Hampi to Mangalore to Kochi to Trivandrum to the Ashram

Friday 7^th June 2013

After such an early night last night Ayla and I were up super early so were ready for the day by 8am along with Dan we went and got some breakfast and lingered there over several cups of tea until we were joined by Mark and Rachel once we had all had our fill we went in search of hiring bikes the plan was that Ayla and I would share but the hire man wanted her to go with Dan so I ended up on a bike by myself they were really cool bikes which looked like motorbikes but worked like a kick start scooter with just an accelerator and brake. They didn’t take long to get used to and soon we were whizzing about from site to site. We started off in the Virupaksha temple in the first section you can walk about and take photos but the next section you pay for we went through but didn’t pay for photo permits. There was an elephant there called Laxmi who for 10 Rupees would touch you on the head with her trunk giving you a blessing it was so sweet she was so well behaved and friendly taking the money off people and passing it to her handler or taking the fruit people were giving her and eating it.  Me and Ayla had a short tour around the temple but it was hard to understand the guide through his really thick accent so we spent a lot of the time trying to figure out what he was trying to say.  We left that temple and got back on bikes driving to the underground temple it was flooded years ago so you can no longer go inside as its still full of water up to ground level we took some photos of the entranceway and then climbed up on top to see the view of the surrounding countryside we then drove down the road to the nobleman’s quarters were there was some bizarre cow segregation going on all the cows on one side were white and on the other side were black or brown. We walked up to the main building which had been really graffiti which is a massive shame. On the way back to the bikes via an alternate exit we found some stairs built into a giant rock so climbed up to see the view it was absolutely stunning and we took some group shots as well as taking in the beauty. We got back on the bikes and headed a bit further to Rushkarani which has a palace that you can climb up and then a ghat shaped like an inverted pyramid which is full of water which channels into it from all over the complex. By this stage the heat and hunger were draining us so we drove back into Hampi to get some lunch we went to a place called Princes on the recommendation of Alex the food was good what was not good was the infestation of egg toting ant like creatures who were feasting on us before we realised they were there. We headed back to the bikes and drove to Metanga hill we parked the bikes at the bottom and then climbed up to the top some of the climb was extremely steep and in my Toms my feet were sliding all over the show so I did have to reduce myself to crawling in some places rather than slide off the mountain we reached a plateau that we assumed was the top and took in the amazing view from this high we could see most of the ruins and the countryside stretching for miles in every direction. We were taking it all in when Dan discovered my stairs so we continued up there was two options a stone cut door heading into a cave or the stairs we decided to take the cave option it soon got too dark to see much and being towards the back the torchlight was useless to me we heard a high pitched squeaking noise and suddenly a bat was battering itself into me hitting me in the chest and stomach repeatedly before getting tangled in my shit catchers it eventually freed itself and Mark and I made  hasty retreat I have never seen a guy move so quickly out of a cave in complete darkness! Back in the sunlight we re-joined Rachel and headed up the stairs instead at the very top was another temple we went inside and up the stairs onto the top where the scenery was even more breath taking we felt as though we were on top of the world. We stayed up there a while until it started to get windy blowing some dark clouds towards us not wanting to get caught out on an already slippery path in the rain we headed back to our bikes. We were parked right by the police station so went in to have a look at the “rouges and robbers” that the Hampi safety poster at our hotel told us about there was one man in “class one” which meant he was a murderer the others were all in “class four” which is your classic rouge or robber. The policeman looked like sheriff woody and told us the posters of missing people were “escaped people” after the police station we decided to take our bikes onto the open road and get some speed we drove to Hospet but when we got there we realised we had lost Mark and Rachel we turned back ignoring street signs and drove the wrong way down a one way street yelling apologies to the angry policeman who was demanding we pull over and show him our licences he clearly wasn’t that bothered though as we continued on our merry way and nothing more came of it. We found Mark and Rachel their back wheel had come loose and so Rachel jumped on the back of my bike for the journey back it was much harder to drive with a passenger and the balance is much wobblier but I did ok until we got into Hampi where suddenly the masses of people and sharp turns sent me into fits of laughter making it even harder not to crash my crowning moment was rather then braking over a speed bump I massively accelerated narrowly missing chucking us both off the bike we were mere metres away from the hire shop at this point so I drove in and Rachel walked. We returned our bike and got some food at a rooftop bar whilst formulating our next move.

