More Hampi pictures

Here are some more Hampi pictures. A monkey, me on the 600 stair climb up to Haniman temple, Hanuman temple, and the basket we used to cross the river. It was a fun ride over, even though they ripped Joseph and I off!!
The last picture is of Abbey and I at the rooftop restaurant, he is a sweet little boy (I know Joseph and I thought he was a little girl) but we've seen the proof as his pants had a hole in them. Anyway, his Mom works at Kiran's restaurant and he really took a liking to Joseph and I as we would play with him a lot.

The Best compliment EVER!

Today, I received the best compliment I have ever had.

Kiran told me, I was one of the kindest people he has ever met. He told me that I talk to anyone regardless of them being rich or poor, young or old, and that I was almost too polite. He said when I walk in the room, I brightened it up with my genuine smile and pure heart.

His words almost made me cry and all I could say was thank you.

After feeling so bloody useless in my job and with life at home in Ottawa, his words lifted me up and gave me hope.

And for those of you who fear travel because of the language barrier. All you really need is a smile to communicate. It's really not that difficult.

History of Hampi and Itinerary changes

On Tuesday morning I woke up to the sound of Joseph being sick in the bathroom. It seems the "holy" water at the Hindu temple we were served in our palms and was supposed to drink made him sick. That's the only thing we can think what it was. As we shared the same meal at dinner but I pretended to drink the holy water at the temple and Joseph trying not to be rude sucked it back like a good soldier. The next morning, he was paying the price.

So I got dressed, grabbed my book and headed to our local rooftop restaurant for some chai, and to read peacefully and enjoy the quiet in the early morning. Not too long afterwards, Kiran, the manager of the restaurant started to talk to me, asking if I slept well and how I was. I asked him to join me and we got along right away and had plenty to talk about. This lead to a couple of hours of conversation about Canada, and his travels, and languages, and his university education. Then he told me he was learning French, he already speaks 5 languages (including Hindi and English), so he thought maybe learning French would be fun. So he brought out his French books and we practiced French for a little while. He then taught me a few words in his mother tongue which is Kanata language.

Kiran studied history and archeology in a university not far from his home in Hampi, and now he is helping his mom run the family business (guesthouse, restaurant and travel agency). He also owns stocks in a banana plantation and often goes there to do some work and make sure things are going well.

Knowing that Joseph was sick he offered to show me around some of the ruins in Hampi, and another German couple joined us as well.

Kiran has given me a history lesson on Hampi which I find quite interesting and thought it would be nice to share this info.

Hampi was once a powerful Shiva kingdom in the 12th and 13th century where courtesans entertained kings, silk markets were in abundance and temples and palaces covered the countryside. Hampi was the main Hindu kingdom in all of southern India. Then a civil war ensued with the Muslims in the 13th century and after 200 years of fighting the Muslims won. Then Hampi became the forgotten empire. Grass grew between the walls of the monuments, and all the temples lost their shape and starting to corrode and crumble. The Indian government turned a blind eye to the devastation and forgot about Hampi.

It wasn't until 1983 that Hampi was recognized by UNESCO as an endangered historical site.. After this the Indian government recognized that Hampi could be a valuable place for tourism and decided to take action and begin to restore and excavate the ruins on Hampi.


Temples cover most of Hampi and I sit at the rooftop restaurant my view is a 140 metre temple where if you look closely enough you can see monkeys climbing and perching themselves on edge of the temple walls. Behind it are large boulders with Parthenon like structures with massive stone pillars. The landscape is probably one of the most beautiful I've ever seen, with golden ready to harvest rice paddies and banana tree (plantations) surrounding them.

The German couple went another direction to the elephant stables and Kiran and I walked towards the river where women bathe in the water and monkeys run free and temples and rock boulders that are a pink-ish red in colour, cover the land as far as the eye can see. Kiran and I sat with a few of the village people and had chai tea, and it was probably the best tea I had ever tasted. Perhaps it was the beauty of the place I was in, or the kindness Kiran had showed me by being my personal tour guide, or just for the sheer and utter peace I felt.

I bought a handful of the peanuts and fed the monkeys who gently took the shelled nut from my hand and even held my hand in the process.

We walked back to the town and I asked Kiran to take me to a good Masala Dosa restaurant. I've been dying for the south Indian treat since I had arrived. We went to tiny restaurant and the Masala Dosa was the best thing I had tasted. The crispy pancake was filled with onion, potato, rice and other spices, and Kiran told them to make it spicy for me, as they usually omit the spicy chillies for foreigners. But I like my food nice and spicy, and this did the trick.

