Bongo Allergy
So after a long and lovely time on the beach, it was generally agreed that it was time to venture out into "real India" again. We decided to head towards the classic "next stop" from South Goa - the legendary city of Hampi in Karnataka. Hampi is famous for being in the middle of one of the most inacessible and inhospitable areas - a huge lunar landscape of boulders and rocks. The reason the ancient citadel is in this area is because it was an monolithic stronghold for the Indians during centuries of attacks from the Mogul empire. As Hampi is about 300km inland from Patnem, the only way to get there was by overnight bus from the local village of Chaudi.
The busses which run the route are "luxury sleepers" (or rather Indian Luxury) which means double decker sleeping cabins on either side of a central aisle. We piled ourselves and our luggage into our cabin, and then spent the next half hour jigsawing into a half decent position for sleeping - while the bus careered through the Goan countryside at high speed. Sleep is merely a concept when bouncing a foot off the bed every five minutes. Was good fun though.
The only thing that marred the journey slightly by a loud and annoying Isreali lady who complained and was "high maintenence" throughout (for example, her pillow dropped out of her bunk while she was asleep, and she complained a lot and said that someone had stolen it...) Interestingly enough, her husband not only slept at the other end of the bus, but when we arrived in Hampi, he seemed to keep a strict 5 meters away from her at all times!
We arrived in the very early morning into Hampi and were greeted by about a hundred rickshaw wallah's shouting and trying to climb the windows again. Not the sort of thing one wants after such a journey...No worries though, it was exciting to be in a new place.
At first sight, Hampi was really gobsmacking, huge cliffs and boulder fields surrounding a bustling little town. Amongst the boulders were ancient ruins on the scale of Machu Picchu and bigger - huge temples and ruins everywhere the eye could see. The main town itself reminded me of Pushkar - in that it was very well set up for travellers - to the extent it seemed to be built and developed specifically for them - little guest houses and b n b's, internet cafe's and chilled out rooftop cafe's serving ice cold drinks and all manner of western food.
We had heard that the accommodations over the river from the main town were even more chilled out, so we decided to go straight there and check them out. One of the guys from Patnem had recommended a hotel called Goan corner - which is run by a Goan lady - meant to be full of COOL people. The Rickshaw dropped us at the river where we had read it was possible to cross only by Coracle - unfortunately this turned out to be a myth - there were coracle's there, but the ferry was a proper boat. It was however overloaded in true Indian style. Each crossing, the boat was filled with 20 or so passengers, many of whom were travellers with huge backpacks, as well as plenty of Indian ladies carrying things to and from the market, and finally at the last, they would jam on one or two bikes, motorbikes or scooters and thier riders. We were thankful to reach the other side without taking a dip - something which many people were doing at the time - the crossing went across the river right where the local ghats were - so there were literally hundreds of men women and children bathing and washing themselves and thier clothes.The boat also nearly mowed down a whole heard of buffalo which were bathing at the same time. Very photogenic.
After a short and beautiful walk though paddy fields, we arrived in Goan Corner. We realised AFTER we had checked in, that it really was full of COOL people. We sat in the lounge while they banged thier bongos, swung thier poi and tried to walk the tightrope in the garden. The aroma of weed wafted over the whole place while we sat back in Ag-ed scorn! Really made me feel old and FLASH-PACKER-EY. I suppose there are some moments when you have to admit defeat and realise you are OLD!! har har.
Anyway, the accommodations were cheap and cheerful - we had our own adobe hut in some very pretty gardens -and the bongo coolio's stopped banging on by about 11pm.
Next day we had rented a Rickshaw wallah to take us around the whole site of Hampi - an area of approximately 25 square km's. Lots of people opt to cycle it, but seeing as you all know how good I am on a bike, the rickshaw descision was a good one. Also, later we found out that it was very difficult to locate all the good sites, AND the Rickshaw man was a part time guide too - so we got lucky. We spent the whole day whizzing from site to site looking at these incredible ruins - some with giant sculptures in thier midst - some fully preserved underground temples - a huge ancient market place, and finally, just at sunset (impeccable timing from our guide) the largest temple complex which features a massive stone chariot and several temples. The colourful people at the ruins were as photogenic as the ruins themselves. Generally very impressive.
