Hyderabad Tour

Well, at the outset I must caution the neutral reader that I shall not remain neutral. In fact, you stand cautioned by the fact that my opinion of Hyderabad is rather biased, due largely to the summer heat. Clearly, one must never ever venture to tour Hyderabad in the summer. Make it in the winter and maybe you will like it more.

Hyderabad, the capital city of the state of Andhra Pradesh has developed in recent years at a fast pace. So much so that it is considered to be at par with Bangalore. Well, the Telugu speaking populace would claim Hyderabad or Cyberabad to be the IT hot spot of the country, whilst the populace of Bangalore will vouch for itself. Let’s just keep it at the fact that both have grown very fast in recent years and that both have traversed the IT path in a major way. By the way, did you know that the Indian HQs of Microsoft and Oracle are in Hyderabad?

Anyways, as I was saying, summer is the time to avoid Hyderabad. The temperatures soar above 40 degrees Celsius, not the exact comfort to travel around. Make it in the winter, when the temperatures remain at a pleasant 16-18 degrees.

The airport is situated at Begumpet, and is well connected to important parts of the country and abroad. The main railway station is Secunderabad. In fact, Secunderabad and Hyderabad are twin cities connected by the Tank Bund. However, many are not aware that there is another major railway station - Hyderabad Decan, at Nampally, which is closer to the Old City. As a traveler, perhaps this is where you would like to be.

There are two trains from Howrah Station that travel to this city. One, the Falaknuma Express, and two, the East Coast Express. Go for the Falaknuma Express, it is faster, has a pantry car and does not stop at some 58 stations like the East Coast Express.

There are many places to stay in Hyderabad. There are budget and economy hotels to really luxurious ones. Take your pick. I wish to refrain from making any advertisements for the Hyderabad hotel industry.

For my part, I stayed at a Government Guest House, thanks to a kindness of a gentleman whom I wish not to name. All I can say is that this Guest House is in Basheer Bagh, really not far away from the older part of the city, and also very close to the Assembly House.

I will detail the various places later. For now, I would just like to mention that I couldn’t travel like a tourist due to the oppressive heat.

And would like to leave you with a picture of the Charminar, which supposedly is the hallmark of the city.