We arrived in Hampi around 4ish in the afternoon, after a 7 hour train ride (650rps). When we got there, it was clear that this was a holy place with police protecting this tiny town. We managed to get a room at Venu Guest House for 250 rps, but that was after 4 guesthouses neighbouring each other trying to entice us into their guesthouses, but we went for the cheapest and simple option. We got there a little early so we chucked our bags into our room and headed towards the temples at the far end of the bazaar (town). We first saw the Nandi statue, which wasn't too impressive but the boulders behind (about 8-10m high and wide) on top of each other with wild monkeys jumping from one to other was what got us. We carried on walking gawping at the size of these boulders without realsing the Vitali Temple was beyond them. It was hidden behind these boulders and me and Danny were amzed by the size of this temple. It was huge and still in good nick. Anyway, after taking a few pics and exploring the temple, Danny with his 'eagle eyes' saw a temple at the top of this huge hill. You kno0w what Danny's like, next thing i was following him up this hill, which was very steep and caused me to sweat a lot (not good) up these crooked stairs, which were stairs carved out of the Boulders but when we got there, the view of the wholoe town was amazing. You could see all the temples in the surrounding area and across the river, where Danny with his 'eagle eye' yet again saw the Hanuman (monkey god) temple on top of another hill at the other side of the river. I don't know what's up with this kid but I'm a big lad and this aint good on the old knees.
The next day, we got up early, had some breakfast and got a boat across the river (15 rps each) Today was the day where Danny had enough of these Indians, trying to rip us off because we're tourists, so that meant I had to walk with Danny to this temple and climb a 1000 steps in the heat, gasping for air, which took us 1 1/2 hour and probably lost a stone. When we got there, we saw a few Baba's who lived there and looked after the temples and then sat on the boulder's admiring the view and me getting my breath back. There were a few locals who advised us to go to see the Sranipur lake, which was about another hour walk, in the heat yet again but when we got there, we realised it was a man-made reservoir, apparently with crocodiles in, so we didn't get the chance to swim (not that i had the energy too) and headed back over the river. We then went to see the Virupaksha Temple, which stands at 50m high and is beautifully carved, an the whole town is built around this. Lakshmi (the temple elephant) lives there, so we paid the old fella a visit, with Danny sneaking the camera in (extra cost for the camera) and took some sneaky pics.
With the woman charging us 50 rps to take a shower, we decided to get on the bus for the train. Danny described Hampi as "something out of jungle book" and i describe as "bedrock". You have to be here to experience it all!!!
The next day, we got up early, had some breakfast and got a boat across the river (15 rps each) Today was the day where Danny had enough of these Indians, trying to rip us off because we're tourists, so that meant I had to walk with Danny to this temple and climb a 1000 steps in the heat, gasping for air, which took us 1 1/2 hour and probably lost a stone. When we got there, we saw a few Baba's who lived there and looked after the temples and then sat on the boulder's admiring the view and me getting my breath back. There were a few locals who advised us to go to see the Sranipur lake, which was about another hour walk, in the heat yet again but when we got there, we realised it was a man-made reservoir, apparently with crocodiles in, so we didn't get the chance to swim (not that i had the energy too) and headed back over the river. We then went to see the Virupaksha Temple, which stands at 50m high and is beautifully carved, an the whole town is built around this. Lakshmi (the temple elephant) lives there, so we paid the old fella a visit, with Danny sneaking the camera in (extra cost for the camera) and took some sneaky pics.
With the woman charging us 50 rps to take a shower, we decided to get on the bus for the train. Danny described Hampi as "something out of jungle book" and i describe as "bedrock". You have to be here to experience it all!!!
Hampi Photo Link:
http://www3.snapfish.com.au/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=1658377011/a=2264773011_2264773011/
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