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Photos and stories from many of my travels in the past 5 years

Hyderabad 2010: Day 2 — Golconda Fort

Date: 27th December 2010

Day two in Hyderabad started a bit late, on purpose. We were lazy to get out of bed and only decided to do so around lunch time. We took an aurorickshaw and headed towards Lakdi ka pul, as we were advised by our Hyderabadi friend that there are frequent buses from here to Golconda Fort.

We had lunch from one of the restaurants behind the main Lakdi ka pul bus stop, (edit: Ramesh tells me the name was New Paradise Hotel) and yes, we tried the biriyani from here as well. It was alright.

Post lunch, we took the bus that dropped us to Golconda Fort. The entry fee was Rs. 5 for Indians; foreigners have to pay Rs. 100 ($2.2/€1.6) I believe. No extra charge for cameras, but there is a Rs. 25 levy for video cameras/camcorders.

At the entrance we were approached by tour guides to whom we initially said no. But one young chap told us he’ll give us a brief introduction and overview of what all there is to see inside. Only after that need we take a decision whether to hire him as our guide or not.

Golconda Fort guide map Hyderabad India

Golconda fort entrance guards fort Hyderabad
A small 'guard's fort' outside the main enclosed fort

Golconda fort entrance Ramesh Loiyumba Hyderabad India

Golconda fort entrance tower Hyderabad
This is the main entrance
Golconda Fort map Hyderabad India
To the left and right as you walk in are artifacts like knives, armaments, and other relics

Golconda Fort entrance hall Hyderabad India

Golconda Fort entrance clap sound echo Hyderabad
From the spot where the girl is standing, if you clap, not only does it echo loudly in here, but it can be heard all the way up at the highest point of the fort. It was designed to work for the guards as a warning mechanism in the olden days. Amazing.
Golconda Fort guide Ramesh Loiyumba Hyderabad
This was our guide, at the end we decided to hire him. He told us the rate was Rs. 600, to be paid at the end of the tour.
Golconda Fort directions Hyderabad
All that we were going to be seeing inside

Golconda Fort ground view Hyderabad IndiaGolconda Fort path Hyderabad IndiaGolconda Fort cavern tunnel windows Hyderabad

Golconda Fort guide Hyderabad India
The guide would stop at designated places and begin explaining the various design aspects and history behind this impressive fort
Golconda Fort school kids weight Hyderabad
Unfortunately, I don't remember anything what the guide told me about this tunnel
Golconda Fort iron weight Hyderabad
Apparently this heavy metal weight was used to test the strength of soldiers during recruitment
Golconda Fort iron weight Ramesh Hyderabad
Whatever it was for, none of us could barely even manage to lift it even a milimetre off the ground. It was that heavy!

Golconda Fort tunnel Loiyumba Ramesh HyderabadGolconda Fort cavern Hyderabad IndiaGolconda Fort palace complex Hyderabad India

Golconda Fort Nagina Bagh garden Hyderabad India
Nagina Bagh

Golconda Fort lens flare Hyderabad IndiaGolconda Fort well Hyderabad India

Golconda Fort steps up Hyderabad India
We headed up

Golconda Fort steps up to prayer hall Hyderabad India Golconda fort edge broken wall Hyderabad

Golconda Fort way to Ramdas jail Hyderabad India
We were going inside here next
Golkonda fort priest Ramdas jail Hyderabad India
Ramdas worked as a revenue collector for the ruler at the time. He was jailed here for defiance and in the years he spent inside, he carved Hindu deities on the wall so he could pray.
Golkonda Fort temple Ramdas Jail Hyderabad India
Hindus today visit to pay obeisance to Ramdas
Golconda fort sunlight shining through Ramdas jail Hyderabad India
Ramdas got a pretty spacious jail... but not much ventilation

Golconda fort open window Ramdas jail Hyderabad India

Golconda Fort above Ramdas jail Hyderabad India
This is from on top of Ramdas jail

Golkonda fort old Hyderabad IndiaAs we stared into the panoramic view from atop Ramdas Jail, we asked our guide if there was a better vantage point from where we could see Hyderabad city. He asked us to follow him off the beaten path through some shrubs and thorn bushes outside of the walls of the fort.

Golconda fort guide explaining tour Hyderabad India
Amidst a few cannons, we got a 'high level' tour of Hyderabad
Golkonda Fort high view Hyderabad India
(Panorama comprised of 10 shots)
Golkonda Fort bottom half panorama Hyderabad India
The bottom half of Golconda fort (Panorama comprised of 9 shots)
Golkonda fort view ruins Hyderabad
The palace ruins
Golkonda fort Ramesh Mithun Loiyumba Hyderabad
Asked our guide to take a photo of us

Golkonda fort Ibrahim mosque HyderabadWe continued up towards the citadel.

