Hampi

I can’t believe we almost decided not to go to Hampi. Actually, we did decide to skip it but changed our plans at the last minute in favor of going. Initially, we thought that the journey from Mysore to Hampi would be convoluted and take too much time. It turned out to be pretty straight forward and we had no trouble getting train tickets. Hampi is known for its Hindu ruins and climbing scene but we didn’t partake in any climbing while we were there.

Hampi was one of the biggest Hindu empires in Indian history. It was the capital of the kingdom of Vijayanagar and flourished  between the 14th and 16th centuries before its sudden collapse due to attack from outside forces. Evidently, it reached a population of around 500,000 and was a major stop for travelers and traders during its heyday.

We spent a few days there soaking up the plentiful sun and exploring the two major ruin sites, those nearest the Hampi Bazaar where we stayed and those a little further south in an area called the Royal Center. The photos are in Gallery format for better viewing instead of the format we typically use of embedding them in the text. I hope you enjoy the photos.

In Hospet, walking to catch the bus that would take us to Hampi, these ladies asked us to take their photo.

Sarah making pockets to hold the battery and extra SD card in our new camera case.

We finally bought a knife to cut up our own fruit.

Camera case with Sarah’s alterations. Nice!

Finished product. Yummy.

You can’t tell here but Sarah is a little frightened by the lumbering elephant coming too close for her comfort.

We’ve met people during the trip that asked to take our photo or just wanted to shake our hand but it happened quite a few times during our time in Hampi. It gives us a sense of what it might be like to be a celebrity.

The kids love Sarah.

Kingfisher