Hampi: February 2015
When we woke up, we were in Hospet. Half of the bus unloaded, and the rest of us stayed on for the last 15 minutes to Hampi.
Hampi
When we arrived the tuk-tuk drivers swarmed the bus. So much so, that I had to yell at them (politely of course) to move out of the way, so the little girl in front of me could step down. Javier had stepped off first, so by the time I arrived, he had our stuff and a driver set up. We loaded our things and wound our way through the tiny village to our guesthouse. The first thing we noticed when arriving was the huge Krishna temple. It was such a sight to see. I had never seen anything like it.
Katia and Jackie at the Monkey Temple ( Hanuman Temple )
After we were settled in our room, we were told we could have breakfast, but it was in the guesthouse across the street. The tiny place was crowded, so they sat us at a table with a woman. While we had breakfast, we started talking to her, and by the end of breakfast, Javier, Katia and I had decided that we would take the day tour together. We arranged a tuk-tuk driver and a guide. Neither Katia nor I enjoy bargaining, so we left it to Javier. He did a good job, and negotiated a good rate for us.
Shiva Linga
In it’s prime (15th century), Hampi was the second largest city in the world, second only to Peking (Beijing). It was originally a Hindu city, but many of the outdoor markets and temples were partially or completely destroyed during the muslim invasion. We spent the entire day visiting temples. Our guide was very thorough in explaining the significance of the temples, sculptures, and decoration. He took us to a rather large Shiva Linga that was not destroyed by the muslims because there is a sacred Shiva Linga in Mecca- although, I don’t know what the muslims call it, or believe it to be.
Elephant stables.
We saw elephant stables that have a mix of Jian, Buddhist, Hindu, and Muslim architecture. Our guide told us that Hampi was a very diverse place, and equal respect was given to all groups of people. He also told us that once a temple has been destroyed, it loses all of its spirituality will not be rebuilt, and is left in ruins.
One of the many highlights of Hampi was the Vital Temple. On the grounds is one of three stone chariots in India. It is extremely detailed and acted as a shrine for the god, Vishnu. This and the musical pillars made this temple very special. There are seven smaller pillars surrounding the large weight-bearing pillars around the temple, all made of stone.
Our guide demonstrating the sounds
These small pillars produce a sound when percussed. Each pillar produces a different sound, and during times of use, there were musicians placed all over who would “play” the pillars. This may have been my favorite part of the day.
We ended our tour at the Virupaksha Temple. The temple itself is stunning and the most imposing structure in Hampi. Inside, they have an elephant called Lakshmi. Lakshmi is sacred and stands around all day receiving visitors.
Virupaksha Temple
While we were there, a British man who is very familiar with Lakshmi arrived with a large bundle of bananas. He was passing them out to the children to feed her. We were told that Laxmi will bless you for a small fee. Basically, you give her 10 rupees, which she obediently takes with her trunk, gives the money to her handler, and places her trunk on your head. It’s cute, but I still feel sad for Lakshmi. We were told that Lakshmi takes a bath every morning at the river, so we decided to try and catch her the following morning.
Hampi and the monkeys.
We walked around the temple, dodged the mischievous monkeys, and saw the Shiva shrine. Afterward, we walked uphill to watch the sunset.
A controversial, and in my opinion, sad result of preserving Hampi was that many families have recently been evicted from their homes surrounding the Virupaksha temple in order to “preserve history.” Hampi was named a UNESCO world heritage site about 30 years ago. Once the tourists started coming, people saw it as a way to make money. So, for decades, many families have lived close to, and inhabited many of the ancient market stalls that lead to the temple.
Vijaya Vittala Temple in Hampi
There were shops, restaurants, and homes. Three years ago, the government came in and relocated everyone who lived in this area. They were moved to a plot of land 4km from the center. For most people, tourism was their livelihood, and now they have to find another way to survive. Even our guide said he grew up next to the temple. His family was moved and their livelihood lost as well. All this in the name of “preservation.” And we’re not talking about some beautiful temple in danger of degradation, we’re talking about the area outside of the temple that now lies barren thanks to the bulldozing of their homes. Basically, they want the city to look the way it did in medieval times, unfortunately the price seems a little too high to me.
