I believe that this weekend had been the exemplar weekend of an expat in Hyderabad and perhaps India in general.
Friday evening after work I go home to freshen up and unwind a bit. At 19:15 I knock on the door of my expat neighbor. Our taxi has arrived that will take us to the weekend expat gathering at The Walden club. We arrive and settle down with a beer and chat with various other expats from Belgium and America. After two hours of good food and drink our taxi arrives to take us to the Taj Deccan (one of the exclusive 5 star hotels) where we will be meeting with some of my neighbor's colleagues. After a 20 minute drive we arrive, pass through bomb check (security), pass the body scan and enter into the lobby with crystal chandeliers. We wait for the two colleagues in big comfy couches. After we meet and greet continue through the main atrium to the Syn bar and grill and settle into the big comfy chairs and couches and peruse the cocktail and food menus. We order sushi, mojitos and margaritas and settle into a chat about 80's films and celebrity gossip to a backdrop of European pop and house music. Cocktails average somewhere between 30-50 kr. And this is about as exclusive as it can get. We finish around midnight and decide to go home and call it an evening.
Saturday I was up late and start the day with a morning swim on the rooftop pool. On my way out to have some long-sleeved dress shirts tailored to short-sleeve dress shirts I meet my neighbor in the lobby. Apparently pigeons had gotten into her housemates room and they the refuse to leave as there are bars on the windows. I ask if she'd be up for lunch after watchmen has chased around said pigeons. I pop to the tailors and explain the task at hand. No worries, 8 kr. Per shirt! When I return my neighbor hasn't gotten any further so I offer to make a gallant attempt at chasing away the pigeons. Armed with a bed sheet, a pair of jeans, sunglasses and bread I manage to get them convinced to flee from the crazy Dane thought the bars and out the window.
Lunch is had at the local mall and consists of a Thali which is basically Indian tapas. You start with soup and then 4 curries are served with 2 types of kebab, yogurt, rice and Indian bread. Including a mocktail it comes to around 50 kr. Following this huge meal it's time to go towel and rug shopping at Fabindia, which is a wonderful store that sells very Indian clothing and furnishings. So After getting all this and a little bit of cloth shopping I return home for a relaxing afternoon of movies on the couch. I speak to my Indian friend and am invited to a family dinner at the Park Hotel. Now this doesn't sound like a über fancy by name but in trying to find the address I see that the cheapest room is 2000 kr. A night! So this is another of these 5 star deals. After the taxi fails to show I settle for auto rickshaw and arrive punctually and am warmly greeted by security. The hotel front is made of steel/aluminum and the loggy is beautifully appointed with dark wood. By walking through a light tunnel "literally" you get to a modern restaurant filled with well-to-do Indian families. I enjoy a dinner talking to a my friends and their lovely family and kindly get driven home.
This morning (Sunday) I wake up and start the day with a dip in the rooftop pool and watch a bit of film before being picked up in taxi by my friend who is an Indian-American. The destination is the Ista hotel in Hyderabads Hi-Tec City. The plan is to arrive at 13:00 and enjoy brunch until around 16:00. We leave Hyderabad and move into the more sparsely populated Hi-Tec city and the special economic region that houses companies such as Microsoft, CapGemini, NVidea, etc. We pull up to the gate of the Ista and after the confirmation of no bombs in the car we drive up past fountains and local plants to the entrance. The Ista appeals to my idea of luxury: tasteful and subtly but very luxurious. We walk around and look at the infinity pool and spa area before announcing ourselves in the restaurant.
Now…The Brunch. One enters the restaurant walking through a glass and steel wine rack, passing the clown making balloon animal of the children. The live band is playing soft western rock covers and doing a very good job and the volume level is ideal for ambiance without irritancy. We settle down at our table and order the first cappuccino and investigate the offers. Fresh sushi, various fish tapas consisting of squid salad, seafood terrine, shrimp and Louisiana dip. Moving along ones gets to the crusted lamb chops, hummus, small portions of tomato and mozzarella salad, egg plant antipasti, salad bar, olives, etc. This covers the starts. For warm mains we on the western side we have lamb chops and mash, potato gratin, various fish dishes, etc. Outside there is the grill making kebabs and the potato station along with the Indian buffet of approx 15 different things. There is also a noodle station and various soups that I never got around to. For dessert one can choose from various cakes (some even sugar free) and sweets, Indian sweets and there is also a crepe station. This all sets one back around 200 kr.
So we settle down a pace ourselves enjoying coffee, sweet/salty lime soda and sparkling wine. We are joined by a friend of my friend and the talk flows smoothly from political, culture, women, etc. And quite soon it is 16:30 and we are stuffed, buzzed and tipsy (well I was at least). I am invited to attend the weekly meet of the Hyderabad Hash House Harriers, which is a walking/running club. We arrive at the start point and I spend 45 min walking with my friend through various neighborhoods and eventually ending on an apartment rooftop overlooking the city with cold beer and water on offer. In the intermittent time I have arranged a movie outing with my neighbor and her colleagues so I grab and auto and head home. I make a stop at SPAR for a few essentials and meet someone I know from the expat club on the way out. Us internationals seem to frequent the same spots! Moving is enjoyed as is meeting some nice new people and now I am sitting writing this.
There is of course some irony in that the low standard of living for a vast majority affords expat the type of weekend I have just described. However having been here a few months I can only say that one becomes strangely comfortable with it.
