Hampi and Vijayanagara - Once-Magnificent !

It was a Journey amidst history, which I preceded with no expectations. No planned agenda or research was done , prior to taking this trip. It was a three day weekend getaway that we decided to take, which coincided with the holiday weekend of the Indian Independence.

No planning meant ,a couple of my friends who were on this trip already knew the place well. Hence on the 12th of August 2009, we booked the bus tickets and decided we’ll take this trip.

13th of August was complete madness , woke up at 9.00 in the morning , Binu my colleague was supposed to meet me at Croma , to pick up my new camera ( Nikon D60), I was super charged even though I slept at 3.00 am in the morning .

The plan was to pack my stuff, and leave from work, which believe me I promptly did. However Fate had chosen its own plan for me and the others on this trip. I decided to take my car, so that I could get it serviced while I was out of town and would not need it.

All of Thursdays was lost between getting works done and at last I was all set to leave, had my brand new Nikon, and everything else I thought I might need on this three day vacation. When a big barrage crashed on my head, a certain someone who was supposed to come with us on this trip was stuck with work and needed time.

Anyways, time passed by quickly, but the person had not finished yet, we kept pestering him to finish and he kept saying 5 minutes, which passed to hours and it was almost 9.30 pm when we finally left office. He drove super crazy fast through the Bangalore traffic.

We made it to Sneha’s house in record time, and she quickly finished packing and we then waited for the taxi to pick up, but it never came as scheduled which added to the intensity of this whole trip , anyway s when it did come , I called the cab company and gave them a piece of my mind and how badly they are rendered their service .

At last we picked the boys up on the way and made it to the bus station, spent a few minutes smoking and hit the bus which had just arrived. So there we’re looking for our seats and guess what we see, two cute French boys … wala!! This journey was going to get a bit more appealing. One of them was way too excited and did make conversations even before we got settled. After exchanging some pleasantries and information, we retrieved our tired bodies to la la land with hopes of a relaxing weekend away from the usual Bangalore life.

The journey through the night was bumpy but I could not care less, it would soon be over and I would be in a land I never knew before. when morning came , we had reached our Hospet, the next bus was at 7.00 am , hence it was a Hour an wait until we reached out final destination . Morning in south of India always starts with Filter coffee, and that what we were looking forward to. The sweet strong smell of the caffeine drove us to the nearest Dharshini (a resto, which serves south Indian breakfast treats). We perched ourselves in the available seats, the group had just gotten bigger, we were six now.

Friday 14th August 22, 2009

Bus from Hospet to Hampi took us 45 mins.Quite a bumpy ride and to add to the fun, we had found ourselves the last seats . I could not wait to get my camera out and start taking pics. So Harish and I started this whole thing about taking pics were ever possible.
As the bus drove in the Hampi town, it was breathtaking, the entrance to the town was amongst ruins and one can see the huge dome of the virupaksha temple with intrinsic stone carvings. It was supersonic, like a out of space feeling.
The crowd was a healthy, mix foreigners and locals. My heart beat faster with every step I took , I was here, a place I had no expectations from or knew very little off it was saga of forgotten Land , an exclusive part of history of a great empire which had once flourished and Fallen at the hands of the enemies . what more could I want from life. It was my first beautiful experience with Hampi and it was only the beginning.

First Stop, Breakfast time, the most important meal of the day, New Shanti restaurant run by one Mr Elango who I came to meet only a few minutes before I left, a very friendly gentlemen. The restaurant offered quite an elaborate cuisine. So after ordering ourselves big breakfast. We ate and made small talk. After relaxing, we made our way to the river which apparently sources the commuting from the main Hampi town to the other side where private guesthouses and resto’s that cater to all the back packers and weekend guest much like ourselves.

Before I left , I did have some of my good friends tell me about places I should visit , and hence the first pick was Mowgli Guest house , which I had heard so much about , they had the best rooms possible and a good hangout just under the Tamarind tree, which gave the place a bit of a drama.

After much bargaining which btw the French friend (Augustine ) was successful , and much thanks to his “lonely Planet “ guide book they were carrying , we struck a deal for three rooms at 300 buck a night. So we all got settled in , took a cold shower, and gathered under the tamarind to tree to set out to complete the day one Agenda , site seeing , Frankly I hate site seeing , but this I tell you I don’t regret . it was almost lunch time ,and Veeresh wanted to eat at a small resto, which served North Karnataka cusine , and hence it was the Ranju Best Khanavalli which attracted his attention , after a good meal or rice , sambar and all that good stuff , we head out to our first spot .

