We were heading north but did not want to go via Goa and Mumbai (former Bombay), so we had to find our way inland. A direct bus to Bijapur would have left one hour later, so we decide to go there by changing bus. The first part was perfectly ok, a local bus as usual, but in the meantime we had got used to this means of transport. Then we made the mistake (afterwards you always know better) to take an express bus. It looked good to us, with far more comfortable seats and more leg freedom. We took seats in one of the front rows, but were immediately ushered to the back because the other seats were reserved. We thought this a sham because this had never happened to us so far, until we found ... read more

The train from Bangalore took us to Hospet, the nearest railway station to Hampi. Although it offers more varied accommodation than Hampi, we decided to establish ourselves as close to the attractions as possible. Hampi is a mecca for backpackers, without the tourists the village would not even exist. There are no hotels in the strict sense, only a couple of private houses, which offer rooms on the upper floors. We chose the best one (everything is relative) with private shower since we were not in the mood for a shared bathroom. To all the foreigners who are fed up with Indian cuisine, Hampi appears like paradise, offering Italian pizza or pasta as well as American and Israeli dishes. You can find almost everything, apart from fast internet or shower gel. Hampi was once the seat ... read more

We were a bit fed up with bus-rides, so we tried to catch a train from Mysore to Hassan. Although it was not mentioned in our guidebook, we found a train immediately. Unlike the buses, the train was almost empty. We enjoyed the trip very much, preferring trains to buses anyway, since you have more space and can move around rather freely. You also see a lot from the landscape from the train, you just don't experience village scenes in a bus. To our surprise we arrived one hour earlier than they had told us, and could finally book our second overnight train, which we had not managed in Mysore. There we had queued for about two hours twice, without any outcome. Although Mysore is a relatively big city, the train station is rather miserable. But ... read more

As we had had some problems with the bus connections, we arrived in Mysore too late to visit the famous City Palace. So we tried to catch a first glimpse of it through one of the gates. We liked the bit we could see and decided to move on to the Jagan Mohan Palace which we had already seen when the bus entered the city. Officially, it was also closed but when we came there, the doors were open and groups of people were standing outside, so we stepped in. That evening, a seminar about tourism took place and not long after our hesitating entry we were cordially greeted by one of the organisers, a professor of accounting at the university which was organising the seminar. We were asked to sit down and watch the cultural ... read more

Kochi (former Cochin) cannot deny the European influence, by the Portuguese, the Dutch and the British. Vasco da Gama landed in Calicut, 200 km north of Kochi, in 1498. Already four years later, he came to Kochi, where he died in 1524 and stayed buried in this town until 1538. The touristy part of this city is called Fort Kochi, and practically every building there is European. Fort Kochi retains a quiet relaxed atmosphere, whereas its twin town, Ernakulam, is bustling and hectic. Willingdon Island, Kochi's third part, was created in the 1920s by dredging the bay to increase the depth of the entrance to the harbour to over 11m. It is the Head Quarters of the Southern Command of the Indian Navy, and has a naval airport. Due to Kochi's unique position, with islands close ... read more