THE ARRIVAL MADRUGONA
- "Hampi, Hampiiii! I, last stoooooop!" - Shouts the bus driver. I wake up suddenly and look at Rober with his mouth open in the REM phase, I look at the time ... 5.30 am. It can't be: we had to arrive at 7.30! Cachis in the brown ...
-Lety: "Rober wake up!"
-Bus driver: "Hampiiiiii last stoooop!"
-Lety: “What a copon we got off! Rooobeeer we have arrived! ”
-Rober: “Eh ?? What??? Where?? Hey?? But it is early! ”
-Lety: "I know, but we're done!"
-Bus driver: “Hampiiiii”
-Lety + Rober: “Pesaaaao!”
-C.B Our savior: “If they drive like crazy, we have arrived two hours before, they stop to refuel their thirsty bellies of beer and voila, they go like crazy we are already here”
-Rober: "And where are we?"
-Bus driver: “Hampiiiiiiii”
-Rober: "Yes, but where, if we stand in the middle of nowhere and there are only 3 tuktuks and a seller of chai!"
-Bus driver: "Hampiiii!"
-Lety: “Ok. Bye"
-C.B Our savior: “Where do you want to go?”
-Rober: "A Hampi Bazaar”
-C.B. Our savior: “And why? There is nothing there anymore Unesco collapsed everything, now the accommodations are on the other side of the river, where are we now. If you want we go together to find a place to wait for restaurants and Guest house to open ”
-Rober + Lety: "OKI!"
Dear reader, because here in India it is not that they get up very early ... at 5.30 am there is nothing open, and that is how we sneaked into the panoramic terrace of "Laughing Budda" to rest watching the sunrise over Hampi.
FOR A BED (AND TWO EGGS)
As soon as life began to take possession of the dusty alley of Hampi we put ourselves, backpack behind, to find accommodation. We thought it was going to be super complicated since the same day began the most important fair in the city ... but no: after 5 minutes we found a good, (more or less) beautiful and cheap place. Luck smiles at us! As we have to wait to check in, we will have breakfast ... the morning starts best with two light light fried eggs!
HOW THE EXPLORER DORA
But if we have come here it is not to make the eggs so we are going to rent a motillo to tour the famous ruins.
Surprise: you can not visit the ruins by motorcycle thanks, or rather because of the fair, nor by bike!
-L: "What are you telling me?"
-R: “Well, that. Will it go to go to little leg? ”
-L: "What are you telling me?"
-R: "The streets are going to be cut so we have to walk to the temples."
-L: "What are you telling me?"
-R: "Lety, I'm not very funny either, it's a lot of km and it's hot, but it's the only solution"
-L: “What are you telling me… ok, stop. Joeeeeeeeer. Che palle! ” (Very little refined Italianism to indicate a situation that does not please the subject.)
(OR NOT)
We pass the river that separates Virupapur Gaddy (where are most of the accommodations) of Hampi Bazaar and we begin the visit by the Hindu temple of Virupaksha where we could meet the female elephant, symbol of Hampi, a hundred monkeys, and take the first contact with the city environment: the truth is that it is a fascinating place.
-L: “Yes, fascinating. But how are we going to get to the real complex? ”
-R: "Walking"
-L: "What are you telling me?"
And so began our odyssey along the (steep) roads of Hampi. (Ok, it was actually A steep road. But very long.) We visited the hill of Hemakuta and tadán….
THE MIRACLE
Due to the fair there are free buses that run through the ruins. Good for the ruins no, but it catches the road. We ask around, we ask there. We ask the driver to let us know when we get to the "Queen's Baths" and sit in our comfortable bus seat. And that is how we ended up in a lost field of the hand of God.
-L: "Che pallleeeeee !!!!" (Very little refined Italianism to indicate a situation that does not please the subject. But I had already told you this?)
-R: "We go back and stop us, this time really!" We explain it to another driver and a policeman "we want to go to the queen's blessed baths" and "No problem, no problem!"
We sat down again in our comfortable bumper and voila chair. We return to the starting point. From "Queen's Baths" or the shadow. We give up: it's 15, there are 30 and a half degrees, we're sweating like little pigs and we're hungry for wolves. Let's eat and rest. Tomorrow we try again.
