Hyderabad

We are back in Sylvia's old stomping ground, Hyderabad. The weather here has been a pleasant surprise. Very comfortable compared to the more humid areas (along the coast) we just came from.
A friend of Sylvia from school helped us get a place for the last two nights in a guest house in the city. It was a very nice place owned by the Tobacco Board of India (random). Getting there was a little frustrating since communicating with the man running the guest house was near impossible. In the end it worked out great.
While in the city we decided to do some tourist activities; we visited a 17 meter Buddha made from one piece of stone, a modern mall facility, and Golconda fort. Golconda was a fort constructed in the 1200's and most of the foundation, many of the walls and some of the buildings were still remaining. It was quite a site to see. One of the more impressive archaeological sights we have seen on our trip.
In the evening we went to Central University of Hydrabad were Sylvia spent two semesters studying. There we met up with some of Sylvia's friends she had made and spent the time talking, catching up, drinking chai, and just hangin out. After hanging our with her friends we are both regretting not staying in Hydrabad longer. We will only have been here for a total of 52 hrs. Definitely not long enough.
We leave tonight by train to Jhansi (20hrs) en route to Khajuraho by shared jeep (4-5hrs). Khajuraho is famous for Kama Sutra and within the town there are dozens of old temples still standing.


(S) Ah yes, Hyderabad. It's really a great city...but I guess I am also biased since I studied here. I was really happy to swing by campus last night...a lot has changed, new buildings, and more students are there as they've expanded their scope of study to include bachelor's programs, which is good to hear. We saw Ganesh, who looks like he's doing really well. He is working hard with the Study India Program. His English has also improved by %200 it seems, and he has overcome his shyness that was so typical of him two years ago. We were also able to meet up with Kumar Swamy, Sami, Kareem, and Tabassun, students who are now doing their PhDs in Urdu and Hindi. It was great fun catching up with them, seeing where life is taking them, drinking chai, and hanging out. Although everyone i recognized from campus gave the ever expected, "you have gotten fat" comment I thought i would hear. It's good to be back.

This afternoon we'll try to meet with a few more old friends, before going to the Old City, Charminar, to pick up some souvenirs and see the old Muslim area of Hyderabad, before going to a Hindu Temple that is at a great vantage point for the city. I'm not really looking forward to the long train ride ahead...it will be hot. We spoiled ourselves the last train ride (spending 2800rs for the tickets!!!!) but this time we've spent under 1000rs, which is much more on budget. Ah well, it gets us from A to B, although the bus ride from Jhansi to Khajaraho is supposedly pretty darn terrible....until next time!