Hyderabad as I see it

This is my 3rd visit to Hyderabad. This time around, the weather is hot, about 38 to 40 degrees. Yes, Hyderabad actually has 4 season and it is summer right now.

Walking on the streets of Hyderabad is very different than here in Malaysia. There are scores of people everywhere, literally packed with thousands of people walking on the street. The poor are very poor and when you sit in your car, being a foreigner, you would find poor children, ladies with their babies, old man and women knocking on your window screen begging for money. As you travel along the outskirts of Hyderabad, you will find rows of tents made of torn fabrics by the roadside. Yes, that is where the poor lived. Cows, chicken, goats can be seen loitering at the roadside. It is a common sight in Hyderabad.

Another sight that is common is the habit of the people peeing by the roadside. Within a 1km stretch, you will sight at least 10 people or more peeing everywhere and anywhere. Most of them are men but I was told that the woman does the same but I have yet to witness it.

Driving in Hyderabad is almost impossible. It is a norm for the drivers to honk ... infact is a must to honk if you want to reach your destination fast. You must be bold and be prepared to have your car scratched or knocked when you drive in Hyderabad. So forget about driving luxurious car. Not only do you have to watch out for the millions of motorist on the road, you will also have to watch out for the countless pedestrians among the crowd of cars, busses and lorries. Traffic light are very much useless but you will find that the police force controlling the traffic does command respect from the motorist.

I like the people in Hyderabad. Being a chinese girl, most of the time, I do get pleasant stares from the people. Makes me feel like a superstar! They would be very happy when you take their photo and would willingly smile and give their best post. However, it would be a disadvantage to visit street markets. There was this one time where I was being "mobbed" by the local traders trying to sell me their products. This was after I made a big purchase at one of the stores. So, shopping is almost impossible at the street markets...

Streets at Charminar - the place I was "mobbed"

One of the things to learn in Hyderabad is the terms of communication. Certain words are used differently there. Example, cars and motorbikes are called 4 wheelers and 2 wheelers. The taxi is actually a 3 wheeler vehicle. Bungalow is termed as independent house and the word square feet is just called SFT. I have still a lot to learn.

As for food, I have not mustered the courage to eat the food by the roadside coffee shops. Most of the time, I frequent good restaurants and cafes. However, if one were to work in Hyderabad, restaurants and cafes would be too much of a luxury. It is advisable to be careful with the water that you drink. So I either drink from a sealed bottle of water or fresh coconut water which is abundantly sold by the roadside. It is extremely cheap to drink coconut in Hyderabad and in the hot weather, it can be very refreshing.

Refreshing coconut

There is one restaurant in Hyderabad which serves Malaysian food. The staffs, chefs are from Malaysia and it is a ritual that I visit this restaurant, Awana, before I take my flight home to Malaysia. The food is simply delicious and is a good place to be when you misses home. It has a touch of old good feeling you get when tasting your mummy's food.

Delicious local Malaysian food served at Awana Hyderabad

Being here in Malaysia, a place so different than Hyderabad, I would say that I am very fortunate to be living in Malaysia. I would say that anyone who has been there would find our homeland to be the best place to stay...