After my six grueling weeks in the classroom studying subjects from piston engines to western disturbances to the mental dead reckoning and seemingly everything else under the sun, I was ready for a little break. Fortunately, my 2+ weeks off happened to coincide with a planned trip organized by a mutual friend. It ended up being quite an interesting, fun, and relaxing break that included a lot of “firsts” for me like my first Indian train ride, my first scooter ride and my first meal on a banana leaf. We started the adventure by taking an overnight train that arrived in the early morning at a town near Hampi. A long rickshaw (a.k.a. auto) ride later and we dropped at the riverbank in Hampi to await the short boat ride to the other side. This was the first taste of what has been appropriately described as a magical place. It truly is an amazing blend of historically relevant structures and an incredibly unique landscape of boulders and implausible rock formations interspersed throughout fields of rice paddies or banana trees or sugar cane or who knows what. The scene on the riverbank with rays of sunlight casting themselves through the massive rock formations onto the shadowy darkness was simply beautiful. Reflections of the riverside ghats (people bathing/washing their clothes) were intermingled with a backdrop of boulders, clouds, sunlight, trees, and ancient ruins that only added to the peaceful aura of Hampi.
After checking into our accommodations on the other side of the river, we made our way back across with hopes of renting scooters to see some of the outlaying sights. It took some time to find enough scooters for everyone and since most of us had never ridden one before a little training was required. In retrospect, I find it ironic that I must sign 20 pieces of paper to set up a mobile phone, but didn’t sign anything to rent the scooter! Oh and each scooter cost us less than $4 per day! A couple of the scooter-wallas (guys) took us out to some purported waterfalls. While there really weren’t any waterfalls to speak of, it was a beautiful hike out onto the rocky riverbed that was made up of huge boulders.
After a good lunch at the local Italian restaurant (what I mean by that is only that they serve Italian food) we hopped on the scooters and rode out of town. Not too long into the ride, our large group of 8 or so scooters got separated. With daylight fading and fuel running low a group of us rode off on an exploratory tour that ended up being a fun little adventure.
We rode down a dirt road through a number of fields before taking a random path towards some enormous rock formations that were quickly becoming silhouettes. It ended up being a path along an irrigation canal and probably was the highlight of the day for me, although afterward I felt bad after we found the rest of the group waiting for us at an intersection because they had spent a good deal of time trying to track us down. At this point with our tanks nearly on empty and the last rays of sunlight fading into oblivion we made our way back into town. It made for a long, but fun day we had dinner with little delay and then retired for the evening.
After a good lunch at the local Italian restaurant (what I mean by that is only that they serve Italian food) we hopped on the scooters and rode out of town. Not too long into the ride, our large group of 8 or so scooters got separated. With daylight fading and fuel running low a group of us rode off on an exploratory tour that ended up being a fun little adventure.
We rode down a dirt road through a number of fields before taking a random path towards some enormous rock formations that were quickly becoming silhouettes. It ended up being a path along an irrigation canal and probably was the highlight of the day for me, although afterward I felt bad after we found the rest of the group waiting for us at an intersection because they had spent a good deal of time trying to track us down. At this point with our tanks nearly on empty and the last rays of sunlight fading into oblivion we made our way back into town. It made for a long, but fun day we had dinner with little delay and then retired for the evening.
The next day we again rented scooters, but this time on our side of the river. The landscape was much the same although we did try to make the most of the day by seeing as many of the landmarks as we could. The first stop of the day we were met by countless monkeys. For some reason I think I could have been entertained for hours by watching them chase each other and swing fearlessly from branch to branch high above the ground. A part of me wanted to partake in the action, but fear would have gotten the best of me I’m afraid! There was also a serene lake and a man-made pond covered with lily pads.
The next stop was another shrine or temple of some sort. It required some hiking, but once we got to the top we had a nice view of the surrounding land. We didn’t spend much time there and soon-after set out for our next destination. We ended up in a small village eventually making our way to a large open flat, marshy land with a small stream running through it. Again there were ghats washing clothes and the remnants of past civilizations. Oh and of course lots of cows. There were also children playing on walls that were hundreds, if not thousands of years old. They saw us and made the most of the opportunity because they were celebrating the Hindu festival of Diwali, which is something like a mix of Christmas and the 4th of July. It’s a festival of lights so many houses and buildings are lit up colorfully and of course there are firecrackers. The kids did the best they could to frighten the foreigners and were quite successful. Nothing like being scared away by a bunch of 9-year olds right? Well, it wasn’t quite like that, but at least it sure makes for a good story! While we were on the banks of this stream we saw an impressive structure in the distance up the stream some distance. We then sought to make our way to this place and after eventually finding it we were disappointed to find that it was closed or at least it appeared to be closed. If that old lady had not pushed the gates open for us we would never have known any better! We basically had the temple compound or whatever it was to ourselves, so after enjoying the nice view and taking a few photos, we made our way down to the stream. There we found a lot of kids goofing off as kids anywhere will do. By this time we were about ready to eat, so after a brief ride out of town we came back to see the “Queen’s Palace” and have lunch. It turns out that we had driven past the Queen’s Palace earlier in the day, but hadn’t really noticed it because it just wasn’t all that impressive. More interesting was the large group of little kids playing in the adjacent field. As soon as they saw our cameras, they all wanted their pictures taken and some of them even climbed up onto our scooters for a better photo op!