Hindu ritual. Hampi
The next morning, the three of us walked to the river to catch a glimpse of Lakshmi. There were tons of people bathing in the river. Many Hindus make a pilgrimage to Hampi. They bathe in the river in the morning before going to the temple. It was quite a spectacle to watch. They also wash their clothes and dry them on the grass turning the area into a sea of colors thanks to the women’s saris spread out over the ground. I had no idea those saris were so long! We waited for Lakshmi for hours. We asked around, and were told, she’s coming at 8:30…then, she’s coming at 9, then…she’s coming at 10. We were hungry. After waiting for a couple hours, we gave up and went to have breakfast. From the rooftop of our breakfast, I could see them walking Lakshmi back to the temple. We just missed her.
View from the Monkey Temple ( Hanuman Temple )
We had heard of a couple temples across the river, so the three of us jumped on the ferry and crossed. Once on the other side, we saw many people renting motorcycles and bicycles. Katia was interested in renting a tuk-tuk, but Javier and I decided to only see one temple rather than go all day again. We planned to meet Katia at our next destination, rented a couple of bikes and rode to the Hanuman temple. We had to walk to the top of the mountain and it was hot. At the top, we visited the temple, but more than that, we enjoyed the view-it was quite gorgeous. Afterward, we said good bye to Katia, stopped at a delicious roadside restaurant, dropped off our bikes, crossed the river, and went home to pack.
Now for the most frustrating transportation of our journey thus far…
Our journey to Bangalore. Hampi station.
We had purchased an overnight sleeper bus from Hampi to Bangalore. All of the airports were a night bus ride away, and Bangalore happened to be the cheapest, plus they had an affordable Hyatt! Gotta love that friends and family rate! Thanks Yessie! When we purchased the ticket to and from Hampi, we were told that the bus arrived and left from Hospet. We would therefore need to take a taxi to get to Hampi and vice-versa. However, on the way to Hampi, we didn’t have to get off at Hospet. The bus went all the way. So, for the trip to Bangalore, we weren’t sure what to do. We asked the manager of the guesthouse. He looked at our tickets and told us that the pick-up was in Hampi. We believed him. So, about 20 minutes or so before we were scheduled to leave, we went to the bus stop. We showed our tickets to a worker there, and she told us to wait. So, there we were standing in the dirt with all of our stuff waiting for our bus to arrive. We watched a couple of buses leave, and started to get nervous. Javier walked around to find someone else. There’s no bus terminal by the way, we’re literally standing in an open area surrounded by a night market. Javier found someone who said we were on the wrong side of the market, so we moved. There were more empty buses, and we showed the people our tickets. After much conferring, they decided that we needed to get to Hospet. There was a government bus that was going, so we hopped on. By now, it’s already 8pm, our departure time. We were sitting on the beds of a sleeper bus that was going to Bangalore according to the driver. We asked if we could just take that bus, and they said, no. Government only. There happened to be another man catching a ride to Hospet. He spoke english very well, and asked if he could help us. We told him our story and showed him our ticket. He too said our bus was leaving from Hampi, but pulled out his cell phone and called the local company for us. After speaking with them, he told us where we needed to go to catch our bus- in Hospet. The ride was quick, only about 15 minutes, and as we passed by a bus, the guy pointed and told us that was our bus. The government bus parked at a different location, so we thanked him profusely, jumped off the bus and walked the couple of blocks to the next bus. There, we were given a bed, but told that we were going to need to change at some point. We were trying to figure out why we needed to change, but no one either knew, or knew how to communicate with us. We were on a bus to Bangalore, but we still needed to change. We were confused, but what could we do? We drove for a couple hours and at the next stop, had to get off. We were told that our bus was coming and we just needed to wait. There were plenty of other people standing around, looking like they too were waiting for a bus, so we just waited with them. As buses came, we would show our ticket, and were told yes or no. We finally found a group that was waiting for the same bus as us, so when it arrived, our friends told us to get on. But of course, we needed to change again. At this point, we were not happy. No one could tell us exactly where we were going or how many more buses we needed to take. We were being shuffled from place to place and it was the middle of the night. Javier gets up and walks to the front of the bus. There were around 5 guys sitting up front just talking and laughing. After being nice and polite, and getting no where, Javier says with a fair amount of assertiveness and irritation, “Who’s in charge?” They all go quiet. So, he says it again, but this time a little louder and a hint of anger. Finally, someone speaks up and the two of the have it out. I tuned out the conversation because quite honestly, I didn’t have the energy. When Javier came back, he told me that we had to change again, but it would be the last change. Let’s hope so.
