"no hurry, no worry!" the bike rental man shouted as we rode away into the dusty sunset...


Advertisement
India's flag
Asia » India » Karnataka » Hampi
January 3rd 2006
Published: January 10th 2006
Edit Blog Post

these pictues are from Hampi. it is in the state of Karnataka - and pretty much smack dab in the middle of the south india. there are crazy ruins here, and it is regarded as a "holy city." because of this, alcohol is "illegal" (not stricty inforced, but expensivo = the town was super quiet with no loud bars or parties). on new year's eve at midnight, there were fireworks, which were just loud bangs to us bc we didn't see anything. all the families came into the streets to make (bright !) color sand drawings in front of their houses and shops for good luck in the new year of 2006. it was a beautiful thing to watch - not to mention fun to take photos of! india makes it so easy.

we ate at a cool restaurant. you walk about 500 m through a banana plantation on this narrow 2 ft wide dirt path to get to it. then you go down a few steps bc it is on a semi-steep river bank. they have terraced floors going down to rice patties. guests lean against the wall on floor mats and there is a giant mango tree with a huge swing that shades the entire sitting area. in and across the river there are tan flinestone-esque rocks, ruins, and palm trees scattered all over rolling hills... an amazing contrast with the biggest, bluest skies ever! we endulged and enjoyed flavorful samosas and spicy chi tea (ashley - you would not be able to do anything here other than drink cup after cup of chi tea!).

we took a little boat across a river where 100's of men and women were washing their laundry and drying things on the broken rock ruins, while picnicing and socializing on the grass. wow. on the other side of the river, we walked along a road that passed huge, bright, bright green rice patties that had those same beautiful hills behind them. there were pairs of white buffalos pulling tils, and the land was divided with the use of large coconut trees. we walked until we we were tired and decided to rest by a river where there was a giant, broken, ancient stone (we are talking about boulders) bridge. we rested in the quiet shade and watched an old man do laundry in the river. he would soap, slap, and grind the cloths on stone, and then add water, and repeat. off - and - on for 2 hours we watched him, reminisced through a bunch of photos on our cameras, and had goats get herded by us on a path.

we hope everyone enjoyed celebrating the new year... happy 2006!

xoxo S & J





Additional photos below
Photos: 35, Displayed: 23


Advertisement

looking at the world through rose colored glasseslooking at the world through rose colored glasses
looking at the world through rose colored glasses

the 13 hour bus ride to Hampi was quite MONOchromatic to say the least.
a buncha bananas!a buncha bananas!
a buncha bananas!

ladies out in front of the temple sold flowers and bananas for offerings... but really it was a nice snack for all the wild monkeys
much to our delight...much to our delight...
much to our delight...

most people in india are eager to have their photos taken - the instant results of a digital camera make them go bazerk
intricate stone carvingsintricate stone carvings
intricate stone carvings

hazararama temple
guess what these are??guess what these are??
guess what these are??

rolls of gun powder for children's cap-guns! how pretty
thais are one-up on the south indians when it comes to spicy foodsthais are one-up on the south indians when it comes to spicy foods
thais are one-up on the south indians when it comes to spicy foods

indian women sorting through chilis by the road side while the men down the street drink chi... so typical
good morning!good morning!
good morning!

we arrived late at night and had no idea we would wake up to THIS!


10th January 2006

Davis says whats up....
Davis, California that is. But don't worry, you're not missing shit here. Stay there, in the exciting land of the unknown , by god, cherish it!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hippo Now Year 2006.
10th January 2006

Congrats girls
Wow!!! you made it on the front page. I'm so proud of you guys. You deffintely deserve it. You're pictures are wonderful and numberous love you adam
10th January 2006

You're famous!!
Well done champs! Welcome to the club of the rich and famous. much love LPW
10th January 2006

another
another great one--the variety of pictures/experiences continues to be absolutely awesome. only thing i didn't get was the picture with the beautiful women/girls--ilooked very hard but couldn't find any. guess that one just didn't come out right--ha, ha. take care and keep em coming.
10th January 2006

Wow
Wow, you guys did make the front page. I told you that you could do this as a living. It might be time to give the Travel Channel a call.
12th January 2006

My mom loves it to
Thanks sosooooooooo much for sending me the email. I read their last 2 blogs and you're right, they are most wonderful! keep 'em coming, please! Mom
13th January 2006

Happy New Years
Happy Belated New Years! Love you lots. All the places you are going look amazing, can't wait to see you! :)

Tot: 0.096s; Tpl: 0.014s; cc: 14; qc: 20; dbt: 0.0706s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1; ; mem: 1.1mb