Golconda Fort-- Hyderabad

Sivasamudram

After getting lost multiple times and driving through green we had no idea where we were, but we were trying to find the beautiful lodging we had read about.  The greedy owner was trying to charge us way too much and we left.

Our rickshaw drivers weren't too happy when we asked them to take us back to where they had taken us by accident at first, before the hour long detour.

A (much cheaper) place, the hotel right next to the waterfalls! Glad about our decision, we became children again.

crazy birds everywhere! chasing each other across the lawn, honking and shrieking.  

The waterfalls

The outdoor restaurant and its philosophy... I ate dosas for breakfast lunch and dinner.  it was godly.

Sophie is the sun goddess.

an evening stroll to find the river.

"i think it's down this rabbit hole."

it was.

sunset fishing

beautiful and quiet.

the next day we set out to go to the opposite side of the waterfalls so we could swim in them.

the cows warned us of the madness approaching but we just smiled and kept walking.

we reached a smoky hanuman temple.

the poor brahmin performed the ceremony and then insisted we donate hundreds of rupees because we are americans and americans are rich and he is a poor brahmin.  what to do?

the designated chicken cooking spot.  the chicken killing spot was over to the right where the feathers were scattered.  

beautiful people.

the crows felt ominous hopping around the rice paddies.

we had already picked up a town drunk a few towns back and he was babbling and looking at them through the binoculars (though i saw his eyes, they were fixed on sophie and then thea).

we should have listened to the cows...

we made it! alive and well half a day later.  we swam in all our clothes, the female way, while the men stood around in their purple and green underwear showing off their rolls.

sophie saved my life when i slipped off the rock and towards the waterfall... but she refused to get back in the water after we spotted a rather long water snake.

monkey 1.

monkey 2.

yes.  this is an empty carnival right next to the mosque that's right next to the waterfall.

the operator was running the ride with no one on it and refused to let us on for 10 rupees.

we took a short day trip to london.

it's the london in bangalore.

a really big beautiful park in the middle of bangalore that I sat and read at for a while to regain some energy.

on the way out we stumbled upon an amazing music performance.  I have never heard a woman sing like that or a violin played like that.

public art

the movie theatre in the middle of the city was getting decked out and trying to hoist up, rather usuccessfully, the huge string of necklace onto the bollywood star looming over the street.  The flowers went all over the ground when they dropped it.

The sun went down as we waited for our bus back home.