Aurangabad to Hampi via Bijapur

......the bus came. It was just an ordinary bus, not a coach, not with A/C, not even with designated seats, and it was set upon by a swarm (yes a swarm) of locals before it had even stopped. I wont repeat the words I exclaimed in horror before coming to my senses and joining the battle. I shamelesly barged in bumping people out of my way with my pack, elbowing old ladies in the face, trampling kids.....well almost. It was a necessary evil as by the time I got on the bus it was already quite full. Men were sat by the ailse saving the other seat for friends, others were pushing to the back. I managed to shove my pack into a seat and squeeze myself underneath it. There was nowhere practical to put my bag, so I had to dump it in the aisle. An hour into the journey, when the conductor finally got through the crowd to me, I got a bit of a telling off. It was explained to me that I should have put the bag on the roof, but I dont really see how I would have achieved that, and I certainly wouldnt have got a seat if I had. So much for having reserved seat number 5!!!

The bus took 11 hours over night and I had to suffer the constant changeover of passengers who had to climb over me and my bag to find a seat. It goes without saying that I did not get a lot of sleep, so when we finally arrived in Bijapur at around six in the morning I set about finding a bed for a few hours......I failed. Nobody would lower their room price to give me a fair price for a shower and a nap, so I found breakfast and a toilet and then headed straight back to the bus station.

I was soon on a bus to Hospet, where I had to change to get to Hampi. I initially took a seat on an empty row near the back and sat next to my bag. It was not long before I had somebody gesturing to me that they would like to sit where my bag was and so I found myself curled up with my feet atop my pack (again). Luckily, when we next stopped I spotted the back seat being vacated and there was even a space in front of the bench to store my bag AND sit comfortably! I seized the opportunity and could not hide my smile. It was, however, quickly wiped out after the first bump nearly gave me whiplash! I then had to endure another 5 hours of the most stupendously violent bumps you can imagine. I swear I spent a good percentage of the journey suspended in mid-air.

At Hospet I limped of the bus and found the stand for Hampi. I waited. Then I waited some more. Then, deciding that enough was enough, I collaberated with a young Indian couple from Mumbai and shared an auto-rickshaw. We passed the brokendown bus on the way!

Once in Hampi (at last!) I wandered through the small village to the river and down the ghats to catch the small ferry across to the island. I spent the next 30 min or so checking out a few of the many chilled out guesthouses before settling on a clean and tidy little shed room with a mosi net and a shared bathroom for a very reasonable price.

The epic journey was over, I had made it. I think I might have uttered a very weak and tired "Whahoo!".