Hampi by Steve

Hampi is another mind-boggling place in India, and it quickly became one of our favourites. The original site of Vijayanagar, supposedly one of the greatest cities in the world in the 15th and16th Century before it was destroyed by rivals and abandoned, all that remains is a widespread assortment of ruins in an almost surreal landscape of huge granite boulders scattered about the dry hills. These ruins are impressive: temples and public buildings made entirely from huge slabs of smoothly hewn granite supported by intricately carved columns and massive religious icons carved from solid rock.
The state of Karnataka is trying to get Hampi declared a “World Heritage Site” and the Archaeological Society of India has cleaned up many of the ruins that were buried or overgrown, as well as fencing in and charging a steep admission for the premiere attractions, otherwise Hampi is a quiet collection of dusty villages in a very remote part of India.
The ruins are spread over the large area of what was once the city, too far to walk in a day and many are not accessible by car. We rented sturdy bicycles, and by starting early in the morning, saw all the major temples and ruins and still had time for a nap at mid-day. The carvings and ruins are fabulous, but the best part of the day was to be out in the countryside riding our bikes along dirt tracks through the timeless landscape. We rode past oases with banana fields, people washing in the rivers, farmers herding goats or driving bullock carts from one dry field to another and always in the background the boulder-strewn hills dotted with ruins. A few of the ruins house active temples, which attract Hindu pilgrims on day trips and some of the new middle class Indian tourists. As well, Hampi’s natural beauty, historical interest and a kind of a spiritual feeling about the place combine to make it popular with plenty of Western travellers. Still, with so many ruins, there are only a few other people, if any at the any one place. A small town of lodges and restaurants has opened up in the past few years as Hampi has become a “cool” destination in India. The food was very good at The Gopi Guest House, ad watching the moon rise over the temples from the roof top restaurant, we kept saying what a perfect day we had in Hampi.

Badami par Robert et Kathleen

Le 21 fév.

Une autre journée de temples. Cette fois, les temples étaient de la sixième et septième siècle. Ils étaient construits dans des cavernes dans une montagne. Après, nous avons monté juste qu’en haut à un vieux fort. En descendant, nous avons vu le couché du soleil par-dessus la ville de Badami. Au même temps, plusieurs garçons de ville frappaient leurs tambourines pour marquer la fin d’une autre très belle journée.

Hampi par Robert

Le 20 février, 2007
Nous avons loué trois vélos, un pour maman, un pour moi et un pour papa et Kathleen sur le rack en arrière. Hampi est vaste et comme ça, nous avons pu voyager plus vite.
Il y a 600 ans le nom d’Hampi était Vijanagara. Vijanagara était une des villes la plus importantes pour le commerce en Asie. Les rois et reines dans ce temps étaient tellement riches qu’ils faisaient construire des énormes palais et temples. Maintenant tout ce qui reste est les ruines des bâtiments fait en granite. Mes ruines préférées étaient un temple avec des colonnes que quand tu les frappes, elles font un écho et un chariot fait entièrement de granite que des éléphants tiraient. Hampi est spécialiste pour ses rochers de granite.
La journée était spectaculaire. J’ai beaucoup aimé se promener en vélos entre les ruines et escalader sur les rochers.

Le tour d’éléphant par Robert

Ce matin nous nous sommes levés à l’aube pour le tour d’éléphant à 7 :30 heures. Pour se rendre au parc, nous avons eu un voyage en camion sur le pouce. Il était très excitant et bosselé. Le tour d’éléphant était la raison principale pourquoi nous sommes venus au parc Mudumalai. L’éléphant était très haut et il fallait une plate-forme pour monter sur l’éléphant. La selle était tellement grande qu’elle y avait de la place pour toute notre famille. Cette journée nous avons vu au moins six mâles paons et une vingtaine de femelles. Les mâles sont plus beaux que les femelles parce qu’ils ont une longue queue très colorée. Aussi, il y avait beaucoup de cerfs. À notre cabane, nous avons vu huit sangliers.
Une chose surprenant était de voir les énormes colonies de fourmis en forme de montagne. En revenant, nous avons vu d’autres éléphants entrain de se baigner. Les Mahouts conduisaient les éléphants par pousser les oreilles des éléphants avec leurs pieds. Quand les éléphants marchent, les passagers bougent de côté à côté qui est un peu inconfortable, mais on s’ajuste. Sur l’éléphant, on voit les animaux plus longs qu’on peut les voir d’un Jeep. Les animaux sont très, très beaux.

