Thankfully no rain today, but it was also my last day here. Went for a nice walk at 7 am along the Tungbhadra to take in the conditions, the river level had swelled up more than 5 meters from the day before, the ghat steps all but submerged. Quite a few people were taking a holy dip in the cold water. As I returned I saw that the cops had set up temporary shop in the building opposite my guesthouse as the road in front of the police station still had a lot of stagnant water, which had also entered the station.
The view from the top of Hemkuta hill this time was quite relaxing with a sunny sky with a few clouds, but no rain, and a gentle breeze. I rested on the corner boulders at the top of the hill for more than an hour, few tourists passing by. Here I met Steve (name changed), an American I had met yesterday night at my guesthouse. Apparently he had worked with goldman sachs, before getting the pink slip from AIG as a derivative dealer. He had been traveling across India (Delhi, Agra, Jodhpur, Goa, Bombay etc) for a few months now. I asked him why he had chosen to come to India, to which he replied that he found it interesting, cheap to travel in and he wanted to search for spirituality. Strange, how people have to travel thousands of miles to a distant land to find spirituality, and that after having made millions with a firm that many were wailing over. And it also intrigued me that he liked Indian food, and was praising Delhi, my hometown, for the life it had. He preferred it to Goa and the other places he said. I let him know of the various places in Hampi that were worth a visit and the routes to take and took leave of the 6 foot, bearded fellow. He reminded me of another person staying at Gopi guesthouse I had met, Suraiya, a female from West Indies that had come and had made her residence here in India 10 years back. She had told me that she arranged meditational retreats for people all over places in India. Funny, I had never known that my country was such magnet for foreigners who decided to stay here, atleast I had not met some in person before.
I walked down to the start of the royal center about 2 km away to see whether the roads had cleared, they had to some extent, enough that you could wade through, but water was still standing in the fields next to the road. I also met Suresh, an IT chap from Bangalore, who was waiting for the sun to come out in full flow so that he could take a few snaps with his SLR. I directed him to the royal center as the road was fine now, and headed back to Gopi for a quick lemonade and light snack.
In the afternoon, I decided to visit Vitthala temple again, I had really liked that place. Walked past the bazaar and the monolithic bull and past Mathunga hill to the short hike that comes out at Achyutraya temple (this is a short cut if you don’t take a bike). Met a large group of Gujarati people who seemed to be lost, and asked me for directions to the main temple, so I directed them to Virupaksha (the only one still operational here). I carried on past Varaha temple and took the stony path this time compared to the mud path last time (I had worked out alternate routes out as well in my 4 days now!). saved me a bit of time as I came out right behind King’s balance after crossing a very small stream of rain water. At Vitthala I once again admired the chariot, but this time walked the outer compound as well close to the river, which I was not able to do in the rain last time. Most of it is broken up random structures, but offers a really good walk. I looked longingly at the Hanuman temple across the river which I was unable to cover this time around, next time I know not to come in rains.
When I came back I still had a couple of hours left before my train, so taught Kiran net music piracy 101, ‘cos, lets face it, no educated Indian should be deprived of the right to illegally download music from the internet! The guy had good taste in music, and wanted to download quite a few songs. I bid goodbye to the beautiful town at 6 in the evening catching the Hospet bus that took almost 45 minutes in the bumpy roads.
Definitely the craziest trips I have had, one of the most planned ones, except for the rains making it utterly unpredictable, certainly the most enjoyable, so this is one place that I definitely have to visit again, maybe in spring when there’s less water.
Showing posts with label Hemkuta. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hemkuta. Show all posts
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Hampi trip- day 2, Sep 29 2009
Had a nice omelet in the morning and rented a bicycle at one of the many shops in the main bazaar renting out one (this one happened to be owned by a relative of my guesthouse’s owner). They charge 40 rupees for the day. It had been years since I rode one, so even getting to the end of the 500 meter long bazaar with scant traffic turned out to be an exercise. I was ready with sunscreen, water, cap, and dressed in my shorts, as the sun was out bright at 9 in the morning. I did not injure anyone so far as I turned left onto the mud path before the end of the bazaar towards the river. I’d explored it a bit last evening, so I knew where to go.
