Blogs from Hampi, Karnataka, India, Asia - page 6

Anna and I spent one last night in Goa in the city on Panjim, a former Portuguese colony that is now an amalgam of Indian culture and Portuguese influence; Panjim feels very different from other Indian cities with it's cobblestone alleys, Baroque-style architecture and ornate Catholic cathedrals. Walking the streets was almost a nostalgic experience that reminded me of the romantic charm of Buenos Aires. The street food is also a blend of Portuguese products (more meat than I usually see) and Indian spices, we indulged in a strange dish of lentil stew, cabbage, topped with deep-fried bread, and then topped with corn and spices...good! Also lots of bakeries with beautiful baked-goods (see photo) so it's probably a good thing we only had one day here! It was nice to visit Panjim but I didn't mind ... read more

It was an early December evening and I was waiting at the Tirupati station with my usual backpack and camera. Yes, I was on the way to Hampi from Chennai. Tirupati station is a melting pot for all the tourists and pilgrimages. Earlier, I took a train from Chennai to Tirupati as I knew that there wouldn’t be any train to reach Hospet from Chennai. I had options aplenty however decided to take the shortest but comfortable way by travelling in trains. Haripriya express from Tirupati departs at 8pm so I had it known that I had to wait in TIrupati for some hours. I placed myself in a corner of the waiting hall and was gaping at the crowd. Finally, my turn came up and I slowly walked past the busy ever crowded waiting hall ... read more

If the roads weren’t so crap the sleeper bus would be the way to travel. It was cheaper and more private than the 2AC class train, the double bed very comfortable, it’s just a shame that every now and then you would be woken as you were temporary suspended in midair as the driver hit a bump, pothole, or possibly a fealess tuk tuk that had no lights working, which there are many. With little sleep, we arrived into Hospet at 7am and were straight onto a tuk-tuk for a 10km journey to Hampi and straight into Venu Guesthouse. It’s the low season at the moment so accommodation was easy picking, as usual . A small rest and we were off to explore Hampi, I picked up a tourist map and commentary of Hampi from one ... read more

Geography has always excited me, but this time I decided to take the historical route. The best place to plunge yourself into a historical study is the ruined Vijayanagara empire at Hampi. I took an overnight bus journey to Hospet, the nearest town from Hampi. The climate was quite hot and dry for most part of the day. For long, Hampi has been considered as a hippie's hangout with a huge number of them heading there from Goa ( a hippie's PARADISE). This world heritage centre has a lot of historical importance as it showcases the beautiful ruins of the 16th century Vijayanagara empire, situated on the banks of Tungabhadra river. I hired a qualified guide who explained the historical relevences of each and every sculpture and carving. Without him, I would have ended up staring ... read more

Unfortunately we have moved on from Hampi( I am writing from Mahabalipuram), But it really was the most brilliant place you could imagine. Divided in two by a sacred river where people bathed and washed their clothes, On one side was an thriving Bazaar and immense temple and palace complex which had been ransacked by the Arabs four hundred years past and on the other was really a chilled out small settlement where the majority of the travelers stayed. The only way between the two was a tiny little boat with a wee put-put engine, which wouldn't set sail until it was ridiculously overcrowded with both people and goods. However dangerous it looked i never seen any problems and the drivers were exeptionaly skillful in dealing with the rising water levels which hid massive boulders just ... read more