Le tour d’éléphant par Kathleen

Un matin, on s’est levé pour aller sur un tour d’éléphant. On était très excité parce qu’on allait exactement sur un vrai énooorme animal qu’on n’a pas au Canada. C’était très amusant d’aller sur l’éléphant, mais c’était drôle parce que l’éléphant marchait de côté à côté. On a vu des animaux et spécialement les paons. J’ai tellement aimé mon tour d’éléphant.

Le train à Ooty par Kathleen

Le 13 février à 6 :15 a.m., on s’est levé pour prendre un autre train à Ooty. ‘It was a steam engine train with cogs.’ Alors, le train était couvert avec la vapeur au départ et pendant le voyage.
Le train a arrêté souvent pour prendre plus d’eau. Sur la route, on a passé dans des tunnels. La vue avec les montagnes était spectaculaire. Quand on est arrivé à Ooty, c’était tellement beau avec des plantations de thé. J’ai tellement aimé l’expédition en train.

Le train pour aller à Ooty par Rob

Il fait deux jours depuis que nous avons pris le train à Coimbatore. De Coimbatore, nous avons pris un autre train pour aller à Mettapulayam ou nous sommes resté dans un ‘railway retiring room’. La chambre était décorée d’un style Anglais et elle était énorme. Le matin prochain nous sommes levés è 6 :00 heures pour être à l’heure pour le ‘Nilagris Passanger Cog Train’. Le ‘Nilagris Passanger’ est un locomotive à vapeur. Il était spectaculaire quand la locomotive laissait échapper de la vapeur et de la fumée. Il fallait arrêter à chaque heure pour remplir avec de l’eau. Dans ce temps, nous nous sommes étirés et nous sommes allés voir la locomotive. La vue était spectaculaire avec des montagnes et des forêts. Après cinq heures de train, nous sommes rendu à Ooty!

Ooty and Beyond

The train rolled across Kerala, away from the lush green coast and onto the drier foothills of the Western Gahts. While changing trains at Coimbatore we experienced the extremes of India in the 19th Century washrooms and the 21st Century Internet Café. On to Mettapulayum where we stayed in a railway retiring room that was probably last re-modeled during the British Raj.

We woke at dawn when the first train pulled into the station, but still had to rush to get our stuff all packed and downstairs for the 7am departure of the Niligiri Passenger to Ooty. We managed to get our bags stuffed into the tiny compartment we shared with two Indian honeymoon couples. The toy train to Ooty is a delightful ride right from steam filled departure and seeing the sparks flying from the boiler in the dawn light. We were concerned about a five hour trip in the small compartment, but we were able to get out to stretch during each of the stops to take on water, and of course during the tea stop. Most fellow passengers were Indian tourists, but there was very enthusiastic group of British rail buffs always vying for the best angles for pictures.
Spectacular scenery unfolded bend after bend and through each tunnel as we climbed ever higher into the mountains. The cog engine averages about 20 km/h on the steep climb through so we had plenty of time to admire the distant mountains and deep ravines. By noon we were among the cedars and eucalyptus trees, the hillsides were covered with bright green tea plantations, and we were in Ooty. Officially the name was changed to Udhagamandalam a few years back during the move to Indianize names, but our taxi driver said that everyone still uses Ooty.
We came to hike so we chose another “faded raj” hotel on the outskirts of town and found a trail that led straight back into the hills. Like everything in India, even hiking means one is never out of sight of people, but we enjoyed being out in the cool air and the scenes of villages and tea plantations. Apart from hiking and a great restaurant, Ooty had little to offer us, so after one very cold night (I wish I had bought that Rs10 toque) we decided to head down to Mudumulai a day early.
Mudumulai is a wildlife sanctuary lower in the Niligiri hills, which is home to wild elephants, tigers and other animals. We splurged on a taxi for the 37 km trip that took 90 minutes to navigate the 36 hairpin bends on the steep descent into the very dry Deccan Plain below. As with many Indian government institutions, getting a room in the national Forest was a lengthly ordeal, but eventually we were settled into a remote and very “faded Raj”, but comfortable lodge which Ann said made her think of Out of Africa. Included was a cook who was able to make tea, rice, dhal, dosa and chapattis as many times a day as we wanted.
The first night the girls were woken by an elephant at their window at 3am and we saw hundreds of monkeys, as well as some deer, wild boar and peacocks, but no tigers. We had fun on the 30 min elephant ride and it was quite something to see the elephants being fed and washed. The best part was that Mudumulai was very peaceful so we stayed an extra day there catching up on reading, writing and sleep.

