Mosquitoes galore
Trip Start
Mar 10, 2007
1
125
153
Trip End
Jan 01, 2007
Hampi,
India
Thursday, February 14, 2008
First thing next morning me and Loda went to check out the Virupapur Gadde, the area on the other side of the river. There is a 15 Rupees fee for the boat crossing to the other side (or 10 Rupees with no bags) which is handy for when you have your packs, but for those regularly making the crossing there is an easy crossing point a little way down from here to the right, which anyone can handle provided your prepared to roll up your trousers (though in India in the heat, your probably not wearing trousers!). For the budget conscience like me, this takes away the annoyance of having to pay every time you want to go back to your room
Ruined stone bridge
. Also note that the accommodation on this side of the river is much more laid back (if thats possible), generally quieter as its further from festival activities occurring round the main temple and is also more comfortable and much better value for money (the cheapest rooms in Hampi are also on this side!) See, not all the information i provide is boring!After moving room, the monkey temple was our first point of call. Whilst the temple is unimpressive in terms of its architecture, the location provides fantastic views of the surroundings and would be a nice sunrise/sunset viewing point, which would make the mammoth set of steps leading up to it more enjoyable no doubt! After visiting here we decided to try to cut to the Vitthala temple by a route which led us through banana fields, peoples houses and random plots of land before we encountered the river crossing. An Indian man nearby told us that the river wasn't crossable at this point and we would have to go back and take the boat, but me and Loda thought to ourselves 'yeah right, of course it is, just like the guest house we want is closed or the train has left or there is no bus' like everyone always says in this country, so we politely acknowledged him and carried on along the same path.
After crossing what we presumed he had classified as the uncrossable parts of the river with little difficulty we began to get cocky, commenting amongst ourselves ' they always tell you its not possible!' etc
View
. Oh how we tempted fate, and fate didn't like it one bit, for we were soon presented with a much more formidable challenge; a fast flowing, deep stretch of water.I had a decent (take decent to mean long and fruitless) attempt at crossing it bag-less, before we had to admit defeat and accept we simply weren't going to get across with all our stuff intact. The fact that there were locals crossing there who couldn't do it without submerging up to neck height and still being swept off their feet several times by the current confirmed this. Luckily a fishing boat was nearby and the cocky little boy agreed he'd take us across (after we paid him of course!)
Decided we'd not go into the Vittala temple today, as the ticket is only valid one day and we would have time to see the Lotus Mahal as well, which is included in the ticket price, so made our way back along the scenic riverside path, taking in the many temples on the way. Of those we saw, i was most impressed by the Tiruvengalantha temple.
After a cheap meal we returned to the guest house for the typical traveler's evening of movies in the guest house restaurant!
So what do i think of Hampi? Its very much a 'travelers place' and this is visible as soon as one arrives due to the sheer number of restaurants offering English menu, backpacker staples and signs more suited to a goan beach
Scenery
. That being said, it is also a very beautiful place, the rocky, desert like landscape unlike anywhere else in India. This being Interspersed with the remains of the Vijayanagar empire (an empire that ruled southern India from 1336- 1565AD) makes it an attractive place for all. As a direct result of this, it is also a pilgrimage spot for many Indians and therefore there is a comfortable relationship between domestic and foreign visitors here. The atmosphere here is one i found far more enjoyable than most places so touristy, Everyone seemingly bearing no grudge to anyone else's presence here, whatever their reason for being so, and i found it one of the few places i felt i could settle and relax for a while. (Note though, Hampi is firmly on the 'backpacker route', i.e many a traveler will be seen here spending the vast majority of their day asleep or smoking drugs of some kind in their guest house, which is fine if thats what your here to do, but personally is not my 'cup of tea'(god I'm so English!)). Oh yeah, the mosquitoes are terrible here.next day i proceeded with a thorough sessioning of the temples, finding a little 3 walled enclosure which had previously been home to a drinking session of some sort i presumed, judging by the presence of empty bottles. Here i decided, after a little cleanup, would be an excellent spot for my meditation and a nice break from templing. Templing resumed after this, the Ganesh statues most impressing me, mainly because such statues are less common to me but probably like most foreigners in India, i have a bit of a soft spot for the elephant headed God (like a big Dumbo isn't he?)
Nice house we found
.The Lotus mahal was not worth waiting for at all, i felt it was simply a plain 2 storey structure, though the Vittala temple is quite impressive, i wouldn't say t justifies its entrance fee (though bear in mind i am rather sick of temples now, why I'm still visiting more i don't know).
Feeling rather poorly and suffering a lack of energy due to the decrease in quality of my food intake since i left the Vipassana centre (i want some fresh vegetables!) i struggled up the hill near the Vittala temple with 2 Indian guys, who annoyingly kept shouting to other foreigners to come up and talk to them, before returning to the guest house and eating too much food (ah, the comfort of food, where would i be without it).
I felt i had seen enough of the temples in town that day, so the next day was a lazy one, before me and Loda were off to Badami.