We Visited the : Achyutaraya Temple/Tiruvengalanatha Temple, Yeduru Basavanna, Vittala temple, Tungabhadra River, Uddana Veerabhadra temple , Virupaksha Temple.
The last boat leaves the main Hampi Bazaar at 6.00 pm and hence we had to make it back to the Guesthouse in time on the way we stopped at a resto near the river called “funky munky” mush like its name , it was cool place to hang out and have some chai and relax . After about an hour we made it back to the Guesthouse which was a short ten minute walk, stopped off at a store where we bought some amenities which we thought were much needed, like a small torch, mosquito coil etc.

Guest house was full of buzz , with crowds gathered under the tree relaxing and enjoying beers and food , however we decided to go to another place which appealed a bit more to us , and that was when we found laughing Budhha , a cool join which served good food and a cozy place to relax . The trick to finding a good place to sit, go there by 7.00 am and the place mostly is all yours.

Hence the first day in Hampi was a success, loads of beer complimented the food we had ordered and the company was rather very interesting. All of us shared experiences and jokes, laughed very loud , got some dirty looks from people, but enjoyed the whole environment and after a light buzz in my head , I was happy to be there , to be alive , and enjoyed every moment that god granted me .

The following two days were as enticing as the first , second day was no site seeing, but time for some physical activity hence we climbed a small hill strewn with boulders , it was an amazing climb , the boys were very active and so were the gals , The fact that I have not done this in the past 6 years did not affect me one bit , I was there trying my best to make it to the top , and believe me , the scene was breathtaking from the top , it could spend my life up there and stare at the beauty of it all , god did put his heart and soul when he created earth , the colors of nature just came alive and entangled each other to produce an enchanting and glorious opera .

The third and our last day turned out to be a bit of a confusion, one of us had to meet a couple of friends and set out early , but the others could not keep up to the time as discussed and the group kind of got parted . Anyways that did not stop us all from doing what was planned , the person left alone did some exploring on his own and we did the same , and this time it was on bicycles another forgotten hobby of mine , first important task was to find the right bike , which I did and then we set out , little did realize that my bike had no bell and I had to scream out loud when people came in front of me at the bazaar , it was so much fun, I could hear myself saying side side side side in true Indian style .

After a long exhausting ride and some more sightseeing we came back to New shanti where the staff was kind enough to keep our luggage while we went exploring. We came back and met with the lost lamb and had some refreshments and relaxed until Dinner time, and at 7.00 pm we went to Mango for the last Dinner in Historical city of Hamper .Mango Tree, turned out to a fascinating restaurant, The entrance was through a huge Banana Plantation, a small path led us to it, they served only vegetarian food and was set up in a very village style seating, right under and enormous Mango Tree. I found out that it’s been there for the last 23 years. It turned out to be a quite, yet fun night, I was happy hanging out with like minded folks.

When we got back to new shanti, our exhausted and exhilarated bodies were ready for a nightcap , Our amused yet quite thoughts knew that we were only 6 hours away from the reality of a city life , none of us in our hearts wanted to leave ,yet we knew we had emails to write , problems to solve , Dam’s to build , find efficient fuels to burn , hence we took our backpacks , jumped in to an Auto and made it back to Hospet to await the ride which we did not really look forward to .

The Art of Planning

There are two kinds of people in this world so they say. The one's who make plans and the ones who live it. Although, i always belonged to the second category, i kind of saw myself slowing drudging into the former kind, little did I know, that making plans always got your hopes high and then fucked you right at the end of that plan culminating into reality. So here I was, making plans to, at last take that backpacking trip I always longed for and as the days were approaching, I had to ditch the whole thing.

Anyways, there is some hope left. August proves to be a month of travel, did a day trip to do some rafting, It was awesome, sighted a croc basking in the sun it back to us and its mouth wide open. It looked black as a coal and was perched on a rock you could barely see. It looked peaceful.

The most screwed up shit on the whole trip was the people who apparently thought it was ok to fuck around with nature and treat the river like a garbage dump. And they say cleanliness is godliness, the religious twits :(

Anyways, life has thought us too much, and ignorance looks like the only choice we have. A little ahead in the river, the water looked very tempting, without thinking I jumped off the Raft and into the cold water. I could hear my heart thrashing, while I tried my inadequate skills to stay afloat, the life jacket was a gifts straight from god , the current was high and the river seemed vast and made me feel like a tiny little speck. The croc was about 1/2 Km away and showed no interest in humans. It had its own fish to fry.

