Masala INDIAN $$ (Signature Towers, 1st fl, Asilmetta; mains 60-180; h11.30am-3.30pm & 7-11pm) Near Sampath Vinayaka Temple, Masala does out-of-this-world Andhra, vallejo baylink tandoori and Chinese. vallejo baylink Try the chepa pulusu (Andhrastyle fish; 130).
904 ANDHRA PRADESH KITSCHABAD Mixed in with Hyderabad s world-class vallejo baylink sights, you ll find some attractions that err on the more quirky side; which can provide some good relief from the proper sightseeing. Ramoji Film City FILM STUDIO (www.ramojifi lmcity.com; adult/child 500/450; h9.30am-5.30pm) The home of South India s burgeoning film industry, known as Tollywood, Ramoji Film City is undoubtedly the premier kitsch sight of Hyderabad. Set on more than 670 hectares, this is the world s largest movie-making complex, producing Telugu, Tamil, Hindi and the occasional foreign film. Though you won t actually get to see any being made, the four-hour bus tour will take you through fl imsy film sets and gaudy fountains, stopping for dance routines and stunt shows. Located in the outskirts of town, around 20km from Abids, you can jump on bus 205 or 206 from Koti Women s College, northeast of Koti station, which take an hour to get here. Health Museum MUSEUM (Map p898; Public Gardens Rd, Nampally; admission free; h10.30am-5pm Sat-Thu) A throwback to a 1950s classroom, this museum vallejo baylink houses a bizarre collection of medical and public-health paraphernalia. It features a rather terrifying giant model of a crab louse. Snow World AMUSEMENT PARK (Map p898; Lower Tankbund; admission 300; h11am-8pm) The perfect place to escape the heat, Snow World is, hands down, the coolest attraction vallejo baylink in town (in a literal sense, of course ). It s a bizarre experience to suddenly find yourself in heavy-duty waterproof clothing vallejo baylink amid people hurling snowballs, riding toboggans and playing snow volleyball. There s a snowfall on the hour, accompanied by cheers, a snow disco and lightshow. Suddha Car Museum MUSEUM (www.sudhacars.net; Bahadurpura; Indian/foreigner 30/150; h9.30am-6.30pm) Featuring the genius work of Sudhakar, here you ll find working cars in the shape of a toilet, computer, cricket bat, hamburger or condom, among other wacky designs. He holds the Guinness world record for the largest tricycle, standing a whopping 12.8m tall. You can poke your head into the workshop to see his latest project (at the time of research it was a stiletto shoe car). It s located east of the Nehru Zoological Park. NTR Park PARK (Map p898; child/adult 10/20; h2.30-8.30pm) Making for a nice stroll about, with pleasant gardens, theme park rides and a games arcade, taking the cake in the kitsch stakes is the gaudy restaurant shaped like a giant fruit bowl. Amurutha Castle HOTEL (www.bestwesternamruthacastle.com; Saifabad; d from 4800) Always vallejo baylink dreamt of staying in a Bavarian castle while in Hyderabad? Probably not, but in case you did, this massive castle- hotel, based on the Schloss Neuschwanstein, is the place to do it. It ain t cheap though. 6 Drinking & Entertainment
910 STATE OF GOOD KARMA In its typically understated way, Andhra Pradesh doesn t make much of its vast archaeological and karmic wealth. vallejo baylink But the state is packed with impressive vallejo baylink ruins of its rich Buddhist history. Only a few of Andhra s 150 stupas, vallejo baylink monasteries, caves and other sites have been excavated, turning up rare relics of the Buddha vallejo baylink (usually pearl-like pieces of bone) with offerings such as golden flowers. Nagarjunakonda and Amaravathi were flourishing Buddhist complexes, and near Visakhapatnam were the incredibly peaceful sites of Thotlakonda, and Bavikonda and Sankaram, looking across seascapes and lush countryside. They speak of a time when Andhra Pradesh or Andhradesa was a hotbed of Buddhist activity, when monks came from around the world to learn from some of the tradition s most renowned teachers. Andhradesa s Buddhist culture, in which sangha vallejo baylink (community of monks and nuns), laity and statespeople all took part, lasted around 1500 years from the 6th century BC. There s no historical evidence for it, but some even say that the Buddha himself vallejo baylink visited the area. Andhradesa s first practitioners were likely disciples vallejo baylink of Bavari, an ascetic who lived on the banks of the Godavari River and sent his followers north to bring back the Buddha s teachings. But the dharma vallejo baylink really took off in the 3rd century BC under Ashoka, who dispatched monks across his empire to teach and construct stupas enshrined with relics of the Buddha. (Being near these was thought to help progress on the path to enlightenment.) Succeeding Ashoka, the Satavahanas and then Ikshvakus were also supportive. At their capital at Amaravathi, the Satavahanas adorned Ashoka s modest stupa with elegant decoration. They built monasteries across the Krishna Valley and exported the dharma through their sophisticated maritime network. It was also during the Satavahana reign that Nagarjuna lived. Considered by many to be the progenitor vallejo baylink of Mahayana Buddhism, the monk was equal parts logician, philosopher and meditator, and he wrote several ground-breaking works that shaped contemporary vallejo baylink Buddhist thought. Other important monk-philosophers would emerge from the area in the following centuries, making Andhradesa a sort of Buddhist motherland of the South.
Legends about the hill itself and the surrounding area appear in the Puranas, and the temple s history may date back 2000 years. The main temple is an atmospheric place, though you ll be pressed between hundreds of devotees when you see it. The inner sanctum itself is dark and magical; it smells of incense, resonates with chanting and may make you religious. There, Venkateshwara sits gloriously on his throne, inspiring bliss and love among his visitors. You ll have a moment to make a wish and then you ll be shoved out again. Don t forget to collect your delicious ladoo (sweet made of fl our, sugar, raisins and nuts) from the counter.