Golkonda fort way to citadel Hyderabad

Golkonda fort Jagadamba Mahankali temple Hyderabad
Sri Jagadamba Mahankali temple

Golkonda fort citadel view down Hyderabad

Golkonda fort citadel clap Hyderabad
Our guide demonstrated the amazing acoustic engineering of this fort. Not only could you hear the claps from all the way down there but he also demonstrated how the guards communicated from as high up as the citadel with the help of another guide down below.
Golkonda fort citadel Hyderabad
The citadel
Golkonda fort citadel no writing on walls sign Hyderabad
With this sign I knew what to expect...
Golkonda fort citadel wall writing damage Hyderabad
...so imagine how awkward it was seeing (some idiot(!) with) my name etched on the walls here. Argh!

Golkonda fort darbar hall citadel visitors Hyderabad

Golkonda fort view Hi-tec city panorama Hyderabad
Hi-Tec city in the distance (Panorama comprised of 6 shots)

Golkonda fort citadel view Hyderabad

Golkonda fort baradari hall writing Hyderabad
The 'writings on the wall' are here inside as well. How sad. A fort that survived for centuries couldn't survive the 'modern' Indian populace.

Golkonda fort citadel darbar hall tourists HyderabadGolkonda fort citadel darbar hall window HyderabadGolkonda fort citadel Ramesh Loiyumba HyderabadGolkonda fort citadel darbar hall Hyderabad

Golconda Sri Jagadamba Mahankali temple bullock rocks
The rocks resemble a bullock

Golkonda fort citadel steps down HyderabadGolkonda fort durbar hall citadel Hyderabad

Golkonda fort steps to palace ruins Hyderabad
We made our way down to the palace ruins

Golconda fort pillar steps Hyderabad Golkonda fort stone cave HyderabadGolconda fort palace ruins arches Hyderabad

Golkonda fort stone wall Hyderabad
Pretty massive stone walls
Golconda Fort stone wall Hyderabad
Took this looking up against the wall

Golkonda fort stone walls HyderabadGolkonda fort from down Hyderabad IndiaGolkonda fort stone palace HyderabadGolconda fort palace ruins HyderabadGolkonda fort palace ruins gated HyderabadGolkonda fort palace ruins islamic design HyderabadGolkonda fort royal palace ruins Hyderabad IndiaGolkonda fort palace ruins Hyderabad India

Golkonda fort palace ruins heritage Hyderabad
It's amazing to wonder what life would have been like back in those days

Golkonda fort palace ruins history Hyderabad

Golkonda fort palace ruins amphitheatre Hyderabad India
The fountain looks like a new addition to the courtyard
Golkonda fort palace ruins hall Hyderabad
But something far more impressive was inside here
Golkonda fort royal palace acoustic hall Hyderabad
Our guide told us of these "whispering walls" inside this corridor. You could speak in one corner of the hall and one could hear it faintly from the adjacent corner. I didn't believe but we tried it and it actually worked!
Golconda fort whispering walls Hyderabad India
The kids surely loved it
Golkonda fort palace ruins speaking walls Hyderabad
Definitely one of the best highlights in Golconda Fort

Golkonda fort Royal palace ruins inside Hyderabad

Golkonda fort palace ruins light tunnel Hyderabad

Golconda fort acoustic hall Hyderabad
The guide explaining the unique acoustics of this hall as well

Golconda fort Royal palace hall Hyderabad Golkonda fort royal palace sign Hyderabad

Golconda fort royal palace lawns Hyderabad
We were nearing the end of our hour-plus long tour

Golconda fort royal palace garden hyderabad Golconda fort royal palace ruins light smoke HyderabadGolconda fort royal palace ruins sunlight flare HyderabadGolconda fort museum garden HyderabadGolconda fort old rifle cannon balls HyderabadWe were finished with the tour, and our guide led us out of the fort.

Golconda fort clapping entrance tourists Hyderabad
Score of visitors were still trying out the 'clapping' effect
Golkonda fort guards fort entrance Hyderabad
There is a light & sound show once the sun sets, but we didn't feel like staying for it -- so we watched it on YouTube instead 😛

We had to pay Rs. 600 (Rs. 200 per person) at the entrance gate where the guides stood. But as we walked out, I could overhear other guides quoting Rs. 300 to some and Rs. 500 to other groups, and the groups spoke in Hindi or Telugu (the native language). It’s only when we exited I noticed there wasn’t even sign proclaiming how much guide charges were.

So we came to the conclusion the charges for a guide are decided based on how one appears! If you dress like an city slicker/outsider and speak English, you pay more. If you look middle-class (which all three of us are honestly) and converse in front of the guides in a local language, you’ll probably be quoted lesser. If you’re white… I’m sorry.

Golkonda fort old unique bus tour Hyderabad
A unique tour bus we saw while waiting for a ride back to Lakdi ka pul

I still recommend Golconda Fort as a ‘must see’. Easily one of the most impressive forts in India’s heritage. Unfortunately, one that badly needs some renovation and cleaning up. But I doubt preserving the city’s heritage ranks high as a priority for Andhra Pradesh’s politicians.

