This place is completely different to any place I have seen in India so far. It is remote, beautiful and feels like you have gone back in time. In a different way though from other parts of India, it is not the people or the infrastructure that gives this impression, it is the rock formations and its seemingly untouched beauty. The landscape has a Bedrock feel about it, you wouldn't be surprised if the Flintstones walked past or you saw rock cars with people running at the bottom of them.

Here we are staying in a beautiful Guest House just across the river to Hampi itself. This seems to be where most of the travellers are, probably because as soon as you cross the river there is no alcohol and no meat. The accommodation is little huts with thatched roofs, each with a porch swing and overlooking the rice paddies. The restaurant, like most places in Hampi, had these thin mattresses on the floor and people sat around on them with low tables, a great place to eat and relax.

We have a full day in Hampi to explore the highlights of the city and surrounding area. In the early morning we headed across the river on a small boat, at the other side we waited for the Temple Elephant to come down to the river. Each morning the elephant walks down to the river, gives blessings to any people that would like one, and then has a bath.

Organised for the morning is a city tour, so we met our guide and got in a rickshaw to explore. Our guide was really good, spoke very good English and gave us enough information about each place without overloading us. Throughout the morning we visited various ruins of temples and palace areas, a lot of which were destroyed by the Muslims many years ago.

In the afternoon we head to the temple where the elephant lives, this is an active temple and there were lot of people visiting. Hampi is a Holy place and many Hindu's go on a Pilgrimage to visit the city. Like all temples you must remove your shoes before entering, on this day it was so hot, the heat was just draining your energy, so as you walked around the courtyard area of the temple the floor it felt like you were walking on hot coals. We saw the elephant again, this time she was eating in the temple and then its time to head back across the river to cool down and relax.