Blogs from Hampi, Karnataka, India, Asia - page 3

The journey to Hampi entailed my first bus ride in India. The bus is none A/C so it's hot as fuck! The beds are pretty uncomfy and it's pretty hard to sleep because the bus is rocking everywhere, turning corners, stopping etc! Definitely need to stick to the train in future. When I first get on the bus, I find my bed, and it's like the size of a normal single, but I'm meant to be sharing it with someone, turns out to be some European chick. Her and her friend have been separated and her friend's got a full bed to herself...So of course, I do the chivalrous thing and offer to swap with her friend, so as to avoid the awkward situation of having to sleep next to a randomer, fuck that! and to ... read more

We last minute decided to go to Hampi, we weren't going to bother as its a pain to get to but we re routed ourselves and could get from Hampi to Bangalore and from here we could continue south to Kerala, we also looked at lots of pictures on the internet and decided we had to go if we were near it. Hampi itself is a small village built as close as possible to the sights and literally there to cater for the tourists, all the locals live up the road In Hospet near the train station. Hampu itself is a UNESCO heritage site as the ruins within it are from the Vijayanagara Empire. The historical sights can be dated back to 1343 - so VERY old. There are many Hindu temples, military buildings (including an ... read more

Oh all we ever seem to do is catch a train. I am sure by now you guys are all trained out. I really like train travel and its all so comfortable and well organized. We met a couple in our compartment the husband lectures in tool and dye cutting and she is a professor of engineering/ they had recently been to South Africa so we had lots to talk about. Every youngster we speak to is studying engineering of some sort there is a glut of engineers here and so they in the end take on crappy jobs just to get a job often not even in their own field. And we have the problem in South Africa that we only have one place in Durban where they teach Tool and Dye cutting and that ... read more

Distance: Hyderabad 361 km 7h, 50m Bangalore 372 km 7h, 10m Pune 537 km 11h, 20m Chennai 578 km 12h, 20m Mumbai 696 km 14h, 50m Best time to visit: October-March Road Conditions: Very Good/some patch of village road (Mostly Toll Roads) Fooding/Lodging: Yes Days needed to see : average 3 full days. The historical town of Hampi, is one of the most important tourist destination on the Indian as well as international map. Located in the state of Karnataka, the town is popular for its intricately carved temples and stone sculptures. Some of the most popular temple structures here include Shri Virupaksha Temple, Balakrishna Temple, Shri Vijaya Vitthala Temple and Sasivekalu Ganesh Temple. Few must see are : the Stone Chariot at Vitthala Temple and Ugra Narsimha statue at Lakshmi Narasimha Temple. For history lovers ... read more

25/2/13Paisagem de grande beleza: arrozais, agua em abundancia por entre blocos redondos de granito avermelhado. Bananais, coqueirais, caminhos de terra, muitas ruinas de um enorme imperio hindu dizimado pelos muculmanos e templos bonitos, alguns ainda vivios. Gente a lavar-se, a lavar roupa, beber, brincar no rio pela manha.Se fecharmos os olhos a certas coisas (muito turistico)Tour das ruinas em bicicleta com um grupo porreiro, sob calor torrido a horas improprias.Lavei uma 'elefanta', Laxmi, que trabalha no templo. Grande paquiderme , pele aspera e enrugadinha e pelos como arame, a tromba brincalhona e rosada na ponta bufa feliz enquanto a esfregavamos. Grandes patas, solidos troncos, como ossos! E um lindo olhar molhado me olhava da grande cabeca.Toquei pela primeira vez nos bagos leitosos (ainda nao polinizados, um agricultor explicou-me como 'funcionava'..... read more