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 [View Full Entry]

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We had some problems finding out how to get to our next destination, in Hampi they just tried to sell us a taxi ride at a high price. We took the local bus to Hospet, trying to catch a train at 9:00 am that we had read about somewhere. Still, the idea of a taxi and a chauffeur quite intrigued us, we had some time left, so Stephan went to look for the taxi stand, which is usually close to the bus stand. He actually found what we wanted, in the end it was 30% cheaper than the arrangements in Hampi, [View Full Entry]

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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 [View Full Entry]

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Our next destination was originally not planned, but was worth the detour. No, we are not running out of money yet and Stephan has not begun another IT job. We went there for the Mark Knopfler concert. We had been sad about missing his tour in Europe but were very lucky that we managed to see him there. Your authors as well as their camera took a western break, so we cannot offer you any pictures for this city. We went to the Palace Grounds early and purchased the tickets, the cheaper ones for Rs 1000 (about EUR 20), we could [View Full Entry]

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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 [View Full Entry]

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In the City Palace, we had met an Indian lady recently returned from the USA. She was an artist, writer and dancer, and gave us a vivid demonstration of classical Indian dance. The advanced dancers are able to translate any sentence into a dance movement, just what Deeptie did for us. Due to the interesting conversation with her, we were a bit late to catch a bus to our next destination, Somnathpur, a famous temple of the Hoysala style. As we absolutely wanted to see this monument, there was no other way than to become decadent westerners again and to hire [View Full Entry]

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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 [View Full Entry]

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In Kochi we had booked a stay at the Pachyderm Palace (sounds promising, doesn’t it?) Actually, it was the most expensive night so far, 1750 rupees compared to the usual 400, but it was full board and we had practically no alternative. Still, it was much cheaper than the better-known Nagarhole National Park, where the lodges really cost a fortune. In fact, Tholpetty is adjacent to the Nagarhole National Park, situated at its southeastern borders. We decided to travel there by our own means, a bit more complicated but much cheaper than arrangements by the Tourist Board. We did the [View Full Entry]

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As we had already taken in enough positive energy, we decided to start using it up. We left quite early from Varkala because we intended to take a boat in Kollam (former Quillon) at 10:30 a.m. Our first means of transport was the train, late as usual. At the train station we met Annie and Stuart, a couple from Britain who were in the middle of a trip similar to ours. They have also quit their jobs to travel around the world for two years - with interruptions. It was interesting to hear them talk about China and Tibet, future destinations [View Full Entry]

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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 inc [View Full Entry]

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