Hyderabad Trip: Spanish Mosque

Date: 22nd Oct 2015

Visitors: We were not allowed inside.

Spanish Mosque Timings:  5:00 AM to 9:00 PM

Fee: None

Spanish mosque was built by Paigah Nawab Iqbal Ud Daula in 1906. He was inspired by the Cathedral–Mosque of Córdoba in Spain and he built this mosque after returning from the tour. Instead of the usual minarets this mosque has spires which gives a church like look. I parked the car and went to inquire if we can go inside. The man sitting outside said we can go inside but women are not allowed inside. I went back to the car to get camera and ask Mom and Shilpi to sit inside. When i went back there was another person and again checked if i can go inside but he said NO how ever he said i can click pics outside. So below are the few pics from outside.

A beautiful piece of architecture. Sure the interiors also would have been grand but could not see it :(

Hyderabad Trip: Nimrah Cafe & Bakery

Date: 22nd Oct 2015

Visitors: Arun, Muthusamy and Harsh.

Nimrah Cafe & Bakery Timings: Not sure but surely open during the Charminar visiting hours.

Location: Between Charminar and Makkah Masjid.

Located between Charminar and Makkah masjid its not very hard to find this bakery.  After sending Shilpi and my Mom for shopping we three were roaming the streets for some time. Harsh was bit hungry so we decided to have some biscuits and tea. The surrounding was not so promising but this was the better place compared to others in this area. When we started having snacks we understood the surrounding doesn't matter. We were in for a treat. The cookies were fresh, hot, soft and tastes amazing. They had some 9 varieties of cookies and their signature one was the salted one. Take a bite and the biscuit just crumbles in the mouth. Then we got the tea and believe me this was one of the best tea i ever had. We had tea from few other cafes also in the 5 days and they were all super. I think Hyderabadi biriyani completely over shadowed the tea.  Fed harsh one full cup tea and he enjoyed it a lot. We met Mr. Aslam one of the nicest guy. He was so polite and converse with everyone who comes to the shop. Had a small talk with him and asked if they are planning to sell these biscuits in other cities just like Karachi Bakery biscuits. They are in the process of getting ISO certification and most probably in 2016 they will be having branches in Bengaluru. Sure going in there when they open in the city.

 Also See: Charminar and Makkah masjid

Smaller ones are the amazing coconut cookies.

Amazing Irani chai. Can's stop with one.

Few varieties of biscuits.

Sure they do not waste time. There is almost no wait time for tea, one person keeps making tea as there is always someone asking for it.

The Assorted cookie pack has 40 pieces and costs Rs 200 and the salt one costs Rs60. Finished the last 2 piece just yesterday.

Hyderabad Trip: Laad bazaar

Date: 18th Oct 2015

Visitors: Arun, Shilpi, Harsh, Muthusamy and Vijayalakshmi.

Laad bazaar Timings: 11AM to 10:30 PM

Laad Bazaar also known as Choodi bazaar is the old market famous for Bangles. Its one of the old and important market in Hyderabad. Functional from the Qutb Shah rule this is another top attraction to visit. This 1 KM narrow lane is located right next to Charminar. The street looks amazing in night with all those glass bangles glittering in light. The best place to buy all fancy bangles. Bargain hard to get best price. You can find glass bangles, metal ones, fat fancy ones, simple thin ones and all sorts of them.

Also See: Charminar and Makkah Masjid

Some pictures from the famous Laad Bazaar.

We got one of these but it burst even before we blew it to half this size :(

I read auto's and cars are barred from entering this street but the below pic says otherwise.

I don't know half the color in here:(

Caution while roaming in these streets. The street is narrow and too crowded so take care of your belongings.

Hyderabad Trip: Charminar

Date: 18th Oct 2015

Visitors: Arun, Shilpi, Harsh, Muthusamy and Vijayalakshmi

Charminar Timings: 9:00 AM to 5:30 PM

Fee: Indians - Rs 5, Others - Rs 100, Video - Rs 25, Below 15 Years free.

Charminar is the most iconic structure and the top attraction in Hyderabad. It was built by Muhammed Quli Qutb Shah in 1591. Its believed that he built this after he prayed for eradicating the plague disease in the city. Its a square structure with 4 grand arches on all 4 sides. Four 56m minarets decorate the 4 corners of the structure. A closer look at the minarets and the top floor reveals the intricate carvings on the walls. There is also a mosque on the top which is now closed. Top floor is accessible through the narrow winding steps and one can get the beautiful view of the city. The old city was built with the charminar as the center.  There are focus lights set to illuminate the structure during festivals like Ramzan, Eid, Diwali and Dusherra. We planned to visit again here on 22nd to see it in light but we could not make it.

