Me @ Shankarpur cont

The enormity of the sea makes me realize my insignificance!!!!!!!!!

Travelling around Kolkata - Scoop

And this what I had @ Scoop, Princep Ghat - As You Like It!

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.

Going to Hyderabad

I am going to Hyderabad tomorrow. Accompanying my wife on her training and hoping to visit some places of interest in Hyderabad. However, the temperatures there are scorching. In fact, I was reading about Hyderabad in a website and it said something like - if you were planning to tour Hyderabad in the summer, you must have survived the Saharan (or sub-Saharan, i don't remember which) climate for 6 years, and should have done splendidly well. Not very encouraging, is it?

Anyways, I had to go, and if I can, I will visit some of the places. Of course, I also intend to shoot lot many pictures and hope to post some here soon.

For now, I may be off blogging for a while. I want to enjoy my vacation. So wish me luck.

A TRIP TO BAKKHALI

Bakkhali, a wonderful place to spend a quiet weekend, is about 132 kms from Kolkata. It is one of the many deltaic islands spread across Southern Bengal. Reaching there is absolutely no problem, as it is only about 3 hours drive from Kolkata – Esplanade. One can also take the State Govt buses from Esplanade, which charges barely Rs.70/- and take around 4 hours. The route is via Diamond Harbour Road.

My suggestion would be to take car, because en route you would feel like stopping at several places inventing many excuses, but primarily to absorb the ambiance that Diamond Harbour offers. The buses leave at 7:15 AM and 8:15 AM and go directly to Bakkhali. If you miss those buses, you could board one of the buses for Namkhana, cross the Hatania-Doania creek in a special ferry.

The next stretch of the journey is very smooth, with an excellent road leading to Bakkhali.

There are many hotels to put up at Bakkhali. Though advanced booking is always desirable, even the ones without reservations, find adequate accommodations. We stayed at Bay View Tourist Lodge.
The hotel looks splendid at night too.
My close friend, Sayan accompanied us in our trip to Bakkhali...

and when we reached there, he couldn’t wait to get a feel of the water. He waded in straight

The ashen beach was wonderful….

With red crabs everywhere…………
Parna was happy too………

There is hardly much else to see in Bakkhali. The only mode of conveyance is the rickshaw van. The enterprising rickshaw pullers take tourist to see the different places. One such place is the Henry Island Project – a fish cultivation project of the State Government.

There are 162 ponds which make up this fish farm. A couple of shots from a tower ……………

And now the tower itself………………

The gentle waves rolling …………

The day was coming to a close and the sunset was splendid beyond the trees……… And we watched India lose to Bangladesh in the Cricket World Cup and thereby face an early exit from the Championship.

At the beach in the next morning, shot a few sunrise pictures………. This one turned out well

Later we took a ride in a crude bhut-bhuti, a motorised country boat, from Frasergunj Fishing Harbour to Jambu Dwip, a small, uninhabited and forested island out in the sea. It was a thrilling experience.

Sayan was lost in thought during the journey………….

Well, I knew well to shut up and enjoy the view.

Parna landed at Jambu Dwip and was pretty excited…………

With the red crabs…………

And the windmills at distant Frasergange were a mere speck, but not for my camera………….We returned on the same day starting in the afternoon and reaching home by evening.

Some more memorable shots from bakkhali………..

Life Boat

The fishermen