We made it by the skin of our teeth to the ferry before it stopped for the night, and I managed to do a rather impressive falling over on disembarkation...almost taking a gaggle of Indian ladies laden with goods into the water with me...though amazingly none of us got wet (I managed to stay on the 1ft wide pontoon...)
Next day we had booked the bus back to Patnem, so we just spent the day chilling out our own side of the river - which was more peaceful and more Indian than the Hampi village side. Even though we were the more peaceful side, we still were harassed endlessly by rickshaw drivers. We asked one how much it would be to go to a lake our side of the river. When we didnt agree a price, we decided to just go for a normal walk instead...or rather it turned out to be a walk accompanied by a slow moving rickshaw....as we walked his offers of the price to go to the lake dropped.....
Us: How much to go to the lake?
Rickshaw: 700 rupees.
Us: Oh, no thanks, I think we will go for a walk instead.
Rick: How much you want to pay?
Us: no thanks! we are going for a walk now (starting to go for a walk...)
Rick: (following us) How much?? 600??
Us: No thanks! (100 metres...)
Rick: 550?
Us: (200 metres...ignoring the slow moving Rickshaw..)
Rick: Ok Ok 500?
Us: (300 metres...still ignoring...)
Rick: Ok Ok 450?????
Us: (40 metres...still ignoring...)
Rick: Yes??? Yes????
Us - finally decided to go OFF ROAD to get away!!!
So then we spent a very pleasant hour or so by the paddy fields and on the river side watching the local sari clad ladies walk thier buffalo herds into the river to bathe. A really beautiful spot. The afternoon was spent lazing about at Goan Corner, and then we leisurely wandered back to the ferry to meet our pre booked rickshaw man.....who never turned up. We waited until we thought we were going to be so late we might miss the bus and then agreed to go in another rickshaw with a nice driver we met whilst walking to the rickshaw rank. He was very nice, but our hearts sank when we saw the rickshaw. I swear it had to be the oldest and most rickety rickshaw I have seen in India - and that is saying something! Anyway, too late to care now, we hopped in and hoped he would put his foot down....which he didnt. He merrily drove at a slow walking pace the 10km to Hospet where the bus was picking us up. Not only that, he insisted on stopping at all the interesting sites enroute to tell us the indepth history so that we could visit next time we happened to be in Hampi. After the 3rd stop, I, in a rather strangled voice, ended up asking him in no uncertain terms to stop messing about and get us to the bus stop. Which, he duely did (at a slightly faster pace) and we made the bus in alright time....phew!
Another 7 hour journey of bumps in the night, and we were unceremoniously dumped on a pitch black road somewhere near Patnem. Luckily my girl guide sense of direction leapt into action, and we strode off into the darkness. I was perfectly right, and we ended up in Patnem in no time. The only hazard to negociate was a rather nasty looking snake on the road which had recently been half squashed and looked really really pissy. I nearly stood on it (in flip flops), but was saved by my pal who shoved me sideways at the last minute. I then promptly nearly threw up and cried with terror (as you all know, snakes are NOT in anyway acceptable to the Abster) Noice.
We watched the sun rise over Patnem which was magical.
Since our escapades in Hampi we have really been chilling out again. Nela came back victorious from Nepal, and so we have been reunited.
One of the days last week we visited the unknown Cola Beach - which is the next bay along the coast from Agonda. Its a really really beautiful place - just the sort of place you would see in films. Its a white beach at the bottom of a tropically covered black rock cliff. At the back of the beach there is a lovely green fresh water lake which runs out into the sea. Really lovely - and best of all - NO PEOPLE! We sunbathed on a deserted beach for most of the day, and agreed it was worth the effort of getting there (700 rupees and also one peevish rickshaw wallah - he nearly popped all three tyres on the pitted road!) the best thing about the beach was that there is only one tiny beach shack - which was proudly sporting a HUGE KERNOW FLAG! Yay! Didnt have the chance to go and talk to them (too busy baking in the sun and flying our kite!!) but its good to know that we Cornish get everywhere - even to the most deserted places in India!
Nela and I have been planning our next steps all week - we have now decided to travel together for the rest of time we are in India -until May - and even after that, as we both want to explore Asia a bit - and it would be fun to do it together.
