First of all, many apologies for the lateness of this particular entry. Many, many things vied for my attention this week and the blog lost! The week started on Monday as the Ganesh festival was winding down. The entire city was was apprehensive of another incident similar to what occurred earlier this year. You could sense it in the way people were going about their business. On Tuesday, the last of the Ganesh idols made their way to the local lake to finish the festival that has been happening the last 10 days. This caused a fair amount of traffic jams as some major roadways are blocked in the city to allow this procession to occur. Fortunately, we were scheduled for another function that day at a hotel that is close to where we are staying and the road leading there is not part of the processional route.

The function that we attended brought senior executives from the company to make a presentation of what banking is and what role the technology groups play in it. Although I know most of this, it was still interesting to hear the spiel and be able to share some of the details behind the high level views given to those around me. After lunch, they had a team building exercise where the auditorium was broken into 5 groups and each were assigned a line of business aligned with the technology groups. Each of these groups had to discuss who led the LOB, what their function was, how many associates and some key facts about it. I was asked it I would lead the group describing the division I am in. It was quite a blast answering the questions that they had and to get to know my teammates better.

Later in the week, we had a first for me as I have been here. One of my new team mates was celebrating a birthday (Happy Birthday again Arvind!). To celebrate, the team brought in a cake and shared it amongst the entire group. Now for the fun part. Arvind was given the first piece of cake and then what he could not get in his mouth was spread around his head and neck. This reminded me very much of a wedding in the U.S. The team got a big kick out of the event and later when I asked Arvind about the bit with the cake he stated that this was quite normal. Oh well, I guess I need to hide when my birthday is, I do not know if I could get the frosting out of my beard!

Later that day, another executive that is here on a two year ex-pat assignment, lead the team through another team building exercise. This time the team was asked to build a banking center from the items that they had been given. No team was given enough items to complete the task and had to barter with other teams. Jason, Gulshan and I were asked to judge the final results based upon "customer feel", "financial viability" and "environmentally friendliness". Each team knew the requirements and built very different structures. Everything from a three tower office park to a self contained branch to a banking floor. Once completed, their idea had to be presented to the judges. One final test, each of their models was then dropped from 6 feet to see if it would with stand the fall. Being engineers, none of these failed (I understand from the executive performing this for us, when he did it for his team there were some spectacular failures.) All in all it was quite a bit of fun.

Coming into Friday was a big day. The executives from the company that are responsible for sourcing here arrived en masse for several days worth of meetings. Jason, Gulshan and I had some time to speak with them and listen to the various presentations. It was quite the eye opening experience. Later that evening, we all again participated in a tele-conference with more than 100 executives from the company where we were the key note speakers explaining what we are doing here and what value we bring. This was followed on by a lengthy Q&A session where we had a chance to answer many different questions. It was quite an honor to be asked to perform this function.

Charminar, yet again

So now that we have finished the work week, what do you do with 10 executives? Many of them have never been to India before. We decided that taking them to the Charminar would be a grand idea. This was meant to expose them to some of the history of the area as well as let them see the cultural context of the local staff. I have written about this area many times before, so I will just share the pictures with you.   

I will leave you with a lost thought of the day. I hope that the team we brought with us had a chance to experience both the good and the bad of life in India. The area we were in showed all of it. From the poverty and the panhandlers. To the young men who took us under their wing to ensure our safety, the Charminar area never ceases to fascinate me. Lastly, here is a picture of the team we took with us!  Smile you mugs!

Well, yesterday started a period of new associates coming to India to do training and other functions. Over the next couple of weeks, we will have as many as 10 people here at a time for a period of 2-6 weeks. The first of these arrived at the office yesterday, so there was a flurry of activity as the four new associates arrived in the building. Jason, Gulshan and I will be tasked with bringing these folks on board and making sure that they are able to perform their functions with as little disruption as possible (after all, we have already uncovered a number of the land mines!)   During the conversations with the new arrivals, it became really apparent that I have changed in my time here. I did not realize how much until we got to talking last evening about their first impressions of India. The common theme was "I can't believe the traffic!" followed quickly by comments on all of the construction. I vaguely remember having the same thoughts when I first arrived. However, today, it just seems normal. Somewhere during the course of the short six weeks I have been here I have acclimated to those things around me and now they seem normal. In a way, having these new arrivals coming on board is a very good thing. It reminds me to continue to look at the world around me with "Wonder" eyes. It is a shame that in the sort time I have been here that I have lost much of that wonder and things have become mundane. However, there is good news as these new associates continue to arrive through mid November I will continue to get to see India new again through their eyes.

Now for a little humorous situation. As we will talking about traffic yesterday, I mentioned to one of the folks that he needed to be sure to take an auto-rickshaw ride while he was here. The look of disbelief that I would suggest such a thing was priceless. His next comment was also a classic....  "I wonder what the crash rating on those things is???"

On a side note, keep Jason in your thoughts and prayers this week. He has had the opportunity to experience "ALL" that India has to offer. In the past month he has had the 'pleasure?' of Delhi-belly twice and now has run into the flu. With all of the other stress involved in working here (the long hours, the periods of loneliness missing our families, and the lack of personal time) the last thing that any of us need is the have health issues. For more information on what Jason is going through, in his own words, click here.

Saturday, 22 September

After a LOOONG work week, Jason and I decided to do some interesting things this weekend. Because of the weather forecast,  we decided to head down to Charminar today. Charminar is located in the central of old Hyderabad and is surrounded by little shops and carts selling many different things. The picture to the left shows the Charminar at the end of the street and you can see just the throng of people in the area. We spent a couple of hours walking through the shops and talking to people in store fronts and on the street. It was a much different experience than the last time we were there. I think it shows how much I have changed since I have been here. The last time I visited, my head was on a constant swivel looking around me. Because of this, I did not actually SEE anything. Today, I spent time looking in the stalls, talking to people and just enjoying myself!  I will make one observation though, security was every where today. There was a very large police and military presence. I think this had to do with the heightened state of alert because of the religious festivals this weekend (more on this later).

After finishing the visit, we headed to a store named "Music World", I will give you three guesses on what they sell there! This was a very large store that had a significant section on European and U.S. music and videos. However, there was also a large section on the regional movies and music. I purchased two items while I was there.  One was a CD on the music of India that contained one CD on just the drums and another on the various musical styles and I also bought the soundtrack CD from the movie Chak De! India. Both of these CD's are very good!

After finishing at the music store, we headed back to the hotel and freed our driver for the day. A couple of hours later, it was time to walk over to City Center to do some snack shopping and grab some dinner. Unfortunately, the restaurant that I wanted to go to did not open until 7pm. As it was only 5:30, we decided to go to McDonalds.  About the time we got there, there was a massive power outage in the mall. So, we just did the snack shopping and then headed back to the hotel.

Sunday, 23 September

Our goal for today is GET OUT OF THE CITY. I should explain. I have been in India for 6 weeks now and have not be out of the city of Hyderabad (other than the side trip to Ramaji film city). So during the week I spent time searching the Internet trying to find something close, but interesting. I came across the Nagarjuna Sagar Dam, Ethipothala falls and Nagarjunakonda.  Nagarjunakonda is a very old Buddhist ruins (dating tot he third century) that was going to be submerged when the dam was built. The archeologist spent a year studying the ruins and then brick by brick moved the entire settlement to a hill top in the same are. Now it is only accessible via a boat trip across the lake.

So, since this looked very interesting and appeared close (my books said 75 kilometers), we set out at 9:30 am on the adventure. The first problem was that our driver did not want to take us. He stated that it was going to be a 5-6 hour drive and that it would be better to take two days. I was devastated and we talked Kham into taking us back to the hotel to reconsider out options. After a quick bite of breakfast, we checked at the front desk of the hotel to ask what else might be in the area. She informed us that the dam we wanted to get to was only 3-3.5 hours a way and we could be back before sunset. SO she marched out the front door and convinced Kham to take us. Thank you Taj Deccan! So, after an hour delay, we were on the road again.

I will not bore you with the details of the three hour drive other than to say it was great getting out of the city. One of the things that came to the front of this drive was the fact that we are in a sub-tropical region. Once out of the city, there were palm trees everywhere!  It reminded me of the time spent in Puerto Rico and the time spent with Ruth's parents in middle Florida.

After close to three and a half hours, we finally arrived at the reservoir. As I understand it, this lake is one of the primary sources of drinking water for the city of Hyderabad. It was an absolutely stunning lake. The way it sits in the valley and the surrounding country side is quite the sight to see.  (There is another story here, this weekend is starting the conclusion of the Ganesh festivals where the idol of Ganesh is carried to a water source and placed in the water along with a prayer for his return in the next year. So being a very large water source, there are many people carrying their idols to rest here. I will talk about this more later in the story)

After another 20 minutes skirting the lake, we came around a bend and saw the first signs of the dam. The first part of the dam is a very large earthen structure that you used to be able to drive over. This is closed now for obvious reasons. Driving down the side of the hill and into the valley below you get an idea of just how large this earthen dam is. It rises easily 200 feet into the air and the base must be a 1/4 of mile thick.