So I swam until I could no longer control the current. Go with the flow and stay on your back is what the guide had said during his instructions, which by the way was incomprehensible when he spoke to normal beings.

It was a remarkable sensation. There I was right in the middle of the river, I suddenly felt my heart swell like it was going to burst , it felt like I was in a horror movie , you know the one where you just don't know what'll come get you from down below. The Friday the 13th kinds almost happened in my mind. Fuck my heart just beats faster when I think of it. Overall, the rapids were very few, but it proved to be a good break from the usual. Might just go back next week and do it all over again.

Next on the list is Hampi and then Kerala, hopefully will prove to be as expected? Then comes September and the north trip, which hopefully will happen, no plans or hopes, just pack my gear and head to the north. I don't give a fuck who comes with me this time.. I'm getting my ass outta b ‘lore for sure, enough said . XX

Namma (our) Bangalore…

Dedicated to all my friends those who i have met and those who i have not...

Bangalore is an adventure in itself. You can call Bangalore the Garden city, pensioners paradise, the It hub or the pub capital. But it’s a city of many facades. I never thought of leaving Bangalore, i guess i felt content here.. for a lot of reasons..

I see Bangalore as a mix of people with contemporary and a cultural background. Bangalore has a way of making first timer feel right at home, an interesting jumble of academically talented people,folks with artistic orientation. Mix of people who are inclined towards Music ranging from Heavy metal to Classical Indian not only listening but also playing it.
It’s a place many Bands form and break up. People who are religious believers to staunch Athesist’s. The city brings all genres together in idyllic way.

One thing is guaranteed though,the city will embrace you with open arms. So if all you want is to get that well deserved break, enjoy a weekend, drink loads of beer, meet new people and yes try some fantabulous local cuisine, before you head off to your next adventure…

It is the diversity which forms Bangalore’s culture, it is definitely not the place, so you will see smiling faces and hear happy enthusiastic laughs. People enjoying a
quite time at the theater or people Partying heavy and hard. Bangalore is a world of its own in many different ways...

Check this link :

"India appeals to backpackers across the globe, because it's the cheapest to eat and sleep enjoying the best of both the worlds"

http://www.indianbackpacker.com/

Splendid blue - almost made it ..

Splendid blue is inspired by my latest discovery of my motherland
I could have just told people how my vacation was…. It was great! It was awesome! And blah blah blah …But I just did not want to describe it with a few sentences … that’s not me; probably, I could not do justice to what I experienced in a few excited words.

Day 1
5th August 2008
Destination: Chennai airport
Duration: 45 mins flying time

Chennai (Aka Mad for madras) one of the four metropolitan cities in India. This 350 year old city grew up under the huge influence of an English settlement of Fort Saint George,I hear, and with time absorbed the surrounding towns and villages. However, despite having a British influence, Chennai has been successful in retaining its traditional Tamil Hindu culture and have been able to provide a unique blend of foreign influence and Indian culture.

Ash( my sister)said Chennai!! I made a funny face and said oh the weather is horrible. It’s hot and humid. I couldn’t spend a minute. Climatic conditions of Chennai can be quite grueling. In Summer the temperature 37 °C - 21 ' C , believe me its way above that and add the Pollution not to scare my readers but the airport does have Air condition and is quite ok... I guess unless your stuck out side ;)

So we landed in Chennai around 10.00pm .. and had our connecting flight next morning at 5.00 am heading to Port Blair. We thought we would just catch up with one of Ash's old college friends who would keep us company for some time.

He was quite entertaining and kept talking about Rajni-Kanth, if you don’t know who he is then, I must say you are missing the most hilarious part of moving making,the stunts are fantabulous. People all over the state of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, worship him, when I say worship him, I really mean worship him.

Any way our time passed quite nicely on the outer benches which were in front of the airport … you could see people resting their tired bodies on the benches waiting for some one to arrive, probably some close relative, coming all the way for the Emirates bearing foreign gifts…. People in India I guess fancy gifts from abroad…. It’s a thing of pride I guess to have someone bring you a perfume or a swell velvet blanket that you can show of to your neighbors…. It always makes me smirk when people react to such gifts… but its fun I guess… it’s the whole idea if gifts that make people quite ecstatic.
So here we were on the bench waiting for our plane which bore the gift of taking u to a place we thought would be a great vacation spot .We had Fried Rice for dinner, mikie was kind enough to get us what ever he could find at that hour , I guess it was around 11.30 when we met him. We shared a few smokes, the passer by watched as we lit our cigarettes with a matches burrowed from a man two benches away sleeping , he woke up from deep sleep and was patient enough lend us a light.

