Cravings

For the most part, I liked Indian food. The spice, sauces, and textures were interesting and very flavorful. While eating vegetarian for the most part, I had assumed that it would be very healthy for me, but there were a lot of hidden fats. Ghee - aka butter - was in everything it seemed, and a lot of it. So after a while, I no longer felt so good about "vegetarian", because it contained a ton of animal fat any way. Go figure.

Oh, yeah...a little Lenny while we eat...

The street view outside the Hard Rock Cafe.

Man, oh man, did we both end up craving a good American hamburger...even the french fries. One weekend, Ali suggested we go to Hyderabad and get a hamburger. I thought, "Where? Good luck." Then she informed me that there was a Hard Rock Cafe in Hyderabad - nirvana, here I come.

My mojito...

No words necessary...

Oliver got his first taste of a really delicious hamburger and was so excited that he started flapping his arms and panting for more! Can't blame him - it tasted SO good. French fries were also new for him - he devoured them, two at a time. It was so funny to watch - it was like he didn't know what to do with a fry in each little hand - which one do I eat first, or can I eat them at the same time?!

Notice the grease-smeared table...those paws had held
many fries!

Golconda Fort and Pearl Shopping

On February 4, Ali, Oliver, and I headed into Hyderabad to tour the Golconda Fort. It was an impressive structure, built into the rocky hillside, and offering commanding views of the city.

The ICRISAT Ganesh, saffron-colored today

Everywhere I go in this area of India, I am struck by the beauty of the bouganvilla, roses, and a variety of blooming trees with amazing large blossoms. The colors and textures around me are wonderful. And then there are the contrasts - I am, after all, an artist, and with that eye, I am constantly noticing the stark contrasts: beautiful flowers and rotting garbage, awe-inspiring ancient architecture and crumbling buildings, impressive modern office buildings and incredibly impoverished tent camps...on and on.
I am saddened when visiting these wonderful historic sites to see garbage thrown around. I haven't been able to wrap my mind around it, because seriously, it was not the tourists that I saw litter. Oh, well...

It did not take long at Golconda Fort to attract a crowd...not a good start. The school children are curious and friendly, but that's not the problem. It's when people would just walk up and pinch Oliver's cheeks - and not gently. It got old in a hurry and felt very invasive. I wouldn't dream of doing that to someone's baby. I may say, "What a beautiful baby", but I would never just walk up and pinch her/him.

Up on a "DO NOT ENTER" ledge - did not
prevent about 30 students and their teacher
from following Oliver & I up there.

We've had to become good at dodging crowds and flat-out refusing photos - averting our faces, especially Oliver's, blocking with our hands, and sometimes actually saying forcefully, "No photos!" I do not like having to do that, because it feels rude, but unfortunately necessary.

a huge group coming down the stairs...
...looks like we will take an alternate route...

We took several side trails to alternative side doors in the fort and relished the hike. It felt good to work out and get off the beaten path. Imagine that - me, off the beaten path - who would guess?!

view of Hyderabad

This time, we took the photo!

Oliver asleep, but not letting go of the umbrella!

Ali succumbed to her ice cream cravings and talked us all into a cone. Okay, fine - she didn't succumb - she just doesn't resist her ice cream cravings! And all right - she really didn't have to talk us into a cone either. Oliver didn't have a choice, but I did - and chose the ice cream. Yum. It was funny to see sign advertising "Fresh American Sweet Corn", so I just had to get some. Happy, happy day.

After Golconda Fort, we continued on to Charminar, one of the pearl markets in Hyderabad. It took some looking and some serious bargaining, but we found a very kind and reputable dealer. While Ali and I admired the wide variety of pearls and made our decisions, we were given water and juice.

A family of 5 on a motorcycle - not an unusual sight.

Vendors and traffic in Charminar

A close up of the Charminar gate that you see
in the upper right corner of the photo above.

We walked around the market, buying fresh coconut inside the Mosque grounds. As we ate it, we listened to the evening prayers.

A Mosque nearby. We were not able to enter as evening
prayers were being said at that time.

Oliver had fallen asleep in my arms, but after waking was given biscuits, too, so he was one happy little shopper. It was really fun to choose our own lustrous pearls and have them strung while we watched. What a treat!

The street outside the shop.

Tollywood, Here We Come!

(I'm back home, so can finally update my blog and upload photos without hassle - yippee!!!)

Traffic in Hyderabad

On January 29, our new friends from Australia joined us in an excursion to Tollywood - the Telugu version of Bollywood. We filled the ICRISAT van - the Gill, Colin, Ellie, Indie, and Guthrie family; the Vicki, Warwick, and Anthea family; and the Ali, Oliver, and Lori family - a fun group!

After about a one and a half hour drive, we arrived at the Ramoji Studio - the largest film studio in the world. (It encompasses about 3 thousand acres). At that point, we split into our own groups, with Ali, Oliver, and I going our separate way, since we knew there was no point in taking Oliver on thrill rides, much less standing in long lines.

Ramoji was part studio, lots, and entertainment park. We had fun walking through the various theme parks: the 50's era, a Moghul palace, and the Wild West, to name a few.

We watched, rather painfully, the Wild West show. I say "painfully" because it was painfully loud, and the acting was atrocious. It was more like a very weird staging of The Crips vs. The Drunk Cowboys...awful, just plain awful.

That being said, the rest of the place was very enjoyable. It was a gorgeous sunny day, and we weren't being hounded for photos, so life was good, very good.

It was funny to see the statues from Rambo and The Terminator, and we made a game out of coming up with hilarious poses (humor us - at least we thought they were hilarious).

Most people there were quite sedate with their poses, but not us - we were out to have fun and relax. We even got an entire family to pose at the Laurel and Hardy sculpture! They were so much fun - laughing and giggling - doing something they were obviously not accustomed to doing. (I was finding that not being able to wear shorts and my normal summer attire was rather inhibiting, so it felt good to be uninhibited in this sense).

Toward the middle of the afternoon, we found a nice spot with delightfully crawlable grass for Oliver, as well as other children to meet. A family from western India welcomed us into the shade, where we enjoyed conversation and a beautiful setting.