hanuman's hilltop retreat

Hampi

19th November 2011

After Palolem, and after parting ways with the French who are headed for the Varanasi, I decided to leave paradise and check out some more of Goa. The way of life in Palolem is so easy and comfortable that its no wonder people end up staying weeks even months there. In order to keep the momentum of the trip going, I decided to leave and check out one other beach in Goa before heading to Karnataka. The beach I chose - informed once again by the ever knowledgeable rough guide - was Benaulim. The four days spent there was once again a very lazy affair which I enjoyed but was soon eager to get back on the road. The reason being that shortly after arriving in Benaulim it became apparent that the area was a hive for European retirees, the ever present Russians and families on holiday which made me slightly regret leaving the amazingly sociable and younger Palolem. I soon got bored of the place and on the second day made plans to leave for Hampi after finding a train which left on the 18th.  I booked the train online using cleartrip.com and the reason I mention the site, is that the train system in India is confusing at the best of times, and this website shows the availability of trains and times in a very clear and concise way. For this reason it has become a hugely useful tool for those traveling around this vast country and nearly everyone I've met uses it instead of the official Indian rail website. As the train left Margoa at 7.50am it was necessary to hire a rick shaw to take me to the station as buses did not run that early. Although still very cheap (Rs150) it was annoying as the buses cost next to nothing for short journeys. Overhearing my dilemma two girls standing close by said that they were also intending to take the same train and offered to share the rick shaw to the station. And this is how I met the Swiss. There names are Ronja (hope i spelt that right) and Lucia and since then we've been exploring the ruined city of Hampi (former Hindu capital and in its heyday labelled 'City of Victory') together and the following is an excerpt from my journal detailing a particularly eventful day we've had together in this incredible holy city....

                      Upon arriving in Hampi we had to make a decision about which side of the river to stay on and as there is no bridge, the only way to cross the river is by boat. Unfortunately the last boat makes it trip at 6.30pm which means that picking which side of the river is quite a major decision, as you have to stay on the side you choose till morning when the boats resume their service. After asking other travelers we opted for the far side of the river as the general consensus was that 'Viru' was more peaceful and less of a tourist trap than the guesthouses which frequent the central Hampi bazaar. We are staying in the Gopi guesthouse and after being offered a standard room or small wooden hut to sleep in I obviously chose the latter. The hut is housed by a thatched roof and contains a raised central platform upon which a thin mattress has been laid out. The bed itself is  covered by a large mosquito net however I've just noticed that a large hole has formed in the corner giving the mosquitoes easy access to my sleeping body which must be nice for them after looking at the many bites all over my legs.....just have to hope that the malaria tablets i'm taking are doing their job!

         

                Awoke after a relatively chilly night (the hut is ever so drafty) and joined Lucia and Ronja for breakfast. After hatching a plan to hire scooters we headed out into the countryside to explore the area after hearing about this monkey-god temple (Hanuman's) and a large man made lake which may, or may not, contain crocodiles. We soon found the large  reservoir which was nestled between the gigantic boulders which the area is famous for. After dipping our toes in tentatively for fear of hungry crocs we headed off down a dusty road in search of the much talked about hilltop monkey temple and after several kilometers came across the vast boulder hill. From a distance a small white footpath could be seen zigzagging its way up to the top navigating its way round the vast boulders which the hill is comprised of. We pulled over at its base and began the long and arduous journey to the top. A stiff 15min climb up the path followed, and at one point with no obvious route present, it was necessary to crouch and make several steps under a particularly massive boulder. In addition to the tough climb we had timed our trip under the powerful rays of the midday sun which seemed to make the climb twice as hard. (Gas mark 9 was definitely the order of the day if you're reading this Smiddy Fresh) A whitewashed stone temple, upon which a single red flag fluttered in the wind, greeted us as we trudged up the final few steps. The 360' panoramic views were breathtaking and the gust of winds which were whipped up due to the altitude were hugely welcomed after the sweaty climb. After tentatively approaching the doorway to the small temple a man ushered me and Lucia in where we were lucky enough to witness a Puja being conducted. A Puja, I later read, simply means 'devotion to god' and six men were chanting prayers whilst circling an om symbol which had been drawn out upon the floor using candles, slices of banana and palm leaves. The banana was an offering to the monkey god as the object of the Puja is to achieve Darshan - a glimpse of god.  The shrine with its many candles had turned the small room into an oven  and the cool winds which greeted us as we stepped out at the end were a great relief. We then made our way back down the hill and spent some time watching the gangs of monkeys who treated the hilltop site as a giant climbing frame!

             After taking a really nice ride through the vibrantly green rice fields under a late afternoon sun we finally reached the lake we had found earlier. A local guy introduced himself and told us it was possible to jump off the boulders into the lake. After dismissing the myth that crocodiles resided in its waters we decided to jump in and asked him to show us some safe spots to do so. He showed us this massive 18m drop which required climbing three gigantic boulders stacked on top of each other to reach. (Large but nothing on the Tivat bridge jump Balkan Brigade...) We asked if there were some smaller jumps and finally settled for a 7m plunge into the lake and although nothing on the larger jump still required overcoming some nerves.  Ronja decided to give it a miss, so me and Lucia, after dressing down to our underwear, counted to three and leapt off into the cool refreshing waters. Once we had dried off we hopped back on the scooters and headed back to the guest house. Or tried to. About 3km from town my scooter completely died after running so smoothly the whole day. I was told by some passing locals that luckily we were near a small village which had a mechanic and they helped me to push the bike there. After waiting 20mins for the power to come back to the village, as by this time the sun had set, the mechanic got some light and managed to fix a small problem with the accelerator. Paid the man 60Rs for his work and finally arrived triumphantly back at the guesthouse under cover of darkness.

A happy ending in Hampi,

x

Me, Ronja and Lucia.

The legend mechanic fixing my bike for me