1. It’s hot, but not too hot, and one place where you can make the most of the weather is Kasu Brahmananda Reddy (KBR) National Park. It’s a huge park in Jubilee Hills, a 15 minute rickshaw from the residence. It’s beautiful. For the adventurous, there is a big collection of boulders that can be climbed and from the top you get a 360 view of the city - the best view I’ve found so far. Open from 5am to 9:30am and then from 4-6pm every day. Ideal spot for a morning walk, run, or chill.
2. Cafe/restaurant/bar/live music venue: Heart Cup Coffee. There are three Heart Cups in Hyderabad, and I’d highly recommend checking them out. There is one a ten minute walk from the residence. They have wifi, fine for readings though not good enough for class. There’s a ton of outdoor seating, and live music most nights, with some cool local and international artists playing often. Well worth checking it out, for working, taking a break and listening to music, or just sitting in the sun and drinking some chai (or beer if you’re 21 ;) ).
3. For those who didn’t participate in exploration day, I’d highly highly recommend heading across to the old city. It’s a beautiful, wild, loud, colourful, full of life kind of place, and immediately made me feel out of my comfort zone in the best kind of way. Bring some friends, jump in a rickshaw and head over for an afternoon. Visit the mosque, the palace, and just spend some time wandering through the streets. Can’t recommend enough!
4. At a far more chill kind of pace, if you like ridiculously good dessert, try out Concu. It’s a patisserie in Jubilee Hills that serves pastries, cakes, and all sorts of other sweet goodness. It’s on par with some of the best bakeries in San Francisco, yet instead of paying $12 for a tart, you pay $2. As a reward for working hard, take yourself here to sit outside in the sun and indulge yourself! (p.s the salted caramel tart is the jam).
5. Lastly, if you’re searching for events to go to and people to meet, jump on Meetup.com. For those of you who don’t know it, it’s a place where all sorts of events in the city are shared, and it’s very active in Hyderabad, so is a great way to get connected with people of similar interest. Also, read The Morning! Louis is doing a rad job of scouring the inter webs to curate events that people might like to attend, so make sure you read to the bottom of The Morning and try some things out.
