We woke early to make the most of our last day in Hyderabad, oh no we didn’t we had a lie in!! More curry for breakfast, followed by a tour of local banks to try and find one that worked. We did visit one, State Bank of Hyderabad which was open whilst being refurbished. We walked through a building site, with a clear path to the International Banking section. Sorry, no photo’s. One side of the room was the rubble/left over from the old office, followed by a gleaming and sparkly new glass and marble office, with air-con on the other side. A sight to behold but unfortunately we left with no money. On to the next bank, we eventually found one with a visa sign!
On to Golconda Fort, another huge ancient moghul fortress. We walked to the top of the hill in the blazing heat. Pausing to watch a Bollywood actor with male dancers on a wall filming. Right at the top of the hill was a little temple and amazing views, all around.
After a siesta we tried to go to Birla Mandir but ended up elsewhere, due to a small translation issue. So made the most of it and returned to Charminar which was open, paid a visit – climbing some tiny steps to the top to enjoy the spectacular views. We then got lost, walking through the market streets and found our selves at Chowmalla Palace, a sprawling old beautiful relic. With an amazing clock, and old vintage cars. The gardens were littered with various fruit trees, lime, mango and cashew.
We finally got to Birla Mandir for a quick tour, a stunning white marble temple on top of a hill in Hyderabad centre.
A long day….. We headed back for a banquet buffet, stuffed ourselves. Collected bags and headed to the train station to wait for our over night sleeper to Hampi. With a few hours to wait, we got bored of the air conditioned waiting room and so headed to the platform to sit and wait. We were entertained by many people jumping off the platform to head to our train three tracks away, being cleaned to claim their seats. This included women with small children… Crazy people!
Out in the Midday Sun 