After a short drive, you come across the hydro electric part of the dam.  Again, this is a  massive structure and we are told that it is one of the largest dams in India. We spent quite a bit of time here admiring the engineering of the structure. One of the things I also noticed here is the structure of the bedrock around us.  It seems that this entire area of India is covered in this broken rock look. I cannot imagine the effort the engineers had to go through to get the dam into a solid base in order to withstand the forces of the water that is contained behind the dam.

13 kilometers down the road is the falls that we were heading towards. These falls are a popular tourist destination for the locals and there are a couple of different ways to view them. One is to pay the 15 rupees a head to get into a private garden area that over looks the falls. Another is to take the foot paths that are around the area and hike into the falls. Guess which one we took (it was not the hiking!)  The park area was quite stunning and had a number of very nice overlooks on the falls.  This is where a couple of different items happened. One was the number of folks in this area that wanted the picture taken with the large American. I had one father place his son next to me without my realizing it to get a photo of his son next to me. Once I saw what was going on, I pulled Jason along and put the boy between us so dad could get the photo. Dad appeared very happy to get the picture, his son less so!  A little later, I was approached again by a gentleman that wanted to have his photo taken while shaking my hand. This is the same sort of thing that happened to me at Ramaji film city and certainly made me feel like an attraction. It is a good thing I like people and I expect my smiles removed all sense of fear and trepidation of those around me.

The next thing that happened is that while I was attempting to take a picture of the falls while  leaning over the rail, I was interrupted by a monkey who was more interested in eating his roasted ear of corn rather than be bothered by a mere photographer. Needless to say, I immediately switched the focus of my camera from the falls to the monkey. When I switched to the video camera, the monkey had had enough and did a false charge at me. It certainly made me take a step or two back. (see the video below)

The trip to the falls also brought one other thing to light. In the states, when you have a falls of this size, the government does all it can to keep people away from it (much to my chagrin) In India, if you get hurt doing something stupid, it is your own fault. The government is going to take no responsibility for your actions. I think that India has this idea right.  As you can see from the photo to the left, folks are all over the falls. These two gentlemen are on a ledge that is about halfway down the falls. They had to climb down the rock face and then traverse a small ledge to get where they are. All along the falls, top and bottom you could see folks getting right up to the falls to enjoy the spray.

It is probably just as well that Jason and I did not hike to the bottom of the falls or I might of been right in there with them! (Someday remind me to tell you the story of Hemlock falls and the time meet feet and head decided to switch places)  The falls and park that we were at is also a very popular picnic spot as you can see from the picture below.

Finishing with the falls, we were planning on taking the boat ride over to the Buddhist ruins in the middle of the lake. Unfortunately because of our late start we missed the last ferry of the day. Well, just dang, and other epitaphs. I was hoping to go see them. But I guess there is always a time in the future. I will be here several more months though!

Since there was nothing left to do in this area, we decided to head back to the city. During the drive back,  we kept seeing a number of vehicles of all sizes transporting the Ganesh idols to the lake. These vehicles would be filled with happy, singing people dressed in orange headbands or flowers in their hair. They would wave to anyone who  anyone who made eye contact with them. It seemed to be quite the party. I do not know all there is to know about this festival, but you can find more on it here.

I also had another humorous incident on the drive home. Because we were enjoying the fresh air on the drive so much, we came back with the windows of the car open (ah, the smell of green instead of diesel fumes). In one little village, we got stopped due to an accident up the road (which we did not know about at this time). In this small village was a rather significant market going on with lots of people around. I was taking this opportunity to take some video of the happenings when three little girls saw us in the car. Once they realized I was filming, they all smiled and waved. I waved back to them and they had the typical pre-teen reaction to a male paying attention to them. Embarrassed giggles and then running to hide behind mom and dad. After a couple of minutes, they poked their head out again to which I waved again. This produced the same result. It was quite cute and if you want to see the video, it is in the post below.

Traveling a little further down the road, we came upon the source of the traffic jam.  It appears that one of the trucks had a minor failure in the rear axle of the truck and proceeded to dump gravel all over the road. The other truck you see is being filled, by hand, with the contents of the truck that suffered the failure. This is one of the first serious incidents that I have seen since I have been here. I suspect that the truck was traveling at some speed and then hit the divider. It must of been a spectacular accident!

