We are here, in Hyderabad, with just one more flight to go before we reach our final destination.
The flight from Heathrow to Mumbai was long but uneventful, and most people managed to get a few hours sleep. Then came the delights (or not) of changing planes at Mumbai. Long immigration queues, fussiness of immigration officers about the colour of the pen used to fill in forms, annoying customs officials wanting to look through various bags of resources, and a 20 min bus ride from international terminal to domestic terminal all resulted in a last minute dash for the plane from Mumbai to Hyderabad, with Ryan being the last person to board the plane before it took off. Thankfully everyone, and all their luggage made it though!
We left Mumbai bathed in lovely warm sunshine, and landed in a very wet and not so warm Hyderabad. It's still not cold as we Brits know it, but we have now definitely experienced a rainy Indian day.
Despite the weather, we went and looked round Golconda Fort, one of Hyderabad's main tourist attractions. Its a big old fort built in the 15th century, and sprawls over many acres and up to top of a hill. Its all mostly in ruins now, but good to look round and climb to the top of the hill to see the views (reckon they'd be really impressive if it wasn't raining!)
After the Fort, we were taken to a big craft market where we all had some time to do a bit of shopping. This involved saying 'no thank you' to lots of market stall holders who were trying to persuade us to visit their stalls, 'look for free' and sell us loads of scarves, paintings, jewellery etc.
Everyone bought some stuff, though some got more than others. Mark Leswell definitely got the prize for the biggest purchase - not sure it will fit in his suitcase!
Finally we got back on the bus and went to the hotel. Because of the rain the roads were heaving and there were loads of traffic jams, so it took ages to get to the hotel, but we got there eventually and were treated to a delicious buffet dinner before going to bed.
Tomorrow is all about getting to the airport, flying to Rajhmundry, and then meeting Janaki at last - the amazing lady who founded St Josephs school where we will be based all week. Exciting times ahead, but now time for bed!
PS from Helen: photos to follow on other days - just too tired to sort any now!
The flight from Heathrow to Mumbai was long but uneventful, and most people managed to get a few hours sleep. Then came the delights (or not) of changing planes at Mumbai. Long immigration queues, fussiness of immigration officers about the colour of the pen used to fill in forms, annoying customs officials wanting to look through various bags of resources, and a 20 min bus ride from international terminal to domestic terminal all resulted in a last minute dash for the plane from Mumbai to Hyderabad, with Ryan being the last person to board the plane before it took off. Thankfully everyone, and all their luggage made it though!
We left Mumbai bathed in lovely warm sunshine, and landed in a very wet and not so warm Hyderabad. It's still not cold as we Brits know it, but we have now definitely experienced a rainy Indian day.
Despite the weather, we went and looked round Golconda Fort, one of Hyderabad's main tourist attractions. Its a big old fort built in the 15th century, and sprawls over many acres and up to top of a hill. Its all mostly in ruins now, but good to look round and climb to the top of the hill to see the views (reckon they'd be really impressive if it wasn't raining!)
After the Fort, we were taken to a big craft market where we all had some time to do a bit of shopping. This involved saying 'no thank you' to lots of market stall holders who were trying to persuade us to visit their stalls, 'look for free' and sell us loads of scarves, paintings, jewellery etc.
Everyone bought some stuff, though some got more than others. Mark Leswell definitely got the prize for the biggest purchase - not sure it will fit in his suitcase!
Finally we got back on the bus and went to the hotel. Because of the rain the roads were heaving and there were loads of traffic jams, so it took ages to get to the hotel, but we got there eventually and were treated to a delicious buffet dinner before going to bed.
Tomorrow is all about getting to the airport, flying to Rajhmundry, and then meeting Janaki at last - the amazing lady who founded St Josephs school where we will be based all week. Exciting times ahead, but now time for bed!
PS from Helen: photos to follow on other days - just too tired to sort any now!
6 comments:
So pleased to hear you had a safe and uneventful journey. The market visit must have been quite an introduction to Indian culture! Wishing you a good onward journey. We are so looking forward to reading all about the coming week. With love from the Wallaces x x
Great to hear you have arrived in India safely. Hope you have a great experience. Looking forward to seeing a photo of Mr Leswell's large purchase or do we need to guess what it might be!
Mrs Hayler.
Glad you all arrived safe and well. Looking forward to more reports and pictures
Brendan & Tina Hutton
"You'll be on you're way up,
You'll be seeing great sights
You'll join the high fliers
Who soar to high heights"
The Glovers
Lovely to hear your adventures so far, with loads to come I'm sure.
Photos this morning look brilliant.
Take care Enjoy xxxx
The Sheltons xx
Pleased to hear you all arrived safe enjoyed looking at the pictures so far and Chloe Birchley stop hiding when photos are being taken haha
Marcus (Chloes daddy ;0) )x
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