Hampi (10 days) - Blog 2

Karlyn recovered enough to go on the motorbike temple tour and we were joined by Daniel. We took 2 bikes between us and I jumped on the back of Daniel's to begin with, swapping over later. Off we sped at what must have been at least 20mph! Our bike didnt take well to my extra weight and we had to use flintstone power for some of the steeper parts! Although we were re-visiting some of the areas I had already seen, there were plenty of smaller temples left to explore. We spent all day out and about and had a really good time, though Daniel nearly killed us on the journey home. Cornering was not his strong point!

After that I must admit to being a little lazy for a couple of days, before I was struck down by the infamous Hampi illness that seems to affect a worryingly large percentage of backpackers. It forced me into yet more lazyness for a day, but then seemed to vanish. The Swedes were into Reiki, a form of spiritual medicine and had practiced their palm healing on me during my day of illness. Perhaps there is something in it?!

Making use of my health, I hired a motorbike again and joined Daniel in a trip to the lake/reservoir, not far from Hampi. We took a wander along a dusty path part way around before hiding under a boulder for some shade. We were joined by a fearless monkey, who eventually pestered us into leaving. We returned to a point where a group of people were jumping from a boulder cliff. I jumped a couple of times, realising that it was a little higher than it appeared! Then we followed the crowd to a nearby river with a bridge crossing some rapids. They were jumping from the bridge and letting the rapids carry them downstream before swimming across the current to safety. I might have considered joining them, but I still felt weak from the previous day and Daniel didnt think he was a strong enough swimmer. That afternoon the Swedish couple went with another friend. Anders and Jacob jumped in shortly after 2 Scottish lads and Nilo watched at the other end. She saw one of the Scottish lads panicking, he turned white with fear, and then his head went under. He did not come back up.

The police were appalling. They turned up very very late and when they did they found the Scottish lad with a female friend. They asked to see their passports and when the girl explained that her's was back at her guest house, they threatened to arrest her. When the guest house owner was told that the man had drowned his first instinct was to panick. He had not registered his passport details and he was afraid that the police would close him down or at least force a large bribe from him. I dont blame the guest house owner for his reaction, but the police for being so corrupt.

Anyway, I would rather not end on such a negative note, though my illness came back with avengence the following day when I left for Bangalore. The last thing I did in Hampi was to visit the Hanuman (monkey god) temple, which sits atop the tallest hill around. The views from the top are stunning and the sunset was lovely. Hampi was one of the most interesting, beautifull, and enjoyable places I have visited and I remember it fondly.