Hampi’s not quite direct to get to. I had to take a grueling overnight mosquito-ridden 11 hour bus to Hospet from Hyderabad (450 rupees), a 10 minute auto-rickshaw to the bus stand (5 rupees if you get in the early morning), and then a 45 minute public bus ride to Hampi (13 rupees).

Overall, despite my separation anxiety from Hyderabad, it’s been worth the experience.

Hampi is the historical setting for the Ramanyana Ballet, the Hindu epic which we saw performed live when I was at Prambanan about a month ago: Buddha vs. Shiva. So let me wrap my head around this: A ballet which I randomly attended 4 weeks ago — in another country no less — was a story about a sacred place. And that same sacred place is where I’m blogging from right now. 

It’s quite nice to put two and two together on the same trip, especially when you didn’t plan on any of it.

Here’s what happened in the last 5 hours:

 

 

I then happened upon a band of wild monkeys looking to cause mischief…

 

But when you come to Hampi, you come for the temples and the scenery; the setting of the Ramayana Epic:

Off to dinner at Mango Tree! Wish you were here.

- At time of posting in Hampi, India, it was 86 °F -

Humidity: 82% | Wind Speed: n/a | Cloud Cover: chance of T-storms