Beautiful Hampi

Last week Saturday I took a nightbus from Goa to Hampi. I met some nice people on the bus and we were all heading the same place. Little did we know what was waiting for us in the morning! Six o'clock and I was already awake while we drove through Karnataka-state landscape. Waw, it was as if I was still dreaming and found myself in some far away kingdom. The roads were surrounded by hills made of rocks, beautiful yellow smooth rocks pilled up as if a Giant took some pebbles and formed little piles that looked like hills. And temples and ruins in between them. It was magic!
So when the bus arrived I was feeling very good and I was the first to exit. Boy, if it was even possible because the exit was blocked by some 30 riksjaw drivers who all wanted to be the first to greet the new batch of tourists. I was still standing in the bus holding my blanket and told them if they didn't move... nobody would get off the bus... and nobody would do any business today! One guy moved, smiled and made the others move out of the way.
Then 4 of us, three Germans and me, found ourselves isolated and surrounded by riksjaw drivers again, like flies on shit. All the other tourists were also divided in little groups standing here and there, surrounded by drivers. So we decided to take the time to wake up first; have a cigarette, go to the toilet... and all the time trying to ignore the group around us. Not that easy, but speaking in German, a language Indians don't understand, makes it easier. This way they can't intervene in the conversation. Yes, you wouldn't believe how much my German is improving here, I'm even reading in German now! Haha! So finally my 3 other companions decided I had to choose the driver we would take... a very difficult task which I took very seriously. And I ended up choosing the one who stepped away from the bus smiling when we first arrived, Naga is his name. So he took us for breakfast and showed us some guest houses. For him it's good business because he gets commission and he is the first to maybe take us on a tour. Finally we all chose different guest houses but met up again later.
And that was the start of a wonderful week. The German couple did their own thing and left already the next day. But the other German, Matt, stayed longer and so did I. So we spend the week in Hampi; visiting the different sites and temples and walking around and just hanging out. Hampi is a village in a valley surrounded by those strange looking hills. It's calm and quiet and the people are friendly. They have the most magical sunrise and sunset, especially if you find yourself on one of those hills. We spend a lot of time with Naga and his family and this way we learned more about India then I had been doing the past four weeks. I finally found an Indian that I could trust and who was willing to answer all my questions honestly! He is a riksjaw driver and earns money from tourism, so of course we would pay him for certain services. But the rest of the time we spent together was as friends. And for me especially I couldn't ask for more; two men by my side, one tall German and one Indian. Nobody hassled me in Hampi with my two bodyguards! ;-)
I enjoyed Hampi a lot, but take in consideration if you go there that Hampi is located in a valley. So you don't have any reach with your mobile and there are power cuts several times a day. You are a little cut off from the world, because international calls don't work, internet is not very good and mobiles don't work at all. But apart from that it is the perfect place to see India at it's best!
On Wednesday unfortunately Matt hurt his foot in a hole in the ground, so the next day Naga took us to hospital in the next big city. Yeah well, hospital... In India it means some room in a small alley with a pile of dirt in front of it. Seriously, it was disgusting. We had to wait 1.5 hours for the doctor and all the time you would be looking right at a pile of caskets and bandages... the doctor apparently just throws his waist through the window. But apart from that the doctor was very efficient. X-rays are taken in a room next door and then he examines, the nurses take care and the pharmacy is down the street. So once the doctor arrived he treated his patients in a record time! This was a small private hospital and so it looks a lot less professional, but it is much better than a government run hospital. Matt's diagnose was that his foot is fractured in two different places, so he got a casket and needed crutches. When we arrived back in Hampi it was late, very late and being tired is not a good ingredient for optimism. Luckily the next day things were looking better again and Matt decided he would go back to Goa where he has some friends. And I would just stick to my route and move on on my own again. we still had some days left in Hampi and spent them just talking and hanging out. I visited some temples on my own and then we would meet again to have lunch or dinner.
The last night in Hampi Naga surprised us with some beers and chicken. Alcohol and meat are prohibited in Hampi, so we didn't have a drink or meat in a week. But Naga bought it in a neighboring village and his auntie prepared it for us in his cousin's restaurant. Mmmm, it was the perfect last dinner!
If you go to Hampi ask for Naga if you need a friend!!
So on Saturday we said our goodbyes and Naga waited with me at the busstop in Hospet (neighboring city) for my nightbus. Finally I told him to "go home" because my bus wan't coming until 11 o'clock at night. It was very sweet of him to want to protect me, but I travel alone and so it was time for me to do exactly that! So the second he drove away I was on my own again and that was obvious. People started talking to me again, staring... things they didn't do when there was a man by my side. But now I was an open target again! :-D
When the nightbus arrived, I was so tired I knew I would fall asleep soon. Yeah... I didn't know shit, obviously! The bus was HELL!! I had a bed in the back and the ride was so bumpy that sometimes my whole body got thrown in the air. On top of that I had to go to the toilet, but there were no stops with a ladies bathroom. At 3:40 I had enough and the next stop we made I just draped my blanket around me and squatted in the middle of the road to pee. It was either that or explode! And Indians do it too. What a relief! And the rest of the way I managed to sleep a few more hours.
I arrived in Bangalore the next morning, tired and pissed off. Yeah, mornings after nights like these are really not a good time to meet me! ;-) So after having a fight with the bus boy, he wanted 20 roepies for my backpack so I told him to go ask his boss because I already payed too much for such a crappy ride, and a riksjaw driver, who said the central busstation was 12 km away while I knew it was just around the corner, I decided not to stay there and go directly to Mysore where I am now. But more on that next time, I have to go eat now! :-))