hampi.. history, hippies, hummus

from pondicherry we hopped on a bus back to chennai, then took a train to bangalore, and from there an overnight to hospet. from hospet it was an auto ride to hampi, where we cross the river jammed into a tiny boat and walk the remaining kilometer along the path lined with guest houses. easy as pie.

where's dino?

hampi, as expected, was pretty much filled with white people. which for some reasons means that 'german bakeries' and restaurants with menus that feature israeli food or pizza seem to pop up all over. so, as i said, i was expecting the abundance of absurdly clothed and hairstyled (or should i say non-styled) foreigners. what i wasn't expecting was how beautiful it was there! everywhere we went we were surrounded by gorgeous green rice paddies, palm trees, and crazy rock formations that look like something out of the flintstones.

climbing to the top

one evening we were wandering around, taking in the scenery in the glowing orange light. an auto rickshaw passed by and two spanish girls yelled out with an invitation to go to the monkey temple. in a few minutes we found ourselves climbing the hundreds of white washed stairs that lead up the side of a mountain. it was a long hike so we made sure to stop plenty of times to take in the gradually changing view. the panorama, bathed in the golden light was really quite remarkable. and then we reached the top and arrived at the so called 'monkey temple' which apparently is thought to be the birthplace of hanuman. no wonder there were so many aunties climbing all the way up there. the view was beautiful as we watched the sun go down over the rocks. the unexpected discoveries are so often the best ones.

the next day we set out to explore the ruins of hampi, the remnants from the vijayanagar empire. evidently most of the remaining structures are only from the 16th century, which begs the question why are they in such lousy shape?

after crossing the river again we found a place to rent some bicycles - old and rickety as usual - and made our way towards the first set of ruins. we biked all around and still, i'm sure, only saw a fraction of the sites which span acres upon acres. we ended up making a pretty big circuit, in the end probably biking across 15 kilometers or so. but we had lots of breaks to enjoy the temples, scenery, and occasional popsicle.

exquisite carvings

the last temple on our must-see list was the vitthala temple. a long trek, but we figured we could finish the circuit on bike and head back to bazaar road and make the last-boat 6.00 deadline. the temple was pretty spectacular, especially in that gorgeous amber light of early dusk. the carvings on the pillars and exteriors were in fantastic shape. it was certainly worth the trek.

the ride back however... i should say i'm using the word 'ride' very loosely here. the first few minutes we did ride our bikes away from the temple complex. then we hit the rocks. at first pretty flat, nothing we couldn't walk our bikes over. then they got bigger. and craggier. and finally there were out and out hills. pretty much everyone walking by commented on the four strange white girls who seemed to think you could bike across a kilometer of craggy granite hillside. some favorites were 'mountain biking?' and 'power lifting?' eventually we had to carry the bikes part of the way - principally up the stairs and over the larger chasms.

but somehow we made it back to the main road, returned our bikes, and - yes! - made it back to the boat launch site with 25 minutes to spare. a hampi success. the rest of the night was spent relaxing over dinner and enjoying a few well-deserved beers as we watched one of the movies offered at the local restaurants (they know there's little to do in hampi at night and seem to know their audience pretty well, at least based on the movie selection).

the next day we spent visiting the nearby town of anegundi (this time by rickshaw/walking), just 7 kilometers away. the kishkinda trust has come in to encourage sustainable tourism and integrating the locals so that they can benefit from the economy. we wandered around and saw what there was to see, although it was pretty sleepy on a sunday.

the rest of our time in hampi was spent relaxing. with little internet connection and little else to do, we enjoyed our remaining hours sipping lassis and reading or napping in the sun on the swings outside our cottage. not bad, hampi. not bad.

journey to the end of the world

it was tough to cut short my time in varkala - between the warm sunny beaches, cheap and plentiful ayurvedic massages and abundant seafood, i'm sure i could have stayed for several days. but it was not to be. i had places to see in my remaining days in kerala. although actually my next destination lay outside the state itself.

kanyakumari is not a big tourist destination for foreigners. but as for indians, well you can probably find nationals from all over the country here. i think there must be something romantic about being at the very tip of the country, being exactly where the giant nation comes down to one single point. it's this dramatic notion, i suppose, that has led to the tradition of people watching the sunrise. (it's said that from here you can both watch the sun rise and set over the same waters - though in actual practice one has to travel a bit to achieve this.) so, as any good tourist, i dutifully roused myself at 5.30 and made my way down to the water, wandering through winding streets of fishermen's homes.

there were already people gathered to get a spot along the sea wall for the sunrise. as with any gathering of people in this country, there were of course people trying to sell things. 'chai coffee' 'seashells' 'postcards pictures'. the skies were just starting to get light but i passed the time watching the spectacle of indian men clambering down over the rocks to get their pictures taken while being splashed by the sporadic waves.

