Blogs from Karnataka, India, Asia - page 17

Mysore overall is a very pleasant city – wide avenues, fine municipal buildings, though of course very much an Indian city. On our last full day here we went early to the Ranganathittu bird reserve near to Sriringapatna on the Cauvery river. We paid for a trip in a boat with other people, declining a private boat for INR2000. Suddenly the price came down to INR1000 (£10) at which price we said yes. Surprisingly we were not offered a receipt, I wonder if the two rangers declared our payment to their boss? The reserve comprises a number of small islands in the river. It is a beautiful serene place, with very few people if you arrive early. But peaceful it is not – instead the air is full of the sounds of thousands of birds cooing, ... read more

We went back to the palace this evening to see it lit up. What an amazing sight - thousands of lights strung all over the place all shining brightly. turning it into a version of Cinderella's castle.... read more

A gentle day today, probably just as well as we were both exhausted after two days of route marching in the midday sun around Hampi. A 9am start proved to be just as well after it took 45 minutes for breakfast to arrive. Who’d think scrambled egg and toast was such a complicated order? Belur and Halebid are about an hour’s drive away (no hotels recommended anywhere nearer). Both have 11th and 12th century temples, amongst the greatest in India, built by the Hoysala kings, with an extraordinary quantity of exquisite sculpture. Bangles on a dancer’s wrist that move, despite all being carved out of a single piece of stone, 64 elephants marching in a ground level frieze, every one different to the next, dancing girls, gods, demons, mythical beasts, pillars covered with carvings – the ... read more

It is difficult to convey the scale of Hampi. A city of 500,000 people, one of the great trading centres of the world in the 15 and 16th centuries, visited by merchants from England, Europe, the middle East and China. Devastated, pillaged and destroyed by vengeful Muslims from the Deccani sultanates after Talikota in 1565 (as the guide kept telling us ad nauseam), and then abandoned and overgrown by the jungle until discovered by an intrepid Englishman on his horse in the 19th century. And now a World Heritage Site, little known outside India. Massively long and wide colonnaded market avenues lead up to temple complexes of the 14th to 16th centuries. The temples were also social centres, so you find a dining and dormitory building, a consultation hall, a music and dancing hall and an ... read more

Strange things happen.... as we sit in the lobby/dining room of our hotel (only place with wi-fi) under the cooling breeze of a fan, a small white rabbit has just ambled past. And left, presumably not wishing to be spotted by the cooks. Badami is famous for its rock temples, hewn and carved out of massive sandstone cliffs. For once, we don’t need the sensible hats that cause so much derision, as the temples are in shade first thing in the morning. Today we have a guide, recommended to us by our guide at Hyderabad and charging a modest £9 for three hours. There’s no doubt you see and appreciate a lot more with guide, even though yesterday we were so hot we just wanted to keep going and would not have paid attention to explanations ... read more