Had to drag the bike at some points (there were quite a few) where the stony path next to the river became not too easy on the bum or there were steps. After 15 minutes of huffing and puffing I reached the coracle (that’s circular boat) point just before Achyutraya temple. I rode through Courtesan’s St, which now was about 400 meters of cobbled path lined up on both sides by pillars, seemed as if I was in a parade (the cavalryman riding his metal steed) being overseen by the king. The really good point about this temple was the area it covered, not much, probably about 50% of a football field, but built so that it seemed spacious. I locked the bike outside and took a walk between the inner compound and the outer wall. Here I took one of the many opportunities in the day to take off my shirt and get some shade, as I was sweating profusely (by the end of the day I reckon I had downed about 4-5 litres of liquid).
I passed the small puddle of water 300 meters on from Courtesan’s St (the St has Varaha temple at one end, and Achyutraya on the other) to join the 10 minute mud road (5 on bicycle, there’s slopes). The rocky path sloping at some points surrounded by various ruins was a nice setting. After quite a few rest stops, I got to the Vitthala temple, hitting first the King’s balance, a 4-5 meter tall two pillared structure at the start of the Vitthala temple complex. I carried on past Vitthala as I wanted to cover some more round before taking a long rest at Vitthala temple. The road past it ends up about 1.5 km down into one towards Kamalapura and another towards Hyderabad (? Not sure of this). There are 2 Mantapas on this long stretch, but nothing much to see there, except, another pool type structure at Kuduregombe Mantapa. Saw quite a few people in buses and cars pass by this road on to Vitthala temple (for those who don’t want to hike across the opposite route from Hampi town). I took another break and did some mountain climbing onto a deserted temple away from the road and sat in the shade there.
The Vitthala complex ticket costs, if memory serves right, about 10 rupees entry fees. I took in snaps of the famous stone chariot preserved quite well in the temple. The temple had been described as a nice work in architecture and I could see why, minute designs on the walls, to complement the ones on the pillars, and ceilings were a sight to see.
An aside here, there seems to be no purpose of rain, at least for me. True, it does lower the Celsius, but it also makes the sites, most of them out in the open, quite difficult to get to. The stones become slippery, and add to that I can’t use my camera to capture al this beauty, was missing some really good shots now. The rain that came made me stay for almost 3 hours inside the Vitthala complex, and I couldn’t even ride the bike back in this rain. The main concern was the loss of time, I had built in some waste of time into my sketchy schedule, but I hate sitting around when there’s so much to explore.(unless I’m really tired or want to take in the beauty of the place while resting). After waiting till 4 pm, I decided to risk it back in the drizzle now (never have bought an umbrella, dunno why). On the way back I took refuge in few of the ruins I had seen on the way, I could also see the ancient bridge across the river (it was now only a row of pillars in the river), while in the distance was the Hanuman temple atop Anjeyanadari hill, with its white row of steps also visible, quite enticing.
The route back in the rain was quite enjoyable now that I think of it (though at that time, it was some work, going up the slippery rocky slope, or thru the water logged mud paths). Met a chap at the coracle point who used to come here every year for the last 15 years from Bangalore. He had his own firm and found it peaceful here, while leaving his family in the bustling Bangalore. He told me of the various other places to see as well, the history of the place, we talked for almost an hour enjoying the river breeze and the rain, and the constant company of the monkeys (who tried to snatch my bag the minute I opened it and strayed 2 feet off!).
All in all, I managed to see the places I had intended to see for 1 day and was satisfied to get back to my guesthouse, take a hot shower, eat dal makhani and chapattis (J), climb a part of Hemkuta hill in late evening, and get back to bed at around 10, tired and happy.