——

There is actually a day 3 and 4, but unfortunately, it just occurred to me as I began to write this series that I didn’t copy over the next days photos from the camera 🙁

Sucks, I know. But here’s what I did the next day, erm, in words. I went back to Charminar, alone, to do some pearl shopping for my mother. After visiting a few stores, my last experience made me reconsider buying pearls from here. The salesman quoted around Rs. 1800 for a cultured pearl necklace, but as I resisted, he came down to Rs. 1200, then Rs. 600! Then Rs. 500! Then Rs. 300! I walked away wondering what the true value of these pearls really were.

Oh, the best biriyani I had on this trip was at Hotel Shadab on High Court Road just as you are about to enter Madina Market near Charminar. I entered having not heard about the place before but took the plunge just looking at the sheer number of people inside. They have a very old seating area downstairs and a much fancier, air-conditioned ‘family room’ upstairs where tourists were sitting their respective guides. I ordered the chicken biriyani and though it did take around 10 minutes to arrive, it was worth the wait! God, was it so good!

I’m not a fan of Hyderabadi biriyani because most of the them I have had were usually dry and rather tasteless. Shadab’s biriyani was essentially a meal for two. You really get your money’s worth of quantity. I don’t know how they do it (considering it was already late in the afternoon), but the chicken was piping hot and so tender (extremely well cooked, you could tell from pure white colour of the meat).  On top of the chicken, they layered the rice in two halves. One half being masala-coated and the other being the regular basmati rice. The rice was very soft and once mixed with the spicy-masala (and curd) it was delicious! Highly recommended!

At my table sat a local IT engineer who struck up a conversation with me and I asked him if the famous Paradise Restaurant was better. He told me he preferred Shadab’s to Paradise these days, as Paradise “used to be good,” but he also told me there are other small eateries spread throughout the city that serve very good biriyani that live up to Hyderabad’s reputation as India’s ‘biriyani cpaital’.

After lunch, my tablemate was kind enough to even drop me at Karachi Bakery, another Hyderabad institution I had plans of visiting. This bakery chain is quite famous for their fruit biscuits. So famous that they sell out hundreds of boxes by the hour and you often have to queue up for it!

Karachi bakery line for fruit biscuits Hyderabad
By the time I got to the counter, they had run out of the smaller boxes, so I got away with two big boxes instead

Day 4 was our friend’s wedding in the morning and post lunch, just to kill time, we took an auto to Banjara Hills, Hyderabad’s posh locality.

GVK one Shopper's Stop Hyderabad mall
Just about every mall was netted up because of the Telangana unrest
GVK One Hard Rock Cafe Hyderabad mall
We went mall-hopping but got bored rather quickly as the offerings were nothing impressive
Taj Krishna hotel Banjara hills Hyderabad
Taj Krishna Hotel
Kacheguda railway station at night Hyderabad India
In the evening, we walked to Kacheguda station and boarded our train back to Bangalore

After my second visit to Hyderabad, my opinion hasn’t changed — I still wouldn’t live here. In fact, all three of us were itching to get back to Bangalore city because we were quite bored here. Maybe it’s the Telangana issue that has tarnished the city’s status, but we just didn’t find the place ‘exciting’ to say the least.

Sure, there were two other sights we missed, like the historical Chowmahalla Palace and Ramoji Film City… but we just shrugged our shoulders and rode the happy train back to Bangalore.

Hyderabad 2010: Day 1 — Eat Street, Charminar and Mecca Masjid

Date: 26th December 2010

After beginning this year with a visit to the UAE, then Singapore, Malaysia & Thailand later in the year, I capped off my 2010 travels with a trip to Hyderabad. The main purpose of the visit was to attend a friend’s wedding, but we (my usual travel buddies Ramesh and Loiyumba) decided to go a bit early to do a bit of sight-seeing.

This wasn’t my first visit to the capital of Andhra Pradesh. I first came to Hyderabad in 2002 to visit my brother when he worked there briefly.

In some ways I was looking forward to this trip because it was after a span of nearly 9 years that I got to travel by train again. We boarded the Kacheguda Express from Bangalore Cantonment station in the evening.

Kachiguda Express Indian train sleeper bed Loiyumba
Loi didn't wait too long to cuddle up in his sleeping bag and doze off

We arrived in Kacheguda station (not Hyderabad’s main railway station) at a chilly 5:45am. We had reserved a room for us three at Nand International, a nearby hotel, so we figured we could walk it there. But after walking for around a minute or two, we couldn’t spot the hotel and the auto drivers we passed by were telling us they could take us there for just Rs. 10. Figuring it was cold and we had luggage, we got in… and literally 5 seconds later, up the same Station road we were at, we were dropped at Nand International! Pissed at the fact all he had to tell us was to walk a few steps further to get here, we shouted at the auto driver — but relented from ruining our morning and just paid him Rs. 10 to get lost.

We checked in to our three person bedroom/family room.

Nand International three bedroom Kacheguda Hyderabad hotel
Costs Rs. 870 ($19/€13) per night for this centrally air-conditioned room

Since we were still sleepy, we crashed for a few hours.

