Hampi

Out of the many places that I've visited, Hampi has been one my favourites. Hampi's landscape - strewn with boulders, ruins, and rivers - is strikingly beautiful and reminded me of something out of an Indiana Jones movie.  The site was home to the powerful Vijayanagara empire during the 14th to 16th century, and is located about 460 KM north-west of Bangalore. 

Hampi proved to be a relaxing weekend getaway. Pearce and I  spent our days wandering around the ruins, biking, watching the colourful sunsets, and drinking lassis (Indian smoothies) and lime sodas. Walking along the main road, we laughed at the variety of animals sharing the street with us: cows, water buffaloes, chickens, stray dogs, and monkeys (one of which jumped down onto our table one meal and stole my toast!). Everyday we ate lunch at a lovely, riverside restaurant called Mango Tree, which served Indian and continental food.

If you ever want to know what it is like to be a celebrity, go to Hampi (preferably in the off season when the vast majority of tourists are Indian). Over the course of three days, Pearce and I probably shook 30 Indians' hands, posed for just as many pictures, and were even asked for our autographs by a little girl!

On the way home, the trains were all booked (train tickets can be difficult to come by unless booked well in advance.) so we opted for the overnight bus. The A/C sleeper bus’ décor was straight out of the 70s.  Surprisingly "sleeper" didn't mean fully reclining seats; Pearce and I  had a compartment with a double mattress! Unfortunately, very little sleep was to be had. It was a bumpy ride and the driver sounded his extremely loud horn every 10 seconds.