Had to drag the bike at some points (there were quite a few) where the stony path next to the river became not too easy on the bum or there were steps. After 15 minutes of huffing and puffing I reached the coracle (that’s circular boat) point just before Achyutraya temple. I rode through Courtesan’s St, which now was about 400 meters of cobbled path lined up on both sides by pillars, seemed as if I was in a parade (the cavalryman riding his metal steed) being overseen by the king. The really good point about this temple was the area it covered, not much, probably about 50% of a football field, but built so that it seemed spacious. I locked the bike outside and took a walk between the inner compound and the outer wall. Here I took one of the many opportunities in the day to take off my shirt and get some shade, as I was sweating profusely (by the end of the day I reckon I had downed about 4-5 litres of liquid).
I passed the small puddle of water 300 meters on from Courtesan’s St (the St has Varaha temple at one end, and Achyutraya on the other) to join the 10 minute mud road (5 on bicycle, there’s slopes). The rocky path sloping at some points surrounded by various ruins was a nice setting. After quite a few rest stops, I got to the Vitthala temple, hitting first the King’s balance, a 4-5 meter tall two pillared structure at the start of the Vitthala temple complex. I carried on past Vitthala as I wanted to cover some more round before taking a long rest at Vitthala temple. The road past it ends up about 1.5 km down into one towards Kamalapura and another towards Hyderabad (? Not sure of this). There are 2 Mantapas on this long stretch, but nothing much to see there, except, another pool type structure at Kuduregombe Mantapa. Saw quite a few people in buses and cars pass by this road on to Vitthala temple (for those who don’t want to hike across the opposite route from Hampi town). I took another break and did some mountain climbing onto a deserted temple away from the road and sat in the shade there.
The Vitthala complex ticket costs, if memory serves right, about 10 rupees entry fees. I took in snaps of the famous stone chariot preserved quite well in the temple. The temple had been described as a nice work in architecture and I could see why, minute designs on the walls, to complement the ones on the pillars, and ceilings were a sight to see.
An aside here, there seems to be no purpose of rain, at least for me. True, it does lower the Celsius, but it also makes the sites, most of them out in the open, quite difficult to get to. The stones become slippery, and add to that I can’t use my camera to capture al this beauty, was missing some really good shots now. The rain that came made me stay for almost 3 hours inside the Vitthala complex, and I couldn’t even ride the bike back in this rain. The main concern was the loss of time, I had built in some waste of time into my sketchy schedule, but I hate sitting around when there’s so much to explore.(unless I’m really tired or want to take in the beauty of the place while resting). After waiting till 4 pm, I decided to risk it back in the drizzle now (never have bought an umbrella, dunno why). On the way back I took refuge in few of the ruins I had seen on the way, I could also see the ancient bridge across the river (it was now only a row of pillars in the river), while in the distance was the Hanuman temple atop Anjeyanadari hill, with its white row of steps also visible, quite enticing.
The route back in the rain was quite enjoyable now that I think of it (though at that time, it was some work, going up the slippery rocky slope, or thru the water logged mud paths). Met a chap at the coracle point who used to come here every year for the last 15 years from Bangalore. He had his own firm and found it peaceful here, while leaving his family in the bustling Bangalore. He told me of the various other places to see as well, the history of the place, we talked for almost an hour enjoying the river breeze and the rain, and the constant company of the monkeys (who tried to snatch my bag the minute I opened it and strayed 2 feet off!).
All in all, I managed to see the places I had intended to see for 1 day and was satisfied to get back to my guesthouse, take a hot shower, eat dal makhani and chapattis (J), climb a part of Hemkuta hill in late evening, and get back to bed at around 10, tired and happy.