Got up around noon, had tea and pondered about where to have lunch. In a city famed for its food, we weren’t keen on hitting up the street food joints near Charminar straight away. So we decided to go to a place called Eat Street.

Eat Street Necklace road Hyderabad India
Cost nearly Rs. 60 to get here by auto from Kacheguda Station Road

Eat Street is just some food court by Hussain Sagar Lake, one of the largest man made lakes in India. We passed through scanners (apparently security is pretty tight in Hyderabad) and walked in to a not-so-busy food court.

Eat Street food court Hussain Sagar lake HyderabadEat street open air food court Hussain Sagar lake HyderabadWe checked out the various stalls, some open open for business… some not. You get your usual choice of South Indian, biriyani (of course), chaats, western fast food, etc. But despite being in the city famous for its biriyani, I wasn’t going to eat it from just about anywhere.

Eat Street biriyani fried chicken fries Hyderabad
So I had burger, fried chicken strips and fries instead. Lame, I know.

Ramesh and Loi both tried out the biriyani and they described the food as: “sucks” and “horrible”. So there.

Eat Street Hussain Sagar lake Mithun Ramesh Hyderabad
Loiyumba took this photograph using his camera
Hussain Sagar lake Hyderabad India
Hussain Sagar lake (Photograph by Loiyumba)
Hussain Sagar lake Buddha statue Hyderabad India
There are boat rides in the evening to go to the Buddha statue (Photograph by Loiyumba)

Post-lunch, we already feeling a sense of ‘boredom’ and wondered what to do next.

Hussain Sagar lake park tarot reader afternoon Hyderabad
We left Eat Street and aimlessly walked through the park around the lake

Hussain Sagar lake park afternoon Hyderabad Hyderabad colourful houses dish antennas cartoon wall

Hyderabad book fair 2010 stalls people India
There was book fair going on
Hyderabad book fair 2010 stalls India
It was the annual Hyderabad Book Fair

Ram Gopal Varma autobiography Telugu book

Hyderabad book fair 2010 stalls afternoon India
Considering none of us have the habit of reading books much, we left fairly quickly

Hyderabad lake park afternoon India

Prasads Imax theatre Hyderabad mall
Crossed the road over to Prasads

The one good thing about Hyderabad is that they have an IMAX screen, and it can be found at Prasads on Tank Bund Road. The security was pretty tight before entering here as well (I take it’s because of the Telangana issue?). We checked out the mall a bit before going to collect our pre-booked tickets for Tron which was playing.

After checking out Prasads, we stepped out, took an autorickshaw and went to see Charminar, Hyderabad’s iconic structure.

Way to Charminar Musi River bridge Hyderabad

Charminar market bazaar Hyderabad
There are many old bazaars leading up to Charminar... and traffic was very congested

We eventually asked the auto driver to stop and decided to walk it further up.

Charminar pearl bazaar shops Hyderabad India
Plenty of pearl stores here, Hyderabad pearls are quite famous

Charminar fort entrance Hyderabad India
Charminar road crowded HyderabadSyedi book seller Charminar fort Hyderabad

Charminar fort Hyderabad India
The road goes all around Charminar
Charminar Tiffin centre South Indian food Hyderabad
I ate from here on the third day, really good South Indian food!

Charminar literally translates to “four towers”. Minar or minaret  being the towers or pointy structures you find in just about every mosque and char which just means four.

Charminar fort blue sky Hyderabad India
Built by ruler Qutb Shah in 1591 AD
Charminar fort entry visitors Hyderabad
There was a queue going half way around Charminar
Charminar fort street kids old coins Hyderabad India
Old coins for sale. Genuineness unconfirmed.
Charminar fort visitors queue Hyderabad India
We queued up, paid the Rs. 5 entry fee and entered

Charminar fort entry Hyderabad India Charminar no spitting sign Hyderabad India

Climbing stairs Charminar minaret Hyderabad
You climb narrow stairs up one of the minars

Climbing up minaret Charminar inside Hyderabad

Charminar stairs minar Hyderabad
The walls were quite cold
Charminar balcony view woman Hyderabad
You obviously get a better picture of the surrounding from up here

View from Charminar bazaar HyderabadBut walking through the halls, I couldn’t really help but not ignore something.

Charminar inside writing damage wall Hyderabad
The walls
Charminar wall damage inscribed Hyderabad
It's quite apparent how badly the walls have been vandalized the past few years by callous visitors
Charminar ceiling islamic architecture Hyderabad
At least the ceilings were hard to reach
Charminar wall names scratched Hyderabad
It's an appalling sight in many of our heritage monuments
No writing damaging walls sign Charminar Hyderabad
Despite the efforts to curb the practice and a law making it a punishable offence...
Charminar wall writing damaging wall Hyderabad
... even to this day, to some worthless citizens of this country, it's still a joke. As if these historical monuments are just another building to them.