HOW THE EXPLORER DOES (THIS TIME IS YES) 1st PART
The attitude says it all. Today we leave the guesthouse with one objective: to crush ourselves in the sun to see the temples. If we can arrive by bus well, if we do not ride on top of a sacred cow, we will sneak into the roof of an abusive tuktuk or we will walk!
But we did not have to ride on top of the cow, or sneak into the roof of the tuktuk, or use our feet ... the bus this time stopped right in front of the "Queen's Baths" after Rober mounted the stage jumped out of the seat and screaming "Stooooooooop!" when he saw through the window the ruins. The best thing was that all the Indians who were on the bus started shouting with him ...
Finally we were able to visit the Queen's Baths that so much history to see them, we didn't like na de ná. From there we begin to explore the Royal Center until we reach the Zenana site, the coolest of all.
2nd PART
We ride again on the free bus with the idea of reaching the lost field of nothing from yesterday: there must be some tuktuk that brings us (although a little) to the Vittala. But no, it is not necessary. We see one parked there and we got off the bus. We do not have them all with us ... being fair day will ask us a lot of pasta or even, you can not approach there. But what's up! He asks us for a fair price and takes us to the entrance of the Vittala temple.
From there there are two options: ride in an electric stroller that takes you to the temple door or kick for a mile. We are shattered: we have already walked a few km, but, it is known, we are more clumsy than lazy, so we started walking until finally (it was not so far away) we see it: Vittala we are here!
After the visit we have only one thing left: come back! And here comes the surprise: the way back to Hampi Bazaar It was the most beautiful thing we saw and that is that the complex is fine but what really makes Hampi unique is the natural environment, full of round rocks on the banks of the river, one above the other that knows where they came from ...
MYTHOLOGICAL MOMENT
There are many legends about the rocks of Hampi ... our favorite says that some king of Sri Lanka asked God Hanumán for help because he envied the mountains of India. He went to the Himalayas and took all the rocks he could, in order to fulfill this king's desire and make "the tear of India" more mountainous. But the weight of the rocks was too much and somewhere in southern India not holding up anymore and he had to drop half of his cargo ... That place is Hampi! Seeing the unreal landscape ... it doesn't cost much to believe in this cartoon!
Legend or not one thing is certain: the beauty of Hampi is incredible, so if you are lucky to pass by, rent a motorcycle and get lost in the surroundings ... you will fall in love!
How to get?
We arrived by bus from Gokarna. We had to go by local bus to Ankola (23 INR). From there we caught a tourist bus that cost us 1000 INR. He left at 23 and arrived at 5.30. Leave in the middle of nowhere, although it really is very close to the Virupapur Gaddy area, which can be reached by walking perfectly.
Where to sleep?
The area of Hampi Bazaar has been demolished, as Unesco gave pasta so that that area was better preserved, away from the tourist hustle and bustle. Even so, there is some lost GH and some restaurant. Where there are more accommodations is on the main street (well, it is the only one) of Virupapur Gaddy (across the river). We stay in the GH of French Travel. The double, without a bathroom, cost us 300 INR. It was quite spartan, but enough! It is said that in 5 years they want to also throw away all this part and put only luxury accommodation.
How to move?
- How to get to Hampi Bazaar. From the Virupapur Gaddy jetty a boat is caught by 10 INR that leaves the other side of the river (Hampi Bazaar). There are also other crossings, always through boats, beyond, where you can pass with the motorcycle. A bridge was built but it collapsed before opening, mysteries of life ...
- How to visit the ruins. The best way is to move by motorcycle (about 300 INR / day) or by bike (about 80 INR / day). We visited Hampi in the middle of the festival so we couldn't rent na de ná. We had to move on foot and it makes a heavy tad (and that we did a journey in a special bus of the fair and another in tuktuk). We advise you to walk the path between Hampi Bazaar and the Vittala temple (about 30-45 min) because it is very beautiful (it can only be done on foot, if you want to ride a motorcycle it is surrounded by another road). The buses that put free understand that they were only for the three days of partying.
Tickets.
All temples are free except Vittala (250 INR) and Zenana (250 INR). If they are visited on the same day, a ticket is valid for both of them (so instead of INR 500, you only pay 250 INR).