Leaving Varkala

Departing Varkala brought mixed emotions tied in with some unexpected twists and turns. It started off on Sunday, the day before departure with Ann suffering from an upset stomach. We considered delaying our leaving but Ann rallied late in the pm for a final burst of packing and cleaning. The evening was hectic with neighbours coming in to say good-bye, a final meal at Kumari’s and the removal of Steven’s stitches by the sister-in-law of Kumari, who is a nurse. We turned the lights out at 11:30 pm and set our alarm for 6 am.
The next morning we packed our lunch and the last of our things into the suitcases and awaited the taxi we had booked for 6:45 am. Kumari, our angel yet again, arrived at 6:30 with a tray of steaming chai, just the way she knows we like it. Kitty, Prinjin and Pradeep accompanied her and asked if there was anything they could do. As we hauled our bags outside more neighbours appeared to wish us off. Jasmine, Jismane, their Mother, little Mahu, Patma and her husband and Subadge, their son. If we had not already been touched by the generosity of our neighbours, this was the icing on the cake to see them smiling and wishing us well on our journey. But their invaluable help was not completed yet. Soon it was 7 a.m. and with no taxi in sight the neighbours jumped into action by getting out their cell phones and phoning taxis. With no luck and time slipping away, Patma called Renni (the son of our landlord and her nephew) to see if he would drive us in their family’s Ambassador. It was getting tight to make our 7:45 am train, Remi said he would come but having been woken up it would be a few minutes. That’s when Kathleen rushed to the bathroom and was sick to her stomach. We had by now adopted the South Indian expression “What to do? What to do?” Kathleen said she felt better. “What to do? What to do?” We decided to go for it as Renni pulled up. Last minute hugs all around and many promises to write and send post cards as we threw the bags (all nine of them) into the car and raced for the train station, with one eye on Kathleen. As we pulled away from our home of the last three months, our last image was of the extended Predeep family and neighbours smiling and waving good-bye. They had shown us true generosity and an unforgettable welcoming spirit.
We made the train with 10 minutes to spare.

Cost of Living in Varkala

The cost of a sampling of items regularly purchased. Approximately converted to CDN$

500ml milk 20¢
1 kg tomatoes 30¢
1 kg bananas 35¢
1kg pineapple 55¢
1 kg rice 40¢
Brown bread $1.10 from the so-called German bakery
White bread 40¢
Eggs 7¢ each
Filter coffee 60¢ for 250g
Tuna $5.00 for a 2-3 kg fish
Prawns $6.00 per kg (not shelled)
Kelloggg's Wheat flakes $4.25
400g tin of Processed cheese $2.50
Pasta 75¢ for 800 g of Indian made which is very gluey
Pasta $4.00 for 800 g imported from Italy which is delicious
toilet paper $1.00 per roll of very firm stuff
Peanut Butter $2.00 for 250gm jar
soda water 20¢ 600ml bottle
7up or pepsi 75¢ 600ml bottle
Beer $1.20 650 ml bottle
Wine $16.00 for the one Indian vintage for sale at the liquor store. Tastes sort of like a rough Australian shiraz.

“Meals” for 4 $2.00 (See Eating in Varkala post for explanation)
Dinner for 4 $3.00 at a local restaurant
Dinner for 4 $8.00 for a Kumari meal with 10 or more dishes
Dinner for 4 $15-20.00 for a fish dinner with a view of the ocean at a cliff restaurant
Prices include bottled water, but not wine. Most cliff restaurants are not licensed but will serve beer in a coffee cup on request.

