Happy in Hampi

My friend Parry strongly recommended visiting Hampi and I'm really glad I took his advice. It's a really interesting place, many ruins, and it's a smaller town with a slower pace. It seems there are more tourists here than locals, though sadhus still wander the streets. It might be a good place to spend a few days.

Ramon has already been to Hampi, so today we had a guide for free. On his suggestion, we rented bicycles and rode from ruin to ruin. There's hardly any traffic here so we had no problems getting used to staying on the left side of the road. Even better was that most of the ruins (and there are many) don't require any entrance fees. We are planning to spend a few days here, so we didn't feel rushed to see everything.

After an easy morning of sight seeing, we went for lunch and drinks. Ramon took us to a nice little restaurant perched on the bank of a river. Aside from all the mosquitoes (they're so vicious here), it was quite enjoyable.

My first day in Hampi ended with a river float in a funny round boat with my traveling companions. On the nearby cliffs a Bollywood movie was being made and it created some amusement as we took in the sun. This pace is starting to feel more like a vacation.

P.S. Did I mention I hate mosquitoes?

A monkey runs across the path of some local students:








Kim and Babette at their favorite sight:








Some intricate carvings on a ruined temple:








Columns made of black stone:








The gang, relaxing by the river:








Floating on the river in a strange raft: