I wasnt sure of going until we made the plan. And after making the plan we werent sure if we would be able to go or no. Simple reason, the Mumbai terror attacks. But, I kept the faith and cool until the day arrived peacefully and the all was set rolling. But even then the mind was elsewhere, it was a stifled bit. My own backyard had been attacked & all I could do was keep the faith, pray for those who lost their lives and go ahead with the journey. Because, it was all part of the plan! I had to cancel biking it out since i didnt have much time. So, by rail it was...

The Dark Knight has been the years most rocking movie and missing seeing it in the highest resolution cinematic format was something I couldnt afford( I had previously opened a thread on the BatPod which i havent recreated after the reboot of the site). Love for cinema you may call it! Many of the Batman club members had already seen it twice thrice and posted their experiences of the same, and cant describe how I felt on reading them. I wanted to make it to the Hyd IMAX. Watching the scenes in the gorgeous IMAX format was a dream which we wanted to fulfill asap. I had some work in Hyderabad and that was it.

The train journey was dull and nothing worthy of talks. But, as the distance rapidly went by, the excitement increased. Anyway it was the first time i was visiting the Andhra capital and wanted to make the most of my time.

Some railway shots...My favourite mode of transport!

The curve


The famous


Wet evening


I wish the Karizma Express was doing this route!


Passin the time..




The weather was very gloomy and it was raining a bit when i reached in the morning. The chill was evident. First thing to do in the day was to see Golconda fort. Then have some biryani and then onto IMAX. Now, as we reached pretty early, were hungry. And, unlike Mumbai, this city wakes up a little late, or maybe coz it was sunday. No restaurants were open at that time and that surprised me. Moving on, after freshening up, we went to Chutneys at Himayat nagar and again a surprise... There was a waiting period in the morning! Take that. The city had thrown its intro to us in unique fashion. Restos dont open early and when they do, they have long a long waiting! Nevertheless, it was worth the wait. The menu was given. One thing i really like about hotels down south is the chutney system. A three fold tray laden with 3-4 different varieties of chutnies occupies the centre table. Take as much as u want without asking the waiter to bring an extra. We ordered the regular idli wada and i went in for this variety called Steam Dosa. Cant recollect the precise name but its made without oil using some Japanese technique and is a huge fav of south superstars, namely Chiranjeevi. It was simply superb. Zero oil and forget having it with fork and spoon, i began with my hands. It was simply smashing and an unique start to the day. Eh, dont understand why restos in Mumbai not serve this variety.

evergreen 2sm!


Moving on, from Chutneys, proceeded to the fort. I kept in touch with Ravi about my plans and wanted to meet the group in the evening. The fort is truly one massive place of history. The cloudy weather made for a really gloomy day, demon day i would like to call it. The mind was refusing to travel. Also, camera settings while taking pix in such confusing light made up for a little challenge. I was up for it. Slowly and steadily we reached the top of the fort which provided a really enchanting view of the city. It was truly a commanding view and wonder how the erstwhile rulers must have had a strategic hold of the place. Brilliant really. A li'l tour of the fort..



This type of architecture reminded me of the Rajasthani style of designs mixed with the Mughal variety.














I love outfocussing the objects. It makes for gr8 pix.










Getting an accurate reading was a problem. So it was spot metering vs matrix and center weighted all the time, though spot served me a lot better. And the D80 never disappointed!


The Tammy isnt bad at macros either!




Get snappy!




The A.S.I truly has kept the fort in top shape..




Love dofs






Aftera very exhausting fort outing, we directly headed to Paradise. Now a lot was debated over biryani but then Paradise it was. The place was huge and didnt take much time to get a table. As the order came, instead of the biryani what got me interested were the kebabs. Juicy, tender and melting in the mouth variety. The Biryani was gr8, quantity was biiig enough.. But maybe i should have gone to Hyd house. Anyways, alls well that ends well.



We proceeded to the lake front. HussainSagar lake is one huge water body. A Buddha statue has been erected in the middle which one can visit by ferry. It reminded me of Carter road and the adjoining water front and gardens around. Pretty scenic and at sunset it added to the beauty!







skies finally eased up




Called up Ravi and learnt that everyone will try to meet up at Prasads by 6-7.

Part 2 coming up. Stay put folks!