Ajay and I decided to take a trip to an old ruined, castle, fort dating back to the 1300's, named
Golkonda. It has turned out to be one of my favourite attractions in the area of Hyderabad.
It's really a fantasy ruined castle where my mind was able to get lost in another time.
We arrived in the early afternoon after a long ride of auto rickshaws, passing huge herds of cows and buffalo in the streets surrounding Hyderabad... love the cows!
When we arrive, I was determined to have a guide. We found one that was supposed to be 'official', but the selection was not so great. They all seemed a bit slick.
After debating with him for about 30 minutes over the price, thanks to Ajay's clever negotiating skills, we were able to settle for a hefty price, but lower than what he wanted to charge me in the beginning.
It was pretty amazing, the guide took off running as soon as we got in the grounds.
At first I was loosing my breath trying to keep up with him.
This must have been a 50 something year old Indian man.
Ajay insisted that we take our time and go at our pace, so for the rest of the time we basically saw him off in the distance, we'd catch up, he'd tell us some history about where ever we caught up with him again and then he'd take off running again.
Basically, what he wanted was to get finished with us as soon as he could and then maybe he could pick up some new customers before the day ended.
Besides the sprinting guide, the fort itself was fascinating and architectually really interesting. I think the most fascinating was the perfect acoustics. The slightest sound made at the fort's main gate could be heard at the top of the citadel.
This was demonstrated by clapping your hands at the gate. Later when we were at the top of the hill, what seemed like miles away, it was heard as if the person was standing next to you.
Golkonda was also known for diamond mining in the past. At one time, the king that lived here was supposedly the richest man in the world (so they say) and the whole castle was filled with diamonds, gold, and gems.
These stones all came from the hills in and around Golkonda.
This was demonstrated by clapping your hands at the gate. Later when we were at the top of the hill, what seemed like miles away, it was heard as if the person was standing next to you.
Golkonda was also known for diamond mining in the past. At one time, the king that lived here was supposedly the richest man in the world (so they say) and the whole castle was filled with diamonds, gold, and gems.
These stones all came from the hills in and around Golkonda.
Another high point was visiting the Hindu temple with Ajay. I received a red dot on my head.
I love walking around with that red dot on my forehead... I feel so... Indian!
At the end of our tour, the tour guide took us aside and told us that we could pay him his tip now. Needless to say, after that marathon sprint through the grounds, he did not get much of a tip from us.
Ajay and I hung around on the grounds talking until at 19:00 the light show began. That was also enjoyable and worth the wait.
