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Published: March 11th 2008
We arrived in Hampi by sleeper bus from Goa. The journey took 8 hours and as we paid a bit extra for 2 tickets on the bus with beds rather than just reclining seats we thought we would at least get a bit of sleep and be traveling in relative comfort but we were wrong. The bus seemed to have been just gutted completely and MDF compartments for 2 had been knocked together and a mattress thrown in. Every time the bus turned a corner, Hannah and I would be flung from side to side in our rickety old compartment with fears of being thrown out into the aisle.
I had high expectations for Hampi because so many people we have met have said that it is their favorite place in India and the minute we arrived we saw why. The scenery here is incredible- there are lush green rice fields, palm trees, rivers and lakes, banana plantations and then just huge random hills made of enormous boulders in between. Each one makes the other more beautiful because they contrast each other so much. Hampi is known for is its rock formations, which have somehow been left there over years
On the sleeper bus...
where not much sleeping happens on the bumpy roads!of erosion. They are unlike anything I have seen before and just look as though giants have come along and plonked them there as they are all balancing on top of each other in unnatural ways.
We arrived to the main town and got a boat across the river where the budget guesthouses and restaurants are located along one dusty road overlooking the river. We found beautiful little huts in a tranquil location on the edge of some rice terraces. Unfortunately this meant we were eaten alive by mosquitoes and were often joined by unwelcome guests including lizards, cockroaches and frogs (often found in the toilet).
Hampi was the capital of 14th century Empire and the ruins are spread over an area of about 26 sq km. We spent a couple of unbearably hot mornings clambering up hills and over rocks in 35 degree heat trying to take in the sights close to the town and on another day I hired a bike and explored further a field on my own. Another day I hired mopeds with Claire and Amber (2 girls we met in Goa) hired scooters for the day to explore. 2 of us had never
rode scooters before and were a bit nervous but the roads are pretty quiet...just the odd rickshaw, bike and cart and cow to contend with. We got them from a restaurant by the side of the road and asked if we could take them for a test run first to see if we were comfortable with them. We all wobbled down the dirt road, from side to side yelping and barely avoiding parked rickshaws. When we turned around to come back, we saw that the whole restaurant had not only come out to watch but had brought their chairs and sat down to laugh at us! So embarrassing! But we soon got the hang of it and managed to scope out some beautiful farm land, a couple of temples plus a reservoir you could jump into off a big boulder and swim in.
We also celebrated Kerry’s birthday here. We all got clamed up and took in a stunning sunset from the top of a hill and then had dinner in a local restaurant. It was a bit of a quiet birthday as Hampi is a religious centre and drinking is not allowed. The guest houses do generally sell
beer and spirits but they are not on the menu and it’s all a bit discrete so we only managed to get one large warm beer each as the restaurant owner didn’t keep them in the fridge. But we were more successful in getting her a cake than our attempts on Dee’s birthday! The girls left earlier than me; sadly it was the last time I would see Dee because she decided to fly to see her boyfriend in South Africa and Hannah and Kerry I will see again in Thailand in a week.
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