Hampi trip - day 1,Sep 28 2009
First time in an AC chair, not bad ‘cos it was just a 3 hour journey from Chennai to Tirupati. The only problem being the constant bickering, all the f%#@* families, and what’s a travel without the constant wail of a child? Seems as that is what forms the goal in an infant’s life – eat, poop and wail ceaselessly. Anyway, the AC section proved to be a relief from the heat. Generally I prefer not being on my seat while traveling via a train, but I decided to rest for a journey that was undoubtedly going to be really tiring.
If you’re looking for even a moment’s peace or quiet in an Indian train, surely you’re better off wishing for utopia. The only time that stillness prevails is when its late at night, and everyone sleeps, leaving the train’s humming fill the void, so the afternoon has to be put up with as it is. Can’t really sit in the AC for too long, have to get to my favorite place, the coach gate, where you get to enjoy the breeze on your face, a little bit of sunlight and the hills, some green some rocky barren masses, passing slowly by. They probably have witnessed a good number of trains go by everyday, standing firm at the same place. Each of these hills just seems to be begging to be scaled, each unique in some way, whether it’s the one with the conical giant rock at eh peak, the one with the slow, lazy slope angling up for a mile, or the one that would hold a mountaineering enthusiast’s attention.
The train was on time at the Tirupati station, the station absolutely bustling with people, seems as though its one of those big pilgrimages (maybe it is!). I chose the least crowded station and sat down to kill the 2 hours till my connect to Hospet station arrived. A beggar came down and sat next to me on the bench & tried to engage me in conversation. I utilized the old stony face, deaf ears as the poor chap kept on blabbering in broken English about money. There’s a large number of needy people here, but an equally larger populace trying to simply con you. Finally the train to Hospet arrived, but I was supposed to be on Rayalseema express, and this was Haripriya express. A passenger enlightened me that both trains were the same, the last few coaches being Rayalseema. So I trudged to the end of the train to find that my coach was in fact in Haripriya itself! Again I lugged my backpack 8 coaches to the front, waited for a TC to come by and confirmed that I was in fact in the right coach. Oh joy, now I was hungry, so gulped sown the 2 bananas I had bought.
Woke up at 5 to see light rains dot the Hospet skies, a couple of big factories in the distance spewing smoke. There is one thing about public transport, it won’t try to cheat your socks off. The first auto I met wanted to charge 150 for Hampi (I later got to know that that is in fact how much they always charge). For the 14 kms, I asked him if I took a shared auto, he refused saying he didn’t work o that basis, so I asked to be dropped off at the bus stand. And he picked up a couple other people for the 2 km trip, so much for the non sharing principle! The ride from Hospet to Hampi in the bus was quite nice, the weather had cooled down, my fellow passenger told me (from Hospet the buses ply about 20-30 minutes to Hampi, just board the one with the ‘Hospet-Hampi-Hospet’ sign in front, it leaves from #2 platform). I took the bus even after all the touts’ cajoling as I had researched it (ha) and it cost me only 10 bucks to Hampi. The bus was hardly full (meaning only 20 people standing and noone hanging at the gates for dear life). Outside Hospet city limits, you could see a couple of ruins hidden away in the fields. Once at the Hampi bus stand I was again hot by a barrage of touts, maybe it’s the backpack, the shorts, or the slightly lighter brown skin color that I have than everyone here that instantly alights the touts’ tourist meter. I wanted to feel the difference of entering an earlier civilization (or the remains of it) but was instead hit with internet cafes at every fifth shop (every fifth shop, even if they had like just 2 PCs set up). I was baffled at being constantly asked ‘which country friend’, this from people of my own country!
I usually keep my ego close to my heart, so no asking for directions, so what proceeded was that I wandered for about 25 minutes, passed Virupaksha temple and the bazaar thrice in search of the guesthouses the names of which I had written down.