Saturday 8^th June 2012

Today was a bad day I slept really badly and just couldn’t seem to wake up I sacked off breakfast and waited whilst the others ate theirs then we piled into a couple of Rickshaws to go back to Hospet where the plan was to catch a local bus to Shimoga and from there another one to Mangalore the journey wasn’t bad but took hours longer than we expected and once we got to Shimoga the bus was close to two hours late so by the time we actually reached Mangalore it was 4am (we had estimated we would arrive sometime the previous evening) we walked across the road in the pouring rain looking for a hotel but it seemed they were all full eventually we agreed to go with some rickshaw drivers into the town centre where they assured us we would find a room but after trying five hotels and being turned away from them all the drivers started to demand more money at which point we gave up pulled our bags out of the rickshaws and camped out in a sheltered alleyway awaiting morning. Us girls slept quite well whilst the boys sat and kept watch.

Sunday 9^th June 2013

About 6am when it was light we got up and tried to find a hotel but the answer was still the same at all of them “no rooms” feeling tired and rejected we decided to get some food in us and formulate a plan which was to get on a bus out of Mangalore and head to the beach about 20mins away in Ullali we arrived to find just one hotel a holiday resort resembling a rundown centre parks we tried in vain to get a room for a decent price but despite the fact it was off season and there were barely any guests the owner refused to budge on his extortionate price. So we went to have a kip on the beach, only almost as soon as we arrived it began to pour with torrential force monsoon rain we ran back to the resort and sheltered for cover in one of their outdoor walkways at this stage we really had no idea what to do so we sat on our bags and stared at each other for a while and that’s where our saviour Patrick comes into the story (we are still not sure whether or not Patrick was actually real we never saw him again after that moment he may have been a collective figment of our sleep deprived imaginations/a ghost or he could just have had a day off we will never know…) he came out of the restaurant and took it upon himself to bargain on our behalf with the boss for a better priced room and feeling weary we all nodded enthusiastically when he told us the price  we were all sharing a massive room that had two bathrooms each with several toilets and showers we go ourselves cleaned up and crawled into bed for a few hours kip. We woke up late afternoon and headed to sit and have drinks and snacks overlooking the sea we saw a pod of dolphins way in the distance and took it as a sign that things were looking up when it got dark we headed into the restaurant to avoid the mosquitos and order some real food before heading to bed and once again crashing out.

Monday 10^th June 2013

We slept late-ish this morning and then went to the beach to get some photos before consuming the most epic breakfast of our travels thus far there was juice, fresh fruit, unlimited toast, eggs, hash browns etc. After eating we looked into booking a train out of Mangalore it was a night train so we decided to stay at the resort as long as possible. When the time came to head to the city we got a bust to the travel agent the resort had booked our tickets with and picked them up then got rickshaws the short distance to the station we picked up some grub and then boarded the train. We were still at the platform when this guy came over to talk to us but nothing he was saying made any sense he then moved out of the boys line of sight and began licking his lips and making wanking gestures Ayla and I began yelling abuse at him and he ran off we didn’t see him again until a few hours later when just as we pulled into a station there was a bang at our door we looked but no one was there but on the platform outside our window was matey with his pants at his ankles shining a light on his tiny knob and wanking whilst smiling at us we all heckled and laughed at him as the train pulled away. Needless to say we were glad to make Mangalore a distant memory…

Tuesday 11^th June 2013

We woke up at 3.40am to make sure we were ready to disembark in Cochin we were all ready to go when it was decided we would wait for the next station (which is in the same city) only the train man said it didn’t stop there so we had a mad scramble to get off in time and I ended up having to jump from a moving train whilst being yelled not to by several train staff as well as two policemen it was terrifying so I can’t imagine how mark felt when he jumped off after me and the train was already faster and close to the end of the platform! Feeling a bit shaky we grabbed a couple of rickshaws to Fort Kochi (where we started the rickshaw run from) but as it was early doors we had to once again rough it for a few hours this time setting up camp in an 24 hour ATM around 6am while we were searching for somewhere that might be open for some food we came across a guy on his way to the beach for a swim he asked us if we were looking for a place to stay and showed us to his guest house where we promptly checked in we spent a while checking emails and whatnot and then headed for the most overpriced under flavoured breakfast we could find after which we all retreated back to the hotel for a kip. No sooner had I laid down when I could smell piss confused as to where it was coming from I lifted my pillow to see a soggy wet yellow patch upon smelling it I confirmed it was piss not believing me Ayla also smelt it yip it was a piss puddle we told the hotel manager and he came and had a look after taking a big sniff he declared “arrrhhh yes bad smell very bad smell” and proceeded to find me a new mattress bedding and pillow. Grateful I finally went to sleep. We woke up in the afternoon and went in search of lunch after which we walked along the sea front and saw a couple of pods of dolphins these ones were clearly visible as they were quite close and were all jumping in the air it was amazing to stand and watch for a while before continuing on past the fish market which was displaying all kinds of fish including a giant one with a big pointy nose (swordfish?) that the man kept pretending to stab us with and made me and Rachel hold it for a photo. We went back to the room to chill out for a bit and then in the evening we went for a cooking class we learnt to cook Thoran (a dish mad from plantain with coconut), Dahl masala (lentils), eggplant curry (eggplant curry), vegetable fry (cabbage and onions) and Chapatti’s after it was all made we got to sit and eat our feast. It was amongst the best food we have had in India so far.

