27-28th Dec
The bus left Mysore at 8pm. It was 9 hours of the most horribly solid bus seat i'd sat on in a while. Luckily i had a seat at the front which allowed me to stretch my legs out. There were too many people on the bus and people standing for a lot of the way too. Two other western travelers a couple from London were on board also, we shared eachothers pain. On arrival in Hospet (the neighboring train station) we talked a bit waiting for the first bus at 6.30am and ended up finding accomodation together, discovering a very quaint small 3 room homestay in the heart of Hampi bazaar. The rate @ 500rp was steep for the place, but it felt right and i was very tired so i accepted. The owners ended up being a beautiful family and I would definitely stay there again given the chance.
Walking out into the small town to look around, I immediately bumped into my two German and Austrian friends from Mysore - Marco and Manuel. Asked them if they wanted to share the room and my costs instantly went down to 200rp.
Laura, the guys and myself decided to get some breakfast and check out some of the town with a slow amble towards the Lonely Planet acclaimed Mango Tree Restaurant, perched on the side of the river dividing Hampi and provided exceptional views of the surrounding landscape. Hampi is really one of a kind. A surreal rocky terrain that extends as far as the eye can see, with giant boulders precariously balanced about the place looking like someone has been throwing them around. Scattered throughout this landscape are a multitude of ancient temple ruins to explore all within relatively short distances from the central Hampi Bazzar where we were staying.
On the walk out to Mango Tree I met Fanny, a girl from Sweden who had also just arrived in Hampi solo. She had already eaten but we made intentions to meet again. Mango Tree was fantastic with top notch views of the river and surrounds. Ending up being one of those great places you just go back to way too often, so much that you miss out trying many new things but still have no regrets. Lunch at Mango Tree later that day, Fanny and I decided to tour the town on hired bicycles the following day.
29th Dec
For 30rp we hired a couple of bikes and started off for some temples. Originally we were going to join a bike tour that started at 3pm but decided to go it alone. Probably should've started earlier as we didnt get to visit too many that afternoon but it didnt matter. I'd resolved to chill out in Hampi until after the new year so there was no hurry for anything. The temples were all dedicated to God's various forms and were really impressive, i've never seen such ancient creations and the detail that went into their design and the effort that must've been involved in carving such intricate work into stone was really mind blowing.
I had a train ticket to Goa leaving on the 2nd, but I didnt want to go to Goa.. I wanted to go to the more relaxed Gokarna, which i intended to take a bus or train down from Margao. Talking to the helpful travel agent at the internet cafe, I decided to book a ticket on a sleeper bus directly to Gokarna leaving on the 1st, and cancel my ticket to Margao(Goa). saving a day and not having to uselessly detour via Goa.
30th Dec
Hampi has a town elephant - Laksmi, who gets bathed at 7.30am each morning down at the river ghats. Fanny joined me and headed down there where a small crowd gathered in anticipation. It really was a beautiful scene, the waddling elephant slowly made her way down and crashed on her side in a gloriously slow dramatic fashion into the river. People joined in taking turns in the 90 minute massage/bathing session, while Laksmi laid back and enjoyed the attention. We joined in the scrubbing. Elephant skin is cool.
Fanny had a paid tour starting in Delhi on the 11th Jan, and was meant to commence a hectic itinerary on the 30th to get there stopping in a bunch of places on the way, including Goa for new years. Upon hearing my plan to chill in a hut on a beach for a week in Gokarna, she had a change of heart and rearranged plans to stay in Hampi until the 1st and come with me to paradise, booking the train from Goa straight to Delhi on the 8th (the only catch being that 40hr direct train!), Conveniently, the bus I was taking to Gokarna still had spots.
31st Dec - New Years Eve
Hired a scooter with Fanny for the day to continue exploring Hampi's ruins. The bicycles previously hired were nice but this was way more fun, and less labour intensive. So we cruised around and visited a whole lot more of the ruins including some of the more famous Vitali temple etc, then crossed over the river. This was a real experience. the 'boat' to cross the river consisted of a big handwoven basket with tar smeared on the bottom. Gently loading this basket with 2 motorbikes and about 7 people, it was slowly paddled to the other side. Hampi Bazzar is a religious centre, as such there is no alcohol allowed. This other side of the river is a bit more relaxed and on the occasion of new years eve it seemed appropriate to find somewhere to stay on this side for the night. New years eve this year was a very subdued affair compared to normal, but thoroughly enjoyed. Dinner at a chilled out cafe with a few beers, the meal took about 2 hours to serve, as the local police had decided to dine there and insisted on instant and full services or they'd shut the restaurant down for no reason.. So the entire staff dedicated themselves to the police while drinking and chatting with the people around us. After dinner, we followed our ears to a drum circle bonfire, and joined in the festivities, playing guitar and djembe's for a few hours in the light of the perfectly full (blue) moon and clear night.
Hampi is one of the most comfortable, slow, relaxing places i've ever visited. You couldnt rush if you tried, something about the town, the scenery and the people combined give a vibe that is unbeleivably addictive and easy to fall in resonance with. After one hour i found myself moving at a pace far slower than normal, and all anxiety (especially from the 9hr bus ride there) melting away. You could easily watch days turn into weeks in such a place but alas the schedule calls and moving on simply must happen. Luckily the next destination Gokarna is so chilled out it makes Hampi look like a vibrant hive of activity.
On the 1st at 5pm, Fanny and I boarded the "Delux AC Sleeper Bus with Air Suspension so you feel no bumps" bound 9 hours to Gokarna which resulted in 14 hours on the road, an overturned truck spilling it's load of giant steel columns blocking the road and multiple slammings of my head against the roof as we bounced around the back of the bus like pingpong balls driving along the potholed pathetic excuse for roads they have throughout Karnataka.
