Blogs from Hampi, Karnataka, India, Asia - page 25

Unfortunantely we have had a really crap few days! Hyderbad was impossible! all the people were desperately trying to rip us off for example... a taxi to another part of town, first guy asked for R100... when we said it was too much he looked at us with dissgust. When we took another taxi and got him to do it by the meter it was 50! this may seem petty all for 50p or whatever it was but this was happening all the time. Hotel wanted to charge us for an extra night... just 'because' , rickshaw doubled fair at the end and tried to intimidate Daniel with his mates! in the end we booked a bus ticket out of there asap. Haven't been able to get on the net in a while as there was ... read more

I think I may have worried you all with my worst bus journey ever! It wasnt that bad... well all I can say is time is a great healer! I seem to have (nearly) forgotten the whole experience but it was not a nice journey, Claire & I were the only western people on the bus (and the only females) and everyone was very rude to us. The journey itself was 12 hours, on the most rubbish, pot holed road ever. As ever, the description 'luxury' was very subjective, and the word 'sleeper bus' was a big fib, there was no chance of sleeping on that bus! We arrived at our destination Hospet at 7am, very unrested and shaken, but excited about going to Hampi. We had heard so much about the place from others and ... read more

On a moonlit night in Hampi, rocks assume mysterious shapes, like clouds. They fly past the window as the bus winds out of the erstwhile Vijayanagara, the city of victory. An ancient sculptor might have wandered amid these gigantic shadows before Vijayanagara emperors raised their famed capital out of the limestone boulders. Hewn or not, these stones ignite imagination. A day is too short to explore the 26-square kilometre World Heritage Site. Earlier in the morning, I was besieged by guides with coloured maps as soon as the bus from Hospet stopped in the middle of the town. Natives of a medieval capital struggle to capitalise on past glory. Guides hunt for tourists while vendors sell coconut and flowers to pilgrims visiting the legendary temples. Temples are the only living monuments in Hampi. The Virupaksheswara temple ... read more

The night bus rides always seem to be a blur between states of consciousness. It is impossible to fall completely asleep because every 15 minutes your body is launched completely in the air from hitting a big bump. Amazingly though, the Indians on the bus sleep like they were in a comfortable bed. The early morning sun revealed an amazing landscape as we approached the small town called Hampi. Boulder ridden hills surrounded us in every direction. It was as if an earthquake rattled the mountains apart ages ago. The small village sat by the river and reminded us a lot of Mamallapuram. We found a small guest house in the alleyways close to the river's edge. The town had a very laid back atmosphere and we could tell that tourism was the soul source for ... read more

so I've finally made it to Hampi after spending 11 hours on a truly local bus. I was subjected to some local fruits and vegtables by a lady and her daughter after I agreed to switch seats with the girl so she could puke out the window. How to describe Hampi... this vast area once the empire of these princes in the 1400s. I guess its soon to be famous as its the backdrop for a Jackie Chan movie coming out in the next while? I'm travelling with a couple (she's australian, he's from India) who've graciously allowed me to tag along as their itinerary sounded good. I think the next stop is a city called Bangalore which isn't on the tourist circuit but home to some famous guru people flock to see (we're going for ... read more