I had a colourful start to my Hampi Adventure. After the crazy ceremony of Holi, I was at the guesthouse in need of a proper sleep again. Since I arrived in India, due to the jetlag, hot weather, mosquitoes and train trips, I was not able to catch up a good sleep yet.
It was already the evening when I went out for the first time to take a walk in the small village. A very small village of 3000 residents only, it consisted of one main strip and houses surrounding it. First evening wandering around what to eat, I couldn’t see a proper restaurant to sit alone, therefore I decided to settle for some fruit and snacks from the street.
View of Virupaksha Temple by sunset Barganining Hard for Street Snacks & Fruit
After bargaining aggressively, I bought some grapes, bananas, oranges and veggie samosas, came back to the hotel and had my delicious street food.(hadi bakalim sakata gelmeyiz insallah)
Second day, I was out on Hampi streets. My rickshaw driver/guide, Aleelu, aka my ANA (brother in Kannada, local language) showed me all around Hampi. Seeing many temples, ruins, rocks, palaces at the end of the day, I was confused which one was what.
Morning in Virupaksha Temple First Guests of the temple
Never been a museum/temple/historical place type of person; so after having an intense and slightly boring day (for me) in Hampi and around, I had seen enough. For the next day, I was initially planning to go to the other sites by Hampi but I decided to skip as it would be too walking around in the sun and too expensive.
Lotus Mahal Elephant Staples
Nevertheless Hampi had a great history, according to the Lonely Planet it says there are totally 550 monuments in the area and only 58 were under the heritage protection status.The village was the capital of Vijayanagara Empire for more than 2 centuries until it was taken over by the Muslim Deccan Dynasty in 1565. In most of the old temples, you would see the icons of the Hindu Gods broken by the Muslims during the invasion and according to the Hindu beliefs, it is not accepted to keep the broken statues of the Gods therefore these places are not worshipping places anymore.
Vittala Complex Sunset at Mathanga Hill
One unique time was watching the sunset over Mathanga Hill, filled with tourists and local people the place had an amazing view of the whole valley. We talked with my dear guide Aleelu about relations, love, future and meaning of life :) It was the proper discussion topic while watching such a view which concluded my first sightseeing day in Hampi.
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