After the long drive back, we had Kham drop us at City Center again hoping to grab dinner. While Jason and I had packed water and snacks for the day, we did not have lunch. Again, I was hoping to eat and India-Joe's, and again they were closed. So once again, another meal at McDonalds (I don't eat there this much in the States!)

So, all in all, it was a very good weekend. Would I make this drive again? Probably not. Would I like to get further out of Hyderabad and see more of the country? Absolutely. However, I think I would like to spend more time in the smaller towns and villages and less time in the cities. From what I saw today, India has so much more to offer than the concrete, dirt and dust of the city. I very much enjoyed the pastoral vistas and the markets in the small towns. I can honestly say, that I have enjoyed this weekend much more than anything else I have done since I have been here.

I also recommend viewing the video below to get an idea of what we saw and to have a chance to laugh a bit!

I have a lot to share from this weekend, but not a lot of time at the moment (it is 11pm at night and I need my beauty sleep), but to hold you until I can write my tome tomorrow, watch the video, it will give you a good overview of the weekend

One of the things I was really looking forward to on my trip to India was a chance to experience the culture here. India, while a new country, has a centuries old culture. This is apparent from the nature of the language and the age of some of the buildings. One of the things I was looking forward to as well is a chance to hear traditional (classical) music and to see the traditional dance of the region. So, on Friday, Jason and I asked the hotel manager where we might find this. He stated that it is very unusual now days to find this unless some special festival is taking place. This got me to thinking about the things I have seen here and the influence that the west has had upon this culture.

The first thing is the music that I hear every day here. From the local restaurants, the cabs, the bars, the shopping centers and even the cafeteria at the office, all you hear is techno pop music. While the words may be in one of the local dialects, the music and the beat is definitely European techno. It was also while sitting down to a local India meal that we were regaled with a selection of songs from the Eagles, Eric Clapton, Cream and even Metallica. It is very, very rare to hear anything other than that.

The next thing that I have noticed is that the traditional dress is fading away as well. There is a commercial on the local television where a woman speaks to the camera and says "A sari for me, NO WAY!". In the commercial, the actress is dressed in a western women's business suit. I have noticed in the shopping malls and the bars that the women are starting to dress more and more like their western counterparts. This includes things such as mini-skirts and belly shirts. And, to me, this is greatly disappointing. I find the traditional women's dress here to be much more feminine than anything the west can offer. In fact, I would go so far as to say that I prefer this style of dress.

Another thing I have gotten hooked on here is MTV on Saturday mornings where they show the various song and dance clips from the Bollywood movies. While some of these are very rich in their color and heritage, others look like they could of been shot in southern Los Angeles. This includes the gangsta-rap style of music and dress. Unfortunately, this has found it's way to the streets of the city as well. The other day as we were traveling to Golkonda fort, I saw a young man down an alley way dressed in a San Antonio Spurs jersey. Next to him was a young man dressed in a Oakland Raiders jersey. I can not imagine that either of these boys knew the teams whose jerseys they were wearing, but they have seen them on TV in the music videos. 

Lastly, and most startlingly to me, was an article in a magazine that was left in my hotel room. This article was titled "Virginity, What it means to young Indians". On the cover is a nude young lady strategically posed to hide her, ummm, assets. The article talks about the changing values of the younger crowd to where they are starting to accept sexual contact as something you do for fun. While not to the levels of the U.S., it is disappointing to see it taking root here. An accompanying article talks about a new medical procedure that is booming called Hymenoplasty, where a plastic surgeon recreates a woman's virginity. The doctors that they interviewed in the article were saying that they are performing 2-10 of these procedures a week, but have to do it in-patient because of the social stigma still attached.

It seems to me that India is on the cusp of it's social values similar to where the U.S. was in the 1960's.  The younger culture who has access to the tremendous wealth that the west is pumping into the economy are choosing the values of the west over the values of their parents. This is a great shame as there are many things about this older culture that are worth saving. It would be a great shame if the things that are centuries old are cast away simply because of the chase for wealth.