Charminar arches ceiling Islamic architecture Hyderabad

Laad bazaar bangles street Charminar Hyderabad
Laad bazaar a.k.a 'bangles street' -- guess why it's called so
Charminar main hall ceiling design Hyderabad
The open hall in between the four minarets

Charminar inside hall wall writings HyderabadCharminar open hall design Hyderabad

Charminar ceiling pigeons Hyderabad
Five pigeons

Charminar Laad bazaar road Hyderabad India

Charminar traffic view from top Hyderabad
Traffic is quite messy (and very busy) around Charminar
Mecca Masjid view from Charminar Hyderabad
Mecca Masjid, where we were headed next
Palace opposite Mecca Masjid Charminar Hyderabad
Nizamia Unani Hospital, opposite Mecca Masjid

Charminar Loiyumba Ramesh Hyderabad India

Charminar circle view down Hyderabad
It was time to head back down
Charminar steps down minar tower Hyderabad
Down another minar we went

Bangles Street bazaar Hyderabad IndiaCharminar arch islamic design HyderabadCharminar ceiling design from ground HyderabadCharminar angle shot HyderabadCharminar done, we decided to sit in a cafe to have something to drink.

Charminar restaurant falooda Hyderabad
Ramesh played it safe with Pepsi, while myself and Loi had *extremely* sweet falooda
Gajini-ki-shaadi film poster Hyderabad India
As seen inside the cafe
Gajini-ki-shaadi Hyderabad poster
Looks like there is a parallel film industry within Hyderabad making low-budget unofficial sequels to mainstream film releases 🙂

Excessive sugar intake complete, we decided to quickly step inside Makkah Masjid.

Charminar circle crowds Hyderabad India

Nizamia Unani hospital opposite Makkah Masjid Hyderabad
The markets are quite bustling in these parts
Mecca Masjid mosque Hyderabad India
Mecca Masjid is the biggest mosque in Hyderabad and one of the oldest in India

You have to leave your bag and shoes at the counter and walk barefoot once past the gates.

Mecca Masjid mosque Charminar Hyderabad

Mecca Masjid sunset pigeon feeding Hyderabad India
People had gathered to see hundreds of pigeons being fed grains
Mecca Masjid evening pigeon feeding Hyderabad
Not very exciting... but still

Mecca Masjid pigeons Hyderabad mosque

Mecca Masjid pigeons flying evening Hyderabad
It's always such a photo moment when hundreds of them fly away at once
Mecca Masjid entrance hall Hyderabad
I decided to check out the mosque
Mecca Masjid prayer hall muslim Hyderabad India
The main prayer hall
Mecca Masjid prayer hall mosque Hyderabad India
Wonder what those honeycomb-like bags hold
Mecca Masjid side visitors Hyderabad
Went around the mosque

Mecca Masjid behind hyderabadMecca Masjid grounds Charminar Hyderabad

Mecca Masjid pigeons evening lamp posts Hyderabad
Pigeons, pigeons... there are a lot of them
Mecca Masjid pigeons electric wires Hyderabad
Needless to say, there's a lot of pigeon poop on the ground

Mecca Masjid fountain Charminar HyderabadWe left the mosque and decided to call it a day.

Punch Mohalla Charminar Hyderabad
Took a rickshaw back to our hotel
Charminar bakery road Hyderabad evening
That's a heap of bread crumbs and rusk being sold in bulk. Not very hygienic in these conditions I would presume.

Once back in Nand International, I was quite cheesed off. Despite claiming to provide 24 hours hot water, when I opened the tap, I only got cold water. Went to the reception to complain and the man with a straight face told me it only comes on from 6am to 6pm. I then raised my voice and told him “well, that’s not what it says on your website!” and demanded I need hot water as it was quite cold (which it was outside). Only then did I get a bucket of hot water. So a big thumbs down for Nand International because of that.

Post rant, we concluded day one in Hyderabad with dinner at nearby three-star hotel restaurant where we had, yes, biriyani.

It was alright, but I would have much better biriyani in the next few days.

Damnoensaduak floating market tourists Ratchaburi Thailand

Thailand 2010: Damnoen Saduak Floating Market tour, Cobra show… and leaving Bangkok

Date:  29th November 2010

My final day in Thailand… and I still made most of the time I had before flying out.

Even though I still had an entry ticket to DreamWorld theme park which I got for free via Cleartrip, I decided to chuck that and opted instead to do something I couldn’t do last year.

I booked myself for a floating market tour via the lady who owns Thai House Inn and she got it for me for ฿600 (Rs. 890/$20/€14).

Bangkok Rama bridge early morning Thailand
Left Bangkok at around 6am; headed to the neighbouring district of Ratchaburi, a 100km drive
Shrimp prawn farms outside Bangkok Thailand
Passed by a lot of shrimp farms. Turns out Thailand is largest exporter of such shrimps. (That explains the abundance of prawn crackers)

After an hour long drive, the van reached a canal where there were other tour groups gathered near some boats.

