Train to Hampi
After spending a week lying on the beach and sunning ourselves in Benaulim, Goa, we took the train to Hampi (in the state of Karnataka) about 350 km from Benaulim. The train trip took about 9 hours and was a pleasure compared to taking a sleeper bus.
A Form of Torture
Two things you will never be short of in Hampi: tour guides and postcard sellers. It reminds me of the old Chinese water torcher technique where they hold you down and drip water on your forehead until you go mad. Every time you turned around in Hampi, someone would try to sell you a postcard or be your tour guide. Even the man who owned our guest house was (drip, drip) a qualified tour guide. What a surprise!
Watch Where You Step
A village of 1000 people, Hampi is truly a great place. Cows, bulls, calves, water buffalo, chickens, dogs, cats, and even an elephant wander the streets. One of the strange comforting things here is the smell of cattle. Interestingly, this smell doesn’t bother me as I feel I have returned to the farm and the related chores - it certainly smells the same. Of course, you have to pay attention to where you are walking!
A Bit of History
Hampi is a favourite backpacker destination and is famous for its temple ruins. Hampi (or Vijayanagar) was once the capital of one of the largest Hindu empires in Indian history. Its wealth was based on control of the spice trade to the south and the cotton industry of the south-east. Its busy bazaars were centers of international commerce. The empire came to a sudden end in 1565 when the city was ransacked by Muslim invaders. They destroyed everything, burning and pillaging the temples, sacred Hindu statues, and all religious images.
Robber Warning
Whether real or not we were warned by the authorities not to walk the trails among the ruins at dawn or dusk, particularly alone. We were also warned not to carry valuables or cash with us because there had been many robberies. Even as we reviewed the photos of the “most wanted” at the foreigners registration desk in the police station, we wondered if it is part of a plot to get us to hire one of the many guides. Besides it was rather difficult to take the warnings seriously as one policeman was asleep and the other one had to be drawn away from his Hindi soap opera to give us this warning. Nevertheless, we heeded the advice and had no problems.