nohkhalikai waterfalls site............ We walked almost 1,5kms stretch inside the table top to capture the glimpses of the falls from various angles..............At RK MISSION Anthropological museum,photography was prohibited. Then we moved onto the Eco-park point, Mawsumai caves, Seven Sister's falls sight & at lastKhoh-Ramhahor Maw trop from were ,Bangladesh's town& rivers were easily visible.
   Next very day ,before we left for Kaziranga, we visited The Ward Lake, & St. Mary's Cathedral,Shillong..........................The dinner at Baba lodge ( bengali food) at Shillong was really at treat after all those momo frys & chowmein all day thru'....

A CHILLING NIGHT AT KAZIRANGA NATIONAL PARK.

                         CHILLING NIGHTS INSIDE THE JUNGLES OF KAZIRANGA.

A beautiful sunrise inside the Kaziranga Kohora Range.

The Karbi Anglong jungles.

The cottages at ARANYA GUEST HOUSE.

THE ARANYA GUEST HOUSE,KAZIRANGA.

My dad,at the reception,ARANYA.

My parents ,at the dinning hall at ARANYA.

My husband,at the Aranya guest house.

The Karbi Anglong Village.

The Rubber Plantation at Karbi Anglong.

Though its almost end of winter season ,that we planned for a 2N stay inside the Kaziranga National Park( Assam), It was pretty cold with the dusk..... We were having a booking at ARANYA Guest House( ATDC) at Kohora rage of Kaziranga.By the time we reached the guest house it was 5:50pm( almost dark) & we were damme tired after almost 8/9hrs of drive from Shillong. Aranya guest house is located  amidst dense jungle & Hathikuli teaestate. The Cottages were really good,even the other rooms at the guest house are really huge in size  & quite comfortable.We thought to have an early dinner & go off to sleep....It was simple Dal,sabji,Alubhaji,roti & soup after a cup of green tea to satisfy our hunger in the dense jungle.We couldn't realise the extent of the dense jungle area surround us, amidst darkness.....After the dinner,my husband asked me to go along with him for an evening walk around the guest house. I thought,its really a cool idea to experience the surrounding...... It was really cold & we covered ourself with lots of woollens before we started off.............. Oh,God the buzzing sound of the beetles really added to the charm of the atmosphere... As we walked out of the main gate of the guest house, it was totally a narrow zigzag road...though was feeling bit uncomfortable but I walked along.................. Good lord ' the electricity  went off...................; its total dark now & I feared for any animal to pounch onto us......the Kaziranga postoffice showed a small emergency lit light & rest total darkness..... though,my husband wanted to walkon but I stopped & wished to return back just before the Hathikuli teaestate begin ....its a crazy idea to take chance as we aren't familiar with the place.We returned back... Thank God ,our guest house had backup power service ,So I was happy that it won't become difficult to chargeup my cameras & mobiles for the next thrilling day inside the dense jungles of Kaziranga.
    It was becoming very difficult to sleep,the buzzy sound of beetles ,nutcrackers---- just crazy atmosphere!!!! It was 4:30am as i wokeup from sleep & thought to  enjoy the break of dawn atmosphere amidst the jungles....It was 5:15am as it started to clearup...........Oh my god ," wakeup goutam" .....i shouted to my husband,......our guest house is located amidst the dense jungles of KARBI ANGLONG..." was my first expression. I heard of this place many a time earlier but never realised we are in its vicinity......Watched & filmed the sunrise from our balcony.The day ahead was quite exciting & thrilling as we were to take onto our jeepsafari into the Kaziranga's Kohora rage jungle(35kms inside).
        By afternoon,we just felt so lazy---just eatting & strolling around; Our driver, lal ,wanted us to drive into the Karbi Anglong villages & enjoy the ways of living of the local people. It was really good idea to visit the place..... Saw an ethenic village type of display of lovely huts amidst the jungles.(it is often hired by people for a stay experience in this thatched huts :Courtesy the forest deptt.)..... Visited 2 more resorts in these jungle areas...IORA RESORT is quite familiar with foreign tourist & looked quite expensive for a stay..... I found,Aranya ,a better choice for a stay...even there's dormatories & less priced rooms in its vicinity..... We ended the day with our shopping spree of HATHIKULI GREEN TEA(just Rs 120/half a kg)......
     As the darkess poured in , its time we enjoy everymoment  of our leftover time in these jungles.....