Today Jason and I took a little excursion to the Paigah tombs. The term Paigah is of Persian origin means pomp and rank. This certainly makes sense when you look at how these tombs are constructed. These tombs are more than 200 years old and have some incredible Marble and Limestone carvings. Some of the wood carvings are fascinating as well. The drive to the tombs took about an hour. Most of this was spent because our driver was not sure where the tombs were. He had to spend a fair amount of time on the phone and then pulling over to ask locals where the tombs were. This lead to a very interesting side trip down what I would of considered an alley way. We passed a small sign labeled "Paigah Tombs" on the side of a building. Looking at the area, we all decided there was no way the tombs were in the back yards of the houses we saw.  Driving a little farther along, our driver asked another person on the side of the road and he pointed us back to the small sign. Kham (our driver) let us out and we entered the small entry way.

As we entered, I was somewhat concerned that we were somewhere we did not want to be. However, that opinion soon changed as we were approached by a young man asking if we were looking for the tombs. He pointed us farther down the path to where these magnificent buildings exist.  Upon approaching the buildings, it was obvious that many of them are still in use as dwellings for some of the locals. The tombs themselves are locked off and require a security guard to let you in.  I can not express how stunning this area was and I expect that the photos included in this entry are not going to do them justice.

Our first stop was at the mosque (right) that occupies the end of the tomb complex. Interred in this mosque is a couple of the early rulers who built this tomb complex. Upon entering, we were asked to remove our shoes as this is considered a holy place. I did find it fascinating that someone was living in the mosque and there were blankets and straw mats inside one of the arches. The carvings in the marble and limestone are stunning!  In the lower left of the photo you can see the security guard who walked us through the tombs.

Turning around, we then saw this sight (right), the arches looming off into the distance. Each of the separations between the arches was another tomb of one of the Paigah family. Each of the arches also had a screen that was intricately carved out of limestone and the entry gates were carved from some sort of hard wood.

As we approached the tomb complex itself, we again were asked to remove our shoes as we took the tour. Most of the complex is open to the weather and with the rains that have fallen recently the floors were covered in water.  Our guide had a young man with a squeegee going ahead of us to attempt to dry the floors. 

I will close this particular section with a number of photos showing the carvings that adorn various parts of the complex. Each time I saw one it was more magnificent than the last. The time that the artisans must of spent on this had to be amazing.

And lastly, from our visit to the tombs, is this little fellow who stopped by to pay a visit. As anyone who knows me can tell you, I am a bit of a bird brain.  While Jason and I were in one of the tombs, I happened to hear a rustling sound. Looking up, I was greeted by this fine fellow. I have seen these hawks flying around here for some time, but this is the first time that one has come to visit.  What a grand ending to the visit of the tombs.

A final thought about our day. These ruins are stunning and must be an archeological dream. However, with the current state that they are in, they are not going to last another hundred years. The fact that families are living in and among the ruins is incomprehensible to me. It is also apparent that the weather and other factors are taking their toll on these ruins.  I do not know what steps need to be taken, but these need to be preserved for the generations to come to explain where it is that we have come from. Too often we in the 20th century think that our way of life is so much better than our ancestors. Places like this serve to remind us that our past is the gateway to our future.

An observation on Saturday.

On Saturday, Jason and I attempted to do some shopping and see a movie. I say attempted because most of the day was a complete washout.  While trying to shop, stores were closed. While trying to go to the movies, they did not start until very late in the evening. The day also ended on a down note personally as I got back to the hotel with another sinus headache. However, with all of the disappointment of the day, there were a couple of bright spots.

Our first bright spot is that when we went to the theater and found out that the movie was starting 9 hours later, we stopped at the local McDonalds for lunch. The scene inside of the restaurant was fairly humorous. However, instead of writing about it myself, I will refer you to Jason's blog to read about it. He wrote a much better description of the incident than I could! You can find Jason's Blog here by clicking on he hyperlink.

The second thing that happened during the day was our visit to Q Mart. This is a very western style super market that imports a number of products from the west. It was certainly a breath of fresh air for me. I was able to obtain a number of items (like root beer) that I had been craving but had not found in the local markets. Needless to say, I stocked up on those things that were on the shelves that gave me a small memory of home. Simple things like Tropicana orange juice, Oreo cookies, and Mug root beer just seemed to be the right things to bring back. I also know that this will not be the last time I visit this market.

How many times can you say I'm sorry?

There are times when you realize that you really not at home any longer. Yesterday evening was one of those for me. About 8:30 last night I got the munchies as I had not had anything to eat since about 11:30. I called down to room service to order my standby meal, the Banjara Hills Burger. This is a lightly breaded chicken sandwich served on a bun with lettuce, tomato and cucumber and a side of fries. I have ordered this so much that the lady on the room service line often starts with "Good evening Mr. McKennon, do you want a Banjara Hills burger and a diet coke?".  Tonight, however, she talked me into something that had been prepared special for the evening. I do not know the name of it, but it came in a small bowl and appeared to be some sort of shredded meat and spinach leaves in a spiced gray gravy and served with a side of flat bread. 

