Bangalore to Hampi

After leaving Bangalore, we took an overnight train to Hampi. Fortunately, we got a full night’s rest in an air conditioned sleeper train that we had all to ourselves and we arrived on the last day of a two day festival.

Hampi is a small village located about halfway between Bangalore and Bombay, nearly in the center of the country. Our friend, Loren, had briefly mentioned Hampi as a place to visit and I jotted down the name early on in my India research without knowing much about it.

Upon arriving about thirty minutes outside of Hampi itself, we crammed into an auto rickshaw. We drove along dirt roads, sputtering and chugging to make it up gently rolling hills until we reached the town’s center.

We were completely unprepared to see ancient ruins and strange boulder formations covering the landscape. Although it is a World Heritage Site, how could such a place remain so obscure to most people (including me)? It’s magnificent!

Pilgrams from far and near descended upon the town for the festival of Sankranthi. While there were plenty of westerners in Hampi, Indians by far outnumbered us foreigners.

Women in beautiful and vibrant colored saris walked barefoot along the uneven streets, with their travel bags perched atop their heads, perfectly balanced. Men and children, dressed in ornate costumes, asked for money. One man who stood in the middle of the main thoroughfare the entire day, had a knife stuck through his cheek, the handle protruding from his mouth, as he held out a tray in which locals and foreigners placed rupees.

Mr. Paul, a 26 year old rickshaw driver, guided us to the ruins and temples that were not within walking distance (at least not in 90 degree heat). We walked the ruins for hours, visiting temples and the ancient home of a king and queen that obviously lived in luxury at the height of their reign.

The white skin tax (as Leon from the Travelers store in Seattle put it) was in full swing in Hampi. This is where Indians are charged about one tenth of what foreigners are charged to enter a museum or temple area.

A couple of days in Hampi, and we were on another overnight train to Pune, just outside of Bombay…

Happy Travels!