Just too British to Indian Roads

11/3/11

A very early start saw us board a taxi at 6am and catch train to Hospet which was 8 hours away. As we progress we realised that within the chaos there is order. There may be mad queuing for breakfast (curry and rice without a spoon so hand eating was perfected] the train may be arriving soon (40 mins late) there may be a huge rush to get onto the train and uncertainty about the seats, a self important ticket inspector, a 40 minute wait at a station whilst the windows were cleaned, the carriage swept and mopped and all out war at our final station as people tried to get on the train but we did arrive only 1 hour late in the seats we pre booked on the internet. We were also offered a copious amount of chai and food by local people who boarded the train at each stop and plied there business.

After some haggling we jumped into a tuk tuk for mad dash to Hampi- there was no urgency on our part but the driver had modeled his driving on the wacky races and was destined to get there as soon as possible at all costs. That said we did break down on the level crossing for 5 minutes. Our taxi driver was not too concerned and played with the fuel source and got us going again. I on the other hand kept a vigil eye out for approaching trains. After paying an entrance fee to get into Hampi (I think someone wanted to get come cash and printed some official looking receipts) we were delivered to our river crossing that would take us to our accommodation.

Balancing our bags in a boat with 25 other people (on a boat build for 15 max) we were safely delivered across the river feeling very hot and sticky. We found our accommodation flopped down drank a beer and went to bed.

12/2/11

The next we were up washed dressed and out for some temple visiting by 8am. After crossing the river again we watched the temple elephant go for a wash in the river next to the locals. The elephant was very well behaved, lay down and was scrubbed for 40 minutes. After a leisurely breakfast and some harassment from a tuk tuk driver who waited for us to finish our breakfast in order to get our business we set off. Hampi is a very holy place and there are over 2500 temples many in ruins and many new. The driver took us to a selection and they were amazing. Centuries old with intricate carvings, and structures rising up out of the ground into the sky. James particularly like the monkey god and the queen’s bath which was more akin to a swimming pool.

After a spot of lunch we hired another tuk tuk to go into Hospet. The driver was fair and negotiated what we knew to be a “good price” and even said he would wait in Hospet for two hours in order to bring us back. James was naturally suspicious but it turned out that the driver was a lovely man who even rang his mate to translate when we wanted to be taken to a different shop. For two hours were traipsed around many a shop looking for five thick 1 meter lengths of material as our friend Kay said she would sew it into a blanket for us. Being that we live in the UK we wanted thick material being that India is rather hot thin material was in abundance. After a number of quizzical looks some Indian head wiggling and a visit to a number of shops we struck gold and were lead into a back room. Here we selected our first length of material and had something to show the other shop keepers when trying to explain what we wanted. After a very enjoyable if not hot and dusty few hours we had amassed 4 lengths and had provided entertainment to the locals who obviously thought we were mad traipsing from shop to shop for such a small amount of material. We could never make a sari out of only 1 meter…

13/3/11

Again we were up and eating breakfast by 8.30am… well when it goes dark at 6 and there’s not much to do we tend to be in bed by 10pm. As the over the water place where we staying had no bridge and only a limited number of cars we decided to hire mopeds and explore. So after negotiating the amount of fuel we needed- two water bottles full of petrol we set off. Mia was my passenger and James had his own bike. Despite the lack of cars there were dogs, chickens, people, cows, mopeds and the odd bus to avoid oh and no helmets… We often got to the heady speed on 30km (James insists this was 40km) per hour but more frequently it was less as the roads were in a poor condition.

Our bravery was rewarded as we drove for an hour and passed though a number of small villages, nearly drove into a wedding event, found the river, were over taken by a number of bicycles, saw may a beautiful sight (rice fields, rivers, temples and the countryside. The further we went the more interested the children became. We were always greeted with a wave or a hello and a few of the braver ones would try and catch hold of you and ask your name as a preamble to asking for some money.

After a few hours of sitting we headed back home unfortunately we got a little lost and had to ask for directions. We were sent a number of ways and eventually arrived back at the accommodation from a very different direction to when we set off. We reflected that we had a fab day but were just a little bit too British for Indian roads as we did not beep with enough passion or frequency to announce to the world that we were coming going or had been somewhere….