picking up where we left off, sarah and i boarded an overnight bus from goa to hampi for the next leg of our journey. also i will warn you now that the number of photos is going to increase immensely because you can’t be surrounded by those views and not take hundreds and hundreds of photos.

and if you’re following along in the ranga and ryan show playlist, songs 19-22 were inspired by hampi.

tuesday.

our sleeper bus was pretty comfortable, and we both slept most of the journey. and even though our bus was advertised as going all the way to hampi, i had read enough reviews that i was prepared when the last stop was in hospet around 6am. i let the melee and confusion die down and found an auto driver who was willing to take us to where we were staying and we set off on our way.

vijay turned out to be a really nice guy, and when he asked us if we wanted to see the sunrise on our way we both immediately said yes. he neglected to tell us that it involved climbing up 600 steps to get there, but the views from matanga hill were well worth it. it’s the highest point in hampi, and from the top you have panoramic views of the town and surrounding areas. pro tip: definitely do this, but make sure you have proper footwear as it’s slippery in a few places.

once we made it back down it was time to head toward zostel gangavathi. the property is about 21 kilometers from the town of hampi so it’s a bit of a trek, but it’s absolutely worth it. the people who work there are very nice, there are animals roaming about who will happily befriend you, the food is excellent, the accommodations are great, and it allows for the opportunity to meet others who are also staying there if you’re so inclined. pro tip: highly recommend staying here / they have dorms, private rooms, and private cottages, so there’s something for everyone / you can pay the initial deposit online, but once you’re there they only accept cash or indian bank cards / check-in time is 12pm and check-out is 10am

we had a few hours before our cottage was going to be ready, so we dropped our stuff, chatted with a few people, and settled in to eat breakfast and relax. after that we both took naps, me in the cottage and sarah in the hammock on our porch, before heading back to the common area to check on evening plans.

a group was being gathered for a ride out to a sunset point, so we joined in for that and enjoyed getting to know some of our fellow guests along the way. the sunset was incredible, and by the time we got back we had just enough energy to gobble down some dinner and pass out.

wednesday.

no trip to hampi is complete without climbing the 575 steps to the hanuman temple [believed to be his birthplace], so the previous evening we arranged for an auto driver to pick us up at 5.30 in the morning so we could tackle it before the heat and to see the sunrise. we only saw a few other people on the way up, but as we were sitting and watching the sunrise it got pretty crowded.

once the sun was above the horizon we clambered over the boulders to the opposite side, partly to get away from people and also to check on my favorite tree. i first saw this tree on my very first trip to hampi in october 2005 when it was quite small, and on every subsequent visit i would make sure to go check on it. i like to say that we’ve both grown a lot in the nearly 19 years we’ve known each other, and it brought me a lot of joy to see it again.

after we checked on my tree and chilled for a bit and got swarmed by monkeys, we decided it was time to head back down. there is one aunty who has been selling tender coconut at the base of the temple for as long as i’ve been going there, and that was another tradition in which i was happy to partake. it was sarah’s first time having tender coconut, and she loved it.

we were ready for breakfast by that point, so we made our way back to zostel to eat and relax and nap. once we were rested it was off to sanapur lake so we could do a coracle boat ride. the water levels were too low to do a ride on the river, but luckily we had the lake option which was also very nice and allowed us the opportunity to practice our steering abilities.

after the boat ride we were feeling snacky [when are we not, really] so we stopped by the rock & chill cafe for some pakoras and gobi manchurian before heading back to zostel. we got back during golden hour and took our fill of photos around the property because how could we not. we chilled for a bit in our cottage before dinner, during which it was also bollywood movie night. they were showing bajrangi bhaijaan which is a ridiculous movie and i don’t recommend it but it was a very entertaining one as sarah’s introduction to bollywood. we watched the first hour or so and then called it a night.

thursday.

thursday is what we affectionately refer to as our “temple run” day. we checked out of our cottage, had breakfast, and said farewell to our zostel friends. vijay picked us up in his auto and zipped us around to most of the main sights around hampi — the vittala temple and stone chariot; the [not-accurately named] queen’s bath; the royal enclosure, which includes a black stone stepwell and a secret underground chamber; and lotus mahal and the elephant stables. pro tips: start your day early, as it gets very hot! / carry water with you, and take breaks as you need them / auto drivers have a full list of places to show you, so make sure to communicate with them what you’re interested in and what your energy levels are / there is an entry fee for the vittala temple; when we visited it was rs. 40 for indians [or those of us who can say enough words in kannada to pass as indian] and rs. 400 for foreigners — this ticket also gets you into lotus mahal, so be sure to hold on to it

after all that we needed a rest as well as some shade and sustenance. we stopped by old chill out ganesh cafe for snacks and soft drinks and milkshakes and to get out of the sun for a bit. once we had our energy back we made quick stops at the lakshmi narasimha statue and shiva linga as well as two ganesha statues before walking up to the sunset point. all the monuments close at dusk so we had to walk down before it was fully dark, but it was great to sit up there and reflect over the previous few days while watching the sun go down.

from there vijay dropped us at the hotel hampi international which is very conveniently located next to the hospet railway station. we had a few hours before our train so we relaxed and had some snacks before walking over to the station. we settled into our berths and had a nice chat with our neighbor neil before calling it a night.

our next and final recap post will be from my beloved bangalore!

xx