First few days in India.

There are so many things to do, see, and experience in India.  The country is massive, and the diversity in it amazing, so when I knew I would only have 16 days here, I had to make some decisions about where to go.

The boulders in Hampi.

Thanks to an amazing offer from my sister's best friend's husband's family, I decided to situate myself in southwestern India despite the fact that it was going to be monsoon season and that area would be hit particularly hard.  I decided to risk it for the free housing, car and driver, and chance to meet locals.  

When I finally arrived from the hellish flight I described in my last post, I was picked up and brought to my new "home base" in Mangalore: a suite with 2 big beds, kitchen, living room, and bathroom.  I could get used to this...

After a day of settling in, I was off to Hampi.  Hampi was the place in India I decided would be my historical and cultural stop.  Later, I would be going to Goa for my relaxing and chill time.  I thought these two places would balance each other well.

The temple elephant getting his daily bath.

It took us 10 hours to drive to Hampi.  Being that I am now a pro at sleeping in moving vehicles, the drive was no problem and I basically slept through the whole thing.  The driver, Ganesh, spoke not a word of English and the woman who was accompanying me, Nalini, spoke English fairly well.  I am sure the two of them thought I was narcoleptic during that car ride because I couldn't stay awake even though I'd slept 9 hours the night before. The two of them spoke in hushed tones on and off throughout the ride, probably wondering what was wrong with me.

The nest day, our first day in Hampi, was unreal.  Before you even get to the area of Hampi with the temples and statues, you are faced with the crazy landscape of the area.  Massive boulders in bizarre shapes balance on each other in bizarre positions that are similar to the rocks that used to be in the Roadrunner and Coyote cartoons.  

The Lotus Temple.

But then you arrive at the temples, and they're really amazing.  To name them all, or to tell you the names, would frustrate both you and me because the names are so hard to write, read, and pronounce.  Enjoy the photos I've posted here though.  A quick summary of the city is that it was one of the most important, if not the most important hubs of a major empire in India from the 14th - 16th centuries before it was taken over and partially destroyed.  The temples within it are Hindu and have many of the deities housed within, usually made of one giant piece of granite.  These temples are still important now to practicing Hindus.

Elephant Stables.  Sadly, no elephants are there now :(

We managed to get through the whole day with little rain until the end of the day when the sky opened up and let loose.  At that point, thanks to the guide we hired, we had seen almost everything there was to see, from the massive temple to the old elephant stables, to the to actual temple elephant that blesses you upon entrance.  

At the end of the day, we went to the hotel exhausted only to find monkeys climbing the stairs up to our room.  I was told they were "naughty monkeys" so I ran by them with my arms over my head.  Well, I should have expected it... Hampi is, after all, thought to be where Vanara, the ancient monkey kingdom used to be.

Rain rain, go away!!

The next day, we saw a few more statues, checked out the bizarre area for some Ali Baba pants (they're really called that, and they're kind of like a mix between MC Hammer pants and Aladdin pants and I want a pair.)  The next day?  Another 10 hour ride back to Mangalore.  This time, I didn't sleep though.  I needed to prove to Ganesh and Nalini that I didn't have a problem!

** I took some of my best photos yet on that first day.  I want to note that the colors in the photos have not been changed in Photoshop.  The grass is that green because of the constant rain and some of the detail is that intricate!