Our trip to the train station yesterday was a colorful and validating morning indeed! We had purchased weekend tickets to Hampi several days prior, (an annoying day-long process and our first foray into the Indian Rail realm) but amidst a string of miscommunication and misunderstandings, we had managed to buy the wrong type of tickets. So yesterday, Andi, Banks and I headed into Lingampally’s station to return them. First milestone: our rickshaw-rate haggling is becoming successful (and fun)! Banks started haggling while I pretended to become disinterested and eventually suggest taking a stroll around the area. That’s where they break and cut their price down to something decent. And when you finally agree, and they give you a grin and shake their head as you triumphantly climb in—that’s what gives you the confidence for the next one.
At the station, Andi and I got out the word puzzles while Banks readied his elbows for three lengthy trips through the ticket lines. There isn’t much of a “first-come-first-served rule to queues here”, or any notion of “ladies-first”. Andi and I also became friends with an Indian student eager to practice her English and make plans to get together next Sunday. Successful haggling, a new Indian friend and collectively about 12,000 rupees richer—and we even made it back in time for lunch!
We currently have tickets (new, working tickets) for Hampi this weekend; it’s apparently a city of ancient Hindu temple ruins you can bike/scooter/rickshaw around for the day. There’s also an area of bazaars and parks and things like that. However, the only tickets available (you have to book things about a month in advance) were waitlisted, so cross your fingers, please!
Later today we’re also booking a trip for the next four day weekend to Pondicherry. Trips are extremely reasonable. Our round trip to Hampi came to something around $14.
Today is the beginning of a type of Harvest festival (another holiday!) known for kite flying. So we’re headed to Shilparamam after lunch, which is an enormous venue for festival celebrations with vendors, artisans, gardens, a river and an amphitheater. It’ll be my second time there, but the first visit was on my second day in Hyderabad and consequentially a bit bewildering; so I’ll be sure to get some quality camera time in today.
In the meantime, enjoy some from some trips into the Old City and a birthday party at a Hookah (or Sheesha) bar for Hakon, who just turned 24. Note: a goat milk and cappuccino sheesha is sublime.
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Hi Alison.
ReplyDeleteMy good friend Dan sent me a link to your page.
I hope you are enjoying UofH.
I studied there last semester, and just came home in December.
Tell papa Das I say hello.
You will enjoy Hampi, for certain. Be sure to rent a motorcycle and ride to the Hanuman temple. Climb it at sunrise or sunset. It is quite beautiful.
All the best,
Caitie
I hope you are still alive, and if so, it's because you're having too much fun that you're not keeping us updated. If you think no one reads this, you're dead wrong. I live in Pierre--please, please, please give us more stories so that I may experience adventure vicariously through you!
ReplyDeletehaha I was wondering the same thing myself...
ReplyDeletesorry guys!
ReplyDeleteimagine a world where the power goes out for hours every day, where internet and phone lines burn up and entire hostels of international students are without internet and forced to wait in lines at the library...that, my friend, is India.
...ok, so I exaggerated on the lines-at-the-library-bit, but I sure sweat a lot lugging my laptop a mile and a half to the international students' main office.
I'm alive! Thank you for loving me though... :) I miss you guys!