Hampi

We arrived at Hospit station really early in the morning and as we were just outside the front door all still totally sleepy these rickshaw drivers started to surround us, they actually made an inpenetrable circle around us 2 or 3 layers of the rickshaws, roaring away their engines trying to compete for us! We couldnt move! It was so funny though we were just so sleepy and incoherant it didnt bother us in the slightest! Eventually we were on our way to Hampi. There was noticeabley more animals running about here not just cows and dogs but chickens and hairy pigs! It was a bit of journey to get to the place we were staying but sooo worth it! Through hampi central, accross the river in a little boat where people were bathing and the women washing their sari's, up a hill and passed rice fields was this little oasis.

Totally worth the long journey... my room...

We had breakfast, a little more sleep then went exploring.

Hampi is FULL of temples. We rented rickshaws and spent the whole day going around temples.

Most are in complete ruins, so had more bits intact to others and just one we visited was still an active temple. This one here is of Gnesha the elephant god.

i dunno if i'd worship this one...reminds me of the cookie monster from sesame street

Some of the temples carvings were still in perfect condition.

a hard life.....



c'est moi!


That night was a relaxing one we had been moving very fast through south india so we chilled out at the place we were staying, sitting and chatting on the mattresses, swatting the aggressive mosquitos and eventually fell asleep on the hammock!

The following day i just read a book and tried to get some sort of plan together of where i would be going after i leave this group in a few days! I did make a plan...but i have to say im writing this blog almost 4 weeks after being in Hampi and well plans are just plans...today has been strange one! Anyway back to Hampi!

After a totally relaxing day a few of us climbed up to a temple on the top of a mountain to see the view and the sunset. This is nicknamed Monkey temple and yes its full of cheeky little monkeys with scarily human-like faces! The view was just something else! I never had such a view before, no civilisation just rice fields, lush green trees, a river and the mountains. Although Hampi has mountains, they are made from bundles of boulders not just one big lump of land it looks so strange, just like some giant stones that have been swept into bundles. Aparently it was all underwater at one stage so these are from the bottom of the sea.

There were plenty of people up there singing with a guitar,drinking, getting their food robbed by the monkeys etc and as the sun was setting i was just thinking yes i am quite far from home now...

The indian spelling is worse than mine! This is a sign at the monkey temple

It was a 4am start the next morning to catch the train to Goa i think i went to bed about 1am and in the end our train was delayed a few hours! But we did get to catch an excellant sunrise. Next stop Goa!