Hippies Love Hampi

---

Our first stop after Mysore was Hampi, a fascinating place, historically, geographically, and culturally.

The official reason people go to Hampi is to see the amazing and plentiful remains of historic structures. Much of southern India was ruled from here about a thousand years ago (that's the very approximate time period). The area was once a big city complex, and the well-kept remains of the city structures spread out of several square miles. There are so many unbelievable temples, palaces, ancient shopping bazaars, and other remnants of a very proposerous era to be seen. We took a guided tour and saw as many as we could, until we were completed saturated with images of Shiva, scenes from the Ramayana, and marvels of stone construction and carving.

I have never seen a place like Hampi: hills upon hills covered with massive boulders. A slow crocodiled river meanders through the very dry hot arid land. And where there is not river or boulders, there are rice paddies, banana plantations, and (of course, because this is still south India), coconut trees. If you like to walk in quiet rural places with amazing structures interspersed, Hampi is a great place.

Then there's Hampi-town, which exists entirely to accomodate tourists. The predominant travellers seen in Hampi-town are hippies, who probably appreciate the ample cheap accomodation offered in this small safe rural town -- I found it surprisingly challenging to find such places in India. Just 5 minutes walk from the single busy main street and you're in the rural south Indian countryside. Guesthouses provide hammocks and views of the paddies and crazy bouldered hillsides.

Mom was not crazy about the heat, or the simple accomodation. Except for a couple of very high-end resorts, most places to stay are very rustic. We were in the standard accomodation in Hampi: a thatched bungalow ($8/night); no power most of the time; no working plugs, even when there was electricity; no hot water; and no shortage of barking dogs within earshot.

I liked Hampi: I like the hot hot dry weather, walking and exploring, relaxing on a hammock and reading in the evening; Mom did not share my enthusiasm. Luckily, our itinerary was already set, we spent just 3 days and 2 nights in Hampi, then moved on by bus to Hubli (5 hours away), where we were scheduled to pick up the train for the 37-hour journey to Rajasthan (Northern India).

---

Photos

Classical dancers inside Ladies Palace
There was a photo shoot the day we were there.