Two friends (Sue & Andy) and I visited an archaeological site about 250 miles north of Bangalore over the weekend of Jan. 26. Hampi, as it is popularly known today was the medieval capital of the Hindu empire Vijayanagara (the City of Victory). There are over 500 incredible structures remaining from this empire. The city itself was destroyed in the 1500's during the wars that accompanied the Mughal invasion and conquest of India.
Hampi is an active archaelogical site. Many of the temples, streets, palaces, and markets have been restored but many more are still being excavated and reconstructed.
The first part of the adventure was getting there. Because we waited untile 2 days before leaving to try buying train tickets there were none available so we had to take the overnight sleeper bus. This was a 10 hr ride to remember. The sleeper compartments on Indian busses sleep two people. I had to sleep for 10 hrs with a guy I've never seen before or since. Fortunately, he kept to his side and I kept to mine. I did have to keep my i-Pod on all night to drown out his snoring but we eventually made it to Hospit; a town about 7-8 miles from Hampi. The bus apparently has only a specific amount of time to be stopped because we had to jump off as the driver was starting out.
Main street in Hospit ater getting off the bus
Then it was a short ride to Hampi
We stayed at the Rama Guest House - the best part was the rooftop restaurant
The rooms were a place to sleep and relatively clean but not many amenities.
I wonder when check-out is?
Some views from the roof top deck
Then it was off to see the sights.
On the way out of town we saw an actual snake charmer with 2 cobras!
After avoiding a stampeeding herd of goats we arrived at "The Dinner Table" This was a huge communal table carved from rock at which people would have mass dinners during festivals or weddings.
These are just a few of the 100's of sites in Hampi. Almost every boulder has an end missing and still has the hand chiseled holes that were cut first to split the rock. Both the man-made scenery and the natural landscape are amazing.
Sunday, February 3, 2008
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