Eating in Varkala

The local diet in Kerala is very consistent; some form of rice and vegetable curry, three times a day. This food is easily available everywhere and can be incredibly cheap, therefore Keralan dishes are the mainstay of our diet, but for variety and to accommodate our tastes we add in some Western ingredients and practices.

Indian breakfast consists of rice pancakes, either flat ones called dosas, or thick, smaller ones called iddlies, served with coconut chutney and curried vegetables called sambar. We prefer a western style breakfast so at home we have fruit with museli cereal and yogurt, served up with filter coffee. Real fresh fruit and vegetables are a great pleasure of living in the tropics, but visitors to India are warned never to eat uncooked vegetables and eat only fruit that can be peeled. Fruit and vegetable stands are everywhere and as long as we are in a house we can properly clean what we buy so every day we have oranges and bananas with breakfast, at least one pineapple and just now watermelons and mangoes are coming into season. As well we have a plate of carrots, cucumbers and tomato sometime during the day. Having ripened on a tree a day or two before, the fruit is alive with tastes we never experience in Canada, but they have to be eaten in one or two days as they do go off so fast in the tropical heat.

Grocery shopping involves many stops: We buy basics, including milk, yogurt, butter, eggs and bananas at the corner shop (he also sells single cigarettes, but I have not indulged). The two regular grocery stores in town carry huge assortments of biscuits, rice, packaged spices and cleaning products, but very few canned goods and they don’t even have a freezer. Special and western style foods such as our preferred Kellogg’s Wheat Flakes, cheese, real pasta and frozen sausages are found only at one grocery store, which is just on the other side of Varkala town. Once in a while I brave the smell and noise of the fish market to buy fresh tuna or prawns.

Lunch at home can be eggs or cheese on toast, with fresh cut vegetables and pineapple for desert. If we are in town, we will stop in for what is called “meals” in Kerala, or a thali in many other parts of India. The local restaurants get high marks for volume of food and price, but rate poorly for variety, atmosphere or presentation and cleanliness. A typical “meals” starts with the waiter bringing each person a metal tray with a couple of tiny bowls of dry curry and some others with coconut, mango and lime chutney, or pickle, and a papadam. Our first time we thought that this was the complete meal, but in fact it’s only the garnish. Another waiter comes over with a bucket of rice and uses a soup bowl to dish out a huge mound on each tray. The third and fourth waiters circulate with 3 or 4 pots of very runny curry; there is always one with lentils and one sambar, which is an extremely spicy mixed vegetable, and often a milky yoghurt sauce. These waiters will continue to refill one’s tray, and I am now able to polish off at least two helpings. Restaurants in places that are used to tourists will bring a spoon, but in more out of the way places we are expected to eat with the right hand, just like everyone else. Another peculiarity is that many restaurants will serve only “meals” at lunch. On our first visit to a local restaurant in Varkala we went in and sat down at one of the many empty tables. After a few minutes the waiter came over with his pad ready to take our order. We asked for menus. He looked surprised but after a few attempts we finally communicated and he brought us 2 tattered sheets in dirty plastic sleeves. We looked over the long assortment of Indian dishes described, made our selections and called the waiter over. After some animated discussion we finally figured out that the menu was only for the evening and at lunch, “meals” is the only choice.

For supper we have to decide whether we want to eat in our out, western or Indian. If we stay in we can order a Kumari dinner, or if we prefer to cook western, we have found that we can get the right ingredients to make two dishes: a sauce made form fresh tomatoes and Italian pasta, or seafood paella. When we go out we can get a quick Masala Dosa at the Janardanapuram restaurant or head to one of the cliff top restaurants, which serve reasonably good seafood and have charming ambiance, but after a while they all sort of taste the same, so we hardly go there now. We tried a delightful place called “Home” which was in a normal house and run by a Nepali / British couple who prepared delicious dishes that were a fusion of eastern and western cooking styles. Unfortunately they split up so their “home” is no more.

Overall, we have enjoyed plentiful fresh food while in Varkala. Ann and I have slimmed down a bit, yet the kids seem to continue growing like weeds. We have been glad to be able to prepare some of our own meals, particularly breakfast and veggie plates, but have appreciated being able to eat out, or order in for such reasonable costs. As well our palates are more accustomed to the hot Indian food, so I am confident we will fare well during the 3 weeks we are traveling across India.