shanti shanti in beautiful Hampi

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Beautiful relaxed historical place. Staying across a small river (10rs ferry) on the less-traveled part of the town. Its been hard for me to resist the economic will-power of the locals selling home made instruments. Bought two self-droning gourd clarinets (no better way to describe without a picture) and a Kirshna-style flute. Good deals on all three, and they are light and sturdy (good for transportation).

The freedom of being able to carry all I own in this hemisphere of the world on my back is both humbling and empowering.

Only bad thing to say is that the internet here is way overpriced, same throughout the town. Therefore this post will be short.

The geography reminds me of Riverside California. Lots of big rocks, good for making large structures.

Yesterday I sat by the ruins of a giant wall (this was once the well-watered, malaria-free capital of a mighty empire). I was the only person within a 100 meter radius for a solid fifteen minutes or so before some curious local kids came over to check me out. Big difference from the human density of Kolkata.

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