So time passed by and it was time for Mikael to leave so we decided at last that we’ll just get in and probably find a quite corner for a power nap.

6th August
Destination still in Chennai ( blimey!! )

So its almost 2.30 am on the Wednesday Morning and we walk up the security guards checking tickets and as we approach them, one of the guys dressed in an ill fitted suit, wearing spectacles asked us where we were heading, and happily we chirped like early birds(we’re taking the Jetlite airlines to the Andaman islands yoo hoo !!) he gave a laugh like he said no you’re not an told us the flights were canceled... what! Canceled .. did i hear canceled ) I was gonna kill someone at that second

It was like a huge bomb on my head… I kept telling Ash that I could not believe what he was saying and I could not believe that we might have to actually turn around and go back to Bangalore… I wanted to scream and cry and laugh at the same time. I was dumbstruck with disbelief. We walked up to the jet lite counter the light were off , but there was a guy at the reservation counter thank god for us , sad for him , he was quite clueless when the guy in the suit confirmed if the flight was still on , and he again re-confirmed the same to us .. It was exactly like the bomb blasts in Bangalore which was more like teasers.

We had no choice but to call our travel agent, she took some time to wake up regain composure and understand what was going on. Ash had to explain the whole issue to her twice and she assured us that everything will be fine.

FYI only :There are two other airlines which fly to Port Blair, our very own Indian Airlines and of course ‘Simply fly Deccan. The airlines which got taken over by the King of good times “Kingfisher airlines”.

Any way we get the flight tickets changed and then the flight is delayed due to bad weather or something. We complete security checks etc and there we’re waiting for the flight. Then we settle in our seats and at last the flight takes off. Yay! 2.5 hours later BHAM!! we land with a thud…. I hate landings. But anyway its almost 10.00 I the morning we gladly find our way out of the hotel and the first thing is a guy with a red wind sheater… waiting for us with almost lazy look on his face… its none other than our good newly found friend “flyhigh Xave” . We are very happy to see a familiar face after some useless waiting time.

6th August
10.30 am

Xave gives us three Option of getting to “Wandoor” it’s about 1.5 hours from portblair Airport to wandoor (ANET research center) . So the options are simple
Cab 500, Auto (Indian tuk tuk ) 300 and Local bus 10 rupees. He he we go for the Auto and bargain our way out and settle for 250 Rs. The whole travel plan is how we can survive on minimal wastage of money, but then we treat ourselves to a auto ride after a log dreadful wait at the Chennai airport.

ANEt(Andaman and Nicobar Environmental Team): It was beautiful and nostalgic, just like my Gram’s house in Managalore. We talked excitedly of all the summers we have spent their.

As soon as you enter the 4 feet wide gate you see the beautiful big Cottage space Anet uses it like a sanctuary for Books which is on the first floor and below them it’s like a museum of different things ranging from the A& N tribes to the types of animal species you find. They also have a Television where you can watch some great documentary on herpetology.

Romulus Whitaker the Croc man as they call him was the one to set this place up before he returned to Uk. The famous herpetologist who has dedicated his life to saving the endangered species of the rainforest. Specially the King Cobra the prided and venomous of the south India.
Check this out : http://behlabhishek.wordpress.com/2008/08/03/worlds-biggest-crocodile-report-by-rom-nik-whitaker/

Anyway we think of checking out the place first, all I have on my mind is a shower and then some nice hot tea… but all my plans as usually go the other way around around. So we have tea first and then some nice simple lunch and off we go exploring. Shower can wait I think to myself. We got introduce to Naveen who was the official cook, a young, very shy with a sweet smile boy from jarkahd Montoo the care taker the first one to arrive in Anet after it was purchase by Mr. Whittaker, we meet "Ague" the brave survivor of the tsunami (I believe he survived for almost 15 days in the water with broken shoulder and some how escaped death.) , we meet John Saw who is the sweetest looking man quite & very pleasant manner.
After the introductions , Xave shows us a Boat which they have been working on. he sounds quite excited about the whole thing and thinks of colors he can pain the boat and how beautiful it will looks while it make its debut sail. Then we enter the mangrove or let me says what’s left of it.