Afterwards I sat in the restaurant talking to a myriad of travellers giving me advice on things to see and do in India. And this is when Joseph and I (who appeared for a short while to have some chicken noodle soup) decided to extend our stay in Hampi a few more days. Both of us don't just want to be tourists checking off our list as we go from place to place. We want to be travellers staying around long enough to get a feel for the people, and place and soaking in the atmosphere. I want to miss a place when I leave. And if you only spend a day or 2, you don't even have time to see enough and feel the place to miss it. If that means I don't get to see the north then so be it. At least I'll really be able to know the south and get a feel for the culture and get to see more things as well. 5 weeks is just not enough time. I have met people who have been here 4 or more months and they still feel they don't have enough time.

So we decided instead of leaving on Wednesday as planned, we cancelled our tickets and re-booked for Saturday. So tomorrow we leave by train via Bangalore (quick shopping stop) to Fort Cochin in Kerela.


In other news, Kiran has a friend who is a Hindu priest in training and he invited us to visit his Ashram. So we went a few nights ago and the place is scant, but he played some music from an Indian instruments while he sang Hindu songs for us. It was a great experience and not something most people get to experience if you don't meet the locals.


As for what I do in Hampi, my days are shanti shanti (which means relaxed) which is my favourite Hindu word that is known throughout the country regardless of dialect or language. It just rolls off the tongue. A couple times this week I went to the free yoga being offered on the roof of my guesthouse. It starts at 6am (YES 6am) and we meditate for a about 10 minutes and then go into some fun and somewhat intense yoga. I managed to do a headstand today and hold it for a few seconds without falling out of it. Kiran is the yoga instructor and spent time at an Ashram studying yoga and meditation. It absolutely beautiful watching the sunrise come over the mountains and temples while being outside in the cooler mornings exercising the body and mind. The monkeys even join us on the roof and sit and watch or try to steal whatever food or drink they can scavenge.
Then after tea and breakfast we usually walk around checking out temples and hanging out with friends or reading.

Yesterday Joseph and I went to a temple that had 600 stairs to climb before reaching it. It was about a 3km walk there and back and it was an adventure so much fun, crossing a river in round basket boats, dodging cows, and sheep. When we made it to the top, we were rewarded with breathtaking views of the town. It was absolutely gorgeous. Monkeys linger around waiting to be fed bananas or whatever else they can find. One monkey jumped on my head and enjoyed the view from up there, all while trying to put his hands in my bag. Then another monkey got on my back and wouldn't get off me, and even got angry at Joseph when he tried to pry them off me. I had to lay down on the ground and roll over. I did this all while laughing and not freaking out. They are very friendly, and very cute. Especially the babies.

Today, Joseph and I were lucky enough to be invited out to Kiran's banana plantation, it was quite a good opportunity and we were honoured to be asked. Joseph and I rented a scooter and Kiran had his grandfather on the back of his. So we made the 8km journey and enjoyed breathtaking views along the way. We stopped at a sugar cane factory where we got to see how they extract sugar cane and made it into a taffy like sweet that is used in most Indian desserts (cookies, rice cakes). Kiran took a bamboo stick and soaked it in the chewy sweetness and gave it to me to enjoy. It's has a nice natural sweetness to it, that was pleasant and not too over powering. Kiran's banana plantation was beautiful. Peaceful, out in the middle of nowhere with a river running in the middle of it. I thought of my father and knew he would love this place!!

As for this evening, our last before we leave Hampi, we have been invited to our Indian friend Ramesh's house for dinner. This is something I was hoping would happen, because this is how you get to see the real Indian culture. Ramesh is a rickshaw driver and is about 23 years old. He is friends with Kiran (who is 25) and comes around the restaurant a lot to visit. I am not sure how we got to talking to him, but I do know we all became fast friends, with me giving him advice on how to date a western girl, and him trying to talk me into moving to Hampi. So tonight I bought some Indian cookies and cakes to take to his place for dinner. Joseph and Kiran will be coming a long as well. Ramesh lives with his sister, and has asked me if I wanted to cook the chicken we are having for dinner. I told him I didn't come all the way to India to go to an Indians home and cook dinner when I'd much prefer a real traditional Indian dinner. Plus I am sure the chicken I would cook would be way to bland for them. The concoction of spices here are truly amazing!