Floating market tour starting point boats Thailand
We would then be split up into groups for each boat
Canal longtail boat Bangkok Thailand
I grabbed the spot in front

Damnoen Saduak Ratchaburi canal boats Bangkok Thailand

Damnoen Saduak river taxi boats Bangkok Thailand
No roads from here on out, just canals all the way to the ‘floating’ market

Floating village longtail boats parked Thailand

River to Damoen Saduak floating market Thailand
It was a lovely morning ride

Damnoen Saduak river pier Bangkok Thailand Floating village Thai women canal Bangkok

Damnoen Saduak floating village house by river Bangkok Thailand
It was a charming sight to see houses and entire villages live by these canals
Damnoen Saduak floating village river Bangkok Thailand
Kind of appears as though the ‘roads’ are flooded 🙂

Damnoen Saduak floating village Bangkok Thailand Damnoen Saduak river homes Yamaha Fino Bangkok ThailandDamnoen Saduak village boat lift Ratchaburi ThailandDamnoen Saduak floating market flower pots Ratchaburi ThailandDamnoen Saduak floating market sheet Ratchaburi ThailandDamnoen Saduak canal house Ratchaburi ThailandDamnoen Saduak floating market river motorboat Ratchaburi

Damnoen Saduak floating market sign Ratchaburi Thailand
That’s where we were heading

Damnoen Saduak floating market row houses Ratchaburi ThailandDamnoen Saduak floating village houses Ratchaburi ThailandDamnoen Saduak floating market pedestrian bridge Ratchaburi ThailandDamnoen Saduak floating village home Ratchaburi ThailandDamnoen Saduak floating market canal Ratchaburi Thailand

Damnoen Saduak floating market lanes Ratchaburi Thailand

Once we reached the market, we got out of our boats and were informed by our guide that we had nearly an hour here. But, if we wanted to boat ride around the market, we would have to pay ฿50 (Rs. 75/$1.6/€1.16) and it was not included in the tour package. Obviously, none of us wanted to simply walk around the ‘floating’ market, so I paid up.

Damnoen Saduak floating market old boat lady Ratchaburi
I sat right in front again

Damnoen Saduak floating market boats fruit hawker Ratchaburi ThailandDamnoen Saduak floating market paddle boat vendor Ratchaburi Thailand

Damnoen Saduak floating market paddle boats Ratchaburi Thailand
Mind you, there are many boats carrying tourists around the market all morning. The market closes by afternoon.
Damnoen Saduak floating market hats vendor Thailand
Plenty of hawkers (on boats of course) pull your boat over to try and sell you their wares

Damnoen Saduak floating market hats ThailandDamnoen Saduak floating market souvenir vendor ThailandDamnoen Saduak floating market vendor pulling Ratchaburi Thailand

Damnoen Saduak floating market saffron spices Ratchaburi Thailand
A lot of the stuff for sale are souvenirs and other Thailand memorabilia

Damnoen Saduak floating market vendors Ratchaburi Thailand

Damnoen Saduak floating market pork noodles Ratchaburi Thailand
No shortage of eateries as usual

Damnoen Saduak floating market Paew boat service Thailand

Thailand souvenirs for sale floating market Ratchaburi Thailand
And as usual, you can haggle for a much lower price than what they initially quote

Damnoen Saduak floating market morning rush ThailandDamnoen Saduak floating market restaurant Ratchaburi ThailandDamnoen Saduak floating market under bridge Thailand

Damnoen Saduak floating market handicrafts Thailand
Even under a bridge there was no shortage of hawkers

Damnoen Saduak floating market lights boat Thailand

Damnoen Saduak floating market insects bugs Thailand
From preserved animals…
Damnoen Saduak floating market snake Thailand
.. to even getting photographs with a massive snake. All available under the bridge.

Damnoen Saduak floating market hawker boats Thailand

Damnoen Saduak floating market coconut boat Thailand
Nicely shaven coconut 🙂

Damnoen Saduak floating market bags sculptures Thailand Damnoen Saduak floating market hawker boat ThailandDamnoensaduak floating market water canal Ratchaburi ThailandDamnoensaduak floating market tourist paddle boat Thailand

Damnoensaduak floating market fan hats hawker Thailand
After much pandering, I ended up buying two of these hats for my nieces. The hats can be folded into fans as well. Paid around ฿100 each.
Asian tourists floating market Thailand
Best advised to keep your hands inside at all time. The boats do ram into each other.
Damnoen Saduak floating market end Thailand
It was time to turn around and go back

Damnoensanduak floating market souvenirs sale Thailand

Damnoensanduak floating market boats jam Thailand
This is what a floating market traffic jam looks like

And this is what it sounds like 🙂

Damnoensanduak floating market Durian Thailand
Durian. Ugh.
Damnoensanduak floating market hats hawker Thailand
Yes, lots of hats

Damnoensanduak floating market handicrafts Ratchaburi ThailandAfter riding for around half an hour, we were dropped back on to the platform.

