Hampi 28th – 30th July

At the 28th of July we went to Hampi from where the south of India and Sri Lanka were ruled centuries ago. Strictly spoken, Hampi was the capital of one of India biggest empire. But now, there are only ruins left. This time we took the train to Hospet which is close to Hampi. At the Majestic Western Railway Station of Bangalore we entered the train. In order to get on the platform we had to cross the railways and even a train standing on the precedent platform. In Germany that would be unimaginable but in India nobody bothered about that fact. We had booked “sleeper” what meant that we had very simple furnished seats which could be used as a bed as well. Of course, it was no separated part in the train we had. Everybody could edge his way through the narrow passages. And there was no bed sheet distributed, of course. The train was delayed but that´s nothing unusual in India. They are always late. It was the 10.40pm when we left Bangalore with destination Hospet. From now on, it would take about 8 hours to go to Hospet which is only about 500km far away from Bangalore. So you have an imagination about the speed of the train. Due to the fact that it was already very late and I worked the whole day I tried to fall asleep at once. But unfortunately my bed was a little bit too small and the other passengers, in particular the Indians were snoring the whole night. It sounded like a hippopotamus when it is hunt. Hence, I just slept some hours during the journey. I woke up in the dawn and enjoyed the view out of train. The doors of the train are easily to open and it is ok, so I did it and also did some train surfing. The landscape is really great, .all around the railways palm trees fringed the railway.
As we finally arrived in Hospet this fucking bargaining with the rickshaw drivers started again. You can not avoid. But in the meanwhile I don’t bother any more. For me it has become a game in a certain way. You ask for the price, they say an unrealistic price and the party starts. There are so many, so you can be sure that one of those will take you, no problem At the ending then we paid 90 Rupees from Hospet to Hampi which was in my opinion really a good price. In Hampi we stayed in Shanthi Guest House which is quite a traditional and peaceful accommodation. I shared the room with Felix, another German. We had shared toilets and showers for the whole guests of the house. Before we went out for sightseeing, we had a breakfast at the Mango tree, a quite nice restaurant, located near the Tungabhadra River. From there we had a beautiful view over the landscape of Hampi while we were having our breakfast. In addition to that there is a swing hanging down from a huge mango tree.
Of course, all of us used it. The dishes, by the way are served on a banana leaf, really great. And to go to the Mango tree you have to go through a banana plantation. After our breakfast first we visited Queen’s bath where they have taken their baths in former times. It must have been fun to them swimming in the bath at that time, I can imagine. After that, we went to the impressive Vittala Temple. It is definitely the highlight of the Hampi ruins. It has become a World Heritage and purists are gasping to maintain it and protect it of collapsing. The pillars of Vittala Temple make a nice sound once you hit them, incredible. In the middle of the expanse of the Vittala Temple there is an ornate stone chariot. Its wheels were capable of turning in former days. Our last temple for today was not really a temple, though there are quite a lot in Hampi. But due to its appearance the Elephant stable looks like one. Here the state elephants resided. On the courtyard there is also the Lotus Mahal, a pavilion which was built of a great synthesis of Hindu and Islamic styles. In the late afternoon we then visited the Virupaksha Temple in the main city. There I met Lakshmi again, the adorable temple elephant who I got to know in the morning already. She is really a beautiful animal and was decorated with flowers and paintings on her forehead. Once you give one Rupee to her attendant she blesses you by touching your forehead with her trunk. Our first day in Hampi then finished with a dinner at Mango tree Restaurant
The second day then we went to the Hanuman Temple, also known as Monkey Temple, coz there are a lot of cheeky monkeys fringing the way upstairs to the temple which located on the summit of a hill. From above we enjoyed the view over Hampi, quite striking. It was really exhausting to soar up, in particular .coz it was so hot at that day. On our way to the hill we crossed some rice fields which were fringed by palm trees. It was very impressive to see how they cultivate rice by submerging the fields. To do that they use a quite interesting drain system, so that every field can be submerged, no matter were it is located. To go the Hanuman Temple, first we had to cross the Tungabhadra River. We did that by using two little boats which looked like big nutshells. It was a kind of little adventure when we had problems to get back and had to get out of this nutshell in the middle of the river. As I have read in the Lonely Planet recently you have to pay 20 Rupees to cross the river. Guess what each of us paid – 150 Rupees! We should have read the Lonely Planet prior to our trip to Hampi, then we would have saved a lot of money. I am sure, the guys went home and celebrated for the next 5 few days after having done their job. But I don’t bother about it. The Indian nationals have certainly a much more difficult life than we have and hence, we did a kind of welfare. When we went back to our accommodation we watched some more temples but they were not as interesting as the ones we had already visited. Due to the fact that I had some money left I bought a nice casual Indian pant. After our dinner then we took the rickshaw back to Hospet where we then took the train to Bangalore. When we arrived in Bangalore, it was already 6.30am. But fortunately this time I could sleep quite good coz my bed this time was much longer than on the way to Hampi two days before. At Robertson House I took then a shower and went to work. So, that was the week-end in Hampi. I can only recommend you to go there, when you are in India once, it is really a nice place. But avoid to be cheated by the rickshaw drivers and the guys at the river ;-)