When I left Canada life was pretty chaotic, with moving, the job, saying goodbye, etc...but I do have to say , I don't remember the last time I have been so at peace with myself, life and the way forward. It's true soul riveting contentment, happiness and peacefulness. I want to bundle up this feeling and tuck it away so I can keep it forever.
Life, for me, just doesn't get any better than this.

Here are pictures and Kiran and I, a monkey and some temples.

Chasing Monkeys and Climbing ruins

By the way, I have added pictures to my Mumbai post, and two Goa posts. I could only pick a few pictures, since it took a while to download. I don't want to spend my whole day at a computer.

On to Hampi....

Driving from the bus stop I couldn't stop starring. The ruins surround you everywhere you look, and the landscape is covered with old crumpling temples, boulders and rocky pillars. We've heard from many people we bumped into while traveling that Hampi was beautiful, we had no idea!!

Once we made our way into an area called Hampi Bazarre, where the narrow streets are filled with scooters, cows, Indian people saying "hello how are you" and tiny road side stalls selling chips, water and Indian biscuits. After looking at 3 different guest houses, we settled on Gopi guesthouse. Cold-ish water for showers was the small price to pay for this clean brightly coloured room. And for $12 a night ($6 each) we felt we got a good deal. After the 12 hour bus ride, we both just wanted a clean room in a safe area.

What Joseph and I encountered in India and mostly in Hampi is that many people work on the honour system. It's not a-typical for a restaurant owner to say "pay me later" or for the guy working at the small confectionery store to wave you off with a "next time" as you you rummage through your pockets for that 5 rupees and can't find it. After today's lunch at the Gopi rooftop restaurant we encountered that same thing, only this time we fill up a book with our room number with all our meals and pay when we leave. A very trustworthy culture, and Joseph and I don't want to take advantage of their trust and kindness.

The manager of the restaurant, named Kiran, extended a lot of kindness to us when we arrived and were getting hassled by the rickshaw mafia, as they like to call them in the guidebooks. He shooed him away and proceeded to inform us that Joseph and I had to register our passport and camera make and model with the local police station for our safety. We proceeded to ask why, feeling a little apprehensive as to what the answer would be. He told us that in 1998, there was a thief who was stealing cameras from unsuspecting foreigners. And so to protect our stuff and to retrieve our goods if stolen it is safer (and protects their tourism) if we register. We both found this reasonable enough and liked that there were steps being taken to ensure our safety.

The conversation that too place next went something like this:
Joseph: "What ever happened to the thief"
Kiran: " Oh, the police shot him in the leg when they found him"
Joseph: "So he was running away, right?"
Kiran: "No, no, he was sitting down. The cops just shot him in the leg."
Shelley and Joseph mouths open: "Really?"
Kiran nodding: "Yes, and when he was released from jail, the police planted 2kg of marijuana in his bag so that they could put him back in jail."
Shelley: "Where I come from, we call this corruption"
Kiran: "No not really, just keeping streets safe for people and tourists"

Isn't that hilarious!! Thanks Hampi, for your police corruption and for keeping things safer for me and other tourists. My Mom will be happy.

Isn't that just awesomely funny! I love culture differences. It's an education.

Up next: The history of Hampi, early morning yoga, Joseph getting sick off some dodgy Hindu holy water.

Good times!

These are some of the ruins at sunset time that is just behind our guesthouse. This is the view we have while sipping tea and eating nutella pancakes in the morning.

Love you and miss you all! But safe and having a blast!

Cocktails and Dreams!

We started out the evening the same way we always did, by first going to dinner at one of the many beachfront restaurants. We also met an Israeli, named Guy, who works in Delhi who was in Goa for vacation. He turned out to be an idiot but more on that later.
There are many many Israelis in Goa.

We went to a cute little restaurant and sat on the beach on bright red leather couches. Candlelight was the only light source and the crashing waves was the soundtrack. We ordered appetizers and drinks and enjoyed the beachfront before moving upstairs to dinner.
For dinner we all got some kind of seafood curry and a beer is about 90cents CDN, to wash it all down as it goes great with spicy fish curry. Something in the beer breaks down the spice of the food so it makes it a good combination.

After dinner, as per our ritual, we all went to yet another restaurant where we ordered banofee pie and shared it. The banana/chocolate and graham cracker crumb dessert is so special that we ate it every single night without any guilt.
Then after we scraped our plates clean we headed to yet another place called Cocktails and Dreams (like in the movie Cocktail), they even had the same sign oin the back of the black t-shirt from the movie. Hilarious! This bar had fun music adn we usually went here for our one night cap before heading to bed. I am not sure what happened this night, as normally we all manage to have one drink and head back to our respective beach huts, exhausted after a full day of swimming, hot sun and lounging around.
But tonight went a whole other way, and I am so glad it did!

