I didn’t recognize my alarm until Shivani turned over and shouted “Preeti wake up turn off your alarm” and I rolled over to turn off the weird cuckoo sound my phone was making. Excitedly, we got ready for the day as we had fun debriefing yesterday.
My favorite meal of the day was breakfast again and we ordered dosa from a small joint down the road. We ate at a South Indian restaurant and in the spirit of trying new foods, I ordered an uttapam dosa. I didn’t have any expectation of what it was supposed to taste like but there were definitely way too many onions. I still finished it nonetheless.
On the way to the temple, we stopped at a local souvenir shop selling postcards, elephant statues, kurtas, shawls, and saris. Shivani really wanted to buy a banana silk sari so she had the guy show us various saris that were printed with local designs. I got so excited when he brought out a sari with cows all over it! Shivani said I should definitely take it but I resisted the urge. Imagine if I showed up to Sonali’s wedding wearing a sari with bulls on it. I was interested in kurtas so I had him show me some and immediately liked a light pink shirt with sequins on it.
The shop also had hand painted art souvenirs. These paintings were done on silk and depicted elephants decorated with brightly colored cloth. I could not get over just how pretty the elephant art was and wanted to buy one, however, he was charging 2000 Rs so I decided it was out of my price range. Hopefully I can find something similar somewhere!
There was a brightly colored temple right next to the souvenir shop so I had Shivani take me there. I love how brightly colored and detailed the outside of the temple was. The interior was similar too and Shivani explained to me how this was Shiva’s temple. She even had me whisper a wish into Shiva’s bull Nandi for good luck.
The bulk of our day was spent at the Virupaksha Temple which is the most famous pilgrimage site in Hampi. The Virupaksha Temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva and parts of it date back to the 7th century. During the Vijayanagara era, the emperors turned it into a temple complex rather than a stand alone temple. The entrance is a tall gopuram that is symmetrical and very intricately decorated. In the center of the temple was a statue of Shiva’s bull Nandi. Usually there is just one but this temple had 4. Deepashree and I got lost admiring all of the architecture and when we turned, the group had already entered and we had to pay separately. Since we had a ticket though it meant we could enter the temple for the darshan. Darshan is simply interaction between human and deity. The line for darshan was out of the temple and was just a crowd pushing its way in. Deepashree and I got in line and eventually we were pushed to the door. Inside, it was dark and there were lines on either side so we just stood in one line. As I neared the deity, I was told ticket holders have a special line so I was rerouted to the other line which took even longer. By the time I finally got to see the deity, Deepashree had long been done. The deity was tucked away in a small room with minimal lighting. There was a candle where people were placing bills and then placing their hand over a candle so I did the same.
Outside, the group reconvened and we went and saw the shadow of the gopuram in a building. The architect had designed the room so that an inverted shadow of the Raja Gopuram would be reflected on the wall through a small opening in the stone. It was definitely a cool effect and I am still trying to wrap my head around how it works.
The highlight of my trip was receiving a blessing from the elephant Lakshmi. The elephant is kept at the temple and runs a good business. You place a bill in her trunk and she passes it along to the man and then places her trunk on your head. Lakshmi was beautifully painted as well and I waited to get to the front of the crowd so I could receive a blessing from her. Shivani and I both gave offerings and Lakshmi gently placed her trunk on our heads. She was so graceful and gentle we were both surprised! I had never been so close to an elephant or had one touch me. It was such a fun and unique experience. Plus, I will never get over how beautiful Lakshme was!
We spent some time wandering the temple grounds admiring the ruins and the beautiful architecture. Each pillar is unique with so much detail. I am a big fan of temples due to the amazing architecture. Outside of the temple there were more ruins and under one massive brick structure sat Nandi; Shiva’s bull. This bull was the largest monolithic bull in India.
Our journey continued as we walked along the Tungabhadra river stopping only for some fresh coconuts. The coconut stall was run by women which was a first for me and I enjoyed it when the women beat the shit out of the coconut to crack it open. So badass if you ask me. The trail along the river was stunning and the weather was perfect. It was overcast so it was cool and the sun was not beating down on us. I longed to just chill on the rocks and take a nap on the sandy areas.
The path took us past even more temples! One of the temples was called Shivalaya and carved into the ground in front of it were two figures doing pranam with their hands above their head. Located right near the temples, was the King’s balance scale. Here a person would be weighed against precious materials such as gold that was then collected and distributed among the poor.
At last we reached the Vitthala temple where a guide was waiting for us. The guide didn’t speak full English so thank god for Shivani who stuck close by and translated everything he said. He took us through the temple complex pointing out all of the features of the royal temples. One temple was strictly for the royals and silk would be hung around it to keep others from looking in. On the temple there were small holes on the sides which were designated spots to hang flowers.
The guide drew our attention to the intricacies of the temple. There was a baby monkey and mamma that if you switched the angle you were looking at it from, formed seven other animals such as a snake. The carvings in the pillar were the only way for people at the time to record what they saw. Many of them depicted merchants from China and traders from the Middle East with camels. The carvings captured the features of the people very well!
Each of the 56 pillars of the Vitthala temple is made from a resonant stone. Therefore, when you bang it, it produces a musical tone and since no two pillars are the same, you have many musical tones. The guide demonstrated this by tapping against several of the pillars.
In the center of the complex is the famous chariot that is depicted on the ₹50 note! The chariot originally had wheels that did not touch the ground but since, a platform has been built. The elephants were also not a part of the design; they were just added later during excavation efforts.
There are a lot of restoration efforts at the site. Initially, they machine cut parts of the temple to restore it but it doesn’t have the same authenticity so that project was abandoned. Instead, they have built many stone columns and used rods to support areas that are falling down now. Some parts are inaccessible due to the fragility of the temple.
Hampi was truly a city of ruins and it felt like I had barely made a dent on the sites we stopped to see. Plus there is just so much history I have yet to learn.
For our late lunch and by late I mean 4pm lunch the group could not come to a consensus whether to go back to Hospet and eat or eat at the same place in Hampi. I was starving but decided to go back to the room and order in so we could eat while we packed. Plus, Moulika and Shruti agreed that the place we ate yesterday was too unsanitary, so I was more than happy to go with me.
We ordered palak paneer and dal and there was so much leftovers I kept it for the bus. From the last bus dinner stop, I knew we were likely to stop in the middle of nowhere for only a short time. Niraj had said our bus departed at 5:30pm so the three of us were ready to go at that time but the others only returned then and Niraj gave us our goodbye talk before we headed to the bus. This time the bus was a recliner bus meaning we did not have the lay-flat bed like we did last time. I jokingly made so much noise about how Niraj had lied to us so he kept coming back with compliments to make me less mad.
I am glad I packed my dinner because the place we stopped for dinner at 10pm was indeed sad. Unlike the last place, there was no one at this place. Of course with every rest stop is a good washroom experience. This washroom was an open air and open stall washroom. No doors and there wasn't even a real hole in the ground either. Most of the others refused to go but you gotta do what you got to do. What a fun culture shock experience. #doitfortheculture
I had a blast in Hampi! I loved all of the people I met on the trip and they were all so friendly from the bus journey there. The experience manager Niraj was also very funny, lighthearted, and took good care of all his kids. If time permits, I will definitely do another trip with Vagabond!
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