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Our next weekend trip planned was to Hampi. We were getting the bus from Bangalore on the Friday night so on the Thursday Aina, Tom C (Have to call him that now due to Tom K being an addition to the KV family) and I decided to go and look for the bus stop so we weren't lost the next evening. After finding it we came across the 'Bollywood Bar' and decided to check it out. It was one of the weirdest bars I have ever been too. When we got there they were playing loud Bollywood music videos then when we walked in they started playing Shakira, Vengaboys and Aqua even louder. We had to shout at each other when we were talking and it actually hurt your ears. We got the sleeper bus to Hospet the next night, which is a town near Hampi. The bus had double beds on it that you share with another person (in my case Aina), which even had a raised soft part for your head like a pillow. We arrived in Hospet in the early morning and got a rickshaw to Hampi. As we got to Hampi the sun was rising and we could see the amazing scenery. It was like Bedrock in the Flintstones. There are temples and ruins everywhere and massive hills of boulders. As we arrived in Hampi the village was just waking up and people were washing by the river.听We wanted to stay across the river as we had heard that was the best place, so we had to wait until seven to get a boat across.
 | | The Main Temple Of Hampi |
When we got across the river we found a place to stay in the 'Sai Plasa' guesthouse. We even had swing seats outside our rooms! After registering with the police (something all visitors are asked to do in Hampi) we had a look around the main temple. It was massive and there were so many bits to explore. We also met the temple elephant called Lakshmi that lives there. If you give her a one Rupee coin she will bless you on the head with her trunk. It was amazing how gentle she was even with babies. At lunch time we went to a restaurant we had heard about called the 'Mango Tree' where we had the traditional Indian Thali dish which consists of breads and various different chutneys, dhal and curries. You had to sit on the floor at very low tables. The scenery was beautiful, looking over the river and the restaurant was away from the village in banana trees.
 | | The Thali dish at The Mango Tree |
The next day we got up early and hired scooters. Hampi is very hot at this time of year and it's a great way to get around all the hills to look at temples and things without getting too hot. It's also quicker than walking so you get more done before the middle of the day. Tom and I were nominated to drive, as we have driving licenses, not that we really needed them because nobody checked them even when I fell off mine in the middle of the main street, which was very embarrassing. I wasn't a natural. I got the hang of it eventually though and poor Aina had to go on the back of my scooter as I shakily drover round the roads and tracks. Luckily the traffic was nothing like it is in Bangalore. We saw lots of the sights around the village including the massive 'Queen's Bath', which was more like a swimming pool, lots of ruins and the elephant stables, which were really interesting. When you went inside you could imagine all the elephants lined up. There were little doors between them where the people feeding and looking after them would have been able to move through. It was great to see all the carvings in the stone of different Gods and Goddesses and the statues. A lot of them had been harmed unfortunately in the past and had things like hands cut off. A lot of the things we saw dated back about 500 years. Unfortunately my camera broke early on in the day so I didn't get many photographs. When we got back to Hampi we had lunch then went to look at the waterfalls led by a boy we had met on the Saturday selling postcards. He was called Ganesh and was 10 years old. He sold postcards on weekends and went to school during the week and he acted as a great guide. The waterfalls are buried under boulders so you only get glimpses of them as you walk around. You can definitely hear them though roaring underneath you.
 | | A cooling walk through Banana Trees |
That night Sooz and I had to get the train from Hospet back to Bangalore as we had work the next morning. I was sad to leave and I will definitely go back there if I come to India again, there's so much to see and it's so interesting. This weekend we just chilled out in Bangalore. I did way too much souvenir shopping and we organised our trip to Pondicherry for next weekend. Iron Maiden played Bangalore on Saturday, which was a big deal for Indian metal fans. International bands hardly ever play India especially not ones as big as Iron Maiden. On Monday Wes Borland (ex Limp Bizkit) guitarist played in Bangalore and me and Gillian, who I work with, were sent to interview him. The gig itself was not so great as he had thought he was doing guitar clinics in India when they were actually meant to be shows! I can鈥檛 believe I have just under four weeks left here. The time has gone so quickly as there is always something new to see and do, even the journey to work is never boring. I have lots planned for my final month so I'm sure it will go by even quicker. Read earlier diary entries from Amy: | 
