In Hyderabad and it is hot and cool! First impressions

I arrived in Hyderabad this morning around 9ish after about a 45minute flight from Bangalore. Hyderabad has a new airport, and it is so modern and surrounded by palm trees, flowers and thousands of trees. It was a nice way to arrive in a new city. The roads looked brand new, and I forgot I was in India.

The heat hit me as soon as I stepped out of the airport, although it was a dry heat and nothing compared to Mumbai and the woolly sweater feeling I felt all the time. It is about 36-37 degrees here, but it is bearable. The company had a taxi waiting for me and it was nice to be able to relax in the back of the car and take in the new sights of a city not yet visited.

I have only been here for a few hours, so my impressions are young and general. Hyderabad is in the state of Andra Pradesh where the main language is Telegu (K speaks this language). It is also primarily Hindu but in Hyderabad there is a larger Muslim population. So I noticed more women wearing burqua's (full black gowns covering the body and most of the face)), and wearing ha jibs (scarves to cover the head). It is so hot, so I would hate to be under that much material. I also noticed a few mosque's spattered around the city. While I was in my guesthouse I hear the call to prayer for the Muslims on a loud speaker. It was the first time I have experienced this, and I like the newness of it.

The area where I am currently staying is in a place called Banjara Hills where is is the middle/upper class area, and is more modern. I still do not have accommodations and they are still searching for a flat for me. I am fine with this, as I would rather have them take their time and find me a nice place. I am staying in a lovely guesthouse with delicious Air con and good food. I start work tonight, and work night shift. I am a consultant for a large financial company here (which I do not want to name on my blog) and because I am training employees who are directly working with North America, I have to work north American times. It is fine, and there are 2 other American expats working as well. We have a driver and car who drives us to work and picks us up to bring us home when we are done. The next few days will take some getting used to, just as I got over my jet lag, I have to go back to North American patterns.

On another note, today is K's birthday. To celebrate I took him to a Chinese restaurant where he had Dim Sum for the first time and loved it, then after we celebrated with some decadent chocolate cake. K is now currently in Mysore visiting his brother who is studying software engineering there. As a norm for his birthday he usually buys lots of sweets and gives them to the orphanage he works with in Hampi, so he organized for this to be done while he is away, so the children will get a nice surprise today in honour of Ks b-day.

NB: I am using initials for names as I want to prevent people being able to google search. Since K, works in the tourist industry, I want to try and keep some semblance of privacy, even on an online blog. All this does is prevents people from using names to search the blog.

Anyway, I have to work soon, so I should rest up, I have a long night ahead of me. This is the beginning of what will be an interesting year. I'm looking forward to all the new experiences, that is for sure.