Nightmare with Taxis

Hyderabad - We booked the taxi yesterday night to pick us up at 9am for a meeting at 10am.   I had another round of sumptuous breakfast but no taxi came to pick us up at 9am - so Lesley called them and was told that the taxi broke down and a new taxi is going to pick us at 9.20am but instead came at 9.30am.  We reach our destination at 10:30am - rush up and apologize profusely to our customers. 

Along the way - there was a Westin Hotel in the Hi-Tech Park location which we could stay instead of travelling 1hr to and fro.  

On the way back to the Hotel, the taxi driver took us on a scenic ride along Necklace Road with runs around the Lake that is in the heart of Hyderabad called Hussain Sagar.  This Lake was built by Hazrat Hussain Shah Wali in 1562, during the rule of Ibrahim Quli Qutb Shah. It was a lake of 24 square kilometres built on a tributary of the River Musi to meet the water and irrigation needs of the city. There is a large monolithic statue of the Gautam Buddha in the middle of the lake which was erected in 1992.   The taxi driver said to say "can you smell the lake?".   In fact, yes - it was a foul smelling odour emitting from the Lake.

Next to the hotel, there is Sudaman tomb and a muslim graveyard.  

Sudaman Tomb

 

Words just outside the Marriott hotel

GRAVEYARD PLEASE DO NOT PASS URINE

It is quite common to see Indian man standing by the road or against a wall peeing - this sign is to tell them off not to do it.

We were recommend to a good restaurant - Ohri's (www.ohris.com) which is located at Libery Cross Road, opposite Gandhi Medical College , Basheerbagh.   I decided to use the bajai 3-wheeler taxi because it was nearby - negotiated the price down to 200Rp because the taxi driver had to wait and then bring us back.   It was an experience sitting taking the Bajai taxi weaving through the traffic - honing and honing as he goes along.  Big trucks and cars are just inches away from you.  Not an experience for the faint heart.

The food taste good at Ohri's Silver metro restaurant taste good - the theme is a undergound subway.

The stairs leading down to the Silver Metro restaurant - made to look like a metro stairs.

The restaurant decor