XV - Hampi

Lex and me finally managed to travel a little bit! There are so many places to see in India, this country is just so incredibly huge and culturally diverse. Getting out of the city for just two days felt really good, now we are looking forward to traveling more.

So, we went to Hampi for two days. Many people recommended seeing this place, locals as well as international people. Hampi is known as a place where hippies hang out and live, a place of beautiful nature and ancient architecture. And it's pretty much true: We did not have enough time to properly explore all of the antique buildings and magnificent landscape. The hippies that we saw, though, were pretty disappointing. I would rather call them hipsters - rich western kids that like to dress like hippies. There are a lot of those in Hampi.

Also, the place is super touristy. Everyone on every street corner tried to sell us something completely overpriced. When we got off the bus half a dozen rikshaw drivers urged us to take a ride with them, some of them even entering the bus. One of them followed us on our way through the city and he would not stop wanting to sell us a rikshaw ride. A meal in Hampi is about twice the price of a meal in Bangalore. Every major street has stalls selling overpriced souvenirs.

So, Hampi is definitely worth visiting. The nature and remnants of the Vijayanagara empire are truly beautiful. Just one tip: Go off season (between May and October). I have been told that it is cheaper and less crowded then.

Looking forward to more travels, hopefully to less touristy places that are just as beautiful as Hampi.

One can only imagine how beautiful this place must have been.  

The bathroom of the queen of Vijayanagara. I'd call it a swimming pool...

very detailed battle scenes on the walls of one temple.

Some of the ruins cover huge areas, it must have been like an immense enclosed living complex, almost like a castle.

Narasimha, the hindu god of protection, is half man, half lion. This is a ten meter statue of him.

A public swimming pool

A view on Hampi, with the ruins of ancient temples in the background. The greenish water in the foreground are rice fields.  

Beautiful sculptures, remnants of ancient glory.

An antique step well, used to gather water during the rainy season.