Wednesday 12^th June 2013

I woke up with  weird banging headache that seemed to radiate from behind my left eye it refused to go away and made me nauseous every time I moved we headed up to the rooftop of our hotel where there was a place we could grab some breakfast we ate and then as it was heaving with rain we all sat about in the lobby reading and surfing the internet until the early afternoon when we went for a seafood lunch we headed to the fish market and got 1kg of jumbo prawns 1kg of calamari and a whole red snapper we then took it to a local restaurant where they cooked it all up fresh and added some rice and veg’s I was still feeling horrendous so just watched everyone else tuck into the glorious feast. I entertained myself by wearing the prawn’s heads as finger puppets, until I grossed myself out so much I almost threw up. After eating (or not eating in my case) we went drinking (or not drinking as it was in my case) at a seedy local bar that looked like it might moonlight as a drug den/brothel we whiled away the afternoon there before hunger took hold and we went to get some food we ate and then went back to the bar for more drinking (or not drinking in my case) around 11pm it was closing time and they turfed us out we went in search of water and when we got back to the hotel Dan was sprawled shirtless on Aylas bed fast asleep we shifted him onto his bed and fell asleep ourselves. In the middle of the night I woke up to Ayla yelling “NO NO NO DAN NOOOOOOO” at first I thought she was having some sort of night terror but it transpired that actually Dan had pissed all over her the light was turned on and the situation was assessed there was nothing for it but to turf the mattress and bedding out into the hall. Ayla and I were laughing hysterically while Dan declared “I don’t understand how I’m the bad guy here” eventually after much persuasion he concluded that “wow that’s a lot of piss” and put all the sheets mattress and pillows outside. Once that was done Ayla crawled into bed with me and we resumed sleepy time.

Thursday 13^th June 2013

This morning we headed for breakfast and then got a rickshaw to the train station and got some tickets to Trivandrum at the station we grabbed some lunch and some snacks and then sat about waiting for the train it was delayed and then the platform changed then changed back and then was delayed some more it was all really frustrating and when we finally did get on board it was slow moving and stopped for far too long at every stop. We arrived at about 8pm and headed for some dinner we found a really nice family Dharba and set about eating everything on the menu. About 9pm our search for a hotel began. About 11pm we finally found a place after walking around with all our bags for about two hours checking out over 20 hotels and being told “full” at all of them it turned out to be some weirdness about not wanting foreign guests at hotels we never quite figured it out but did eventually get a room with no water so it was a baby wipe bath and bed the upside to the hotel was the cable TV we watched until we fell asleep.

Friday 14^th June 2013

We had our last breakfast together this morning before Mark, Rachel and Dan headed off to Kovallam. Ayla and I moved rooms in the hotel and then got our things together and got a rickshaw to the zoo for the most part it’s pretty nice with large natural enclosures but bizarrely although the tigers have big sections thy are caged into small concrete cages where they all pace back and forth they are in such close proximity that they just seem to wind each other up roaring at each other. After the zoo we checked out an art gallery the layout seemed a bit weird with the artists spread all over the show and all mixed together in a giant Hodge podge of works. We decided to walk the 5km back to the hotel and only got slightly lost along the way. Back on our side of town we had a super early dinner and then spent an hour or so at an internet café before picking up a ton of munchies and heading back to our room for a movie marathon.

Saturday 15^th June 2013

We woke up and packed our bags then headed for breakfast our last taste of eggs before heading to a totally vegetarian Ashram we ate then spent a few hours sorting out flights to KL for after the Ashram then we picked up our bags and headed to the bus we got a direct bus all the way there and arrived in the pouring rain which we are slowly getting used to. We had planned to walk the 1km uphill to the ashram but due to the rain we got a rickshaw. We arrived and checked in setting up our beds in the dorm and then waiting for dinner just before we were off to find the dining hall who should walk in but Claire she was just finishing the previous course and so was leaving the next day but we got to spend some time catching up on all travels after heading different ways in Delhi about a month back. We went to dinner which is eaten in silence the food is really good simple Indian food but nutritious and filling. After food we had some time to kill before the evening Satsang which starts at 8pm with some silent meditation after which the daily chant is sung being that it was Saturday it was the weekly talent show we sat at the back feeling somewhat overwhelmed by it all and by the time we headed to bed we were exhausted but excited to start the programme tomorrow.