Blogs from Hampi, Karnataka, India, Asia - page 17

This was not in the plan but was so glad to get to the warmth and the more chilled out way of pretty much everything...the men still stare but not with as much conviction as the northern counterparts!! We got to Ajanta too late to stay...so did the big haul down to Bombay! we moved form our comfy 3AC sleepr down to sleeper and went to sit with the locals, we even had to share a seat since it was so full! It was a great journey and met a lovely family who tried to give me some bangles, upon me trying them on I was highly embarrassed that they would not fit over my hand to get on my wrist - oops!! Bombay - nice and warm but bloody expensive!!! The city had a very ... read more

Namaste'! Oggi giornata all'insegna degli animali, finalmente abbiamo visto l'elefante sacro del tempio di Hampi. Era in riva al fiume che veniva lavato dal guardiano del tempio. Prima da un lato e poi dall'altro con uno spazzolone e tanta cura, come se fosse la sua macchina nuova. Poi l'ha riportato davanti al tempio, anzi alla sua casa e mentre gli dava da mangiare lo dipingeva con simboli strani nelle orecchie e nella proboscide. C'e' chi ha come animali da compagnia cani, gatti, criceti e chi elefanti...strano? Poi con le nostre pseudo - mountan bike - siamo saliti sulla barca per andare al di la del fiume, nell'altro villaggio. Pura campagna, bellissima, risaie, palmeti (non palmetti..quelli siamo solo noi), carri trainati da buoi con le corna dipinte di un blu accecante. Ci siamo fermati in un asilo ... read more

Ciao da Hampi, citta sacra nel mezzo dell'India..siamo arrivati stamattina dopo un altro viaggio allucinante! Questa volta abbiamo optato per un bus deluxe sleeper, che vuol dire il top della gamma...con addirittura le cuccette come nel treno!! All'arrivo del bus abbiamo capito che non avremmo dormito molto, come ci avevano avvisato. Scalcinato e senza ammortizzatori e a noi ci e' capitata l'ultima cuccetta in fondo. Sembrava di stare nella macchina x fare la TAC..ehehe e con le strade di qua ogni 2 minuti uno scossone incredibile. Non so come abbiamo fatto a non sgranare tutti i denti! Siamo stati 3 gg a Goa, precisamente Palolem, spiaggia stupenda ma super sfruttata turisticamente, abbiamo notato la differenza con le spiagge del nord: li le persone ti avvicinavano perche' eri l'unico straniero e sinceramente curiose, qua per venderti di ... read more

To everyone who thought traveling was all positive and exciting: The day before I wrote this letter to mom I spent the entire day in bed with a, well lets just call it an unsettled stomach... savy? Well, I went back to bed after talking to ya(we spend an entire hour on the phone) and had an alright time. I waited a good hour almost before taking the pill(anti-biotic) to make sure it would stay down... it did. I then slept with the light on all night as the dark was to lonely almost or something, i dont really know. (makes me smile thinking about it lol) I just really think that I need some rest and to slow down for a bit. I woke up feelin alright but I went out for a short walkabout ... read more

Still here. Still alive - just. Some wise old soul once said that travelling was all about the journey, not the destination. That's all very romantic until you actually have to get from one place to the other using buses in India. First journey this week was from Goa to Hampi. It was an overnight bus journey which I was weirdly quite looking forward to. I knew I was in a sleeper bunk - which means that they chum you up with another western female so I thought that would be fine. My "roommate" was a french lady - about 50 - and seemed very smiley. The sleeper element of the bus was that two seats next to each other reclined all the way flat into a double bed and then there was a wee curtain ... read more