Our first afternoon in Hampi, after dumping our bags and showering, we decide to rent a motor bike to explore the temples on our side of the river, the roads are much quieter here than Goa and I practice (to lots of shouts of "Hey, you're not so good!") up and down the lane a few times before we head off. It is amazing to have the freedom of our own transport, instead of relying on buses or haggling with rickshaw drivers whenever we want to go anywhere.
We drive to the next town, Anegondi, stopping at temples on the way. The country side is surreal, I think it looks like the rice fields of China have been dropped in an Arizona golf resort. Lush green fields fill the strech of land between the river and the seemingly gravity defying arid boulders.
In the evening we drive to the Hanuman temple, also known as the monkey temple because (as the tourists say) it is crawling with monkeys and because (as the locals say) Hanuman is the monkey God in Hinduism. A winding path of 560 steps (the reason we decided to climb it in the evening) leads us to a white washed temple with a red dome. There is chanting coming from inside and monkeys on the roof. There are also monkeys on the walls, in the trees, on the surrounding rocks and sorting through the piles of shoes at the top of the steps. They enjoy taking drinks bottles from unsuspecting tourists and pouring the contents into their upturned mouths. I can hear the pilgrims below calling God's name as they climb to the top. One shouts 'Jaishriram!' and the others respond; 'Jaishriram!'. I settle down on a rock to watch the sun set, which promptly disappears behind clouds, then make the treacherous walk back down the mountain in the semi darkness.
We spend the next two days exploring a tiny handful of the 3000 the temples spread over 26 kilometres on the town side of the river. Originally called Vijayanagar, 'the city of victory', Hampi was developed mostly in the 14th and 15th centuries, before being destroyed in a six month Muslim siege in the 16th century. What remains is in poor condition and looks a lot older than it is. One of the temples is still active and is where we meet Lakshmi the elephant (no photos allowed unfortunately). The guide book says that if you give her a rupee, she will bless you with her trunk. She seems to be able to spot tourists as she gives my coin back to me and her trainer says it has to be a note not a coin. This is despite the pilgrims next to us putting a coin in her trunk and recieving not so much a blessing as a of clip round the ear.
We do manage to get a glimpse of Lakshmi coming down the steps for her bath in the river one morning, but the boat won't leave until it is full and, despite only seating about twelve, this takes a long time as they fill the boat until just before it sinks. When we get to the other side we can't stay and watch as we are late for the bike tour we booked in order to see some of the temples further out of town, including the elephant stables and the queen's bath (the size of a swimming pool). It is fun to ride the gear-less bikes down, if not up, the hills.
We drive to the next town, Anegondi, stopping at temples on the way. The country side is surreal, I think it looks like the rice fields of China have been dropped in an Arizona golf resort. Lush green fields fill the strech of land between the river and the seemingly gravity defying arid boulders.
In the evening we drive to the Hanuman temple, also known as the monkey temple because (as the tourists say) it is crawling with monkeys and because (as the locals say) Hanuman is the monkey God in Hinduism. A winding path of 560 steps (the reason we decided to climb it in the evening) leads us to a white washed temple with a red dome. There is chanting coming from inside and monkeys on the roof. There are also monkeys on the walls, in the trees, on the surrounding rocks and sorting through the piles of shoes at the top of the steps. They enjoy taking drinks bottles from unsuspecting tourists and pouring the contents into their upturned mouths. I can hear the pilgrims below calling God's name as they climb to the top. One shouts 'Jaishriram!' and the others respond; 'Jaishriram!'. I settle down on a rock to watch the sun set, which promptly disappears behind clouds, then make the treacherous walk back down the mountain in the semi darkness.
Above: The climb up-to the Hanuman Temple
Above: Views from the Hanuman Temple
We spend the next two days exploring a tiny handful of the 3000 the temples spread over 26 kilometres on the town side of the river. Originally called Vijayanagar, 'the city of victory', Hampi was developed mostly in the 14th and 15th centuries, before being destroyed in a six month Muslim siege in the 16th century. What remains is in poor condition and looks a lot older than it is. One of the temples is still active and is where we meet Lakshmi the elephant (no photos allowed unfortunately). The guide book says that if you give her a rupee, she will bless you with her trunk. She seems to be able to spot tourists as she gives my coin back to me and her trainer says it has to be a note not a coin. This is despite the pilgrims next to us putting a coin in her trunk and recieving not so much a blessing as a of clip round the ear.
We do manage to get a glimpse of Lakshmi coming down the steps for her bath in the river one morning, but the boat won't leave until it is full and, despite only seating about twelve, this takes a long time as they fill the boat until just before it sinks. When we get to the other side we can't stay and watch as we are late for the bike tour we booked in order to see some of the temples further out of town, including the elephant stables and the queen's bath (the size of a swimming pool). It is fun to ride the gear-less bikes down, if not up, the hills.
Above: Lakshmi the elephant coming down for her bath.
Above: Lakshmi lying in the river.
Above: The main temple.
Above: More temples!
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