It’s an unbelievable site and guess what theirs more in store for Ash and I. So we walk across this muddy mangrove which was destroyed during the Tsunami, approximately 4 years back, it made the world news, I guess just like 9/11, but this was purely mother nature’s doing, like she was teaching us a lesson for destroying her with man made inventions, the topic of discussion between Xave and I was quite intense and Ash was busy being awed by the sight and trying her photography skills. I kept chatting up Xave who again is a quite guy , but always laughing about something, like he is constantly watch a comedy show on TV or something , I gaze at the surroundings in wonderment , at tall uprooted trees , I’m not kidding you but I had never see such a sight in all my life.
We spent a good amount of time near the beach and made plans for next day while we also regretted the fact that we did not have smoke nor beer to wile away some time and cherish the quite we were experiencing. We spent time climbing rocks, some I could not climb, and realizing the fact that I was the least fit person in the group, which kind of made me think of doing something about my fitness, and I made a mental note to ensure I come back and start a fitness routine and try to last out the plan this time at least.
I cringe at the thought of getting of back to normal life, work, parents, and dreadful conversations of marriage and how time was running out. I shook my self off all those thought and tried to enjoy the present. Probably got a head rush of what I saw. It was getting dark so we walked lazily back to Anet. A day well spent
So we sit around for sometime and check out the library and have some more tea.Its time for a nice bath and guess what Ash and I are shit scared. Its pitch dark trees all around. To get to the hut is about a 100 m walk across a narrow path. And only a torch to accompany us. We are safe in our room and in record time.
Time for a shower I feel icky and sweaty. So I tell ash to stand out while I take a shower, alert like an owl looking everywhere in the bathroom searching for creatures which might jump out and surprise me to death. I almost laugh at what is happening to Ash outside, who just has a torch with her. She makes conversations and we talk about how scared we’re. We repeat the same thing while she takes a shower, its chilled water so I hear her squeal when she makes contact with water. Anyway its time for some more chai (tea). So of we go again all scared making our way back to the dining room. We glide as if flying in the air , or the next thing I know I might be shitting in my pants , and a reptile staring at my face. I shit you not that place was infested with Vipers!!

We meet Hari at the dining table, and he is a herpetologist as well. Thanks reptile world. Hari is in his own world most of the times I hear, hailing from derahdun up north another beautiful hill station, but he is from kerala another southern state famous for its back waters. We bombard him with questions like eager children waiting to hear a scary story all wide eyed and huddled together. And then Bham! he says “I have some snakes in my room would you like to see them ?“ my heart starts beating faster and I say , are you kidding me!! but ash wants to see it and he smiles at us and how horrified we’re thinking about harmless creature (snakes) anyway this is what he gets fist a dirty brown 5 ft long “Pit wiper” he lays it down and it moves like a belly dancer , and I shit you not it creeps me out , I have goose bums ,I show it to zave and he laughs at us .
Then comes the the small baby pit wiper and a baby wolf snake in a two small food boxes, with holes on top. One is a dangerous venomous snake and the other is not. So zave get the wolf snake out and starts petting it gently , I’m just a spectator in this whole drama. Ash is close to zave and wants to do the same , the snake takes the liberty of hissing and then going for the kill , at Xavei hand and we all laugh as we comically imagine how the snake might break its fangs , anyway ash gets a chance now to pet it , she does well , and then I summon up my courage to start petting it , I try once and as it creeps up my hand give me the willey's when i think of it now , I ask xave to take it back and then I go for it again , the snakes tries to bite my finger the middle one and I scream , and scare ash as well .

We see another snake called the Bronze back , its quite interesting to watch hari and Xave handles the snake , but I have had enough , I regret that I have not taken any pics, So we sit our self's to dinner which is simple dal rice and some sabji (a typical Indian meal of lentils , vegi's ). Its yum and we’re happy and tired, scared, awed all at the same time. We get back to the hut and off we go to bed, three things I remember, 1. Scary dream, 2.hurting my knee and 3. I wake up in Ash’s bed phew!!....

7th August:
Destination: from Wandoor to Have lock island

We have breakfast chill for a while, read some books and then head out to the island. Its almost a 2 Km trek to the bus stop. Bus fair is 10 Rs, to get to the port Blair Jetty. 195rs or 275 rs for the ferry which will take you to have lock. We got the 275 one and decided to sit on top of the ferry instead of inside. I would probably puke with all the swaying of the boat.
So we find our selves a nice little corner and put our back packs down. It’s an nice place to watch the waves as the crash into each other and to the boat. We look at the beautiful blueness of the water. A splendid navy blue and loads of white foam, like a bucket full of water mixed with detergent. It’s a slow ferry and Wala!! 3.5 hours later we’re in the beautiful island of Have lock. I make a wish that I could stay here forever.

The rest is history … All I say to my readers is .. if you're passionate about traveling .. then keep in mind that “A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving.” Go figure.......

some pics from have lock