Road trip to Hampi
INDIA | Sunday, 25 May 2008 | Views [252]
Day one:
At 8 in the morning I chucked all three of my bags into
various parts of the car. Sitting on the back seat I gave my driver the
nod of approval to proceed in a southerly direction. Seven hours later
I cruised up to the Navaratna International Hotel in Bijapur.
Day two:
After
a breakfast of caffeine and nicotine it was into the car for a days
sightseeing around the town. The first place on the list was on the
other side of town. My faith in my driver’s navigational skills
completely disappeared as he needed to stop 3 times to ask for
directions. The thing is, the place was signposted all the way and he
only had to make one turn on the entire journey!
We arrived at
Ibrahim Rouza, it’s an Islamic mausoleum built in the early 1600’s. The
minarets are said to of been the inspiration for those at the Taj
Mahal. It’s rated as one of the most finely proportioned Islamic
monuments in India…nice!
Whilst I was looking around the site, my driver employed a local man to give him directions for the rest of the day’s tour!!!
Next,
was a section of the old defensive city wall. On top of one of the
battlements was a bloody big cannon allegedly weighing in at 55 tons!
Following
on from there it was a short drive through the back streets to the Upli
Buruj. It is a 24m high watchtower with an external spiral staircase
winding its way up to the top. Once there wide views of the city were
found.
I then went to Bara Karman, the ruined mausoleum of some
bloke called Ali Roza. All that’s left on the raised platform was the
carcass of the building.Graceful curving arches, a tome and not much
else.
Arriving at the Golcumbaz I was impressed straight out of
the car. Built in the second half of the 17th century as a mausoleum
(again!) for Mohammed Adil Shah. It has 4 seven storey towers, one on
each corner and a dome with a 38m diameter. That’s quite big for a
dome! Inside it is plainly decorated with a few carved reliefs. Taking
a staircase found inside one of the towers brings you out onto the roof
and the entrance to the “whispering” gallery. Due to the large number
of kids running around a more apt name would have been the “screaming
and shouting” gallery!
For the rest of the afternoon, I gave my driver time off and walked around the town.
Day three:
It was an early start. The final destination was the town of Badami. Before I got there, there were two places to visit.
Alihole:
this place was the Chalukyan regional capital from the 4th to the 6th
century. It teems with over 100 temples dotted all over the small
modern day village. The temples range in size and style and the
development of the craft can easily be seen
Pattadakal: this
place replaced Alihole as the capital and damn didn’t they do well.
Built between the 7th and 8th century AD. It’s a notable improvement in
terms of size and quality over Alihole.
Arriving in Badami,
turning up at the hotel (overpriced even after haggling a R150
discount) just to dump my bags onto the bed. The town of Badami is
split between the “new” part based along the main road and the old part
near the tank with its narrow streets.
I went to the caves, yep more
caves but this time there was only 4 of them. The caves overlooked the
Agastyatirtha tank, which was large! The water here is only replenished
by rain water running off the nearby hills. As the monsoon was nearly a
year ago the waters were green in colour and faintly whiffy! That
didn’t seem to stop the kids from swimming in it and the women washing
their clothes.
Back at the hotel I completely missed the entrance
and ended up in the bar next door. Two large and ice cold beers later
it was time for a long afternoon siesta.
In the early evening I
wandered around the old town down by the tank and watched a beautiful
sunset. By now I was hungry and I enjoyed my new favourite dish of
paneer chilly and jeera rice. Once again failing to enter the hotel
more cold beers followed and bizarrely I was asked for my autograph.
1st and last time I’m sure!
Day four:
It was only a 3
hour ride to Hampi arriving in the early afternoon. The hotel is quite
nice with a simple room (although it lacks a/c and a TV!). Its best
feature is the small garden 3 steps from my room. Overlooking the river
with a banana plantation in between. On the patio area, which is under
cover are found 3 “hammock” chairs…lovely.
After checking my
emails my worst fears were confirmed. There is no diving in Goa in June
(or July, August or September for that matter!). So, I have no idea
where I’ll be going once I leave Hampi…
N.B: over the 4 day journey I saw, on average, 1.25 Lorries a day either lying upside down in a ditch or wrapped around a tree!
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