We found out from Guy, that the Estonians, were actually here to film a rock video with the star Airi, with her new single called monsoon. Although the rock star thing is pretty cool, the porn story had a much better angle, in my opinion. You can all find out a little more about Airi by clicking here. Look through her photo gallery, nice pictures but Joseph got some good paparazzo like shots of her, and we think we might be able to make a little money from them by selling them to some Estonian gossip magazine.

They happened to be in the bar that night and are always trying to be the centre of attention, and it was hard not to notice them with their heavy make-up, skimpy shiny clothes and loud demeanor. But tonight, I think our group got the party started and kept it going until the wee hours of the morning. The song Walk Like An Egyptian started and I was singing it and doing some fun Egyptian dancing while sitting down, as I was impressing my Swiss friends with knowing the fast English words. However, Airi took notice and from across the room in her heavy Estonian accent the said to me "hey, you, you want to dance?" I did not want to dance with her, as she dances super freaky and has no rhythm. I swear. I wish I had a video of her weird trance like dancing.
So, against all my better judgement I got up and danced with her, but I dragged Nadine up to dance with me. Airi later came to sit down with us and proceeded to mumble some words to us, the girl was as high as a kite. But she told us that she had 2 kids (10 and 5), and opened for the Rolling stones on their Eastern European leg of the Bridges to Babylon tour. She is 30 years old.

Afterwards, Nadine and I wanted to hear some Hindi music, Bollywood style, as we both find it extremely beautiful and fun to dance to. So I went to ask the DJ, who turned out to be very cute. He said he would only play some Hindi songs for us, if he could come show me some Hindi moves. Not one to pass up a good opportunity, I followed him to the EMPTY dance floor. My friends cheered and gave me encouragement while i followed his moves. I could see Jopseh taking pictures from the table, so I knew I had to pull out my best moves. I had no idea what i was doing, but it felt good, and it was fun! And boy could he ever dance!!!

After that, it got wild, everyone started dancing, including the Estonian crew, and also people from other bars down the beach came to the one we were at because they heard it was more fun. We danced, and danced and danced until about 4:30am, when Nadine and I thought we needed to take a swim in the Sea, since we were sweaty and hot from all the dancing.
We thought it was the best idea we ever had. So good in fact, that we could only get two other people crazy enough to come with us. Joseph, Marianne, Vahan, Anna and Guy had already left, although they lasted quite late.
So, Nadine, Pascal, and Paul (from England) and I went swimming. Paul and I had our swimsuits on already however, Nadine went in her under things and Pascal....well Pascal didn't seem to want to wear anything. Lucky us.
That swim lasted all of about 5 minutes as we couldn't see the waves coming in, and they would hit us when we least expected it. It made for some funny situations though.

As for, Guy, he left the bar without paying his tab, and had a creepy way about him. He is 39 and chasing after Nadine who is 23, and she made it very clear she was not interested. But Joseph took on the protective role and made sure Guy kept his distance. Nadine is the cutest little thing, and weighs about 100 pounds soaking wet. The boys love her. She has an energy about her that demands attention, although that might be the last thing she wants. She is humble yet she knows the effect she has on men. She is also one of the nicest people I have ever met while traveling, and she is very real, and honest. She is definitely wiser than her 23 years.

Anyway, so ended a fantastic time in Goa. A place i would go back to in a heartbeat and rivals any beach I have every been to, in that the culture is so rich and the prices are on the cheaper side so you can enjoy a much longer stay. The beach was a soft sandy white, and the sea was as almost too warm to be refreshing. Marianne, Joseph, Nadine and I also went dolphin watching that same morning and it was amazing. Our driver, sang a song to bring the dolphins out, which seemed to work, and I took a video of that. I hope to download some pictures to add to the blog soon. Hopefully in the next few days as things slow down for us a bit. We are currently in Hampi now and we are taking our time to enjoy the enigmatic scenery. It's like nothing I've ever seen before. Beautiful.

But more on Hampi in another post.

We are doing well, eating well, getting along great and falling in love with India. Just when you want to curse India and scream at her, you encounter a situation or see something that makes you forget the crappy stuff (such as the constant starring and all the pushy-ness to buy things, rent things, and give money) and fall in love with her all over again. The next few weeks will be a good test, as we finish the south and head north by early next week. The change from south to north is apparently astonishing. Like being in two different countries, so I am excited and anxious to experience all it has to offer!!