One of the Arch way.

The grand view charminar.

Beautiful minaret.

View of one street from the top. We left the car in hotel and went here in auto. It turned out to be a good decision at the end. The streets were crowded like crazy and it became worst in the night while coming back. Not sure its because of Sunday or its like this always.

Some of the beautiful carvings on the walls.

Lotus structure in the center. Its believed it was carved in remembrance of the kings wife Bhagmathi who was a Hindu and converted to Islam before marriage.

 

The clock on one side . There are 4 on all four sides.

The bell connected to one of the wall which rings every hour.

The Roof.

Water cistern with a small fountain. Its believed that there is a tunnel under this connecting to  golconda fort.

Bhagyalakshmi Temple. The Hindu temple located at the base of the charminar is another attraction here.

One can get the view of Golconda fort, mecca masjid (right next to charminar), Salarjung museum, Falkunama palace, chowmala palace from here. The famous Laad bazzar is located on one side of the charminar. On other side is the famous Hyderabad pearl shops. There is plenty of shops for dress materials on another side. I have never seen any bazzar like this with so many shops on all four sides. There is a police station next to Charminar and the cops are always on rounds. One need to be very careful and take good care of their belongings. Lot of fraudsters roaming the streets and we even saw the police catching one of them.

Hyderabad Trip: The Drive

Date: 18th Oct 2015 to 23rd Oct 2015

Tourists: Arun, Shilpi, Harsh, Muthusamy and Vijayalakshmi

Total Distance: 1335Kms

Road Condition: Excellent

Stay: Oyo rooms@SG Comforts, Abids

Plan to visit Hyderabad last year during Dec 2014 was cancelled because of the swine flu outbreak. We made it to Hyderabad this year successfully. We had decided to drive to Hyderabad from Bengaluru. The NH7 connecting both the cities was amazing. The drive was too smooth. Unlike BLR-CBE or BLR-MYS highways this one was almost deserted.  Though the road was empty one needs to be careful because it gets monotonous and easy to lose concentration.

We left at 4:30AM but was slowed down inside Bengaluru itself because one side of the road from sony world junction to indiranagar was blocked for 2015 Bengaluru Marathon. We took 10 hours to reach Hyd as we made more than 8-10 stops. Driving back took 8 Hrs as Harsh slept for most part of the drive :).

Make sure you fill up your car and also yourself before leaving as there are very very few petrol bunks and restaurants. 

Some pics of the highway.

Beautiful 4 lane road with colorful flowers dividing the road.

Sun rise somewhere on the way.

 

A big thanks to Google maps which helped me in navigating through the crowded and narrow streets of Hyderabad. It worked perfectly well in taking me to all the places except one. More posts from the trip coming up in next few days.

Bengaluru Eataries: 9. Thindi Beedi (Food Street)

Date: 10th Oct 2015

Foodies: Arun, Shilpi and Harsh

Cost for 2: Eat what ever you want and it wont make a dent in the account.

Timing: Become lively after 7 PM.

Location: VV Puram (sajjan rao circle)

Whenever some one says VV puram the first thing comes to mind is the eat street. The famous thindi beedhi is a small narrow road with small hotels on both sides. These hotels open after sunset and goes on till mid night. There are no seating arrangement but who cares. It gets crowded a lot on weekends and you will not come out of the street without rubbing shoulder with someone. One piece of advice is avoid going in car. Its so difficult to find parking even for a two wheeler. You may have to park your vehicle far away and walk. There is always a cop roaming to still bill for illegal parking.

Start of from one end of the road and walk up the street tasting some of the delicacies of Bengaluru. We started from the famous VB Bakery.

The place is known for its apple cake, kara biscuit, honey cake but Kara Bun Congress is the signature item here. KBC is a masala bun with butter and peanuts stuffed inside.

Vasavi dosa camp is the biggest hotel in that street with variety of food item. Dosa's, idly, paddu, lemon rice, puliogare and many more.This gets the maximum crowd.

There are couple of hotels serving Chats and Chinese food.  The pav bhaji was good but i would suggest "be a Roman when in Rome" better stick to Bengaluru specialties in VV puram.

You can also find many selling toys. The ones with light sure attracts the kids. Harsh was happy seeing them but somehow did not ask for it this time :)

Ramu Tiffen center is one of the oldest in this street.

This is the lemon bath dosa. Have seen dosa with aloo, gobi, mushroom and many other stuff but lemon rice in dosa?? never.

Lemon bath dosa with coconut chutney was yummy but it was too filling.

Kodubale is one of the traditional snacks in Karnataka.

And this is how it looks in weekend.

I will be visiting here soon again to taste Holige, crispy jelebi, akki roti, bajji, maddur vada and many more delicious stuffs.