I finally managed to find the guesthouses (they’re all in one big cluster just when you turn right down a small alley past the right of Virupaksha temple at the end of the Bazaar). I turned in at Gopi guesthouse, apparently its budget AND has hot water throughout the day! To a northie in South India, even before winters, this was a bit absurd, but believe me, after 7-8 hours of hiking on the hills, I didn’t want to get out of that hot water. They charge 300 per night, it’s a twin bed, so would work out to 150 per person. I didn’t check out the others, but they’re all quite close to each other and the river.
Had a bath and went to Mango tree restaurant, suggested in some blog. The setting was quite beautiful, you went upstream along the Tungbhadra for a little over a km, then turn right at the restaurant sign.
You pass under a lot of Banana trees (should’ve named it banana tree, would’ve made more sense), and are made to sit quite close to the river, nice breeze and a really good view. I was famished and was delighted to see paranthas on the menu, promptly ordered an aloo parantha, and out of the local cuisine, banana parantha. The waiter placed in front of me something, I wanted to ask what it was. If you’ve eaten a ‘poori’, then increase the thickness about 5-6 times, & put inside chopped (not mashed, chopped into BIG pieces) potatoes. I should’ve been careful when it said ‘POTATO parantha’ on the menu card! Finished almost 75% due to the hunger, and waited for the banana delight. Same stuff, but surprise, surprise, banana pieces inside (40 bucks for this!) For a nice touch, there was a honey bottle (the bottle was an Indian whiskey one with the labels removed, and hopefully honey inside).
I decided to start at Virupaksha as it was the closest, bloody charged me 50 rupees for the camera! Its one for the few temples still operative here. Had some decent carvings on the temple walls, wandered around for an hour till 11, then hiked up to Hemkuta hill bang on the left of Virupaksha. Always carry some water with you as the trip dehydrates you, what with the sun, and the hill climbs. As I climbed up I got a clearer picture of the surroundings, with the bazaar, the river, the road out of hampi, and all the green area extending to the other side of the town. There are quite a few old structures on Hemkuta hill which you can explore, and the boulders next to them also provide a nice touch as you can go on clicking snaps as long as you wish. I decided to proceed after resting in one of these old ruins to the other side. As you come down on the opposite side of the hill, you come out at the ganesha statue and onwards to the Krishna temple. I spent more time in the ‘krishna bazaar’ opposite the temple as the ruins there with a long line of pillared path and a small pond offered a better calling for me, plus there was no crowd there. Then I moved on to the Ugra Narsimha statue about 200 metres from the temple and the big Badava Linga statue next to it. From here on I moved back as this marks the border on this side of the first cluster of places I wanted to see. Headed back to the hotel and had some sandwiches, had a nice shower and rested for about an hour.
It was about 5 by the time I started out again; I wanted to see the scenery from the much higher Mathunga hill at the opposite end of the almost 1 km long Hampi bazaar. Took in the bunches of foreign tourists thronging the place as I reached the monolithic bull statue at the end of the bazaar, the statue is about 10-15 feet tall and sits at the foot of Mathunga hill. I asked a cop for the direction and started the deserted path up the hill. The path had steps half of the way and at some places you had to walk through rocks and shrubs, till you reach the final few steps which are on a slanting boulder, and a bit tricky. I’m not a big fan of heights, but I had spent almost 30 minutes huffing up the hill, so I carried on. Once up I realized that there was another 7-8 metres up that the temple was located, I had no intention of taking the curving route on the hill side to visit a temple, so I sat there and caught my breath for the next hour! (even though I might not be the fittest person, the climb up was a bit exhausting). You could see the temples, the bazaar, the bus stop, Hemkuta hill, the river, the achyutraya temple on the other side, and even farther on towards the ‘royal enclosure’. I sat there as I watched a couple of local lads go up the big boulders to the top of the hill, no way was I going to try it if I’m alone here.
