Hyderabad -- Day 1

Our trip to Hyderabad was a wonderful adventure. Apart from the meetings that Thomas and I attended, we basically had no agenda. We met up with some friends of Thomas', all Hindus, who we spent a majority of our time with. There whole family was so hospitable to us and took us many places and allowed us to spend the night at their house. They have a beautiful family and were a joy to be around. Here is a picture of Suneel's hilarious little boy. We had lots of fun.

Our first day there, we met up with Surain, the younger brother of Thomas' friend Suneel and he took us to some incredible historical sites in Hyderabad. The first place we went to is the famous Charminar which is as much a signature of Hyderabad as the Taj Mahal is of Agra or the Eiffel Tower is of Paris. It was incredible, except for being ripped off at the ticket counter for being a foreigner. Because of my white skin I paid 100 rupees to get in while Thomas and Surain paid only 5. That is the story of my life here -- getting overcharged because everything thinks Americans are rich. The Charminar was built in 1591 by the founder of Hyderabad, Mohammed Quli Shah as a charm to ward off a deadly epidemic that was spreading like wildfire at the time. You could see so much of the city from the top (see picture in previous blog) and it was amazing to be able to experience that part of the city's history.
We visited many other historical monuments as well, including a Muslim temple where I had to wear the traditional Muslim attire (excluding the head covering), the Chowmahalla Palace, as well as a couple museums. I learned so much about Indian history in that short time and it was remarkable to see all of the wealth put into these structures and the culture that accompanies it.
Of course you cannot take a trip to Hyderabad without running into many things that remind you of America. I was thrilled to sit down to an amazing lunch at McDonalds, drink a Red Bull at a shop, and were treated to a delicious dinner at Dominos Pizza by our missionary friends from Back to Back.

Mmm...good!
What a great day...

(Oh yeah! I officially drank Indian tap water at Suneel's house and didn't even get sick. What a blessing it will be to not have to constantly worry about buying bottled water.)