hyderabad ist atm - the chaos of another day here
woke up here coz i’d rather be somewhere this humid than anywhere else right now. the kind of place where you check the weather and think ‘ok this is fine’ even though you’re melting into your own sweat. 36.56 degrees, feels like 33, which is ironically perfect because i just spilled chai on my shirt and now it’s just a fancy dress.
last night i swore to myself i’d take a walk in the old markets but ended up listening to raccoons raid a garbage bin instead. was this a crime? maybe. someone told me the red layer cake stall near pondicherry junction gets tourist photoshoot bookings but not actual customers. probably a lie. i heard that from a guy wearing a denim patchwork jacket yelling into his phone at 3am. i didn’t hear the end. also heard someone yell at a dog for ‘judging my life choices’ near the railway station. was that a review or just noise?
the city’s vibe is… layers. like the layers on my fridge. one day it’s a food rush, next day it’s some guy hawking ‘used hoverboards’ from a motorbike. i tried one. broke immediately. maybe that’s the culture?
if you get bored, delhi is just a 3-hour drive. also june is here so the humidity’s official seasonal panic mode. i don’t mean this as advice but if you pack too light you’ll regret it. also pack soda. seriously. every soul here needs a carbonated escape.
someone warned me the tech hub area’s cafes are all run by ex-uber drivers. not sure if that’s heartbreaking or efficient. either way, i grabbed a doodle from a wall that read ‘google maps is a cult’ and spent 20 minutes convincing a local that it wasn’t. they said ‘you’ve got guts kid’ while feeding me a samosa that tasted like regret.
i asked a vendor for directions and he pointed to a map on his wall. it was just scribbles. i bet it got them places. or at least a good story. anyway, i’m walking towards the rickshaw stand where a guy just sold me water for ₹15 and asked if i wanted to buy his goat. no i didn’t. but he called it a ‘snack combo’ anyway.
looking at those rivers in the distance makes me want to join one. not literally. well maybe. there’s an-unsplash link here for that grassy thing:
pretend it’s a lifeline. also here’s a picture of a guy riding a scooter through puddles:
he probably owns the puddle.
someone else told me to avoid the main train station at night. ‘ghost walks start here,’ they said. i didn’t believe them but i still checked the time. 2am. i left. maybe i’ll come back when i’m braver. or bored.
this place has a weird love for digital extremes. one minute you’re in a cybercafé with 12 monitors, next you’re buying spices from a guy who communicates via interpretive dance. i tried mimicking his moves. he seemed disinterested. maybe i wasn’t trying hard enough.
reviews? i don’t trust them. one yelp said the ‘local market is a sensory overload’ and i almost cried laughing. another tripadvisor warned about ‘aggressive street food photographers’ but i got a free photo session where the vendor used my stomach as a prop. it was sacred work.
i’ll end here before i start quoting random reviews. if you come here, ask about the goat. or don’t. either way, the city will find a way to stick in your head. probably via a mosquito bite. someday i’ll write about that. maybe tomorrow. maybe never.
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