On our first day in Hyderabad, I jumped into an Uber with David and headed over to Necklace
Road to check out Sagar Lake to visit some attractions including the Big Buddha and to
eat delicious street food snacks.
However, we got dropped off at the wrong place, so we started off by jumping into an autorickshaw.
Alright, so we've got a tuk-tuk for 60 Rupees right bro?
60 rupees.
Because we didn't we kind of picked the wrong spot to get dropped off at.
Yeah and now we're going to see the Buddha statue here on Sagar Lake.
The Buddha statue is a humongous statue in the middle of the lake and the only way to
get there is through Lumpini Park and get a ferry from there.
The boarding time is between 2 and 8 P.M.
Oh wow.
Oh, soda.
Soda.
Oh wow, look at it frothing dude.
Woah.
That looks so refreshing man.
Thank you, sir.
Thank you.
So what are we having dude to cool down?
Okay, so what we have here is a guy selling lime juice.
It is actually soda lime juice so what he does is he cuts limes.
These tiny ones right here.
Yep.
Right?
Yep.
He cuts like two of them puts it into the cup then he gets water and makes it like bubble.
Yeah.
So it is like soda water.
It is a soda machine there.
I don't even know that is crazy how it works.
It is crazy and then we have it.
Soda water and just like some black pepper and maybe some salt in here as well.
Yeah so let's try it, man.
Let's try it.
Oh what do you think?
Salty.
Peppery.
Very soda.
Yeah, I think it is good for like replenishing your electrolytes when you've been sweating
out in the sun.
That is a perfect yeah.
Perfect explanation.
It is almost like a natural sports drink.
Do you know what I mean?
I forgot to mention that it is 10 Rupees each so it is quite cheap.
Anyways we've got a ferry to catch.
So we're getting 20 peanuts here from this guy who has setup his street food stall right
on it is like a bicycle stand.
Look at all of the peanuts he has over here.
And then he is cooking them up right before our eyes.
It is fascinating.
Look at that.
You can see the fire and then he is just like his spatula and he's moving them around and
he's putting them into like it is like a newspaper.
In a newspaper wrapper.
Alright, can't wait to try these roasted peanuts man.
The guy prepared them right in front of us.
Really nice dude.
For a pack for 20, we paid 20 Rupees so 1 Rupee per peanut.
Wow, I get three of them in one shell.
I actually think it is way more than 20 in there.
Mmmm.
They are really good.
They haven't been salted so they just taste like normal natural peanuts and it is really
delicious.
It is like having them cooked a bit on the outside just makes them a little warmer.
It is good stuff.
Nice to meet you?
What is your name?
Akrad.
And what do you do?
Are you a student?
No no I'm a teacher.
Oh, you're a teacher.
What do you teach?
Dance.
Oh, dance that is awesome.
Very nice to meet you.
Thank you.
Enjoy India.
Okay, have a nice day.
Bye.
So it looks like this little unassuming counter is where you get the tickets.
It is pretty small.
There wasn't even really a line.
No line.
There is no real sign.
Oh, there it is.
It says 20 per adult.
Right there.
20 per adult and 10 per child.
I don't know if there is a foreign price or not.
That would be cool if there isn't.
Okay, dude so what happened when we tried to get in?
Okay so we entered, it was 20 Rupees to enter, reasonable.
Very reasonable yeah.
25 to 30 cents whatever.
Yeah.
And uh as we were walking in they asked us for our film permit and we're like what are
you talking about?
And they said we have to go pay for a film permit when we found out that it is a 1000
Rupees each.
1000!
Each.
Per camera.
Which is really expensive and I mean we're here to promote the destination.
We're paying out of pocket.
It is just really unfortunate they tack on these extra charges.
I mean people come in with their phones, they come in with their cameras like they want
to take pictures of the place why wouldn't you just why wouldn't that be in the normal
admission.
Exactly.
Which makes no sense to me man.
Anyways okay sounds like we are whining.
It is not a big deal.
It is fine.
It is fine at this point we are here.
You know what we're extra motivated to make a good video and get lots of views.
We'll recoup our costs.
Hahaha.
And the boat ride involves a fee too.
55 Rupees.
Alright everyone is wearing a life jacket on here.
I don't know if there is any.
Hello!
Hi!
Hi guys!
Hi!
How are you?
Fine thanks.
Grabbing my life jacket.
Everyone on the boat is wearing one so we don't want to be the naughty ones.
Got one for you got one for me.
Okay so basically this is a monolith statue of the Buddha.
This is the biggest monolith statue of the Buddha in the world.
That means they came from one piece of rock.
They carved one piece of rock this entire thing.
That is incredible.
It is huge and as you can see on the sides yeah they have these like carvings of more
Buddhas.
These are the stories from Jakar tales.
Oh okay, the stories those tell the period of Buddha and after Buddha.
Okay.
These stories are known as Jakar tales.
He is explaining about the life of Buddha.
It is very fascinating.
And the carvings are very detailed.
Yeah.
If you are going to visit Ajar you'll find a lot of things.
You find that as well.
Okay.
Wow.
That is really interesting.
Thank you for explaining.
Thank you.
So dude what did you think of that experience?
Man, I loved it.
The Buddha is beautiful.
I definitely suggest coming in the morning because the sun was in the wrong spot.
Yeah.
We took so many selfies.
Actually, we didn't do, we didn't get that much of a chance to see the Buddha.
We just kind of walked around it and we were taking selfies the rest of the time.
It was a lot of fun.
People are super friendly here.
Now I know what a celebrity feels like.
Hahaha.