the morning did end up being a wonderful one - well worth waking up and roaming around bleary-eyed and un-showered. there was something about being one of the first to see the sun come up over all of india that just felt somehow meaningful. then there was the added bonus of the beautiful golden early morning sunlight. i delighted in wandering among all the colorful boats with their ropes, nets and paint peeling in that wonderful way that's just so photographable. at the same time fishermen were busy untangling their nets, hauling in their first catches of the day and setting out to sea.

i think my pictures from this morning capture the scene much better than my words can so i'll just leave it at that and give you this photo-log instead.

first view of the harbor before dawn

water before the sunrise

crashing waves

there it is!

orange glow of the sun over the arabian sea

fishing nets all bundled

studies in texture.. rope wood and sand

kanyakumari in the distance

colors

good place to perch

the golden light really makes these colors pop

first catch of the day

seaworthy vessel

high saturation

into the sun

the eyes have it.. by a nose

fishermen preparing their boats

fishing net or seaweed?

photo?

boats in the rising sun

rows of boats

a colorful harbor

walking out on the rocks, looking back at the harbor

the very tip of india

water, water everywhere

a canal too small even for our little canoe

alleppey is thought to be one of the better (or at least better-known) spots to explore the backwaters of kerala. though i only had essentially half a day there i thought i'd make the most of it by taking a boat ride. since these people are in the business of boats - they have them in spades. any shape, size or price range you could imagine. there's even an 8-hour commuter ferry that goes all the way to kovalam (about 8 hours away) for just a few hundred rupees. then of course there are the extravagant honeymoon houseboats that come with all amenities, including on-board staff. i opted for the lower end of the spectrum (surprise surprise) and since i was by myself a canoe ride seemed like the best option anyway. it was small but quite cozy, and had a small covering which was appreciated especially as the first hour of my trip was rather drizzly.

colors of the backwaters

we spent the early part of the three hours on a larger part of the river but as the skies began to clear and time went on we moved in to the smaller canals and could see life on the river up close. as we floated by we could see coconut trees, pretty little pastel houses, roosters crowing and people out to wash their clothes on the rocks. it was a lovely little ride, peppered with sights like lilypads, boats carved and colorful and even a few kingfishers (what a pretty bird). the ride was relaxing - just what i needed after a few hectic days, and i even got to row, which i really enjoyed. my guide/personal rower asked no less than four time "are you happy?" i must have answered unconvincingly. but after a few hours on the water in alleppey, yes, i was quite content.

that day it was on to varkala. alright, full disclosure: this was not one of my finer travel ventures. but i'll tell you the whole story anyway, whoever's actually reading this, that is. i intended to take a train to varkala despite being told it was 'always late'. come to find out, i should have inquired as to how late it would be. i got to the train station and was told it would be 4.30 instead of 3.30. this quickly turned into 5.30. at that point i figured i'd be getting into varkala too late (it gets dark early down south!) and figured i'd just take the bus since it would leave right away.

so after losing 20 rs. for refunding my ticket, i took a local bus back to the bus stand (where i had just been, i might add). from there i had to take not one bus, but three, ending me up in varkala long past when the train would have deposited me. lessons learned: when people say 'that train is always late,' ask them how late. and when people say 'the train will be better for you,' they're probably right.

rocks and cliffs of varkala

so i arrived into varkala feeling rather exhausted and jaded but luckily found my hotel easily enough. i was delighted to find a tidy little room that had clean sheets, towels, and toilet paper. amazing! i was even more delighted the next morning to discover that i had chosen a beautiful little spot to stay. i chose the city because it was on the coast and situated in a little cove between two cliffs. the cliff - just a few meters' walk from my hotel - was picturesque and the view was just breathtaking. exactly what i needed after the long day of travel before.

shiny wet rocks and sea weeds

of course i wasn't the first one to discover this little bastion and it was immediately clear that this was a popular tourist haunt. as if the tibetan good shops and ubiquitous ali baba pants (calling all hippies) weren't enough - there were continental restaurants boasting waffles (i resisted) and blasting bob marley. i meandered through the shops without buying toooo much but did have two meals with a view of the sea. there's something about eating overlooking the sea that's always sort of magical. and for the first time i felt like i was on vacation, rather than of just traveling.

crashing waves cover the entire shore

i did get a closer look at the water, too. i walked down one of the several sets of steps that lead down to the shore. the tide must have been coming in because the strip of shoreline was rather narrow. throughout the sands were red, craggy rocks overgrown with slimy algae, along with shiny shells and scaly fish. they say the riptide in kerala is intense and claims several people each year. just watching those waves crashing violently against the rocks, i'm inclined to believe them. so although it was a beautiful sunny day (the first after a week of rain, i was told) though i did manage to get my skirt thoroughly soaked while taking a picture. so i suppose you old say i was in the arabian sea.

i guess you can't go to kerala without experiencing the waters firsthand.