As it turns out, I succeeded in driving my motorbike into the ditch; minimal injury and maximal embarrassment. My revised plan is to buddy up with more competent drivers... small scooters have room enough for two people, or a family of eight, depending on your approach.
Yesterday I hopped on with a friendly Irish fella and spent some time at the Sanapur Reservoir, jumping 8-10 metres off giant boulders into the lake. Sweat-free for a precious few minutes! Apparently the "no swimming" and "beware crocodiles" signs were just for show. If only every destination allowed tourists to jump off tall things into cool, predator-free freshwater. Alas.The town of Hampi is nestled within the ruins of Vijayanagar, a once-great Hindu empire. I think the main city was home to some 500,000 people at its peak. The big draws, with good reason, the Virupaksha Temple and Hanuman (monkey god) temple on Anjanadri Hill. I quite liked the monkey temple, but scootering around the countryside is the best part. Enormous mounds of pink boulders balanced precariously all around. Rice paddies. Lazy rivers. A healthy portion of emptiness. I wish I could describe the visual combination. It's otherwordly.
It's hard to find a place on the backpacker circuit that enjoys unmixed, all-positive reviews. Hampi is one of those rare places that everyone likes. Seems that Mysore has a similarly good reputation - good news, as it's on the itinerary for the Shore Family Jam Band's Christmas tour.
Bangalore in a couple of days. (My next post will be rich with wisdom pertaining to e-commerce.) To be honest, I just want to hit a big city with English-language movie theatres. The cast of Harry Potter is finally old enough - let's get with the lewd comments already.
Ah molls - you are your parents' daughter - needing a movie fix that's not Bollywood! Who knows - you might even be able to get some Arby's and later purge yer innards, in Bangalore! I confess I'm happy to hear you've taken up hitchhiking over scooter driving - tho one now hopes you're very selective about whom you hitch with - could you ask them to demo their mad skills first, before riding with them - just say your mom says you have to...
ReplyDeleteGlad Hampi turned out to be a good choice - big country - many options, eh? Ben is pretty excited and into major countdown mode, so have fun with the bro!
I tried to convince Ben to read Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenence after he brutally rebuffed my suggestion that he read Shantaram...I ,of course, have not read either.
ReplyDeleteI have however, read Harry Potter and have also enjoyed the films. Enjoyed in a sexy way.
missing you as always.
but have you seen the deathly hallows? it's crammed full of teen hunks.
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