Tell the Tales

Shopping Spree in Hyderabad...

Hyderabad and a Shopping spree !!! Can't relate this? Indeed does a shopaholic need a reason to shop. And when they are in Hyderabad, it even makes more sense. It is known as the Pearl City so the obvious shopping item or specialty would be Pearls. Hyderabad is one of the largest drilling centers within India.

It is said that almost the entire village of Chandanpet, a small village in the outskirts of Hyderabad are skilled in pearl drilling. But one needs to be very careful while buying pearls as there are lot of duplicate items available. Buy pearls from govt registered stores only.

Different types of Bangles are also an item to look out for while you are in Hyderabad. Choodi Bazar (common known as Laad Bazaar) near Charminar is a very old market common known for bangles. One can get mesmerized by the colors and the variety bangles made and sold here. But keep in mind, before you buy any items do a survey of the whole market and do a lot of bargain.

Among various other things to explore, Pochampally Silk made in the Bhoodan Pochampally village near Hyderabad is a something one can look out for. This started as a part of the Bodhoon Movement by Acharya Vinoba Bhave. You can find more regarding this here. In order to promote Rural Tourism, APTDC also have set up a hotel at Pochampally village. Rather than buying it in some big store in Hyderabad, request everyone to visit the village to get a feel of how the sarees and the other handloom goods are made.

Kalamkari is another form of hand-painted or block-printed cotton textile which is available in Hyderabad.

Another item which has a attraction among the visitors is the fruit biscuit of Karachi Bakery. This is sold at any retail outlets, airports, railway stations etc other than the Karachi Bakery stores around the twin city.

Shilparamam is a one-stop for all the above and is not to miss for shopaholics. This is a permanent art and handicraft exhibition village located in the Hi-Tech city. Various fairs and ethnic festivals are held in this area. Recently a Night Bazar has also started just besides the premise of the main village.

Other than these, there are several food items like Biryani, Halem etc which are worth mentioning and not be to be missed.

“Sometimes you don't need a goal in life, you don't need to know the big picture. you just need to know what you're going to do next!”

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Where are you going this Monsoon?

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Researching the location

Travelling is a passion, hobby or a habit for different people. There are travelers of different varieties – some likes to travel freely without taking any pain to arrange things for themselves during the travel. They prefer to book travel via different tour groups who would arrange the entire trip for them. Some would like to just set out for travel and experience things instantly while they face it. There are still others who would love to do a thorough research of the place before heading out towards the destination. This saves a lot of time and help to plan properly to utilize the maximum of the time during travel.

I have tried all of the above and feel that the last option seems to be the best among all, though the second option is preferred by adventurous travelers.

Researching the location helps one to understand the place, the dos and the don’ts, nearby places of your interest and many more.

I rely on few of the underlined:

1. Wiki Travel: Rarely you will not find any location in wikitravel.
2. Trip Advisor: Reviews in trip advisor helps to judge the place or the hotels you would wish to stay.
3. Team-BHP site: This is a good place to know the road conditions if you have a desire for road trips.

Please add on to the list of any other site anyone relies on and the list continues to grow.

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Ride down the Withlacoochee River

During my short stay at Gainesville, Florida I was searching for places to visit in and around the town. One of my friend suggested to go for a AirBoat ride in a place near Inverness. Going for a Boat ride is different but the thought of AirBoat ride excited me and others as well. Researched the location and called Wild Bill's Airboat Tours to reserve slots for 8 people for Sunday afternoon. It is an one hour ride along the Withlacoochee river.

Withlacoochee River commonly known as the Crooked River originates from central Florida's Swamp area, east of Polk City. It flows west, then north, and then turns northwest and finally west again before it empties into the Gulf of Mexico near Yankeetown.

There are different varieties of birds and alligators in and along the river and it was a pleasure to hunt for them during the ride. The different shades and the colors of water at different places, leaves and the woods around was truly amazing. The climate was also just appropriate.

We stopped at various places of the swamp and enjoyed the unspoiled beauty of nature with brief narration from the capt.

We learnt that there are huts alongside the swamps where people stay and they mainly engage in fishing. Most of them have their own small air boats. Other than the Wild Bills Airboat Tours, there are other groups as well who arrange for such rides.

For those who don't know what an AirBoat is; It is a flat bottomed boat driven by air propellers and mainly used in the shallow and marshy areas. The air propellers push the boat forward unlike motors in the normal boat. This prevents it from being stuck in the swamps.

A family riding the smaller one

Smaller boats glided along the narrow streams sprinkling the water along its sides and making a lot of noise.

Our capt. mentioned that today was a noisy day with many smaller boats in the river disturbing the peace of the area. Ours was a bigger boat with a capacity of around 30. While we were trying to spot the alligators in the swamp, noticed a smaller boat getting stuck by the side and few people were trying to get that out. More than finding the alligator in the park, the ride was the one which we enjoyed the most.

Can a wonderful Sunday afternoon end without a group pic? My answer would be no. After spending around an hour and enjoying the ride, we left the park with a group pic followed by Starbucks coffee and an hour of chatting on the way.