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Colourful market Fiona is a regular visitor to the Monda market at Secunderabad

Born and brought up in Singapore, Fiona Silva and her German husband Dominik Wiener Silva have been living in Hyderabad for an year now. Despite being in the city for a short time, the couple has already come to one conclusion: ‘Hyderabadis are extremely helpful!’ “The cityscape is growing and people seem to be always in a rush. But still, there is a section, which believes in helping and providing comfort to others,” Fiona makes her observation. She has visited India earlier and this is her second trip to the city. “The first time we came here, we stayed in a hotel with hardly any outings,” she recalls. However, this time, when the stay has been longer, Fiona explored new places on her know-the-city trip. From shopping at the colourful Monda market in Secunderabad and Hi-tech city to having freshly steamed light idlis at Chutneys and enjoying a Sunday brunch at Little Italy… Fiona has made hotspot visits across the city. “I love going to the Monda market which looks very colourful with fresh vegetables and hawkers screaming from top of their voices. It’s a very noisy place but so much fun,” she says. When the couple had guests from abroad recently, their outing included the heritage spots like Charminar, Golconda and Chowmahalla palace. “While purchasing the entry tickets at Charminar, I spoke in Hindi. The counter person thought me to be an Indian and gave me a local ticket, instead of a foreign one. It was one of my success stories and I shared it with my Hindi teacher too,” she bursts out laughing. The national language came to her help on their sojourn to Rajasthan too. “The vacation passed off peacefully with no one fooling us,” she smiles again.

Fiona finds Hyderabad as an exotic place to live with its landscape, majestic rocks and different cultures. “While Charminar has this old-world charm, Hitech city looks completely modern. Jubilee Hills and Banjara Hills are residential areas while KBR park looks like a nature spot,” she says. If they are slowly discovering the spicy Andhra food, Tank Bund has made a big impression on her. “The Hussainsagar lake in the middle of the city is amazing. It reminds me of Hamburg with its big rowing boats. If the lake is cleaned and bugs and mosquitoes taken care of, the place is unmatched,” she says with pride. With her family visiting Hyderabad in June, the couple has a travel plan ready. “This time, our destination is Faluknama Palace and Salarjung museum.”

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