Before I knew it I was swarmed by kids and everyone else had left for lunch. I was so enjoying myself that I would’ve been happy to skip lunch to “watch the scooters” even though I really just wanted to hang out with the kids a little longer. Then someone realized I was missing and came back for me, so I said bye to the kiddos and joined the rest of the gang for an authentic meal served on banana leaf. There was some rice, fried peppers, something pickled, curd, and a red powder of some sort.
Après lunch we scooted on out of town and did some more riding through the countryside—fields and villages. This ride ended at Hanaman’s Temple, which is perched atop a pretty significant rocky hill. It provides a great view particularly at sunrise or sunset and oh by the way, there are monkeys! Once again I found myself amused by these monkeys who were not swinging from tree branches, but from rock to rock!
It was rather impressive, but this was not something I’d be interested in trying myself. We hurried down hundreds of steps hoping to make it back before dark, but we couldn’t quite pull it off. Fortunately, everyone made it back safely and after a good dinner and long day in the sun we called it an evening.
The next stop was another shrine or temple of some sort. It required some hiking, but once we got to the top we had a nice view of the surrounding land. We didn’t spend much time there and soon-after set out for our next destination. We ended up in a small village eventually making our way to a large open flat, marshy land with a small stream running through it. Again there were ghats washing clothes and the remnants of past civilizations. Oh and of course lots of cows. There were also children playing on walls that were hundreds, if not thousands of years old. They saw us and made the most of the opportunity because they were celebrating the Hindu festival of Diwali, which is something like a mix of Christmas and the 4th of July. It’s a festival of lights so many houses and buildings are lit up colorfully and of course there are firecrackers. The kids did the best they could to frighten the foreigners and were quite successful. Nothing like being scared away by a bunch of 9-year olds right? Well, it wasn’t quite like that, but at least it sure makes for a good story! While we were on the banks of this stream we saw an impressive structure in the distance up the stream some distance. We then sought to make our way to this place and after eventually finding it we were disappointed to find that it was closed or at least it appeared to be closed. If that old lady had not pushed the gates open for us we would never have known any better! We basically had the temple compound or whatever it was to ourselves, so after enjoying the nice view and taking a few photos, we made our way down to the stream. There we found a lot of kids goofing off as kids anywhere will do. By this time we were about ready to eat, so after a brief ride out of town we came back to see the “Queen’s Palace” and have lunch. It turns out that we had driven past the Queen’s Palace earlier in the day, but hadn’t really noticed it because it just wasn’t all that impressive. More interesting was the large group of little kids playing in the adjacent field. As soon as they saw our cameras, they all wanted their pictures taken and some of them even climbed up onto our scooters for a better photo op!
Before I knew it I was swarmed by kids and everyone else had left for lunch. I was so enjoying myself that I would’ve been happy to skip lunch to “watch the scooters” even though I really just wanted to hang out with the kids a little longer. Then someone realized I was missing and came back for me, so I said bye to the kiddos and joined the rest of the gang for an authentic meal served on banana leaf. There was some rice, fried peppers, something pickled, curd, and a red powder of some sort.
Après lunch we scooted on out of town and did some more riding through the countryside—fields and villages. This ride ended at Hanaman’s Temple, which is perched atop a pretty significant rocky hill. It provides a great view particularly at sunrise or sunset and oh by the way, there are monkeys! Once again I found myself amused by these monkeys who were not swinging from tree branches, but from rock to rock!
It was rather impressive, but this was not something I’d be interested in trying myself. We hurried down hundreds of steps hoping to make it back before dark, but we couldn’t quite pull it off. Fortunately, everyone made it back safely and after a good dinner and long day in the sun we called it an evening.
The following day was intended for seeing the numerous historical sites, but my body chose rest and relaxation for most of the morning. The outdoor breakfast area had a great view overlooking the riverbed and the distant rocky peaks, so it was hard to resist a lazy morning of card playing with friends. By the time I got going, it was too late to do much of anything and because the river had swelled as a result of the dam upstream releasing water, it took some time for our boat to reach the other side. At this point it was already time for lunch so we went to the Mango Tree which everyone had been highly touted and definitely met expectations.
The late lunch meant that I wouldn’t have time to see everything I wanted to see unless I hired an auto, but instead I chose to do what I could on foot. This was pretty limiting as the main attractions are spread out by 3 or more kms.
I saw plenty of ruins and enjoyed imagining what the Royal Centre must have been like at its’ pinnacle. Again I ran out of daylight and barely made it back in time to meet the rest of the crew for dinner at our favorite little Italian joint in Hampi. It was a great way to finish a relaxing, but fun excursion from Hyderabad before catching the train home.
The late lunch meant that I wouldn’t have time to see everything I wanted to see unless I hired an auto, but instead I chose to do what I could on foot. This was pretty limiting as the main attractions are spread out by 3 or more kms.
I saw plenty of ruins and enjoyed imagining what the Royal Centre must have been like at its’ pinnacle. Again I ran out of daylight and barely made it back in time to meet the rest of the crew for dinner at our favorite little Italian joint in Hampi. It was a great way to finish a relaxing, but fun excursion from Hyderabad before catching the train home.
No comments:
Post a Comment