So the locals here in this city have been the friendliest of any city I've ever visited
in India to date.
Yeah, for sure.
For you too?
Yeah.
I think it is something about the South.
The South is very diverse in that kind of sense.
Yeah.
Very open.
The warmth you know.
Warmth.
I think it is also a little bit underrated for tourism too.
Yeah.
And that might be part o the reason.
I'll tell you guys before coming to India earlier this year I didn't even know where
Hyderabad was.
So now we are here enjoying it.
Awesome.
Man, that is crazy.
That is what travel is all about man.
Can we get Papdi Chaat and Samosa Chaat?
Yes, Papdi Chaat, Samosa Chaat, Nev Puri, Pani Puri.
Pav Baji.
I'll get one Papdi Chaat.
Papdi Chaat.
One Samosa Chaat.
120.
Oh that looks delicious.
What are you having Sir?
Yes.
Thank you.
Is that Pani Puri?
Yes, pani puri.
Pani Puri.
Very delicious.
You taste it.
I really like it.
Yeah.
Here it is.
Pani Puri.
And this one is the samosa chaat.
Just loading it up.
Look at that.
Have the samosas already been dropped down?
Yeah.
I didn't even see that.
Samosa Chaat.
Alright, so the street food tour continues.
We've got two different items.
We've got Papdi chaat over here and samosa chaat.
And they are basically the same.
The only difference is that this has samosa added to it.
So if you look down here we have different ingredients.
We have chickpeas, we have onions.
I keep forgetting what that crunchy thing is?
What is that called?
What is it called again?
Sev.
We've been told like three times.
Sev.
Now time to try it.
Mmmm.
Oh, that is good man.
Wow.
Spicy.
Refreshing with the onions.
Lots of flavors.
I like the crunch of the Sev.
Which I now remember.
Okay, time to try the one with the samosa.
So what happened is that these aren't big samosas like what you are probably used to
seeing.
It has just been chopped up.
Here you can see the samosa piece.
So I'm going to try that.
Mmmm.
Oh yeah.
I like the one with the samosa even more because you get the potatoes and the crunchiness of
the outer part of the samosa.
Absolutely delicious.
I love Indian street food.
We've been eating it every day.
I mean this is just a true pleasure and the best part about this was the price.
Each dish was only 60 Rupees.
Less than 1 US dollar.
You could make a snack or a little meal out of this.
Incredible value and yeah we're just going to keep eating more street food while we're
traveling in India.
Alright, dude.
Hahaha.
Chaat.
I love this.
Chaat life in India.
Yeah on the streets of India chaats.
Chaats.
They are like basically like Indian snacks.
They are always full of chickpeas.
And this one has some samosa chaat.
Mmmm.
It is good stuff huh?
I love that crunch.
The flavors.
That mint chutney and that tamarind chutney there.
So good man.
And the onions.
Great.
And then here is the Papdi chaat.
Papdi Chaat.
This one I think has like a potato inside.
There are so many kinds of chaats.
Do you know what I want to ask anyone watching this and who knows?
How many different chaats are there?
Let us know.
I mean I've tried like 7 already.
Yeah, I know.
I bet there is over 20.
I mean I'm done.
Anybody hungry?
Hahaha.
So we're getting Kulfi.
These are like prepackaged.
Oh wow.
Look at that.
They are like popsicles huh?
And how much are they?
50.
50 Rupees each.
Time for Indian popsicles.
These were only 50 Rupees each so really good value.
Way less than $1 US dollar.
And they are called Kulfi.
Look at the shape.
It is kind of shaped like a triangle and the cool thing is I've always been wondering what
Kulfi was made of.
And they've listed the ingredients.
I'll tell you.
The first ingredient is milk.
Second is almonds.
Third is pistachios.
And fourth is saffron which is known locally as Kesar.
Oh wow look you can see the pistachios right there.
It comes in a little wrapper.
So I'm just going to unwrap that thing.
Woah it is a pretty dense man.
It is a lot thicker than I would have expected.
Oh, it is the stick at the top.
Mmmm.
The first thing that comes to mind very creamy, rich tasting and I had a bite of several nuts
I think it was the almonds and the pistachios so it is really good.
I love that there are nuts in this.
Mmmm.
I find this even thicker and creamier than typical ice cream so I really like it.
It is actually quite filling.
So to have one of these is almost like having a true dessert.
Mmmm.
Good stuff.
Hey!
Really busy right now.
It is like rush hour.
5:25 the road is absolutely packed.
Look at this guys.
Absolutely packed.
We're about to enter the Hillrock temple of Birla Mandir and it is quite impressive from
the outside.
And I'm not sure if admission is free or if we have to pay I'll let you know.
Unfortunately, we can't take our cameras inside so we're just going to show you what it looks
like from the outside perimeter.
One thing I've got to say about coming and visiting right now is it is beautiful because
if you come at this time of year just before six o'clock you get a really really nice sunset.
We are from Amritsar.
This guy is from Tamil Nadu.
Oh cool.
We are doing Ph.D. You guys are very smart.
Hahaha.
Good luck with your studies.
Good luck.
Thank you very much.
Thank you.
Nice to meet you.
Wow.
What an afternoon.
Like total randomness.
We had no idea what were going to do.
We just decided to come to the lake, see what we could find, see if we could eat street
food.
We found tonnes and it was just such a fun outing.
Did you enjoy it?
I loved it.
And with that in mind if you loved it too give this video a thumbs up, subscribe to
both of our channels.
David's Been Here, Samuel and Audrey we'll see you with more India travel and food content
soon.
Ciao guys.
Peace.