We got an arrangement to the airport (Noori Travels, MD Ahmad [Mobile 9885566199/9290773572] – may not be the cheapest, but drives like an F1 racer and ensures that you get to your flight on time) and there may be something that first time travellers to Hyderabad should take note of.

Your passport and boarding pass will be checked at the point of entry into the airport. In fact, it will be checked twice before you even enter the airport. Following which, you should look for the big vertical TV that shows you which check-in row you should go to. Before that, do try to do an Internet check-in because that almost always ensures you of a shorter priority queue.

Before joining the queue, a ground staff will hand you the departure form to fill as well as a luggage tag for your carry-in luggage. Note that you will need ONE tag for EACH carry-in luggage, else you are going to have one helluva time after the immigration counter. So, if you have 1 laptop bag, 1 backpack and a camera that you are holding on your hands, you need a total of 3 luggage tags. Remember to fill in the tags when you go in. I didn’t but Alice did, but I got in nonetheless. It’s also a good idea to take out all your metal stuffs and put them either in your back pack or jacket so that it will be easier to clear the body check. Lesser groping, I think.

There’s not much duty free stuffs but you may wish to consider getting the Indian teas. Some of them are quite nice although I can’t say this holds true for everyone. If you need to change currencies, it’s too late to do it at the airport because the rates are ridiculous. In fact, they are so ridiculous that it’ll be better to do it at your destination/home country.

It was a night flight back and that means sleeping on the plane. I don’t usually like night flights nowadays because it means that I will be woken up for supper/breakfast and I will probably not get much sleep anyway. You’ll probably not be able to watch any movies because you may just fall asleep anyway. However, the night flight is the only plane back to Singapore. For those who got earlier flights out of Hyderabad, most of them got transit at Mumbai/Chennai and so they still end up with a night flight anyway.

I must commend the cabin crew for SQ439 / 01 Oct 2008 @ 2350 because I think they did an excellent job in ensuring that everyone is comfortable. But I was so tired that I didn’t have time to fill up the comments forms. I hope there’s some online form laying around.

When I touched down in Singapore, I got my favourite Bailey’s and Vodka (actually, the Vodka came with a free shaker), some wine and some beer (call me for a beer session =) ). When we went to the belt, we thought that our luggage is lost again when the sign for last bag on belt came on. Thankfully we didn’t have to call up our insurance when the luggage finally came.

I got a perfume for my mum as well (even though we are not on regular talking terms) and was served by a Chinese national. Not that I have anything against them, but I like the Singaporean ladies better because they seem to be more committed to their work and know what is good and suitable. I asked this girl if she had Tresor and she said there wasn’t. I had to recall the brand (Lancome) and searched for it myself. Worst, the item was at the wrong shelf with the wrong pricing. I’m not saying that it’s her fault, but I guess putting in some effort instead of hiding behind the counter would have helped a little – at least that had been my experience for my flights thus far.

So here I am, at Terminal 3, waiting for time to pass so that I do not have to pay the 35% peak hour surcharge. Stingy hor? Yes, I know; especially so when electricity just went up 21% in my absence; and with immediate effect too! Like how a Singaporean would put it: Wah piang!

Meanwhile, stay tuned to my (even more) abridged posts for this trip. =) And for a start, the post on getting online in India will probably be a good start. =)

Today’s the last day in Hyderabad for us. It’s been quite a packed 5 days with zero shopping, so we are sorry that we are unable to get anything for our friends and readers. However, we got some tea back from the airport which we have not tried. So, if you are a fan of tea, we will be most glad to share it with you. Just drop us an email here and we will be most glad to mail some tea to you (yes, my financial advisor actually does that).

We did, however, manage to get to 3 places today – Charminar, San Jung Museum and the Fort (I can’t remember which fort, need to ask Alice when she wakes up). The first place charges Rs. 5 for India Nationals but US$2 for foreigners (or Rs. 100) while… actually, all 3 places charges the same amount with the same tier structure; and now we all wonder why Singaporeans don’t get special rates while visiting our own attractions.

The Charminar was somewhat like a mosque tower where we climbed through small and narrow winding staircases to the top of the tower. It was a big mistake for me because I have fear of heights. Managed to take some photos (which will be posted later by Alice) and captured some videos (oh yes, you have to pay Rs. 25 for “videography”). However, the top offers quite a nice view across Hyderabad so it is something that you can’t miss. There’s a bazaar where Charminar is, but we went in the day and it could probably be busier at night.

San Jung Museum is a place for you if you like to look at San Jung’s collection. Apparently, he died suddenly and the state estate took over his belongings. The collection spans 2 stories and you’d probably need 3 hours to look at everything. Cameras are not allowed into the museum and this includes your phone too. So, if you really want to bring your phone in, remember to tape the camera lens. =P In the event that you did bring a camera and a large bag along, you may want to consider using their free lockers at the cloak room. It’s looked after by 1 person but I think it’s rather safe.

