Hyderabad with Babette, Kim and Ramon

Traveling with these three has been pretty easy! Ramon and Babette do all the work while Kim and I just sit back and enjoy the show. It's been a much more casual pace and while I'm not seeing as many sights, I'm experiencing more of the culture.

It's interesting how people (mostly men) react to Kim and Babette. At the train station at Aurangabad crowds of men started to form around us with every pair of eyes locked onto the two girls. Here women don't wear very revealing clothes and I think that explains the staring. Later some girls approached and asked Babette for her photo and (believe it or not) autographs. Because I was with her they wanted mine too. We even signed their soccer ball. Of course all this attention, if flattering at first, wore thin quickly. We soon found ourselves overwhelmed and started feeling claustrophobic. People here don't know the meaning of personal space and we were literally pushed up against each other as a huge circle formed around us. Luckily the train came and we were able to get away.

The train to Hyderabad was very long and it makes me glad I took a taxi through Rajasthan. It's really not the most efficient way to travel -- or the most comfortable. There are no announcements when the train stops so you always have to ask if this is the right stop. Sometimes the station is labeled and sometimes not. Sometimes it's labeled incorrectly. The train was an hour late departing and two hours late arriving. It took about twelve hours. It was a new experience for me and it was nice to have others to experience it with.

In Hyderabad we found a hotel quickly and set out to do some exploring. This city has a big Muslim population which means that the women are even more covered up. Most women here wear a burqa, and my two lady friends were getting even more attention. They were not feeling very comfortable walking the streets and a number of times said they were glad Ramon and I were with them.

After visiting the Charminar, we went to a nearby park where we felt there would be less people. There we took a ferry to see the world's biggest free standing Buddha statue in the middle of the Hussain Sagar. The rest of the day we spent at an expensive restaurant (for Indian standards) enjoying food, drinks and sharing stories.

Kim, Babette and Ramon figuring out where to go:








Charminar:









Buddha statue at Hussain Sagar: