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Published: October 28th 2008
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We left Goa for the train station in the afternoon of the 20th. Unfortunatly, like many things in India, the train was cancelled.
So being the champayne back packers we are, we took a taxi to Karnataka(the region below Goa) and headed straight to Om beach near Gokarna.
We stayed in beach huts called Namaste which reminded me of something from 'Im a celebrity get me out of here' there were centipedes and ants everywhere. And of course no power, which happens frequently in India.
We checked out Om beach which was quiet and seemed to be more of an Indian holiday hotspot.
After a day of sunning it up we were bored. The whole place lacked any atmosphere, so we took a short taxi into Gokarna town.
The town is a holy hindu pilgrim site, so we had to cover our legs and arms when wondering around. There are temples dotted around and temple tanks called Koorti Teertha. We stumbled across one of these, and saw locals praying to the temple gods and cleansing in the water tank. Which Cat and I agreed was probably writhe with Thyphoid.
The locals are often getting about in there traditional dress- Brahmin Dhobi's-
to worship in the temples. The Djobi's looked like nappy sarongs that the men wear with tribal like paint markings on theit face and arms.
We decided to leave after a night as there wasnt much action going on and we couldn't get a look in the temples.
So we strapped ourselves in and took our first night sleeper coach to Hampi.
What a terrifiying experience that was. The coach rocked up, already full, crammed us in and drove off at fast speeds whilst bouncing off huge potholes that line the roads. It was very frightening-but we got to Hampi alive 8 hrs later.
Hampi is truely a spectacular place. It reminds me of a cross between Rome and the flintstones.
The landscape is a mass of mountains made from bolders, they look like they've been placed there-very surreal. And then there are the temple ruins from the 15th century that span 40ks in all directions from the main village Hampi Bazaare.
Our three day stop over turned into a week, as we realised there was so much to explore.
Highlights of this week have included.
Meeting Cliff and Damo on the night coach and spending the day with them
at the monkey temple. We had an unforgettable adventure, which we have likened to Indiana Jones and the temple of doom experience.
We took a Rikshaw(small bike like car) 20k to the river. After bartering with the owner of this boat we climbed aboard and journeyed down the rapid river to the rice fields on the other side. The boat was basically a raft that looked like half a huge coconut. Great fun.
We then had to climb up a mud slide of a hill to get up to the rice fields, which we then waded through(maleria heaven) due to the rain.
The next challenge was to climb 550 steps to the top of the monkey mountain in 35degrees heat, with one of the team (cat)having a massive fear of heights. Two Zanex tablets later Cat and the rest of us had made it to the top.
Wow what a breathtaking view, it was a magical moment.
To top it off, we had a ritual blessing in the temple with the baba guru, who lives on top of the mountain and lives for the animal god, who we prayed to for good health and life. In the ceremony the baba
burnt some coconut and gave us holy water to drink.
We left the temple and all looked up to see a huge storm arriving, lightening and rain(as you can imagine) is the best whilst on top of a mountain with a guru.. We then had the whole journey back, in the storm and rain, which make it extra fun and extra muddy. Damo stacked it a few times in the mud slides, hillarious.
Another highlight was hiring my pink bike for the day, letting the local children play on the back and doing races with them.
Team Indiana (Cat, Damo, Cliff and I) all cycled to a banana plantation, left our bikes and trekked across the plantation and rocks to find a waterfall, which was also a mental day, especially finding a wild crocodile on route. Scary.hehe..
And I spent a humbling day volenteering for a fundraised charity called 'Harmony House'. A place for children to play and learn instead of begging on the streets. Its funded by a guy from the Uk, who set it up in 07.
The children were so loving and sweet, sharing their sunflower snacks with me and giving me a bindi to wear.
I
spent the morning working with a group of 5 children aged between 4-7. I helped to improve their English, by writing words and using flashcards.
In the afternoon, we took the kids on a picnic to a temple. They loved the skipping ropes and frisbies they had to play with. Such a good day.
The most ironic part of Hampi, is the fact its a dry town. Yet hidden away, there is a bar called 'chill out.' ran by a cool dude called Kishue. If, as we found out, you ask for a special coke, you can get a vodka coke. And if you ask for a special lassi. You get a weed shake-which blows your head off. As Cat and the boys will tell you, I've never seen anytrhing so funny as seeing them alldrop one by one in the restarant due to extreme stoneness.
Dont know how we would have spent our evenings if it wasnt for Kishue and Chill out..
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