There’s a canteen inside the museum which serves decent food. They even serve sweet corn for Rs. 25 which is about S$0.80. Bottled water is available from the canteen although there are taps labelled “Drinking Water” around the museum. I have not tried that, but I assume that you’d have to drink it at your own risk. There’s also a clock just outside the canteen which attracts a huge crowd at every hour. As we didn’t have much time, we didn’t manage to catch what went on. So, if you know of it, do let us know! =)

While at the museum, you will be able to get some souvenirs and guide books. We got a museum guide in English because we had to rush through the last part of the visit. The Hyderabad map may also be bought for Rs. 295 here, but we are not sure if they will utilize the “foreigners” price.

The next stop was to the Fort, and before you go in, you’d be coerced to get a map of the Fort. Note that if it is photocopied (or “Xerox’ed”), then forget it. The actual colour print costs Rs. 20 and the fat guy outside will try to sell you at Rs. 50 for a Xerox version. Yes, we got conned into buying that version after we realised that the bona fide sells for Rs. 20 by the people inside.

After you get your tickets, you will be approached by another fat man who offers to take you on a tour of the fort for Rs. 600. Don’t fall for it even if he says that he has a licence. In the event that you disagree to that, he will continue to ask you how much you are willing to pay for it. Well, there are more honest people inside the fort, especially the thinner guys. Heh. We may not get the official rate, but I think it’s Rs. 150 for a 30 minute tour and Rs. 250 for an hour 10 minutes tour. The guides are really quite good because we realised a lot of history of the fort and the marvel of science that was built into it. Indeed, being there kind of redefined the terms “wireless” and “mobile technology”.

Unfortunately, the fort got destroyed after during the 7th King’s rule and all 360 wives committed suicide. However, the marvel of the fort still remains till today. If you climb up the 360 steps to reach the top, you’d probably get a good view of the entire Hyderabad and this comes with the hour 10 minutes package. If course, you can take the 30 minutes package and continue to climb on your own, but if you are already utilizing the guides, you might as well just fork out another Rs. 100. 2 things to note here: (i) be wary of using your flash lights because there are bats in the fort and (ii) the guide will ask you for some tips because the Rs. 150 goes to a pool which is then shared amongst 440 guides. We are not too sure about the sharing part, but we were quite happy with the guide and so we tipped him.

We didn’t manage to get to the 7 tombs because we were running late. We went back to the hotel, snapped some photos and headed for the airport. Dinner was a measly fish and chips and we thought that it’s still best to stick to the local food while you are here. =)

Today is the last day of the HGM conference and it will be 2 years later before it is held again, with Dubai being the next venue. As expected, the turnout at the various sessions was quite small. Alice and myself tried to catch some action at a session on business in the -omics, but were greatly disappointed at the content (if you are interested in having a hand in our biotechnology [not-so-start-up] start up, do drop me an email). A lot was concentrated on the pharmacology side of things with very little emphasis on the basic research and funding. Of course, there was one apparent “success story” where a biotech company started up with less than US$1 mil which is now worth S$400 mil.

I missed one session while preparing for the last day’s event – from hotel to city to airport. As our flight is at night, we have a lot of time after checking out and we didn’t want to lug our luggage everywhere we go. We managed to get a Hyderabad map at Rs. 350, which is about Rs. 55 more than the usual price outside. However, we would probably want to count ourselves lucky because (i) we might not find it again and (ii) there is a different price for foreigners for everything!

The day seemed to pass very fast because it is the only day that ends at 5:30pm. The crowd at the closing ceremony was quite huge because there was the prize giving ceremony for some awards and everyone was excited about it. Alice and myself, obviously, didn’t have anything to submit, but it would be good to learn from them how to conduct a good closing ceremony; since it is usually the most unattended event for any conference.

After the closing ceremony was over, we went back to our dedicated bus for the last time to be horded back to the hotel. There was no dinner arranged for us and we decided to explore a little. We were recommended this restaurant at Paradise Hotel at the second floor. There are actually 2 restaurants there, the expensive restaurant and the not-so-expensive restaurant. Actually, most restaurants are not very expensive for Singaporeans, but for the people there, it might just cost them a few day’s’ worth of salary.

We ordered Chicken Briyani, Masala, Fish Tikka and Paratha (it’s the Prata that all Singaporeans know) and the food were really good. While having dinner, we also learnt from the Hotel Manager on how some sauces that come with the dishes actually helps with digestion, especially for foreigners who are not used to having a lot of coconut and oil in their food. We were also served mints that looked like corn flakes and has a bite like cornflakes just that it’s minty. Apparently, it’s something that is given to the customers when they called for the bill so that they can have something to munch on while waiting for the bill to come.

We were lucky to have transport arranged for us from the hotel and back to the hotel. The end of Ramadan is near and there are apparently more people than usual on the streets. In fact, we were warned not to travel too far out just in case we got lost. As there were four of us, we decided that it would be best to get 1 taxi instead of 2 3-wheelers. You’ll never know where each of the 3-wheelers will end up (not that it’s that bad… but being in a foreigner country, we are just hysterical).

After dinner, it was packing time… but we were so tired, we just zonked out on our beds. =P