Hampi

Leaving the beaches of Goa behind us we set off on a long drive day, we cross over into the state of Karnataka to the village of Hampi, set in an extraordinary landscape of giant granite boulders, lush paddies and banana plantations.

We are staying just outside Hampi Bazzar at Virupapur Gaddi so we need to cross the river by boat to start our guided auto rickshaw tour. Before we get into the rickshaws we are greeted by Lakshmi (the temple elephant), it’s here we get a smooch (blessing) from her.

First of many stops this morning is at the Vittala Temple. The outer ‘musical’ pillars reverberate when tapped. There is also an ornate stone chariot in the temple courtyard, it’s wheels were once capable of turning. From here it’s to the Royal Centre where we visit the Queens Bath, Elephant Stables and the Lotus Mahal. Before stopping for lunch we make a last stop at Badavilinga and Lakshmi Narasimha Temples.

After lunch we slowly make our way back to the river to catch the boat back. Plans are starting to take shape as we are looking for ways to cool down in this heat. Rumour has it that if we rent a motor bike/scooter we can drive to the lake. Lex and I waste no time rent a bike and make our way to the lake, our first stop seemed nice well that was before every Indian man and his goat came out of the wood work to watch us swim needless to say it was a short swim, back on the bike to find another place to swim and relax. Excellent without having to travel far we find a great place to cool down. Time passes quickly and before you know it the sun will be going down and we want to catch sunset at the top of Monkey Temple. We set off towards the temple with a stumble or two made and a floorless recovery to follow we are back on our way to climb the 600 steps to the Monkey Temple with plenty of time to watch the sunset.

Time to return bikes and head home for a bite to eat and some shut eye.