We have now booked our train tickets to go to Hydrabad next, where she has had contact with an old penpal of hers - who wants to meet up and show us around. Then I will go to Delhi and on to Kathmandu to renew my visa too. Then when I return to India, we will rendezvous in Bangalore to commence our South India escapade! Its all falling into place!
The busses which run the route are "luxury sleepers" (or rather Indian Luxury) which means double decker sleeping cabins on either side of a central aisle. We piled ourselves and our luggage into our cabin, and then spent the next half hour jigsawing into a half decent position for sleeping - while the bus careered through the Goan countryside at high speed. Sleep is merely a concept when bouncing a foot off the bed every five minutes. Was good fun though.
The only thing that marred the journey slightly by a loud and annoying Isreali lady who complained and was "high maintenence" throughout (for example, her pillow dropped out of her bunk while she was asleep, and she complained a lot and said that someone had stolen it...) Interestingly enough, her husband not only slept at the other end of the bus, but when we arrived in Hampi, he seemed to keep a strict 5 meters away from her at all times!
We arrived in the very early morning into Hampi and were greeted by about a hundred rickshaw wallah's shouting and trying to climb the windows again. Not the sort of thing one wants after such a journey...No worries though, it was exciting to be in a new place.
At first sight, Hampi was really gobsmacking, huge cliffs and boulder fields surrounding a bustling little town. Amongst the boulders were ancient ruins on the scale of Machu Picchu and bigger - huge temples and ruins everywhere the eye could see. The main town itself reminded me of Pushkar - in that it was very well set up for travellers - to the extent it seemed to be built and developed specifically for them - little guest houses and b n b's, internet cafe's and chilled out rooftop cafe's serving ice cold drinks and all manner of western food.
We had heard that the accommodations over the river from the main town were even more chilled out, so we decided to go straight there and check them out. One of the guys from Patnem had recommended a hotel called Goan corner - which is run by a Goan lady - meant to be full of COOL people. The Rickshaw dropped us at the river where we had read it was possible to cross only by Coracle - unfortunately this turned out to be a myth - there were coracle's there, but the ferry was a proper boat. It was however overloaded in true Indian style. Each crossing, the boat was filled with 20 or so passengers, many of whom were travellers with huge backpacks, as well as plenty of Indian ladies carrying things to and from the market, and finally at the last, they would jam on one or two bikes, motorbikes or scooters and thier riders. We were thankful to reach the other side without taking a dip - something which many people were doing at the time - the crossing went across the river right where the local ghats were - so there were literally hundreds of men women and children bathing and washing themselves and thier clothes.The boat also nearly mowed down a whole heard of buffalo which were bathing at the same time. Very photogenic.
After a short and beautiful walk though paddy fields, we arrived in Goan Corner. We realised AFTER we had checked in, that it really was full of COOL people. We sat in the lounge while they banged thier bongos, swung thier poi and tried to walk the tightrope in the garden. The aroma of weed wafted over the whole place while we sat back in Ag-ed scorn! Really made me feel old and FLASH-PACKER-EY. I suppose there are some moments when you have to admit defeat and realise you are OLD!! har har.
Anyway, the accommodations were cheap and cheerful - we had our own adobe hut in some very pretty gardens -and the bongo coolio's stopped banging on by about 11pm.
Next day we had rented a Rickshaw wallah to take us around the whole site of Hampi - an area of approximately 25 square km's. Lots of people opt to cycle it, but seeing as you all know how good I am on a bike, the rickshaw descision was a good one. Also, later we found out that it was very difficult to locate all the good sites, AND the Rickshaw man was a part time guide too - so we got lucky. We spent the whole day whizzing from site to site looking at these incredible ruins - some with giant sculptures in thier midst - some fully preserved underground temples - a huge ancient market place, and finally, just at sunset (impeccable timing from our guide) the largest temple complex which features a massive stone chariot and several temples. The colourful people at the ruins were as photogenic as the ruins themselves. Generally very impressive.
We made it by the skin of our teeth to the ferry before it stopped for the night, and I managed to do a rather impressive falling over on disembarkation...almost taking a gaggle of Indian ladies laden with goods into the water with me...though amazingly none of us got wet (I managed to stay on the 1ft wide pontoon...)
