Last day (ish) - I leave tomorrow at about 4 to catch an overnight train to bangalore, then another train to Chennai, then a bus to Pondicherry. I've stocked up on cold pizza (leftover from dinner), cinnamon danish and cookies - so the journey should be less painful. Well, lets face it, it couldn't be any worse than the overnight bus, for all that it's twice as long!
So goodbye to boulders, and all the kids that shout "Pen? Biscuit? Chocolate? Rupee?" and the mosquitos and to travel buddy Becca (sob - this is actually sad) and hello to the sea, french-italian cuisine and wine (yay) and blissed out yoga. Heaven.
Thursday, November 09, 2006
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
Day 77 - Hampi
Today we were even more active than yesterday (shock horror) - we hired bikes and cycled out to the ruins in the Royal Center. The day was a scorcher (thank goodness I've adjusted to the crazy heat here), so my tan got topped up nicely. It was so nice whizzing by the banana plantations and palm trees, and catching the odd glimpse of temples reaching above the greenery, or the occasional random clearing complete with crumbling ruin. Have vowed to hire bikes more often - they are miles cheaper than getting rickshaws, and though they are all one-gear wonders, they are a great way to get around
For dinner we cycled along the ghats to The Mango Tree, a very cool restaurant on the banks of the river. We sat chatting and reading (and being bitten by mosquitos) until the sun set, then somehow managed to cycle back along the path in the dark without falling into the river/some bushes.
Our landlady is sorting out my ticket to Chennai on Friday (for a small fee of course) and on the same day Becca catches her train to Goa. Sob, alone again for the first time since I first arrived - given that I came on my own and have been here 2 1/2 months, this is quite an achievement. I'm quite excited tho, and am looking forward to exploring Pondicherri and Auroville, yay
We took some more random pictures today, just for the fun of it.../
Vittala Temple
And again...
Conquer the elephant (like the scary facial expressions?) - the elephant stables
A building in the Zenana Enclosure
Swinging from the Mango Tree, in Mango tree restaurant
Sorry... unforgivably I totally neglected to get a random picture of us on the bikes... maybe tomorrow.
For dinner we cycled along the ghats to The Mango Tree, a very cool restaurant on the banks of the river. We sat chatting and reading (and being bitten by mosquitos) until the sun set, then somehow managed to cycle back along the path in the dark without falling into the river/some bushes.
Our landlady is sorting out my ticket to Chennai on Friday (for a small fee of course) and on the same day Becca catches her train to Goa. Sob, alone again for the first time since I first arrived - given that I came on my own and have been here 2 1/2 months, this is quite an achievement. I'm quite excited tho, and am looking forward to exploring Pondicherri and Auroville, yay
We took some more random pictures today, just for the fun of it.../
Vittala Temple
And again...
Conquer the elephant (like the scary facial expressions?) - the elephant stables
A building in the Zenana Enclosure
Swinging from the Mango Tree, in Mango tree restaurant
Sorry... unforgivably I totally neglected to get a random picture of us on the bikes... maybe tomorrow.
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
Day 76 - Hampi
Hampi rocks. Lots of rocks.
We got here yesterday morning at about 10 after an all night ordeal that involved changing buses twice, random stops throughout the night and a bus that vibrated more than the naff massage chairs you get in shopping malls.
Understandably we spent most of the first day here wandering around like zombies and occasionally thumping our heads on various tables as we dozed off over our caffinated beverages. We worked up enough energy to have a wander around the Hampi Bazaar and Varaupaksha temple. Hampi is a very cool place, set amoung the ruins of an ancient Hindu empire. The scenery here is really bizarre, huge boulders are strewn across the landscape and the whole thing looks like something out of the flintstones. The temple was smallish, but had a its own cute elephant, Lakshmi - awww!
The Varaupaksha temple
Lakshmi in all her glory - cuuute!
Me, Becca and ruins
View of Hampi from the hill
Today we hung out in a german bakery and read some books (no suprise there) and then we decided to basically stop being such lazy mares and do some sightseeing. We plodded along the ghats to Sule Bazaar and the Achyutaraya temple - more ruins. It was nice to scramble ovr the rocks and explore the little ruined temples dotted infront of Matanga Hill, I felt like Indiana Jones!
Looots of columns
Entrance to Achyutaraya Temple - cool huh?
Random picture of ruins & boulders
We had Thali for lunch, then caught a rickshaw all the way round to the coracle crossing near Anegondi. The coracle was fun - it was very amusing to watch the guys crossing with their motorbikes (see the 3 dudes below).
When we got to the other side we discovered that the temple we wanted to visit, Hanuman temple, was still 3km away, so we got a random truck to take us the rest of the way - what a mission - and it wasn't even that great darn it. The temple was on a hill so we had to climb loads of stairs to reach the top, and the temple was very not very temple-like, more a plain white building we couldn't enter! However, the many monkeys on the way up were good for a laugh, and views back over the river and banana plantations were great.
