Hampi

My next stop was Hampi, via bus. One of the new things I learned about local buses is that they don’t make stops for eating or the bathroom. This included bus rides that last 10 hours long. So you make due, run to the bathroom when the bus picks up more people, or grab a quick bite to eat when the bus stops for gas.

When I finally reached my stop, Hospet, I was again inundated by touts offering rides the rest of the way to Hampi. One weird thing was that one of the touts recognized me from Palolem Beach, which was three weeks and one state over ago. Stalker alert! Anyway, a bunch of other backpackers and I took auto-rickshaws and arrived in Hampi in the dark. Now to get to the better area for lodging you had to cross a small river. However, the boats stop ferrying people at 6pm and we got there at 8pm. So one of the auto-rickshaw drivers called up some of his buddies and soon I saw two little floating things appear in the water to carry us across.

Now imagine two giant umbrellas made of bamboo turned upside-down… that was my ride! It was so funny, to properly balance everyone we had to stack our backpacks in the middle and sit on the rim. But wait there’s more! If you bothered to look down in the “boat” you could see water slowly seeping through. Luckily it was a short 5 minute trip across.

Once on the other side, I found a super nice guesthouse called Mama’s, run by a sweet family. Their son, Sandeep, offered yoga lessons every morning, which I had planned on attending. Everyday I really planned to do some yoga, and everyday I managed to miss the 8am session. Big fat slacker, I know.

The rocks around Hampi were amazing, it reminded me of the Australian outback. Also, bouldering there is supposed to be one of the best in the world. I would have shown off a little, but I didn’t have my bouldering shoes with me.