Enlightened

I had dinner in Bangalore at a local place on Church road. There were two guys sitting next to me, and we got chatting. They were young professionals, about 35 or so. It was really interesting talking to them about India and where it's going. Every paper or magazine I've picked up since I've been here talks of the booming economy and India's growth. The guys were telling me about the growth they've witnessed in Bangalore over the past few years and how succesful their business has become. I was saying how much I loved Bangalore (compared to Mumbai) and I felt it was a really progressive city. It is. It feels really modern and people feel a lot more open minded (read: no gawking). Some people I've spoken to say this is a bad thing as Bangalore is adopting a Western attitude. This is really apparent in the shopping mall, the clothes people wear, the swanky lounges and coffee shops a la Starbucks. I also saw quite a few young indian women smoking - a big no no in India. It was good to share my experience and have these guys confirm what I'd seen. They felt really positive about the direction Bangalore is moving in.
In the end, "as a guest in their country" they paid for my dinner - which was really kind.

The train ride from Bangalore to Hospet was a 10 hour over night train. I travelled in 2nd A/C -which is the more "luxurious" route to take. It wasn't bad at all. You're in a compartment with 4 others and you get a bunk bed . You also get clean sheets and a blanket. It's very comfortable. The people in my compartment were really chatty. They spoke about the burgeoning economy too...and about how a lot of young Indians now travel to the the UK, US to get experience. They also spoke of the many Indians who are now returning to India having immigrated. They too want a part of the boom. One of the men had worked and studies in the US. He said he felt Bangalore was "becoming like any Western city. The youth in Bangalore are like the Americans; they work hard and then the like to enjoy life. Not like the rest of India - where Indians work hard and continue to

suffer. Not in Bangalore." They were also very interested to understand why, as a woman, I would want to travel alone. One man said, "in life you must always be in a group. You must never be alone." Ho hum. Especially since that was my first night alone.
It's a contrast.
Whilst these Bangalorians really are progressive and open minded, their culture is still engrained. Women should not be alone.

Arrived in Hospet at about 7am the next morning. I had slept pretty well on the train.
From Hospet I took an auto rickshaw to Hampi - 150INR. Not that much when you convert BUT when I heard that there is the alternative local bus which costs 7INR I was pretty pissed off. Even though I had asked, no-one would tell me the truth. I am beginning to get a bit frustrated with the way things are costed for here. The thing is, they aren't. They way you look determines the price you pay. The way you talk determines the price you pay. There is no fixed price. I still feel guilty bargaining and haggling. Not a good combo.

The drive from Hospet to Hampi is only 30 minutes. But in those 30 minutes, there were some pretty incredible images captured in my mind.
The baby hanging onto a small tree being washed by it's mother
The cows heaving loads of banana's and sugar cane, frothing at the mouth
The litter scattered on the road
The young boy "making his toilet" into the river
The old man stoking the fire to make his chai
The young kids walking to school - none of them wearing shoes
The man waking up from his sleep - his bed on the side of the road, just a blanket covered with a sheet
The landscape turning into boulders as you drive into Hampi
The buzz and atmostphere of the Hampi Bazar
My first glimpse of the Virupakshna Temple and my excitement as we drove past of it into Hampi
The overwhelming feeling that this place would make an impression on me.
The landscape is made of fields of boulders. The surrounding area is scattered with remenants of 14th century temples, ruins and statues - most are intact. To think that an entire empire was settled here so many years ago is incredible. The size of the temples and statues are so great it's a miracle how they were built.

The auto rickshaw took me to The Gopi Guest house. I dropped my bags, arranged a room for 300INR a night and went upstairs to the rooftop restaurant overlooking the temple for some porridge and chai.

Within seconds I was talking to Keiran who runs Gopi. He basically adopted me from the minute I sat down. He has studied archeology and started giving me a bit of a history lesson on Hampi and the temple. He then invited me to go with him check it out. He took me through the history of the temple, and explained every stone, sculpture, crevice. He also introduced me to Lakshmi -the temple's elephant and got her to take a 1rupee coin from his hand( I was too scared). I got to experience giving up a puja - or blessing to the gods. Most tourists are not allowed in to do this, but Keiran managed to get me through. The ritual bears some simillarities to Catholic communion. You go up to the "priest" and he gives you a spoon of rose water. You drink half and pour the other half over your head. You offer up a tithing - maybe 1 or 2 rupees and some coconut, a lotus flower. He then he gives you his blessing with a bindi made of red or yellow dye. During all of this there is chanting of matras, placing your head of the floor to relieve you of your sins and lots of incense burning. It leaves you feeling calm and peaceful.

We then explored more of the temple and he showed me this tunnel where he meditates infront of a Ganesha statue. There are monkeys all over the temple, roaming freely. No one bothers them and they seem oblivious to the humans walking around.

I spent the rest of that afternoon just chilling out.....That evening I went out for dinner with a couple from Canada and a German and American guy who had explored the ruins that day. They took us to this restaurant called the Mango tree. After a 20 minute walk through a banana plantation in pitch black you arrive. It is in an amazing setting alone the bank of the river. The tables are low - the seating is the floor with slanted concrete backrests so very comfortable. The background music is basically an orchestra of croaking frogs and crickets. It is so stunning. We gorged on Vegetarian Thali and poori, which was the best I have had so far! It was good to have some company that evening.

I spent the next day on a bicycle which I had hired riding around the ruins.Wow. Each temple or ruin has a different feel about it. A lot of them are still in tact. Most of the walls have the most intricate carvings - and there are lots of them. I took heaps of photographs, which I will post when I work out how to resize all of 1000 pics! After 7 hours of going up and down hills and walking through the ruins I was completely knackered and managed to settle next to a river for a cup of chai.

That evening I went back to the Mango tree for more Thali with some rather irritating Swedish students. They had met up with a local and invited him to dinner. I was thrilled at the prospect of sharing our experiences with him and getting his opinion. Ordering food was really painful as they were both Vegans and eat Satva (i.e no onion, garlic, spices, salt, sugar, mushrooms - i.e hellloooo - whydidyoucometoindiathen?) The students then spoke about the cost of stuff in India, how to haggle and "get them down", how "they cheat you" the entire evening. I was so embarrased, I left early.

Woke up at 5.30 the next morning to watch the sunrise. Keiran had offered to take me up to the top of this rocky mountain. That was pretty amazing. We then went into a cave and then did a lot of rock climing. Famished, we got some food from a local store - an indian breakfast of Idley (sp?) and chilli sauce. Delicious.
In the afternoon we went to his banana plantation and he showed me where he is building his house and a village school. He has been working with a couple of Brits who are helping him out. I am going to see if I can get involved in some way.
After some refreshing coconut milk we went for a boat ride a coral. It's a round boat made of bamboo and animal hide. I was a little scared as we'd seen a crocodile before we got in. But the guy who was with us actually SWAM to get the boat before we got in. I was horrified.
More rock climing and then watched the sunset. Again. Magnificent.

You cannot explain Hampi by writing it down. This little description does it no justice. It's a feeling you have to experience.
I don't think I would have looked at the Temple or any of the ruins or any of Hampi had I not met Keiran. I had planned to spend 2 nights in Hampi, but landed up spending 5. We connected the minute he sat down at breakfast on day 1. He is the most generous, open and honest person I have met in India. He has invited me (and all my friends) to come back to Hampi. He is really knowledgable and you can tell he just loves where he comes from and wants to share his love with everyone he meets. When I thanked him after saying goodbye he said to me, "don't thank me. Just make sure you change the lives of 3 people by helping them - that can be your thanks."

I was very sad to say goodbye. But it's time to move on. Next stop Goa - Arambol for last bit of sand and sea in India.
And then it's up to Delhi.