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Published: January 16th 2010
Hi everyone,
I'm checking in as we continue our adventures through the sunny south. After our decadent houseboat experience in Alleppey we spent another day there, then hopped a couple of trains (including an overnighter) that got us to the city of Mysore (via Bangalore). We had an action-packed couple of days there. We managed to fit in a couple of trips to the legendary bustling market, part of an utterly incomprehensible but still interesting cricket match, an afternoon at the impressive (yet at the same time kind of sad) zoo, and a walk through the amazing Mysore palace. Another highlight was seeing the palace lit up at night by 96,000 lights. We also went to the horse races one day - an impromptu 'plan b' after we found that the bird santuary we had planned to visit was closed on Tuesdays (of course - we should have known...). The races were interesting, and a friendly Indian guy showed us the ropes and offered to walk us through placing some bets. We ended up just watching though.
As Mel mentioned last time, I also had moments of 'India overload' in Mysore: it seems it's quite normal and acceptable for Indians to have LOUD, lengthy early-morning conversations in thin-walled hotel hallways. Also, I hit the wall with Indian cuisine - not being particularly fond of getting my hands dirty, after my umpteenth dosa and thali (meals eaten with the right hand) I was convinced that rice is NOT a finger food! That evening we splurged on a meal where I had chicken stroganoff (with a fork!) and an icy cold 650ml. Kingfisher beer - aaahh, after that, all was well again...
Overall, we really enjoyed our time in Mysore, and now we have moved on to the perfect antidote to the madness of a relatively large, crowded, noisy Indian city - we are in Hampi, which is an incredibly laid-back little backpacker outpost set along a river among temples, ruins, and a picturesque landscape of massive piles of rocks and mountains scattered among palm trees and rice paddies. We rented a motor bike for a couple of days and enjoyed cruising around the quiet roads checking out remote temples (like the Hanuman (monkey) temple yesterday. Getting out in these rural places, people are as curious about us as we are as them. A few times now Indian people have stopped us to take pictures of us and with us. Everyone is really friendly, open and warm, as they seem to be throughout the country.
In between our adventures out and around Hampi, we are kicking back on futon-type mattresses on the floors of open-air restaurant/lounges (TRUE lounges), reading our books and playing chess, listening to chilled out music and watching the palm trees wave gently in the warm breeze. Sound like paradise? It pretty much is - we decided to stay on an extra day in our cool, comfortable, round, hobbit-style, thatched-roof bungalow. Later we'll likely head up the hill again where a little pack of travelers congregates for the beautiful sunset over the mountains and the river valley. So far, Hampi is my favourite stop on our trip - I am enjoying being in low gear, and this place has yet to be turned into the tourist mecca that is Varkala. If we didn't have so many other amazing sounding places to visit in the coming weeks, I could see really stretching out our time here. There is LOTS to see though, so tomorrow it's onward, back to the coast and the area around Gokarna and then into Goa - we'll check in again from there! ~~
Love, Jeff & Mel
PS: After a half hour of trying to upload a bunch of photos, it seems it's not going to work this time, due to a slow connection and an ancient computer at this internet stall I'm in - hopefully we can get some posted next time...until then, you'll have to take my word for it -- it's wonderful here!!
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Spud
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Wa-hooo!
This all sounds wonderfull, I’m so excited for you 2, Hampi is a surreal moonscape, an amazing place. The following info is over 12+years old ..so take w/ a grain of salt. If you are looking for CHILL, Pallolem is the farthest south in Goa .a fantastic little beach community with great little restaurants and a very relaxed vibe. It’s about 3 hours from Anjuna (aka Trance Party Central) There are lots of other chill communities closer to Anjuna as well, but the closer you get to it, the busier it is. I liked the contrast of having all my stuff here to chill and when I wanted to lose my poop, we’d amass a group of groovers and catch a taxi up to Anjuna ..or rent a motorbike for a few days. Wednesdays is the market day in Anjuna. The market is full of freaks plying their wares, very similar to Shakedown Street. You can kick it on the beach outside of “Shore Bar”, dance a bit, have an ice cold KingFisher at dusk and wait for news of where the parties are ..usually one or more occurring at a number of different venues/locations in the area. Lovin your stories/insights. India has such amazing lessons to teach! keep the blog’n goin on!!