Saturday, September 26, 2009

In the Land of Hampi (Hump - e)

Jonah and I returned this morning from an amazing trip to Hampi.  Getting there was an adventure in itself.  We took the bus Tuesday evening from Mysore to Bangalore, then caught another bus from Bangalore to Mysore.  The bus ride was about 12 hours, which wasn't too bad considering we were on sleepers on the second leg of our trip.  We arrived in Bangalore a little early and had a few hours to kill before our bus arrived.  Bangalore is a city that I would prefer to stay away from if possible.  The city is filled with chaos, rats, noise, etc.  I'm sure not every part of the city is like that, but it seems every part I visit is. 

We arrive in Hospet around 7 the following morning and take a rickshaw to Hampi.  Hospet is the closest major city to Hampi which is about 15 kilometers away.  Just like any major city, it is also noisy, dirty, chaos, etc.  We go through a few small and see people standing in front of their houses brushing their teeth and children pooping on the side of the road.  Not a pretty picture.  As we approach Hampi there is a dramatic change in scenery.  For miles you can see boulders that seem to go on forever.  The air and roads are a bit cleaner and less noise.  I had a bit of knowledge on Hampi from various reading sources and a climbing video I saw a few years back.  The pictures and video that I saw is an injustice to the beauty of the town.  Maybe I'm a little biased because of all the bouldering possibilities, but there were ruins and granite boulders everywhere.  Granite is a strong material and it was fascinating to see how an empire was built using the stone.  The city is very tourist based and since it was the slow season, business is hard to come by.  The only annoyance was dealing with merchants/beggars trying to sell their services or asking for money.    All day we would hear "need a rickshaw", "hah-low! come into my store.  it's free to look". 

Aside from the major transportation services, the trip was unplanned.  I didn't make reservations for a place to stay and left it all to the moment of our necessity.  The main area of Hampi is divided by a river.  The other side of the river is an ideal place to stay.  It is much quieter than the bazaar area, less beggars and merchants and also more bouldering.  When we arrived, we were told by the rickshaw driver the water level was too high for us to safely cross, so we were stuck on the bazaar side.  I think the driver was partly lying due to the fact that we were able to cross the following day and we later found out he earned a commission for taking us to the guest house we stayed at even though I requested for him to take us there.  In the end, it worked out.  Thanks to the Lonely Planet guide I was able to find us accommodations that were decent and fairly priced.

Everyone in Hampi assumed Jonah and I were a married couple.  When we checked into our guest house they gave us a room with a double bed.  The people that would stop to talk to us would ask if we were married and we agreed.  It was just easier that way.  The other question we were poised with is where we were from.  Being from the United States is a huge deal and there is this assumption that you are rich.  Jonah and I started making up countries that we could be from.  One day I was from Singapore and Jonah was from Germany.  On our last day we decided to be Kiwi's.  Jonah is of British origin and I was Maori.    


Jonah and I came home sick and we are both having stomach issues.  I'll write more about the trip when I'm feeling better.      

Here are some Hampi Highlights:

Day 1
bus ride from Mysore to Bangalore - 3 hours
bus ride from Bangalore to Hospet - 9 hours
rickshaw from Hospet to Hampi
guest house check in
explored area
found boulders to climb and ruins

Day 2
tried climbing near temple. kicked out by security
crossed river and found boulders to climb
saw crazy lady with machete
almost didn't make it across river.  water level too high and strong current
shopping at the bazaar

Day 3
early morning climbing session
toured ancient ruins
check out of guest house
ripped off by train.  made us pay twice

The trip isn't as boring as described above.  I would go back if I could and spend a few days climbing.
             

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