Chowmahalla Palace & Shamrock Bar...

Chutneys

This Saturday I met up with Venkata, Janice & Kiran for a days exploring Hyderabad. The plan was to have breakfast, then head to the Salar Jung Museum (which i had done already), then to Chowmahalla Palace & Golkonda (plus the Tombs if time) - I had my doubts if we would fit it all in. Breakfast was a Chutneys in Jubilee Hills - we had dosa marsala (my fav),  idly and puri. It all tasted great, but very filling. We were there about 1.5 hrs, so by the time we left it was already about 11am - but didn't mind as it was very enjoyable. While they took Janice to the museum, they dropped me off and I walked towards Charminar (best place in HY!). There's always so much to see, and everyone is friendly (the Hindus generally don't like walking around here, for obvious reasons).  I take loads of photos (again).

After getting my Charminar fix I walk towards Chowmanhalla Palace. Venkata calls me en route and we agree to meet inside the palace. This place was only opened to the public in 2005, and was where the Nizams lived and entertained. We spent about 2 hrs here - there was so much to see. They even had some vintage cars, including a very rare old Rolls Royce in yellow. Inside the main part of the palace there was this incredible room with amazing chandeliers and carved/painted ceilings -  this is where visitors were met and entertained. The Nizams clearly new how to live and how to throw big parties!

Chowmahalla

On the way to Golkonda we dropped Kiran off. The traffic was even worse today (normally weekends are not too bad). By the time we got to Golkonda we decided we would not have enough time to do it justice. We headed on to the Tombs (which Janice had not seen).  It was dark when we arrived, but some of them were lit up, which created a very eery atmosphere. There was nobody else walking around - just the 3 of us plus lots of dogs. The lighting made for some interesting photos.



Qutub Saha Tombs



We finished the day at the Shamrock 'Irish' Bar in Madhapur (my suggestion). Venkata had not been  there so it was a new experience for all of us. We entertained ourselves by seeing if we could find anything to do with Ireland - and failed, apart from the green walls. They did not serve Guinness (or any Irish beer) - only Bud (USA) or Corona (Mexico). On the menu  they offered traditional Irish bangers made from chicken(!), and a pot stew which we agreed we should probably avoid. Venkata and I ordered Corona and Janice hit the G&T. We ordered several appetizers from the menu. When we walked in the music was fairly loud, but you could still have  conversation. However, it soon increased to the point where I couldn't heard anything being said - showing my age! It was 'ladies night', so Janice's drinks were free (I think). There was a dance floor and the DJ was cranking up the music. After several more drinks we all hit the dance floor (Venkata needed some coaxing) - lot of fun!