Hampi is a beautiful village by a river, with an enormous temple, with high pyramidal towers, intricately carved in sandstone. In the temple carved, pillared collonades overlook wide coutyards. Low granite inner temples are carved with kings or gods in high headdresses, dancing girls, palm trees and elephants. Monkeys climb all over the buildings, jumping from rooftop to rooftop. One building has a ceiling covered with pictures from ancient Hindu texts. The part of the temple furthest from the entrane is carved into the rock, a labyrynth of dark rooms with pillars, connected by stairs and passageways. There are little temples within the temple, devoted to various gods. places where people light candels, put red dye on their foreheads, make obeissance to multiheaded snake gods, turtles, the elephant god and many others.
Looking down on Hampi from one of the nearby temples, behind the village is a band of lush palm tree forest and behind that heaps of huge boulders piled onto a long ridge. A long line of stone pillars lead out of Hampi towards ruined temples amoungst the palm trees and boulders. The crowds are beginning to gather for the festival.
When I arrived yesterday, all the cheap rooms were full. I ended up sleeping on the roof of a guest house.
The cafe in the building next door was playing a CD by Prem Joshua, a flute player - sweet, gentle music with a hypnotic tabla beat. Someone was playing a Spanish guitar in the cafe, along with the music, blending in perfectly. I lay under my mosquito net lulled by the music, drifting in and out of sleep until finally sleep took over. I was woken this morning by the bleating of flocks of goats. When I looked over the edge of the roof, I saw a field full of goats, waiting to be milked.
Now I have a room with a bed and a mosquito net. All the guest houses in Hampi have hiked their prices because of the festival. I got the cheapest room I could get for 300 rupees.
Walking along pathways beside the river with the palm forest on the other side of the river and piles of round boulders behind the trees, eventually you reach more temples. At intervals there are beautiful riverside cafes under the trees, sometimes set out on stone terraces.
I met two young men, a lawyer and a musician, who invited me to come across the river with them to a bar where we could get a beer - the only one in Hampi. The bar was surrounded by brilliant green rice fields. We sat on mats and cushions at low tables and watched the sun go down. Then I had to catch the last boat back.
Looking down on Hampi from one of the nearby temples, behind the village is a band of lush palm tree forest and behind that heaps of huge boulders piled onto a long ridge. A long line of stone pillars lead out of Hampi towards ruined temples amoungst the palm trees and boulders. The crowds are beginning to gather for the festival.
When I arrived yesterday, all the cheap rooms were full. I ended up sleeping on the roof of a guest house.
The cafe in the building next door was playing a CD by Prem Joshua, a flute player - sweet, gentle music with a hypnotic tabla beat. Someone was playing a Spanish guitar in the cafe, along with the music, blending in perfectly. I lay under my mosquito net lulled by the music, drifting in and out of sleep until finally sleep took over. I was woken this morning by the bleating of flocks of goats. When I looked over the edge of the roof, I saw a field full of goats, waiting to be milked.
Now I have a room with a bed and a mosquito net. All the guest houses in Hampi have hiked their prices because of the festival. I got the cheapest room I could get for 300 rupees.
Walking along pathways beside the river with the palm forest on the other side of the river and piles of round boulders behind the trees, eventually you reach more temples. At intervals there are beautiful riverside cafes under the trees, sometimes set out on stone terraces.
I met two young men, a lawyer and a musician, who invited me to come across the river with them to a bar where we could get a beer - the only one in Hampi. The bar was surrounded by brilliant green rice fields. We sat on mats and cushions at low tables and watched the sun go down. Then I had to catch the last boat back.
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