Leaving the beaches of Goa, it didn’t take long to find ‘India’ again. In fact, minutes after starting our local bus trip back to the main town of Madgoan, we were stuck in traffic, in 30 degrees and standing nose to armpit with hundreds of locals. Oh India, how we’ve missed you!
The train to Hospet was calm in comparison with the bus. On the way, we travelled through some incredible scenery. Dudhsagar falls, or the milk waterfall as its sometimes known was definitely the hi-light. The train literally passes under the waterfall and through tunnels carved out of the hillside.
At Hospet, Malene and I walked to the bus stop, much to the surprise and confusion of the local taxi drivers who persisted on trying to take us. It became apparent that the ‘normal’ tourist option in this situation was to take a taxi (probably with AC) from the train station straight to Hampi – home of India’s most incredible lost temples. As we watched the private taxis drive past, we finally stumbled into the bus stop, slightly sweaty, but on the right track as we were pointed to the right bus by numerous workers, locals and children. On the bus, we managed to cram our huge bags in the overhead compartment knowing full well that if either of them fell out mid-journey, it would probably do some real damage to the poor guys sitting underneath. Traveling with locals has its positives and negatives. The good stuff definitely outweighs the bad and that’s why we always look for this option. The conversations are brilliant, it’s obviously considerably cheaper traveling this way and the sense of achievement and relief that we’ve made the right bus/train is tremendous.
The bus journey took less than an hour which was good because what was waiting for us was simply incredible. In fact, words cant really describe how beautiful, but strange this place looked. It felt like we had landed on Mars. Rolling hills covered in dark red sand and gigantic round boulders that almost look handmade covered the plains. It was as if the ancient Gods had dropped their giant marbles thousands of years ago and we are but ants on their playing fields. We traveled in silence with our mouths open as we got closer to our final stop: Hampi Bizaar.
Although tourists were everywhere, the surreal surroundings meant that we didn’t really focus on them so much. The huge Virupaksha temple that overshadows the little town is the first attention grabbing monument. Its decorative carvings and sheer size is amazing. As well as this beautiful temple, the monkeys playing on the buildings and dancing their way across the village gave us a lot of entertainment as we sat in the roof restaurant of our hotel. On this first day, we visited Virupaksha and met a guide who organised bicycle tours of the local sights – we instantly booked a tour with him for the following day. Tired, but excited, we slept well that evening.
Early the next day, we re-entered the Virupaksha temple and met with our guide and the Austrian family that would be joining us on our bicycle tour. Our guide proceeded to give us a detailed lecture on the temple, it’s history, the religion and stories that surrounded it. Deep inside, I was aching to get to the bikes. As a keen mountain biker, I was eager to see what machines they were offering and looked forward to ‘getting back in the saddle’ – however, this time not on a camel!
Rusting, BSO’s (bike shaped objects) equipped with baskets wasn’t what I originally had in mind, but the amusement factor was certainly there. We all hopped on, adjusted our saddles and started up the first (and only) climb out of the town. If the bikes didn’t impress us much, the tour certainly would. Our first stop, at the top of the hill, was at an impressive, column lined square shaped temple that housed the largest remaining statue of Ganesh – the half boy, half elephant God. Unfortunately, hundreds of years ago, we were told that Muslims destroyed parts of many temples in Hampi. These Muslims realised that by destroying just part of the statues (for example, just the hands, trunks, feet etc) then the Hindu’s would be unable to pray to them. It was a sad story, but luckily, reconstructive work had been carried out on a lot of areas which gave us a real insight into what they looked like in the 16th century.
Our bike tour continued for hours and we tirelessly visited some incredibly temples including an underground temple that was partly submerged in water. The beautifully carved walls and pillars really showed off the talent of the Hindu people and we felt like privileged VIP’s walking in the footsteps of Gods from long ago. After separating from the group, we found a beautiful temple close to a river that we used to bath in and cool down. We even spoke to some locals that were packing bananas onto their lorry. Eating bananas and chatting to the guys was a lovely round-off to the afternoon. Later on, we walked alongside the sacred river and found the Mango tree restaurant and enjoyed local food served on banana leaves whilst overlooking the quite river. It was heaven, and a welcome change to the frantic beaches of Goa.
We woke up early the next morning and enjoyed the sun rise over the Virupaksha temple as we ate our breakfast. We began our walk along the river, this time in search of the Vittala temple and the famous stone chariot. After an hours walk, we reached the main stone entrance and proceeded inside, again in total amazement of the size and magnificence of the grandeur of the place. Imagining how royalty lived here so many years ago was wonderful. The parties they must have had enclosed in the private chambers would have been incredible. We could really in visage the flamboyant lifestyles that this ancient civilization had.
From here, we started a long trek through the hills and saw many monuments. The views across the river and over the eerie landscape was breathtaking. The sun was high and despite the heat, it was a beautiful walk though banana plantations and over rocky passes. But the real delight came when we reached the royal enclosure: home of some of the biggest temples and of course, the famous elephant stables. We enjoyed all of these stunning monuments whilst sipping on fresh coconuts. One of the most beautiful of all the temples was the Lotus Mahal, the queen’s residence. Set in beautifully lush gardens and surrounded by green lawns, this place is a true testament to the architects and stone workers of that time.
It was so easy to be totally captured by this place. The first temples were built in 1336 and the community that lived there reached a staggering 500,000 people. It was a thriving metropolis, covered in bazzars, and life and noise. With the smallest of imaginations, anyone can feel the life that was once here. The temples, of which there are thousands, range from tiny, 4 walled boxes to the huge, elaborate homes of past kings and queens and all of them are bathed in history and stories of a great kingdom that once was. The surrounding landscape, like something from a comic book based on Mars, is the perfect setting for this ancient civilization. Getting lost here will remain a hi-light on our journey. After all, it’s not everyday you get to walk in the footsteps of kings, queens and the Gods themselves.
Next up, magnificent Mumbai; home of the biggest slum in Asia and the most populated city of India.
Our travels through Asia 