Tada! Decending victorious from the heights
View from the top
Feeling energetic still, we walked aall the way to the coracle crossing, listening to the Garden State soundtrack on my MP3 whilst we admired the scenery and waved back at the excited school kids that passed us on their way home ("Biscuit? School pen? 1 Rupee?" can't say they didn't try, all one hundred or so of them). Back on the coracle; this time we shared the ride with 3 bikers, a business man, a boy and his grandpa, an old lady, the 2 rowers and the guy whos job it was to boss them round. We were quite worried the flimsy basket thing covered in tarred sandbags would sink - but we made it to the other side ok. 'No rickshaw waiting - crap - guess we'll have to walk the 7 km back to Hampi'. Luckily we figured out a shortcut along the river, and made it back before dark. This saved us 100R, plus we got to see the sun setting in a hundred colours over the ruins, which was priceless.
We got here yesterday morning at about 10 after an all night ordeal that involved changing buses twice, random stops throughout the night and a bus that vibrated more than the naff massage chairs you get in shopping malls.
Understandably we spent most of the first day here wandering around like zombies and occasionally thumping our heads on various tables as we dozed off over our caffinated beverages. We worked up enough energy to have a wander around the Hampi Bazaar and Varaupaksha temple. Hampi is a very cool place, set amoung the ruins of an ancient Hindu empire. The scenery here is really bizarre, huge boulders are strewn across the landscape and the whole thing looks like something out of the flintstones. The temple was smallish, but had a its own cute elephant, Lakshmi - awww!
The Varaupaksha temple
Lakshmi in all her glory - cuuute!
Me, Becca and ruins
View of Hampi from the hill
Today we hung out in a german bakery and read some books (no suprise there) and then we decided to basically stop being such lazy mares and do some sightseeing. We plodded along the ghats to Sule Bazaar and the Achyutaraya temple - more ruins. It was nice to scramble ovr the rocks and explore the little ruined temples dotted infront of Matanga Hill, I felt like Indiana Jones!
Looots of columns
Entrance to Achyutaraya Temple - cool huh?
Random picture of ruins & boulders
We had Thali for lunch, then caught a rickshaw all the way round to the coracle crossing near Anegondi. The coracle was fun - it was very amusing to watch the guys crossing with their motorbikes (see the 3 dudes below).
When we got to the other side we discovered that the temple we wanted to visit, Hanuman temple, was still 3km away, so we got a random truck to take us the rest of the way - what a mission - and it wasn't even that great darn it. The temple was on a hill so we had to climb loads of stairs to reach the top, and the temple was very not very temple-like, more a plain white building we couldn't enter! However, the many monkeys on the way up were good for a laugh, and views back over the river and banana plantations were great.
Tada! Decending victorious from the heights
View from the top
Feeling energetic still, we walked aall the way to the coracle crossing, listening to the Garden State soundtrack on my MP3 whilst we admired the scenery and waved back at the excited school kids that passed us on their way home ("Biscuit? School pen? 1 Rupee?" can't say they didn't try, all one hundred or so of them). Back on the coracle; this time we shared the ride with 3 bikers, a business man, a boy and his grandpa, an old lady, the 2 rowers and the guy whos job it was to boss them round. We were quite worried the flimsy basket thing covered in tarred sandbags would sink - but we made it to the other side ok. 'No rickshaw waiting - crap - guess we'll have to walk the 7 km back to Hampi'. Luckily we figured out a shortcut along the river, and made it back before dark. This saved us 100R, plus we got to see the sun setting in a hundred colours over the ruins, which was priceless.
Sunday, November 05, 2006
Day 74 - Mysore
We are leaving Mysore today - and I'm not looking forward to it because this will be a first I had hopud to avoid: the first overnight bus... nooooo! 10 hours of sitting upright in a bus trying to snatch some sleep whilst hoping that no-one above us throws up. Luckily we've both got neck pillows and earplugs - so it may just be bearable (though I am really not looking forward to speed-peeing in bushes).
Today we went to the Mysore Mandala Yoga Shala - there was no yoga lessons (Ashtangis have a day off on full moon apparently - whatever) so Becca and I just rolled out our mats in the empty studio and chugged through the Sivananda Series in our own time. The few days break did my body good - my elbow has recovered and I aalmost got into scorpion (right) but then flipped out and hit my toe - ouuuch. Afterward we had fresh brown bread and butter, muesli with fruit salad and curd and boiled eggs from the shala's cafe - yuuum - the best brunch so far in India! On the subject of food (it is my favourite subject after all) - we are now going to go cram into Hotel RRR's packed restaurant, to delicious thali elbow to elbow with the locals (the busier the restaurant, the better the food). I hope the food is as good in Hampi! Byee!
Today we went to the Mysore Mandala Yoga Shala - there was no yoga lessons (Ashtangis have a day off on full moon apparently - whatever) so Becca and I just rolled out our mats in the empty studio and chugged through the Sivananda Series in our own time. The few days break did my body good - my elbow has recovered and I aalmost got into scorpion (right) but then flipped out and hit my toe - ouuuch. Afterward we had fresh brown bread and butter, muesli with fruit salad and curd and boiled eggs from the shala's cafe - yuuum - the best brunch so far in India! On the subject of food (it is my favourite subject after all) - we are now going to go cram into Hotel RRR's packed restaurant, to delicious thali elbow to elbow with the locals (the busier the restaurant, the better the food). I hope the food is as good in Hampi! Byee!
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