As it happens, I had landed at the time of dusshehra, and in the night, the Virupaksha temple had a huge procession. The foreigners were happily clicking away at the sights they normally get to see in some Indian documentary. The lights, the huge statue being carried to the temple and the accompanying festivities, the dhols and trumpets going at full blast as well. Even the hotel I was staying in had locals coming in every 2 minutes to greet the owner and offering leaves (this, I was told was a symbol of good luck). And would you believe it, I was the only Indian tourist at the dinner tables, there was a German couple, a few Americans, and other foreigners, but just me poor Indian! I slept off at an early 9 to work off the weariness, after off course, a nice hot bath. Day 1 - lots of walk, and not bad places as well.
If you’re looking for even a moment’s peace or quiet in an Indian train, surely you’re better off wishing for utopia. The only time that stillness prevails is when its late at night, and everyone sleeps, leaving the train’s humming fill the void, so the afternoon has to be put up with as it is. Can’t really sit in the AC for too long, have to get to my favorite place, the coach gate, where you get to enjoy the breeze on your face, a little bit of sunlight and the hills, some green some rocky barren masses, passing slowly by. They probably have witnessed a good number of trains go by everyday, standing firm at the same place. Each of these hills just seems to be begging to be scaled, each unique in some way, whether it’s the one with the conical giant rock at eh peak, the one with the slow, lazy slope angling up for a mile, or the one that would hold a mountaineering enthusiast’s attention.
The train was on time at the Tirupati station, the station absolutely bustling with people, seems as though its one of those big pilgrimages (maybe it is!). I chose the least crowded station and sat down to kill the 2 hours till my connect to Hospet station arrived. A beggar came down and sat next to me on the bench & tried to engage me in conversation. I utilized the old stony face, deaf ears as the poor chap kept on blabbering in broken English about money. There’s a large number of needy people here, but an equally larger populace trying to simply con you. Finally the train to Hospet arrived, but I was supposed to be on Rayalseema express, and this was Haripriya express. A passenger enlightened me that both trains were the same, the last few coaches being Rayalseema. So I trudged to the end of the train to find that my coach was in fact in Haripriya itself! Again I lugged my backpack 8 coaches to the front, waited for a TC to come by and confirmed that I was in fact in the right coach. Oh joy, now I was hungry, so gulped sown the 2 bananas I had bought.
Woke up at 5 to see light rains dot the Hospet skies, a couple of big factories in the distance spewing smoke. There is one thing about public transport, it won’t try to cheat your socks off. The first auto I met wanted to charge 150 for Hampi (I later got to know that that is in fact how much they always charge). For the 14 kms, I asked him if I took a shared auto, he refused saying he didn’t work o that basis, so I asked to be dropped off at the bus stand. And he picked up a couple other people for the 2 km trip, so much for the non sharing principle! The ride from Hospet to Hampi in the bus was quite nice, the weather had cooled down, my fellow passenger told me (from Hospet the buses ply about 20-30 minutes to Hampi, just board the one with the ‘Hospet-Hampi-Hospet’ sign in front, it leaves from #2 platform). I took the bus even after all the touts’ cajoling as I had researched it (ha) and it cost me only 10 bucks to Hampi. The bus was hardly full (meaning only 20 people standing and noone hanging at the gates for dear life). Outside Hospet city limits, you could see a couple of ruins hidden away in the fields. Once at the Hampi bus stand I was again hot by a barrage of touts, maybe it’s the backpack, the shorts, or the slightly lighter brown skin color that I have than everyone here that instantly alights the touts’ tourist meter. I wanted to feel the difference of entering an earlier civilization (or the remains of it) but was instead hit with internet cafes at every fifth shop (every fifth shop, even if they had like just 2 PCs set up). I was baffled at being constantly asked ‘which country friend’, this from people of my own country!
I usually keep my ego close to my heart, so no asking for directions, so what proceeded was that I wandered for about 25 minutes, passed Virupaksha temple and the bazaar thrice in search of the guesthouses the names of which I had written down.
Had a bath and went to Mango tree restaurant, suggested in some blog. The setting was quite beautiful, you went upstream along the Tungbhadra for a little over a km, then turn right at the restaurant sign.