A little later I received a call back from room service asking how I liked the meal. I responded that while It was good, I would not likely order it again. This was obviously the wrong thing to say as I received a call a couple of minutes later from the manager of room service offering to immediately send up the burger I originally ordered (which I declined. I had, after all, eaten the meal). After hanging up with him, I received another call 20 minutes later from the head of the kitchen staff Apologizing for my disappointment in the meal and again offering to bring another meal up. I again declined stating that it was my fault. A little later, I received yet another call, this time from the duty manager of the hotel offering his apologies. That was 4 apologies in 30 minutes for a meal that I had agreed to try and simply did not like. The room service operator did not force my hand to try the meal. I did that on my own. I do the same thing in stateside restaurants. I believe firmly that if you do not try something, how do you know if you like it or not.  In this case, I did not much care for it. But it was MY FAULT. I cannot and do not hold the hotel responsible for my decision.

A big personal scare.

This weekend also provided another little scare in my life. One of the things I purchased prior to coming on this trip was a brand new laptop so I could keep in touch with family and friends. This is a high end computer with an integrated camera and microphone as well as a very large hard drive. I purposefully chose this machine because of the number of photos I knew I would be taking and the fact that I knew it could support Photoshop easily. Well, last night, the scare. The computer started acting strange and crashed due to a hard disk failure.  I had not, to that point, backed up the 9gb of photos I had already taken. So overnight I ran the CHKDSK and defrag commands to recover the hard drive (thankfully that worked) and today went to the local electronics store and purchased a portable hard drive to provide a secondary backup.  I now feel a heck of a lot better as I backed up the photos to both DVD and the new portable drive. I expect the pictures taken are now safe.

Well, this is my longest blog to date and I will close it with a little reminder. I have now been in Hyderabad for a little over a month. So, only 3-5 months to go! (And only 1 or 2 before I see Ruth again. I can't WAIT!)  If you are enjoying this blog, please drop me an email, I would love to hear from you!

One of the most amazing thing about the city of Hyderabad is the number of motorcycles and scooters that you see on the street. They are the second most used vehicle I see on the road behind the auto-rickshaw. It is not uncommon to see these cycles driving around town carrying more than one person. While I was not surprised to see two on a cycle, the day I saw a family of 6 on one surprised me!! Once I saw that, I started paying attention to the number of passengers on these vehicles. It is fairly common to see a family of 4 on a scooter (Dad driving, a child on the floorboard in front of him, a child behind him and then the wife on the back). I have also seen a family of 4 or a motor cycle with the front child laying on the gas tank. I have only seen the 6 once, and that was enough.

It is also common to see the little auto-rickshaws carrying 6-8 passengers stuffed into the little cab. There will be the driver and two passengers up front and then 4-5 people in the back. Every time I think I have adjusted to India, the country continues to amaze me.

During lunch this week, I mentioned the above story to my coworkers. They were not at all surprised and mentioned that part of this is because of the cost of vehicles and the cost of gasoline (or petrol, if you prefer). Petrol runs about $5 a gallon and a 100cc motorcycle or scooter can run upward of 15K. Cars and light trucks are equally expensive, but most tend to run on diesel which is cheaper to purchase. They also tell me that most of the cycles I see on the street started their lives as parts that are assembled here. If you purchase a CBB (complete build bike), you will pay a tax of about 100%, whereas parts are much cheaper.

And to the left is your math lesson for today. This picture is from a local gas station. These are prices per liter. To make sense of this, you have to understand that the Rupee is trading for about 40 rupees to the dollar. Also, the liter to gallon rate is 3.7854 liters to gallon. So, the Speed (premium) price per gallon is $4.76 a gallon.  And you thought we were paying a lot for gasoline!

Plans for the weekend.

Jason and I met a new bank associate this week who is here for the next three weeks alone. We have offered to take her around Hyderabad so she does not have to risk it alone. Our plans for Saturday are to re-visit Charminar and then head over to the Paigah tombs that are in the same area.  It should be a fun weekend and I am sure that another novella is in my future as I describe our adventures on Saturday.