2am. Our journey to Bangalore.
After another hour or so, we had to get off the bus again and wait. At this point, it’s around 2am, we’re standing around with all our stuff waiting for the next bus. This time, we were actually in front of a lively row of shops, one of which could have been our bus company, but there was no one inside to ask. There were tons of people waiting around. We were the only tourists. I waited with our stuff while Javier ran around trying to figure out what was going on. Finally, he came back and told me he found our bus. I little side note about me, I cry when I’m really tired. I hate it, but there’s nothing I can do. So, at this point, I’m a teary zombie. Javier tells me to get on the bus while he takes care of our stuff. When he came back, he was laughing. He said that after he put our stuff away, he asked the local guys where he could use the restroom. They just laughed at him and pointed to the back of the bus. He snapped one picture of our final bus to remember our journey. Just a couple more hours to Bangalore. Why did we even bother paying for a sleeper?
Bangalore:
We’re going to add this because it’s so incredibly short.
one Sleeper bus to another
We only had two days in Bangalore, and since we were staying at the Hyatt, we decided to never leave the hotel. We arrived in Bangalore at around 5am. As soon as we stepped off the bus, there were tuk-tuk drivers all over looking for business. Javier was in conversation with two guys. They were trying to figure out the location of the Hyatt. When I joined the conversation, I could smell the alcohol coming off one of the guys, and it wasn’t that he had a couple drinks and I could smell it on his breath. He was pickled, and it was coming out of his pores. There was another guy close by on his tuk-tuk and he joined our party. He was helping the other guys figure out where to go. Javier is very loyal when it comes to this type of thing. So, he was leaning toward the first guys he spoke with. I wanted to go with the new guy. The other two were starting to get upset that I was trying to jump ship. I finally told Javier, that I could smell alcohol on the guy. He grabbed our stuff and started walking away toward the new guy. When the first two started getting upset, Javier told him that he had been drinking, and we weren’t going anywhere with him. This seemed to shut him up. He didn’t argue, he just walked away. I did feel a little bad for his friend who was sober and caught in the crossfire, but to be honest, anyone who saddles himself with someone that irresponsible, doesn’t earn any points with us.
We arrived to the Hyatt in a tuk-tuk. It was laughable. We were too early to check-in. Instead, they offered to take us to the restaurant for complimentary breakfast. We ate and relaxed by the pool for our room to become available.
Indian spicy burritos. Food.
The next couple days were spent relaxing and exercising- they had a really nice gym. We left only once to eat dinner. For some reason, we chose to eat a burrito made with Indian spices. It set our mouths on fire and was an all around bad idea.
Had we known the hotel was so comfortable, we probably would have stayed a couple extra nights. Instead, we barely made it to the airport in time due to horrendous traffic and made our way to Delhi, which is definitely in the top 3 of our least favorite cities. But more on that happy adventure later.
To see more pictures of Hampi and Bangalore, click HERE.
Lakshmi blessed Javier:
DISCLAIMER: This post was written before we volunteered at Elephant Nature Park. Had we known then, what we know now, we would not have participated in the “Lakshmi Blessing.” We chose to leave it as is, because we want to keep our blog transparent and honest even if it shows mistakes we have made along the way. Today, we are against elephants in captivity, period. More on that in a later post.