Little Italy

So last night for dinner we went to a restaurant called Little Italy, the entire restaurant is vegetarian, but they somehow had a bolognese sauce on the menu - I was definitely confused by that. Anyway, I got pasta - which I have been craving since I got here and it was pretty good. I got penne with ricotta and tomato sauce. That's my plate above.

Also - while we were at the restaurant, we noticed a little friend hanging out on the wall - hence the photo of the lizard. He was pretty cute and did not mind posing for pictures.

Random Photos from the Weekend

HOLLER!

On Saturday night, I went to my first Indian clun, Ahala, or as I kept calling it HOLLER club!

The music was mostly techno, but then at one point the DJ played Nirvana and mixed it with a club beat. weird.

Happy Birthday Poppa Bear!

Happy 62nd Birthday Poppa Bear!!

Deepu!

Deepu came to meet me tonight at the bar in my hotel. I'm drinking an Indian beer and Deepu is drinking a Budweiser. haha.

More cake in the face!

Random Photos from Hyderabad

Golconda Fort

After the Charminar, we trekked to the Golconda Fort for even more sight seeing. The Golconda Fort is famous for its military architecture. The defenses of this fort were so strong that no known attack of the time could penetrate its strong ramparts. (Again, thank you Wikipedia!)

Basically - the fort is huge and you have to climb over 400 stone steps of all different sizes to get to the top. Once at the top you can see spectacular views of Hyderabad. After the climb to the top there is a light show that explains the history of the fort which was super boring and I almost fell asleep during.

Photos from the Charminar

Today we went to the Charminar, which means "Four Towers" or "Mosque of the four minarets" and is one of the most important monuments in the city of Hyderabad. (Thank you Wikipedia). Basically it is a tall building where you climb to the top and then you can take great photos of the city. There are TONS of shops below and is very crowded.

Pictures from Around Town

Go Fly a Kite!

So today in India is Makara Sankranthi - it's a Festival Holiday where everyone flies kites. We went into town and did some shopping for pashminas and then headed over to the lake to see some kite flying and attempt to do some ourselves. We were pretty unsuccessful with our attempts to fly our own kites, but I did take photos of the kites that were up in the sky.

My Trip to the Market

On Tuesday while at work I went out with a few colleagues to a market and did some shopping. We went to a great market where there were tons of handmade wood carving, jewelry, and silk scarves. I'm still trying to get the conversion rate right - but I believe I paid $12 for a new dress! The picture above is of us at the market.

My hotel room

Some people have been curious about my accomodations - here are the pics I took of my room when I first arrived.

Cake in the Face!

Yesterday it was someone's birthday in the office and everyone gathered in the break room for some cake. First everyone sang Happy Birthday and then someone just look a handful of icicng and shoved it on the birthday girl's face! Apparently it is customary in the office to put icicng of your cake on your face - apparently the history behind this involves someone from the Indian office visiting the US and seeing a coworker getting a cake slammed in his face on his birthday - haha.

Technical Difficulties

Hey everyone - so the internet at the hotel is really slow, so I haven't been able to post too often. Tomorrow before work, I'll try to update you on what's going on here. The weather is gorgeous and I got a slight sunburn from sitting out by the pool. Sorry to hear about your snow :)
This Wednesday is an Indian holiday where everyone flies kites and the whole sky is supposed to be filled so you can barely see any blue. I'll try to take as many photos as I can of it (and hopefully blogger will post them!)

Good night!

The eagle has landed...

I'm finally here!

A few items worthy of note from my trip and first night here:

• The Frankfurt Lufthansa Business Class Lounge has Cocoa Pebbles!


• I couldn't figure out how to get my tv screen to open on the initial flight - so instead I read the trashy magazines Alli and Lan got me - I now know too much about Angelina Jolie's health - and I had to cheat on the crossword puzzle.


• The woman next to me on the flight to Frankfurt snored the entire time.


• The Hyderabad airport is crazy clean - it's also very new - and when you leave customs - there are HUNDREDS of people waiting outside screaming at you - luckily the guy who was picking me up was also picking up another Deloitter, so I have already made a new "buddy".


• My room is on the first floor, but I have an awesome view. The photo above is my view!


• The bed is kind of lumpy.