Erika in India

Hampi

I took my first train down to the state of Karnataka to visit Hampi. It was the capital of Vijayanagara which was a huge empire of the Telugu princes in southern India. This empire flourished from 1300’s to 1500’s and was a major trading place. It was destroyed and plundered by the northern Sultans and it was left in ruins. Most of the temples were destroyed except for a few. The main temple is the Shiva temple and it wasn’t destroyed because they saw similarities between Shiva and their god Allah. I went to Hampi to visit the Shiva temple.

The train ride was pleasant since it was a night train and I was asleep the whole time. We arrived at 6AM in Hospet, the city that is next to Hampi. We took a rickshaw into Hampi and checked in at our guest house. It was a nicely decorated place that had a small courtyard. The rooms only had 2 beds, a desk, and a mosquito net. The bathrooms were shared with the whole guest house and they only had squat toilets. Up till now I never had to use them but last weekend I had no choice, and they really weren’t bad at all.

Shanthi Guest House

After checking in we went to eat breakfast at a nice place that overlooked the river. The prices were good (my meal was 75 RS which is less than $2.00) but the food was bland. The walk up to the restaurant was the best part because the walk was through a banana tree field.

Path to the restaurant.

That’s the view from the table I had breakfast.

Then we went to explore some ruins. We saw a huge rock that was sculpted into Ganesh. There were a ton of school children also since I think it’s a place where kids are taken on field trips.

We went to another temple where there were a ton of monkeys and an elephant that would bless you if you gave it a rupee.I was actually really scared of the elephant because I was worried he would knock me out. I saw him bless an old man and the man nearly fell over. Then I figured that I would never have a chance to be blessed by an elephant in a temple in the US, so I couldn’t say no.

The following day we went to the top of Matanga hill. There were steps but then it would just turn into rocks so it felt like mountain climbing instead. It was a bit tricky getting to the top since the steps were about 650 years old. After an hours of walking we reached the top and the view was amazing! The banana and rice fields looked so dense and green, especially after living in Hyderabad which is dusty and arid.

The view from the side of Matanga hill. My camera died before I got to reach the top.

The following day we wanted to climb another hill to reach the Hanuman temple. It was built by the Telegu princes because it was the birth place of Hanuman. To get to the temple, first I had to take a boat to the other side of the river, then a rickshaw since it was about 12 km away. The climb felt difficult because it was probably a little over 100F and the stairs went up in a zig-zag. Devotees walked up the entire way without shoes and in traditional clothing which looked painful to me. When I got to the top I went into the temple and did puja.

I enjoyed Hampi much more than the trip to Goa. I learned a lot, saw a lot, plus the atmosphere and vibe of the place was more my style and I felt comfortable.

Here are some more pics from Hampi!!!

People were washing their clothes, as well as an elephant.

Reminds me of the Lincoln Memorial, but with Ganesh.

These men took forever and several of them got blessed more than once to ensure that they had a good photo.

I was not prepared to climb the hill. I didn’t bring enough water and I wasn’t dressed appropriately. For part of the climb I took off my shoes and latched them to my bag.

At the top of Matanga hill.

I went with these students. Kevin, Caroline, Abby, me, Jenny, Nate, and Nicole (my roommate).