The bus left Mysore at 8pm. It was 9 hours of the most horribly solid bus seat i'd sat on in a while. Luckily i had a seat at the front which allowed me to stretch my legs out. There were too many people on the bus and people standing for a lot of the way too. Two other western travelers a couple from London were on board also, we shared eachothers pain. On arrival in Hospet (the neighboring train station) we talked a bit waiting for the first bus at 6.30am and ended up finding accomodation together, discovering a very quaint small 3 room homestay in the heart of Hampi bazaar. The rate @ 500rp was steep for the place, but it felt right and i was very tired so i accepted. The owners ended up being a beautiful family and I would definitely stay there again given the chance.
Walking out into the small town to look around, I immediately bumped into my two German and Austrian friends from Mysore - Marco and Manuel. Asked them if they wanted to share the room and my costs instantly went down to 200rp.
Laura, the guys and myself decided to get some breakfast and check out some of the town with a slow amble towards the Lonely Planet acclaimed Mango Tree Restaurant, perched on the side of the river dividing Hampi and provided exceptional views of the surrounding landscape. Hampi is really one of a kind. A surreal rocky terrain that extends as far as the eye can see, with giant boulders precariously balanced about the place looking like someone has been throwing them around. Scattered throughout this landscape are a multitude of ancient temple ruins to explore all within relatively short distances from the central Hampi Bazzar where we were staying.
On the walk out to Mango Tree I met Fanny, a girl from Sweden who had also just arrived in Hampi solo. She had already eaten but we made intentions to meet again. Mango Tree was fantastic with top notch views of the river and surrounds. Ending up being one of those great places you just go back to way too often, so much that you miss out trying many new things but still have no regrets. Lunch at Mango Tree later that day, Fanny and I decided to tour the town on hired bicycles the following day.
29th Dec
For 30rp we hired a couple of bikes and started off for some temples. Originally we were going to join a bike tour that started at 3pm but decided to go it alone. Probably should've started earlier as we didnt get to visit too many that afternoon but it didnt matter. I'd resolved to chill out in Hampi until after the new year so there was no hurry for anything. The temples were all dedicated to God's various forms and were really impressive, i've never seen such ancient creations and the detail that went into their design and the effort that must've been involved in carving such intricate work into stone was really mind blowing.
I had a train ticket to Goa leaving on the 2nd, but I didnt want to go to Goa.. I wanted to go to the more relaxed Gokarna, which i intended to take a bus or train down from Margao. Talking to the helpful travel agent at the internet cafe, I decided to book a ticket on a sleeper bus directly to Gokarna leaving on the 1st, and cancel my ticket to Margao(Goa). saving a day and not having to uselessly detour via Goa.
30th Dec
Hampi has a town elephant - Laksmi, who gets bathed at 7.30am each morning down at the river ghats. Fanny joined me and headed down there where a small crowd gathered in anticipation. It really was a beautiful scene, the waddling elephant slowly made her way down and crashed on her side in a gloriously slow dramatic fashion into the river. People joined in taking turns in the 90 minute massage/bathing session, while Laksmi laid back and enjoyed the attention. We joined in the scrubbing. Elephant skin is cool.
Fanny had a paid tour starting in Delhi on the 11th Jan, and was meant to commence a hectic itinerary on the 30th to get there stopping in a bunch of places on the way, including Goa for new years. Upon hearing my plan to chill in a hut on a beach for a week in Gokarna, she had a change of heart and rearranged plans to stay in Hampi until the 1st and come with me to paradise, booking the train from Goa straight to Delhi on the 8th (the only catch being that 40hr direct train!), Conveniently, the bus I was taking to Gokarna still had spots.
31st Dec - New Years Eve
Hired a scooter with Fanny for the day to continue exploring Hampi's ruins. The bicycles previously hired were nice but this was way more fun, and less labour intensive. So we cruised around and visited a whole lot more of the ruins including some of the more famous Vitali temple etc, then crossed over the river. This was a real experience. the 'boat' to cross the river consisted of a big handwoven basket with tar smeared on the bottom. Gently loading this basket with 2 motorbikes and about 7 people, it was slowly paddled to the other side. Hampi Bazzar is a religious centre, as such there is no alcohol allowed. This other side of the river is a bit more relaxed and on the occasion of new years eve it seemed appropriate to find somewhere to stay on this side for the night. New years eve this year was a very subdued affair compared to normal, but thoroughly enjoyed. Dinner at a chilled out cafe with a few beers, the meal took about 2 hours to serve, as the local police had decided to dine there and insisted on instant and full services or they'd shut the restaurant down for no reason.. So the entire staff dedicated themselves to the police while drinking and chatting with the people around us. After dinner, we followed our ears to a drum circle bonfire, and joined in the festivities, playing guitar and djembe's for a few hours in the light of the perfectly full (blue) moon and clear night.
Hampi is one of the most comfortable, slow, relaxing places i've ever visited. You couldnt rush if you tried, something about the town, the scenery and the people combined give a vibe that is unbeleivably addictive and easy to fall in resonance with. After one hour i found myself moving at a pace far slower than normal, and all anxiety (especially from the 9hr bus ride there) melting away. You could easily watch days turn into weeks in such a place but alas the schedule calls and moving on simply must happen. Luckily the next destination Gokarna is so chilled out it makes Hampi look like a vibrant hive of activity.
On the 1st at 5pm, Fanny and I boarded the "Delux AC Sleeper Bus with Air Suspension so you feel no bumps" bound 9 hours to Gokarna which resulted in 14 hours on the road, an overturned truck spilling it's load of giant steel columns blocking the road and multiple slammings of my head against the roof as we bounced around the back of the bus like pingpong balls driving along the potholed pathetic excuse for roads they have throughout Karnataka.
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