Next day we had booked the bus back to Patnem, so we just spent the day chilling out our own side of the river - which was more peaceful and more Indian than the Hampi village side. Even though we were the more peaceful side, we still were harassed endlessly by rickshaw drivers. We asked one how much it would be to go to a lake our side of the river. When we didnt agree a price, we decided to just go for a normal walk instead...or rather it turned out to be a walk accompanied by a slow moving rickshaw....as we walked his offers of the price to go to the lake dropped.....
Us: How much to go to the lake?
Rickshaw: 700 rupees.
Us: Oh, no thanks, I think we will go for a walk instead.
Rick: How much you want to pay?
Us: no thanks! we are going for a walk now (starting to go for a walk...)
Rick: (following us) How much?? 600??
Us: No thanks! (100 metres...)
Rick: 550?
Us: (200 metres...ignoring the slow moving Rickshaw..)
Rick: Ok Ok 500?
Us: (300 metres...still ignoring...)
Rick: Ok Ok 450?????
Us: (40 metres...still ignoring...)
Rick: Yes??? Yes????
Us - finally decided to go OFF ROAD to get away!!!
So then we spent a very pleasant hour or so by the paddy fields and on the river side watching the local sari clad ladies walk thier buffalo herds into the river to bathe. A really beautiful spot. The afternoon was spent lazing about at Goan Corner, and then we leisurely wandered back to the ferry to meet our pre booked rickshaw man.....who never turned up. We waited until we thought we were going to be so late we might miss the bus and then agreed to go in another rickshaw with a nice driver we met whilst walking to the rickshaw rank. He was very nice, but our hearts sank when we saw the rickshaw. I swear it had to be the oldest and most rickety rickshaw I have seen in India - and that is saying something! Anyway, too late to care now, we hopped in and hoped he would put his foot down....which he didnt. He merrily drove at a slow walking pace the 10km to Hospet where the bus was picking us up. Not only that, he insisted on stopping at all the interesting sites enroute to tell us the indepth history so that we could visit next time we happened to be in Hampi. After the 3rd stop, I, in a rather strangled voice, ended up asking him in no uncertain terms to stop messing about and get us to the bus stop. Which, he duely did (at a slightly faster pace) and we made the bus in alright time....phew!
Another 7 hour journey of bumps in the night, and we were unceremoniously dumped on a pitch black road somewhere near Patnem. Luckily my girl guide sense of direction leapt into action, and we strode off into the darkness. I was perfectly right, and we ended up in Patnem in no time. The only hazard to negociate was a rather nasty looking snake on the road which had recently been half squashed and looked really really pissy. I nearly stood on it (in flip flops), but was saved by my pal who shoved me sideways at the last minute. I then promptly nearly threw up and cried with terror (as you all know, snakes are NOT in anyway acceptable to the Abster) Noice.
We watched the sun rise over Patnem which was magical.
Since our escapades in Hampi we have really been chilling out again. Nela came back victorious from Nepal, and so we have been reunited.
One of the days last week we visited the unknown Cola Beach - which is the next bay along the coast from Agonda. Its a really really beautiful place - just the sort of place you would see in films. Its a white beach at the bottom of a tropically covered black rock cliff. At the back of the beach there is a lovely green fresh water lake which runs out into the sea. Really lovely - and best of all - NO PEOPLE! We sunbathed on a deserted beach for most of the day, and agreed it was worth the effort of getting there (700 rupees and also one peevish rickshaw wallah - he nearly popped all three tyres on the pitted road!) the best thing about the beach was that there is only one tiny beach shack - which was proudly sporting a HUGE KERNOW FLAG! Yay! Didnt have the chance to go and talk to them (too busy baking in the sun and flying our kite!!) but its good to know that we Cornish get everywhere - even to the most deserted places in India!
Nela and I have been planning our next steps all week - we have now decided to travel together for the rest of time we are in India -until May - and even after that, as we both want to explore Asia a bit - and it would be fun to do it together.
We have now booked our train tickets to go to Hydrabad next, where she has had contact with an old penpal of hers - who wants to meet up and show us around. Then I will go to Delhi and on to Kathmandu to renew my visa too. Then when I return to India, we will rendezvous in Bangalore to commence our South India escapade! Its all falling into place!
posted by Abster at 6:30 am
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