As part of my Dekho Apna Desh pleadge, I decided to visit Lucknow. Two of my colleagues, Geeta and Anju joined this time.
Taking a volvo bus from Anand Vihar bus terminus at 11.30 in the evening we reached Alambagh at 7.30 the next morning. The journey was smooth through Taj Expessway. Our hotel, Treebo Metro Inn was bit far from the bus stand. But Ola and Uber have very good service in Lucknow and that is reasonable also.
We reached hotel early and denied a early check in without cost, though the hotel was not full. We decided to wait and have breakfast meanwhile. Finally at around 10' clock we were offered our room.
Our first destination was Bara Imambara, which houses a mosque, a baoli or step well and Bhul Bhulaiya or Labyrinth. It took almost 2 hours to visit the entire premises. As it was lunch time we decided to have lunch first in Aminabad. We headed for famous Tunday Kebabai but looking at the rush in peak lunch hour we went next door to have Biryani first in Wahid Biryani and then came back to Tunday for Galawati Kebab.
Any food is incomplete without desert and as we were in Aminabad we couldn't help but having Kulfi at Prakash Kulfiwala.
Finishing this culinary journey for that time we again headed for Chhota Imambara, clock tower and Photo gallery.
Our next destination was Hazratgunj. The one k.m. stretch road in downtown Lucknow is shoppers' paradise and houses some branded shop. Walking on the footpath taking the view of the cafes and shoppers in a lazy evening like this was blissful and enjoyable. The Royal cafe in Hazratgunj is famous for Basket chat, but we decided to skip it.
Our next stop was Gomti River front. This time we were disappointed. Such very beautiful river front was not at all enjoyable due to the stinking Gomti river. We did not spend much time there and came back to Hotel.
We started little late today. First stop is Residency. Now in the state of ruins, the residency was once part of 1857 uprising . The entire complex was maintained beautifully and as the weather was conducive I decided to spend more time there while Geeta and Anju headed for shopping of Chikan stuff.
Residency is the kind of space where you can bring your favourite book with you, sit in a quiet corner and read for hours. The entire area was silent with occasional visitors passing by.
Time was approaching to say good bye to this beautiful city. Three of us met at Dastarkhaw in Lalbagh, had sumptuous lunch and headed for railway station.
P.S. Do not miss the Shahi Tukda at Dastarkhaw, no matter how full you are.