Damnoensaduak floating Thailand flag boat Ratchaburi
Continued taking photos on foot

Damnoensaduak floating market morning Ratchaburi Thailand Damnoensaduak floating market boat ride Ratchaburi ThailandDamnoensaduak floating market shops Ratchaburi ThailandDamnoensaduak floating market dog Ratchaburi ThailandDamnoensaduak floating market boats crossing Ratchaburi ThailandDamnoensaduak floating market fruits boat Ratchaburi ThailandDamnoensaduak floating market paddle boats fresh food Thailand

Damnoensaduak floating market tourists Ratchaburi Thailand
The floating market is one of those ‘must see’ places in Thailand
Damnoensaduak floating market massage chairs Thailand
Yes, you can get a massage just about anywhere in Thailand

Damnoensaduak floating market canal boats Ratchaburi ThailandDamnoensaduak floating market long boat Ratchaburi Thailand

Damnoensaduak floating market paddle boats parking Thailand
How paddle boats are ‘parked’
Damnoensaduak floating market smaller canal Thailand
I would have liked to have gone through there

Damnoensaduak floating market entrance king portrait Thailand

Damnoensaduak floating market food boat Ratchaburi Thailand
How heavy must the boats be to hold the weight of two gas cylinders?

I walked back to the designated meeting point for our tour group. It was time to leave, so we all got back to our respective vans.

I was under the impression the floating market tour was over and that we would be on our long drive back. But no, instead, the van took us to a nearby Elephant Village.

Now, I had been to an elephant camp in Chiang Mai back in 2009 so I knew what to expect and more importantly, why they bring tourists here as ‘part of the package’.

Floating market tour elephant ride village Thailand
It’s ฿600 for an elephant ride -_-
Elephant village ride tourists Thailand
I wasn’t interested
Elephant village forest history Thailand
Instead, I sat at the cafe and read up trivia

After waiting for nearly half an hour for the few from my tour group who wanted to go for the elephant ride, we finally got moving again. Next up, the Cobra Show.

Cobra Show entrance ticket counter Ratchaburi Thailand
Again, they only drop you here, you still had the option to pay and enter

Even though I had seen videos from the ‘most exciting show in the world,’ I did not want to wait outside in the heat again. So I paid the ฿30 or ฿50 it was for the ticket and went in.

Cobra Show arena Bangkok Thailand
The arena inside (Panorama comprised of 6 shots)

They start off with the announcer welcoming everyone and explaining in fairly understandable English that the purpose of the facility is to ‘educate’ visitors that snakes are not all that dangerous as people make them out to be.

Cobra show extracting snake venom Thailand
A badass-looking Thai staff member showing us how they extract snake’s venom

The also bring around snakes to you in case you want to take photos with one around your neck. And since I hate snakes…

Cobra show Mithun snake around neck Thailand
I thought I’d give it a try 🙂
Cobra show python snake showing tourists Thailand
They have all kinds of snakes, like huge pythons as well

The ‘exciting’ parts kick in when they demonstrate how the trained staff catch snakes. Which has to be seen in action:

The guy also caught three cobras, one by one, which was quite impressive.

The excitement continues when they bring out a snake’s worst enemy in the animal kingdom, the mongoose — and then make the two fight.

Cobra show mongoose snake fight Thailand
“Snake, meet mongoose”
Cobra show mongoose snake fight tourism Thailand
“Snake… meet mongoose!”
Cobra show mongoose fighting snake Thailand
“Snake… snake…snaaaaake!”*
Cobra show mongoose not fighting snake Thailand
Introductions over I guess

Here’s a video of the mongoose fight some more:

Thirty minutes of, erm, animal cruelty, the show was over. The staff went around seeking donations from the visitors, and I tipped ฿100 to the guy who caught the snakes with his bare hands, because that’s quite some skill.

Outside, there have a mini-zoo with a few reptilian creatures.

Mangrove snake cobra show ThailandCobra show crocodile Thailand

Cobra show python tourist neck photograph Thailand
If you want photos with much bigger snakes, you can take them here
Cobra show Thailand snake park Thailand
But I wanted to sit in the air-conditioned van as it was quite hot!

I asked our guide if the ‘tour’ was over, but he said there was one final stop. Ugh.

This was some handicrafts showroom where they specialize in wooden sculptures.

Thailand wood craftsman at work

Buddha statue wood carving Thailand
But I must say, quite impressive wood work (That sign seems a bit ironic btw)

Thai craftswoman handicraft carving Thailand

Teakwood amazing woodwork craftsman artist Thailand
Scratch that, some *very* impressive wood work!
Teakwood detailed amazing woodwork craftsman artist Thailand
Wonder how many weeks it takes for such stunning works of art
Wooden elephant sculpture handicrafts Thailand
They’re all for sale but it’s not like they’re easy to fit into a suitcase and take back with you

Needless to say, none of these wooden sculptures carved out of teak wood come cheap. Most of them were in the thousands of dollars (yes, dollars, not Thai baht)!