Time to leave Goa!

I don't have much to write as I am on my way with Joseph to meet our Swiss friends for one last dinner before we leave. Actually our groups has expanded to another Swiss girl Marianne who is here on a 2 week holiday. She is great and we've all been having a blast.

I want to write about our last night out next time I post, as it was one of the funnest nights I have had. Just to give you a sneak peak, it involved drinks, dancing until 4:30am, a very late night swim in the sea, getting taught how to dance Hindu/Bollywood style by a very cute Indian bartender, and meeting and dancing with an Estonian rock star who happened to open for the Rolling Stones when they did their Eastern European tour.

NB ( the Estonian group we thought were here doing porn are actually recording a rock video) More on Airi the Estonian rock star later.


We are off to Hampi tonight an city with many ruins.

Stay tuned. I'm out of time.

A Typical day in Palolem Goa

I thought I'd give you a run down of what I have been doing in Goa, and I'll use yesterday as an example. Here is what I did in order of waking up to when I went to bed:

-Went for a run on the beach barefoot in the surf, listening to Jack Johnson. The sky was clear the sun was shining and it was hot!
-Went to the Internet to write my blog
-Went for breakfast with Joseph and ordered a spinach and cheese omelette, with Masala tea (chai tea) with honey
-Went to the beach to meet Nadine and Pascal (our friends from Switzerland) also with them was Pascal's friend Vaughn ( pronounced Waun) and his girlfriend Anna, he is Swiss and she is German.
-Rented boogie boards with Nadine and Joseph and proceeded to jump waves with them for an hour
-Got a sunburn
-Bought a Papaya from an Indian man carrying a fruit basket on his head. Proceeded to eat copious amounts of it.
-Played Frisbee with Joseph.
-Walked along the beach around sunset and took pictures of Indian children playing in the ocean, leaning palm trees, Indian boys playing cricket on the beach and men wearing speedos (I need proof and they are EVERYWHERE!!)
-Read my book while Joseph took more pictures
-Met Nadine and Pascal for a Gin and tonic and appetizers before dinner
-Joseph was tired and wanted to chill so I went with Nadine and Pascal to a restaurant on top of a large rock overlooking the ocean. Met Anna and Waugn.
-Nadine and I shared Dahl curry (lentils) and prawn masala curry with naan bread. I'll never tire of Indian food.
-We ordered Banofee pie to share between the 5 of us. Best dessert I ever had. Lots of chocolate, graham crumb bottom, ice cream and cream. Dee-lish.
-Had an in depth conversation with Pascal about ice hockey, all the while fireworks were going off and the waves crashed along the rocks. The Swiss love ice hockey!!
-Went to bed

And I plan to do it all over again today. Don't be too jealous.

The only change in my day today will be renting scooters with Nadine and checking out some of the other beaches. One named butterfly beach. I'll let you know how that goes! The roads are small dirt roads here and not too busy. Don't worry Mom.
And I might have fish vindaloo tonight instead of dahl curry. I love that is pretty much the only thing I have to worry about; choosing which curry I want to eat and making sure I have enough 30 SPF sunblock on. Love it!

That's the only difficult part, we are starting out doing the beaches and will eventually move to more difficult travel once we head up north. So I might as well enjoy it now, as I am sure I'll be back to sweating up a storm with no sea to swim in soon enough.

The Estonians are the cast of characters I wanted to touch upon. These people scream attention! The girls walk around in string bikini bottoms, with loads of make-up on their faces. Yes, we are on a beach, but it is still India and you still have to be careful. Bikinis are one thing, string bikinis quite another. Now these women are mid-30's and wear sparkly hats and scarves on their head and demand attention. They are traveling in a group of about 16 men and women. The men wear leopard print speedos during the day with their bellies hanging over and run around playing Frisbee.
One of the women actually showed up at the restaurant/bar around 9pm still wearing her thong bikini bottom, and a see through Indian print top that only went to her thigh with her bikini top underneath, and proceeded to play pool. They also carry around a large movie camera (think professional movie camera) so very attention grabbing, and they act out scenes at the restaurant, dance to Indian drummers, and stand and sing songs during dinner. It's all really very bizarre. The four of us think they are making a porno movie. And we aren't even joking. You have to see it to believe it.
I am going to try to take pictures of them. They are a real riot, and they seem to be everywhere!! It's just too much.
I'm sure they are interesting to talk to, and Pascal is going to ask them where he can buy their movie. I hope I am around when he asks them, trying to keep a straight face will be difficult.