I know that this entry has a strange title, but it was a strange day. So, please bear with my tale as I explain it all. Today Gulshan and I decided to head down to Golkonda fort. Our intent was to tour the fort and then stay for the laser and light show that is scheduled nightly. During our trip to the fort, we got off of paved roads and wound up on a really rough dirt road. This lead us through the first gate that is about 5 km from the main fortress.  Upon arriving, we were the last ones let inside. The cost for Gulshan was 5 INR and mine was 100 INR (about $2.50). We also decided to hire a guide to tell us what we were looking at.

A little background history of the fort. History says that the fort started when a shepherd boy found an idol on top of the hill and a mud fort was constructed around it. The hill was called Golla Konda in the Telugu language which literally means Shepherds Hill. It is believed in 1143 that the fort was upgraded from it's mud origins and the current layout started to take shape. After the initial fort was conquered, the present fort took it shape beginning in 1507.

The photo on the left is the main entrance into the fort itself. It is protected by a curtain wall that prevented charging elephants from breaching the gate. The black square at the top of the photo is a place where Boiling oil could be dropped upon invaders. The walls themselves were never breached and only by a bribe was any invading army allowed in.

The present name of the fort of Golkonda is a mix between the Muslim word Gol meaning round and the Hindu word Konda meaning hill. As the present fort winds all over the hill, this is a great name for it.

Once inside the gates, there is a room that was built to echo the sounds within it so that an alarm could be sounded upon the top of the hill over three kilometers away. A simple handclap is echoed many times and amplified by the natural shape of the entry hall. To prove this, our guide clapped his hand in the center of the room and it echoed all over the grounds. He stated that this was to allow the kings guard a chance to know that the gates had been breached. The photo at the right shows the fort as you first enter the gates. To the right was the army barracks and to the left was the armory. At the top left of the photo is the watch tower whose sole purpose was to listen for the sound of the clapping hands to sound the alarm.

In the process of climbing several hundred stairs, we came upon this sight. This is the fort layout as it exists today. In the far distance of this photo, you can just make out the original entry gate and closer in (the white building on the middle left after the park) is the second gate. In it's day, this must of been an incredible sight to see. The pathway we took up passed several water tanks that were manually filled through pumps by four lakes in the surrounding countryside.  Each time water was moved to the next tank, it was tested to see if it had been poisoned by a little of the water being used on the animals. If the animals dropped dead, the tank was emptied and it was known that the water was not pure. The engineers also built curtain walls to protect the water tanks from being poisoned by arrows. Too short and the arrow hit the wall, clear the wall and the arrow missed the tank. Who said that our forefathers were dumb?

Strange as it may sound, Golkonda fort is filled with various places of worship. There are Hindu temples and Muslim mosques throughout the grounds (see above). You may note that the mosque on the right bears a striking resemblance to the Charminar, this is completely on purpose. One of the kings that lived in this fort built the Charminar for one of his brides. It is good to be the king.

The architecture, planning and opulence of this must of impressed visitors as they first arrived. I know it impressed me. The steps to the top of the hill numbered more than 600 hundred and were spaced so that horses could be used to climb them. Our guide said that when the king and queen ascended the stairs, they were carried on couches. In order to keep the couch level on the stairs, the men carrying the front were short and those in the back were tall. Once the carriage reached level ground, they were changed for men of the same height.

As we reached the top of the hill, we stopped to have this photo taken. That's Gulshan on the left and me on the right. As you look over our shoulders, two things should stand out. One is that we are at the top of the hill and the second thing is the storm clouds on the horizon. These will play a major part in our story before the end of the tale.

It is also from this point that the clapping hands from below could be heard. To prove this our guide had one of his compatriots stand in the entry chamber and clap his hands. We could easily hear this over the hustle and bustle of the town below. Our guide then clapped his hands and said that the echo in this area could be heard throughout the complex and could call reinforcements to the gate. It continues to be a source of amazement that our ancestors had all of this figured out before the oscilloscope was even dreamed of.

While approaching the audience chamber behind us, we walked onto an elevated platform that looked down both sides of the ridge. This is what we saw coming at us.. As you might expect, we were a little concerned to be on top of the hill while a storm was coming in. On the way down, the heavens opened up and the rain came on strong. Water on the granite steps that have been worn down over the centuries and have slipped a little made them extremely slippery. So it was a very cautious trip down the hill.

