Hotel Southern Star Hassan

... way from B’lore) bathing there. The railway track was clearly traversing an upward slope (Yedakumari is much higher than Sakleshpur), and as we went along, the nature became increasingly wilder, with no signs of habitation whatsoever, and thick lush green forests covering the grand slopes of the Western Ghats. Sometimes, we could spot the highway at a distance (mostly 4-5 kms from the track), but there were no paths leading to it, as it was the forested mountainous terrain ...

... Yet, we were the ones who had the liberty to pick and choose among the cottages. After a peaceful dinner, we all went back to our cottages to catch up with some sleep. Saturday, 6.35 AM- I wake up without any wakeup call and start wandering around. Surprisingly, my sleepy-headed brother is also wandering around the cottages. How did we wakeup without any alarm on a holiday, when we cant do so on a ...

... and the naked statue of Gomateshvara (Bahubali) and the Jain temples at Sravanabelagola.

The Hindu temples at Halebid and Belur, dating from the Hoysala period in the 12th century, are truly stunning with their intricate carvings and their positioning on star shaped platforms. We arrived at Halebid early in the morning yesterday before any crowds showed up and the setting was quite peaceful. We ...

It is found that a part needs to be imported, so a couple of local buses are arranged to take us on while Dan the co-driver stays with the truck. When the issue is rectified he will catch us up. The local buses are not as comfortable, but somewhat faster then the Drago truck especially with local drivers. The plan was to drive straight through for 9+ hours and basically catch up to where we aught to have been. An Englishman did not like that we were ...

... are said to be in a dilapidated state. The temple complex comprises two Hindu temples, the Hoysaleshawara and Kedareshwara temples and two Jain basadi. In front of these temples there is a big lake. The town gets its name the from the lake, Dhwara samudhra which means entrance from ocean. The two nandi bull statues which are on the side of the Hoysaleshwara temple are monolithic. soap stone or Chloritic ...

... musicians, instrumentalists, and rows of animals such as lions and elephants (where no two animals are identical). Perhaps no other temple in the country depicts the Ramayana and Mahabharata epics more effectively than the Hoysaleshwara temple at Halebidu ...

... at 135rps (about £1.50) and this seemed to be the only option available. Shravanabelagola is an important pilgrimage place for Jains (an offshoot of Hinduism) who are mostly based in North India. Here in South India a 17.5 metre statue of Gommatheswara, sacred to Jains, was erected in AD980 which represents the saintly prince Bahubali. I walked up the 614 rock steps cut out of a steep granite slope with fabulous views of the village tank. Thank goodness I wore socks ...

... Hassan was my base for visiting the nearby tourist towns of Halebid, Belur and SravanBelagola, my first stop for the following day. It is here that there is a 17m high statue of the Jain god Gommateshwara, making it a noteworthy stop on any Jain pilgrims tour of India (or for anybody else interested in seeing a giant stone penis!) I was informed by a guy on the bus that there are actually still people who live and follow the ...

... we looked uncomfortable (and we did a bit), and let us know that he was "a very holy man". Ohh, and the school kids all decided to walk down past this man too. To this day, I don't think I will ever forget that. Can't remeber if we went to Belur or Halebid (will update later) to see a nice temple. Late afternoon is prime time at these places, and it was a special experience. Next stop Hampi, update you soon.

... but so relaxing. Yesterday we went on a hike - yes, it's true. We got on a bus at 7am and got back at 6:30 pm. We were exhausted! The hike was really interesting: past rice fields, coffee plantations, through forest, up a hill. Our guide was great, he could explain a lot of things. Unfortunately there were a lot of leeches to torture us. The 2 days before we rented a car (with driver) which brought us to faraway temples. One of the ...