Departing Dhaka
I woke at 0615 after dozing and sleeping since 1915 last night. Quite unbelievable!
Today I leave Bangladesh after my short first visit. As with previous days, due to Ramadhan, breakfast was only for non-Muslims and had to be specially prepared to order. So, despite sitting down at 0800, I didn’t finish till 0915.
I ordered a Grab at 0930 which came after a short wait. It was fortunate that I had enough money to pay for the road toll, which wasn’t reflected in the order price (which is paid in cash; drivers tend to turn down jobs paid by card apparently).
As we approached the airport, it was gridlock all the way up the ramp to the drop-off area. I walked the last few metres as the car wasn’t moving. There was a queue to enter the terminal building and once inside, the queue waiting for Indigo airlines was long and chaotic.
A porter spotted me as the sole non-local face and dragged me to the front of the queue and handed me over to a counter agent. I gave him all my remaining money of BDT140 (NZD2) which was less than what he wanted but he didn’t quibble. I consider this to be a tip rather than a bribe as it didn’t go to the check-in agent and can still say I have a clean record!
Despite a short foreigner queue for immigration, the officer kept disappearing to check on things and I finally got to the lounge about an hour after reaching the airport.
Still full from my Chicken Bhuna for breakfast, I didn’t touch the good breakfast buffet and picked a little at the lunch buffet which came later, so that I wouldn’t have to buy anything from Indigo’s onboard sales.
Security check was conducted only at the gate, so I drained my water bottle beforehand only to see people at the gate with water in theirs. Looks like the liquid rule wasn’t enforced.
With a Russian private jet blocking the use of the airbridge, we descended stairs to a bus which took us to a remote gate.
Foreigners and well-dressed locals were invited to the front of the queue for the airstairs while uniformed factory workers were left queueing behind.
Once on board, Bengali-speaking ground staff assisted with seating and luggage before the 1305 flight left about 30 mins late. It was an uneventful flight and my concern about water was unfounded as Indigo serves it complimentarily unlike other budget airlines.
Why Hyderabad?
Bangladesh imposes a hefty departure tax for departures (even by land) to all countries except India. That would raise the total payment on a roundtrip ticket from Malaysia to Dhaka and back.
The tax flying to India was about NZD64 lower, so I applied that savings towards a ticket to Hyderabad where there was a cheap ticket back to Malaysia available.
Unfortunately, the ticket from Dhaka to Hyderabad wasn’t cheap but Hyderabad had been on my radar for a while as it’s often viewed as the home of biryani and I wanted to have a taste of the authentic stuff.
Arriving in Hyderabad
Hyderabad’s airport was fancy and world class. I’m not sure what happened to the rest of the passengers, but I was the only one at immigration. I’ve never had such an easy arrival into India.
The airport’s awesomeness flowed all the way to the Uber pick-up area where I effortlessly found my ride to the FabHotel Vgr Comforts at Khairatabad Metro.
Hyderabad seemed uncrowded, clean and modern until I left the elevated highway and descended to the regular roads.
My hotel appeared to be built on the rooftop of the building. The rate on Trip.com was lower than what they were prepared to accept. It was probably listed by the FabHotel chain on their behalf without proper consultation and they reluctantly accepted it after making a phone call to someone.
Dentist and dinner
I rested briefly before heading out for a quick explore and to grab dinner. With sensitive teeth bothering me, I had plans to see a dentist and it was my good luck that I found one as soon as I walked out.
It wasn’t just any ole dentist, but she was a professor, orthodontist and implantologist. She looked at the sensitive area and was able to shoe me collaged photos straight away in the in-seat monitor that I had receding gums and abrasion from years of aggressive brushing technique.
The charge for the consultation was INR300 (NZD5.50) and her recommendation was for composite over the exposed areas a INR3000 (NZD55) per tooth. I would do 3 to 5 teeth depending on how proactive I wanted to be with the ones that are just starting to have issues.
I had my first biryani in Hyderabad opposite the hotel. It was tasty enough but nothing to write home about.
About Hyderabad
In the lead up to my travels, I learnt that Hyderabad wasn’t part of India when the British left. Despite the state being largely Hindu, the Muslim ruler opted for self-rule instead of joining India (he also considered joining Pakistan). However, a year later in 1948, India annexed Hyderabad due to fears it could become a communist state.