As you can see from this photo, the rain was coming down hard. Although we had intended to stay for the lighting show, we both decided that we were drenched and the thought of sitting in a chair for another hour or so to watch the program was not something to contemplate. So we said goodbye to our guide and walked out of the fort. During the walk out, we stopped in several other rooms of the fort including the burial chambers, the harem chambers and the judgement chambers.  We also walked through the camel stables and other places within the fort, which, by the way, is now inhabited by bats. One can never forget the smell of guano!

Once outside, we hooked up with our driver for the return trip home.

Now to pay off the other part of the title. During our ride in, I had mentioned the dirt roads that were severely wash boarded. I was wondering on the ride in what could of caused this. Well, on the egress, we found out why. The area does not have good drainage and a little bit of rain can cause fairly interesting flooding. During the drive I saw at least two manhole covers lifted completely out of the ground by the rainwater. The exit road was about 3 feet deep in running water and because it was a single lane road, it was backed up for blocks. Our driver decided to take a back road around the issue and this lead to even more interesting times. One of the roads we traversed kept getting deeper and deeper until the car in front of us had the water up to his windows. Kham decided that this was not a smart idea and made a left onto another side street. We were able to travel down this road for some time until we had to come to a screeching halt.  At a crossroad, there was a fairly significant rapid. This was caused by the water running down the hill and hitting a curb and the base of houses. Kham decided that he could not continue straight, so he turned left into the oncoming rapid. At this point the water was 1/2 way up the side of the car and started to come in around the seams (at one point, there was 2-3 inches of water on the floor board).  Undaunted, Kham continued up this road until the water cleared and we were free from the flooding. I can not imaging what this area is like during heavy rains as we only got less than an inch of rain in the time we were there.

Once onto more major roads, we thought we were home free. But about 2 miles form the hotel, the car decided to just quit. It appears that the car overheated due to the traffic jam we were in.  After 15 minutes or so, the car cooled down enough for us to finish our journey.

All in all, it was a fantastic day and even a little rain could not sink our little ship or our enthusiasm for the day.  I will leave you with one last photo. This is a panoramic of the building on top of the hill. Notice the rocks that are laying about and imagine trying to build in this area!!

Today Gulshan and I took a little tour of the city provided by one of the relocation companies that helped us arrive in Hyderabad.  It is rather interesting that this tour took place after Gulshan had been here 6 weeks and I have been here 4.  So Sonya took us on a tour around the city to show us the sites. Every now and again should would ask "Have you been ......", to which we almost always replied yes. I had not realized how much of the city I had already seen until she pointed things out and I realized I had already been there. Although the tour was disappointing from this aspect, it was quite enjoyable as she pointed out various shops and merchants that I will need to visit prior to my leaving.

The photo is from Hussain Sagar lake that was built in 1562 AD by Hazrat Hussain Shah Wali during the reign of Ibrahim Quli Qutb Shah and boasts a 18 meter high, 350 ton statue of Buddha. Sonya told us that   as the statue was being shipped to Hyderabad, the ship upon which it was arriving sank with some loss of life. Several years later, a British company retrieved the statue and sent it on it's way. I had been by this many times during my stay here but never had a chance to get out and take a photo.  During the evening hours, this statue is  lit and can be seen for miles around as it glows in the middle of the lake.

During certain religious festivals, many Ganesh idols are dunked into the lake which continues to pollute the water. Once a major source of drinking water for Hyderabad and Secundurbad, the lake now is unfit to drink and is very polluted. In fact, getting to close to the water can make you somewhat nauseous if you are not prepared for it.

Sonya did say that the festival I spoke of above is coming during the month of September and that if we wished, she would see that we had a chance to observe it.  Apparently, this entire area of town closes down for about two weeks as these festivals take place. It should be quite a sight to see.

I should also mention that on the way back to the hotel we stopped for a quick lunch. Sonya knew of a hole-in-the-wall Indian restaurant that served basically appetizers. I let Gulshan and her order since none of the names of the items made any sense. It came out as a puffed piece of spiced bread, a mix of vegetables in a mild curry sauce, a flat plate of crispy vegetables in a sauce and was topped off with a spiced yogurt drink. I very much enjoyed all of it with the exception of the drink. I am not a big fan of yogurt and with that taste and the drink being mildly sweet, it was more than I could deal with. This was soon remedied by a diet Coke at the hotel!

Later this evening, Gulshan and I are planning to head to Golkonda fort and maybe stay for the light show and the history lessons. If we are able to make it, I will post an entry for tomorrow giving the history and a couple of photos. But, if you can wait for me to visit it, you can always read about it here... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golkonda