http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/shells_india/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from shells_india en-us Wed, 09 Dec 2009 17:42:34 +0000 Wed, 09 Dec 2009 17:42:34 +0000 A quick snackThe mission for today was to climb Golconda Fort and also check out the Qutub Shahi Tombs. On the way however we decided to make a short stop at a bakery to pick up something for breakfast. I was naively envisioning a croissant or something similar. I really should know better by now Eventually I took something that looked like breadcrumbs on the outside and with peas and corn insi http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Andhra-Pradesh/Hyderabad/blog-128084.html Well you can't come to Hyderabad and not pay a visit to the enormous Ramoji Film City. Ramoji is apparently the biggest film studio in India it takes up about 2000 acres in all and we certainly had a fun day of itRazzak Nicole and I left the apartment bright and early ok it was 9am and rocked along to the sound track to Dhoom 2 and other Bollywood movies until we arrived at Ramoji about an http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Andhra-Pradesh/Hyderabad/blog-123072.html Well the plan to check out Golconda fort on Saturday didn't quite pan out but it's still on the itinerary so stay tuned. Also on the todo list is a trip up north to the Taj Mahal and that general area although that will take a little more planning I think.Saturday was fairly uneventful I ended up having to work most of the day but we did go out for dinner to a restaurant called 'Mainland China http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Andhra-Pradesh/Hyderabad/blog-121615.html Well I've returned to the subcontinent for round two. The trip over was fairly uneventful and I'm pleased to say I actually managed to get my passport stamped this time for those of you I haven't spoken to accidentally missing that stage when I arrived last time caused me some trouble when I tried to leave. Getting to the appartment I'm staying in was also quite painless and the cookcaret http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Andhra-Pradesh/Hyderabad/blog-120726.html Itrsquos been a while between blogs but this is a work trip after all. Unfortunately the work aspect has taken up much more of my weekends than I would have liked but I took the opportunity to get out of the hotel car office routine on Sunday and put on my tourist hat for a while.So first up I headed out to the church I went to the other week which I really enjoyed. After the service ever http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Andhra-Pradesh/Hyderabad/blog-108643.html Well after lunch the adventures continued. Ramchanda was very helpful as a tour guide and started by taking me to the Balaji Temple aka the Birla temple after the company who built it. Apparently this is a fairly modern temple which is dedicated to Lord Venkateswara. The whole thing is completely made of marble which is good because you aren't allowed to wear shoes in. In fact you aren't a http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Andhra-Pradesh/Hyderabad/blog-104358.html I love India. Its such a funny place My car turned up with no problems this morning and Ramchander my driver for today is really good. So first up was finding the church. We got a bit lost and went past it by a long way. Ramchander asked a couple of people for directions at one point he stopped us on the side of the highway outside some roadside shops and houses and told me I should wait in th http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Andhra-Pradesh/Hyderabad/blog-104302.html Well I guess the downside to the whole business trip thing is that I'm actually here to work. So pretty much since Tuesday I've just been working even today However tomorrow is Sunday and I've got the day off to explore WhoooooBut first I have to apologise to everyone who I haven't emailed back. I'll try reply to you all personally tomorrow I really love getting your emails I've just been http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Andhra-Pradesh/Hyderabad/blog-104177.html So here I am in India. The remainder of the flight was pretty uneventful which is probably not a bad thing I arrived at Hyderabad airport and found there was no customs check at all which surprised me especially considering the article that was on the front page of the paper this morning. As promised there was a driver from the hotel ready to meet me with my name on a board. I was really qu http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Andhra-Pradesh/Hyderabad/blog-102637.html So I'm on the way to India How completely random is that I'm actually writing this on the plane to Singapore 'cos I'm sick of watching movies but I have to say I could really get used this whole Business class thing or 'Raffles' class as Singapore air call it. I haven't even arrived in India yet and I'm already looking forward to the ride home... Business and First class seem to get express http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Singapore/Changi/blog-102617.html