You pass under a lot of Banana trees (should’ve named it banana tree, would’ve made more sense), and are made to sit quite close to the river, nice breeze and a really good view. I was famished and was delighted to see paranthas on the menu, promptly ordered an aloo parantha, and out of the local cuisine, banana parantha. The waiter placed in front of me something, I wanted to ask what it was. If you’ve eaten a ‘poori’, then increase the thickness about 5-6 times, & put inside chopped (not mashed, chopped into BIG pieces) potatoes. I should’ve been careful when it said ‘POTATO parantha’ on the menu card! Finished almost 75% due to the hunger, and waited for the banana delight. Same stuff, but surprise, surprise, banana pieces inside (40 bucks for this!) For a nice touch, there was a honey bottle (the bottle was an Indian whiskey one with the labels removed, and hopefully honey inside).
I decided to start at Virupaksha as it was the closest, bloody charged me 50 rupees for the camera! Its one for the few temples still operative here. Had some decent carvings on the temple walls, wandered around for an hour till 11, then hiked up to Hemkuta hill bang on the left of Virupaksha. Always carry some water with you as the trip dehydrates you, what with the sun, and the hill climbs. As I climbed up I got a clearer picture of the surroundings, with the bazaar, the river, the road out of hampi, and all the green area extending to the other side of the town. There are quite a few old structures on Hemkuta hill which you can explore, and the boulders next to them also provide a nice touch as you can go on clicking snaps as long as you wish. I decided to proceed after resting in one of these old ruins to the other side. As you come down on the opposite side of the hill, you come out at the ganesha statue and onwards to the Krishna temple. I spent more time in the ‘krishna bazaar’ opposite the temple as the ruins there with a long line of pillared path and a small pond offered a better calling for me, plus there was no crowd there. Then I moved on to the Ugra Narsimha statue about 200 metres from the temple and the big Badava Linga statue next to it. From here on I moved back as this marks the border on this side of the first cluster of places I wanted to see. Headed back to the hotel and had some sandwiches, had a nice shower and rested for about an hour.
It was about 5 by the time I started out again; I wanted to see the scenery from the much higher Mathunga hill at the opposite end of the almost 1 km long Hampi bazaar. Took in the bunches of foreign tourists thronging the place as I reached the monolithic bull statue at the end of the bazaar, the statue is about 10-15 feet tall and sits at the foot of Mathunga hill. I asked a cop for the direction and started the deserted path up the hill. The path had steps half of the way and at some places you had to walk through rocks and shrubs, till you reach the final few steps which are on a slanting boulder, and a bit tricky. I’m not a big fan of heights, but I had spent almost 30 minutes huffing up the hill, so I carried on. Once up I realized that there was another 7-8 metres up that the temple was located, I had no intention of taking the curving route on the hill side to visit a temple, so I sat there and caught my breath for the next hour! (even though I might not be the fittest person, the climb up was a bit exhausting). You could see the temples, the bazaar, the bus stop, Hemkuta hill, the river, the achyutraya temple on the other side, and even farther on towards the ‘royal enclosure’. I sat there as I watched a couple of local lads go up the big boulders to the top of the hill, no way was I going to try it if I’m alone here.
As it happens, I had landed at the time of dusshehra, and in the night, the Virupaksha temple had a huge procession. The foreigners were happily clicking away at the sights they normally get to see in some Indian documentary. The lights, the huge statue being carried to the temple and the accompanying festivities, the dhols and trumpets going at full blast as well. Even the hotel I was staying in had locals coming in every 2 minutes to greet the owner and offering leaves (this, I was told was a symbol of good luck). And would you believe it, I was the only Indian tourist at the dinner tables, there was a German couple, a few Americans, and other foreigners, but just me poor Indian! I slept off at an early 9 to work off the weariness, after off course, a nice hot bath. Day 1 - lots of walk, and not bad places as well.
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