Hampi

So we left the paradise of Karnataka and we spent a night in Margoa before getting an early train to Hampi.

Hampi is stunning. It is set in an area that has a river and is surrounded by boulders. It looks like s setting for a movie; in fact a bollywood movie was being filmed while we were there. The photos really do not do it justice.

Hampi was a very important place for Hindus and is the sight of over 800 temples. Many of them were destroyed by invaders and are not used for worship any more but they are still such an integral part of Hampi. As it is a place of such religious importance it is a dry town. So of course all Terry wanted was a beer. We were also looking forward to meeting with Mairead again, whom we had met in Boracay.

Hampi is a great place to just chill, wander around, find a place to read, it is lovely.

We met a couple in our guest house called Maura and Pontus and we hung out a lot with them. We got stuck in the rain at one of the temples. We were stuck for about an hour waiting for some break in the rain. We all booked to-do a cycling tour through the tourist office. It was great but we were all wrecked by the end of it. The first few hours was spent walking to the temples around the main town and we went on a small boat trip down the river. We then got onto the not mountain bikes and started the cycling part of the tour. That was another few hours of cycling. Poor Pontus stepped in some dank water and was fair miserable after that.

One of the locals told us where we could find a few beers so we all went for a bevvy which was nice.

I had to ring home a few times while we were in Hampi but it was very frustrating as the electricity kept cutting out due to unseasonal rain it meant that either the call cut out or I could not make the call at all.

We met up with Mairead and her friend, Brendan. We went to the main temple in the town and I paid a few rupees to get bonked on the head by an elephant. I think she had a cold. Then we went for a wee climb with them to a hill top which historically had been a watch-point. By wee hill, I'm underestimating the sheer cliffyness of the thing. If you slipped you were dead - no joke. We then went for some grub and then Mairead had to go get a boat back to her guest house. Hopefully we will see her in New Zealand.

Terry was still looking for some Indian diving so our next, and last stop in India, was to head back to Goa to a place called Bogmallo, which is apparently the most expensiveplace to stay in Goa.