I could stay a while at Hampi - anyone could
I could stay a while at Hampi - anyone could
I arrived in Hampi early yesterday morning after an overnight bus from Mysore. This place is idyllic, and the kind of place long-term travellers arrive at and don't leave.
The town is set in the actual 500-year-old city bazaar of Hampi: the guesthouses and shops run the fill the side streets to one side of the bazaar. The bazaar is book-ended by a stepped hill at one end and a fifty meter high temple at the other.
By the streets and on the surrounding hills are ruins of old temples. A river meanders nearby and the landscape is dotted by boulders. Nearby by bicycle or rickshaw I can explore other ruins.
The pace of life is slow here and I have the amenities that travellers look for after a while: Western traveller food made by Nepalese restauranteurs; shops; slow internet.
The first day I stayed at Suresh Guesthouse, a clean place with new floors run by nice owners. Today I moved across the river to Laughing Budha, a new collection of bamboo huts with a central dining pavilion.
Suresh Guesthouse cost 250 rupees (US$5.75) for a double with overhead fan and mosquito net and attached bath and hot water bucket available. The Laughing Budha hut costs 50 rupees (US$1.25) a night, with shared bath outside. These prices are for October before the season starts; the Suresh Guesthouse owner told me that around January 10th no rooms will be available anywhere. He will get 650 rupees (US$15) for the same room and huts across the river will cost 500 rupees (US$11.50).
Staying across the river means returning by six pm; a coracle (boat) stops taking people across the river at that time. Life is even quieter on the other side of the river than it is at Hampi, but apparently there is a little bit of nightlife with movies shown at the restaurant.
I saw an episode of a television show while I was in Bangalore featuring Anthony Bourdain called "No Reservations" on the Asia Travel and Living channel. He talked about travellers who had "gone bamboo" and just stopped travelling because there was no reason to leave. He was talking about Bali and Indonesia, but Hampi might be such a place.
I could stay a while at Hampi - anyone could