Thai wood handicrafts showroom Thailand
They have a showroom with some smaller pieces of wood work inside

After another half-an-hour spent here, we headed back into our vans. I was finally done with the ‘floating market’ tour. As touristy as the above sights may seem, I still feel a visit to the floating market is a ‘must-do’ in Thailand. Damnoen Suduak is the most popular floating market, thus the hordes of tourists. There are a few other floating markets across Thailand.

The journey back into the city took a lot longer for me as I was going to be the last one dropped. I eventually got down at MBK to have lunch… at KFC.

KFC seaweed flavour chicken Bangkok Thailand
Last year, KFC Thailand introduced a sweet ‘n’ spicy variant of their chicken, and it was my last meal before leaving. This year, KFC introduced a seaweed infused variant. It was alright, better than last year’s sweet ‘n’ spicy.

With my final meal in Thailand complete…

Siam Paragon Krispy Kreme line Bangkok Thailand
Oh for god’s sake Thai people, there’s NOTHING special about Krispy Kreme!

Anyway… I headed back to Thai House Inn to pack up and check out. I sat down for a bit before stepping out again, but this time, without my camera bag for a change. I wanted to give my shoulders a rest after the nearly two weeks I strained them. I walked further down from Nana BTS to see whether there were better sub-฿1000 accommodation available so that next time if I do choose to stay in the Sukhumvit area, I don’t have to stay to at Thai House Inn.

Hopefully, next time I’m in Bangkok, if I don’t have much shopping to do, I’ll stay in Khao San road.

At around 5:30pm, I took the BTS to Phaya Thai station. They had only recently opened the new skytrain link directly to Suvarnabhumi airport, saving passengers both time and money.

Phaya Thai airport line BTS station Bangkok metro
The Phaya Thai airport link station
Phaya Thai airport link to Suvarnabhumi BTS station Bangkok
And as an introductory offer, the ticket to Suvarnabhumi was a cheap ฿15! I paid nearly ฿500 last year for taxi!

The journey took  just 30 minutes. Clearly a better option for those with less luggage. I was early enough for my 9:20pm Thai Airways flight to Bangalore.

Suvarnabhumi airport metro BTS entrance Thailand
The entry into the airport from the BTS station is at the basement

Walking up to the departures section, I was quite stunned to see just about every Indian passenger heading back to Mumbai with a massive LCD/plasma TV in tow. It’s as though everybody knew how much to pay off the Mumbai customs officials upon arrival.

Quite ridiculous really, especially seeing many of them pleading with the check-in personnel not to impose excess baggage charges… because some of them were (unsurprisingly) way over the allowed limit!

Statue Thai art Suvarnabhumi airport ThailandAfter checking-in, I headed to the VAT (value added tax) refund office to declare my purchases and get my VAT refund forms stamped by the officials. Then came the rather long queue at immigration.

Thai sculpture Suvarnabhumi airport gates
Passport stamped, I was through

I checked out the Duty Free, bought two bottles of liquor that my friends requested (prices and selection are fairly good here) and then went to the VAT refund counter to get my cash refund. Submitted my form and got 7% of the total value of my purchases back in cash. I mentioned this last year and I’ll mention it again: for the VAT refund, one needs to shop at stores that participate in the VAT refund scheme for tourists. Upon purchase, you will get a VAT refund form from the store and it’s only upon showing that same form at the airport will you be eligible for a refund. You can’t simply show a bunch of store receipts and expect a cash refund (‘cos I’ve seen people do that).

Sitting at my gate, I had plenty of time for a flashback. Another trip to Thailand that didn’t feel ‘complete’. Had I successfully covered the big lantern release in Mae Jo, Chiang Mai, I would have scratched North Thailand off my list and only focused on South Thailand for my next visit.

I wasn’t even in the best of health the first week, which sucked. Still… all I can say is that I did the best I could and I hope my readers enjoyed this series.

So until Thailand 201_, it’s back to India for now! 🙂


Previous posts in this series:

Thailand 2010: Gurdwara Siri Guru Singh Sabha, Sampeng Market, JJ market (again)

Thailand 2010: Back to Bangkok — Chinatown, Patpong, Platinum Mall and Chatuchak Market

Thailand 2010: Pattaya — Beach road, Viewpoint, Jomtien Beach, Walking Street

Thailand 2010: Golden Triangle in Mae Sai; Chiang Rai’s White Temple (Wat Rong Khun)

Thailand 2010: Heading to Chiang Rai by bus, Wat Jedyod and Golden Clock Tower

Thailand 2010: Last day of Loi Krathong; Sunday Grand Parade (Day 4, Part 2)

Thailand 2010: Chiang Mai Zoo (Day 4, Part 1)

Thailand 2010: Chiang Mai Loi Krathong celebrations; first Grand Parade

Thailand 2010: Chiang Mai cooking class; Loi Krathong celebrations in Mae Jo, Sansai

Thailand 2010: First day in Chiang Mai for Loi Krathong; driving up Doi Suthep

Thailand 2010: Arriving in Bangkok and preparing for Loi Krathong in Chiang Mai

 

*Metal Gear Solid referance

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