I had a very bad experience at Golconda fort.
As I am visiting Hyderabad for the first time and had heard a lot about Golconda light show, spending about 200 Rs for auto, I visited the Golconda fort. However, at the entry point, at around 6 pm on Nov 9, both the ticket vendor and the security person denied entry to me saying photography and especially tripod is not permitted inside for taking photos of the light show. On asking them to show me where there were stipulations against taking photos of the light show, they were unable to show me anything. The guard was however willing to let me in during day time with the camera and tripod; which meant had I come in earlier, I could have well watched the light show with camera and tripod. The board at the ticket vending point clearly shows that tourists are required to pay Rs.25/- for video cameras. I was even willing to pay that. However, the security guards interpretation was that the camera charges were only for the time window between 9 am to 5 pm!!! As an avid photographer, it was meaningless for me to see just the lights and hence had to pay 200/- bucks for my return fare.
If Andhra tourism has no intention of allowing photographers inside it should clearly state so in all its portals that advertise the light show; at least we could save some bucks toward meaningless transport to Golconda. If photographers using flash is a problem, then photographers should be advised against using flash instead of a blanket ban against all forms of photography.
This was totally bad experience which is bound to put off a lot of tourists!!!
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