Hampi
As much climbing as we’ve done, nothing prepared us for the limitless amount of boulders that Hampi provided. The bus ride in from Hospet (the closest big town to Hampi) provided us with a view with the extent of boulder problems that sniffed out.
We get off the bus and tried to find our way to a pre-booked hostel called “Goan Corner”. The first few rickshaw drivers we met explained to us that “The Goan Corner is demolished” – Seriously? Demolished? It was hard to believe. In our Lonely Planet guide book, they explained that rickshaw drivers would say something like that and take you to a “better and cheaper hostel” for you and they get a commission for it.
We shrug it off and truck our way to the ferry to take us across the river where the Goan Corner supposedly was. We march around a huge rice paddy field to find at the end of the rainbow and found *drum roll* the Goan Corner.
Our dear German friend Max (from our first stop, Mahabs) was already there. It was the first time we finally made a point to meet up during our travels, and was successful at it. All the other times, it has been bumping into him and moving on.
We settle in and work our way back over the river to see what we could see. And that we could see was – a lot of boulders and a massive temple sticking up from the middle of it. Hanuman, the monkey God, according to legend, sat on top of a hill and threw boulders all around the place.
We decided to meet up with a tour group that went around Hampi by bicycle. Not a bad idea, considering everything was bicycle distance apart. That and it was early enough in the morning that it was still cool enough to not sweat our asses off before the heat of the afternoon – reaching toward 36 degrees (dry heat luckily)
Tourism has used Hampi as a main income source. Every store is geared toward tourism in some way, wifi, guest house, restaurants, trinkets, clothing, etc. Infact, Hampi will get more touristic as it was recently recognized by the UN to become part of UNESCO. This incentive made the government destroy restaurants and hotels that were “illegally” ran (because they didn’t have a permit). And just 2 weeks before our arrival, they demolished a good part of the city.
So the rickshaw driver wasn’t exactly lying.
The government destroyed businesses. And it was very evident as we still saw the pile rubble of its former self. We’d imagine UNESCO to provide money to help support monuments and also the day to day life of the village locals. Instead the money is given and then used to demolish the businesses and leave the locals scrounging for jobs and food. The idea of preserving the monument has it’s downsides it would seem. The darker side of keeping UNESCO Heritage Sites alive apparently also means destroying livelihoods in this situation.
After spending some time in Hampi, we took a sleeper bus and headed to Goa. The epitome of South India.
To see more pictures of Hampi series click here
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| Boulders in Hampi |
As much climbing as we’ve done, nothing prepared us for the limitless amount of boulders that Hampi provided. The bus ride in from Hospet (the closest big town to Hampi) provided us with a view with the extent of boulder problems that sniffed out.
We get off the bus and tried to find our way to a pre-booked hostel called “Goan Corner”. The first few rickshaw drivers we met explained to us that “The Goan Corner is demolished” – Seriously? Demolished? It was hard to believe. In our Lonely Planet guide book, they explained that rickshaw drivers would say something like that and take you to a “better and cheaper hostel” for you and they get a commission for it.
We shrug it off and truck our way to the ferry to take us across the river where the Goan Corner supposedly was. We march around a huge rice paddy field to find at the end of the rainbow and found *drum roll* the Goan Corner.
 |
| Temples ruins and boulders |
We settle in and work our way back over the river to see what we could see. And that we could see was – a lot of boulders and a massive temple sticking up from the middle of it. Hanuman, the monkey God, according to legend, sat on top of a hill and threw boulders all around the place.
We decided to meet up with a tour group that went around Hampi by bicycle. Not a bad idea, considering everything was bicycle distance apart. That and it was early enough in the morning that it was still cool enough to not sweat our asses off before the heat of the afternoon – reaching toward 36 degrees (dry heat luckily)
Tourism has used Hampi as a main income source. Every store is geared toward tourism in some way, wifi, guest house, restaurants, trinkets, clothing, etc. Infact, Hampi will get more touristic as it was recently recognized by the UN to become part of UNESCO. This incentive made the government destroy restaurants and hotels that were “illegally” ran (because they didn’t have a permit). And just 2 weeks before our arrival, they demolished a good part of the city.
 |
| Rice field outside our "Goan Corner" |
So the rickshaw driver wasn’t exactly lying.
The government destroyed businesses. And it was very evident as we still saw the pile rubble of its former self. We’d imagine UNESCO to provide money to help support monuments and also the day to day life of the village locals. Instead the money is given and then used to demolish the businesses and leave the locals scrounging for jobs and food. The idea of preserving the monument has it’s downsides it would seem. The darker side of keeping UNESCO Heritage Sites alive apparently also means destroying livelihoods in this situation.
To see more pictures of Hampi series click here
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