so today, we explored hyderabad a little bit. initially, we were supposed to shop for clothes, but since it wasn't scorching hot as it normally is, we decided to do a little bit of sight-seeing. we went with sowmya's aunt and two young cousins (and when i say young, i mean 2 and 6).
first, we went to this museum that was dedicated to mughal emperor salar jung. there were artifacts of his old possessions like pictures, military uniform, pyjamas, clothing; and also that of his son and grandson the II and III, respectively. there were also entire rooms full of textiles, granite statues of deities, ivory decorations, arabic calligraphy, the artisanry of all of which was just breathtaking. on the way to the museum (when i was driving there with neeranjani from her aunt's house), we saw some people on camels which is apparently a tourist attraction. then we saw a couple more on the way back!
after that, we went to this restaurant called decca paradise (i think?) and we had a feast. we got veg manchurian, chicken kabab, butter and regular naan, paneer (this was shared between four women and the two little ones). we were stuffed. we went to the charminar afterwards. i'm not sure what its purpose was because we didn't spring for the tour guide (i was sore because he made me pay the foreigners' fee of 100 rupees as opposed to the 5 rupees that sowmya, neeranjani, and sowmya's aunt paid). we took an extremely steep winding staircase maybe three or four stories up and there we got a gorgeous view of the adjacent (across the street) mosques and shops in the muslim quarter (at least, i think we were there because there were so many muslim people as well as the fact that the signs for shops were in arabic).
we went to get ice cream at a shop nearby (i didn't get anything because the waiter FORGOT to bring me the ice cream that i ordered). then they went into the area where they sold bangles to look for some. i bought 8 of them for only 50 rupees (a little more than $1). this after the shopkeeper charged me 100-something for them, which sowmya's aunt said was unreasonable. only after i put them down and began to walk out of the store did he acquiesce to my haggle. as we went to another shop, i definitely felt my bum get grabbed. i evil eyed the boy who did it and walked the other direction, only to have him grab the other side! it was definitely a little bit infuriating and a lot sexual harassment. but there really wasn't much for me to do other than stew at what had just happened.
now, we're back at her aunt's place. i'm still full from lunch, and i'm feeling a little jet laggy tiredness, but i'll push through it and try not fall asleep. it was a good day, though, and tomorrow we're SHOPPING! :)
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