I've put beaches on the back burner and headed inland. 9 hours on an overnight bus has brought me to the city of Hampi. It's a pretty surreal
landscape here, none like I've ever seen. I've been here for 3 nights
and from what I've gathered it's just one massive photo opportunity.
Everywhere I look I see things that should be framed or in some travel
magazine. Massive boulders in precarious positions, ancient 14th century
ruins, lush green rice paddy fields, slanted palm trees, it even has a
picturesque river flowing through the middle to top it all off.
Quite a busy place it is though. Every morning bus loads of tourists are brought from their hotels in Hospet on day trips to tour the ruins. But for the penny pinching travellers like myself there's Hampi Bazaar, which oddly enough is smack dab in the middle of everything you want to see. Dozens of jewelry shops, open air restaurants cooking cheap veg dishes, and family owned guesthouses are all scattered around the base of the Virupaksha Temple. But let's just say it's not the calmest place to laze away the 35 degree Celsius days. Cows, goats, rickshaws, beggars, sellers, dealers, and a blistering sun.....sensory overload whenever you step out of your room!
Meat and booze are pretty much banned here, and as pathetic as it sounds I do believe this is the longest I've gone with out at least one beer while on vacation. That being said I've never felt more energised. When I almost slept in for the Matanga Hill sunrise the other morning I immediately jumped out of bed and ran full steam to the base of the hill a kilometer away. I scrambled up the mountain and was greeted on the summit with about a dozen monkeys, one chai/hash seller, and the most brilliant sunrise I've ever laid my eyes on.
It's not hard to escape the crowds though, which I did the other day by hiring a bike to tour the more remote ruins. On my way back I rode past a group of school kids who then proceeded to point and laugh at me hysterically while yelling 'Hey Rambo!'. Two of them stopped me and demanded a lift back to the bazaar, perhaps curious if I could find out why they referred to me as 'Rambo' I agreed. The 20 minutes that followed drew laughs from every person we passed - a full grown man and 2 school kids on a fixed gear rusted out bicycle. Just one of those travel moments I won't forget anytime soon:)
Quite a busy place it is though. Every morning bus loads of tourists are brought from their hotels in Hospet on day trips to tour the ruins. But for the penny pinching travellers like myself there's Hampi Bazaar, which oddly enough is smack dab in the middle of everything you want to see. Dozens of jewelry shops, open air restaurants cooking cheap veg dishes, and family owned guesthouses are all scattered around the base of the Virupaksha Temple. But let's just say it's not the calmest place to laze away the 35 degree Celsius days. Cows, goats, rickshaws, beggars, sellers, dealers, and a blistering sun.....sensory overload whenever you step out of your room!
Meat and booze are pretty much banned here, and as pathetic as it sounds I do believe this is the longest I've gone with out at least one beer while on vacation. That being said I've never felt more energised. When I almost slept in for the Matanga Hill sunrise the other morning I immediately jumped out of bed and ran full steam to the base of the hill a kilometer away. I scrambled up the mountain and was greeted on the summit with about a dozen monkeys, one chai/hash seller, and the most brilliant sunrise I've ever laid my eyes on.
It's not hard to escape the crowds though, which I did the other day by hiring a bike to tour the more remote ruins. On my way back I rode past a group of school kids who then proceeded to point and laugh at me hysterically while yelling 'Hey Rambo!'. Two of them stopped me and demanded a lift back to the bazaar, perhaps curious if I could find out why they referred to me as 'Rambo' I agreed. The 20 minutes that followed drew laughs from every person we passed - a full grown man and 2 school kids on a fixed gear rusted out bicycle. Just one of those travel moments I won't forget anytime soon:)
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