The Backwaters

It’s been just over a week since we arrived in Kelara and what a luxurious week it has been. Last time I wrote it was from The Riverside Retreat near Alleppey, having arrived a couple of days from Gokana. We were paying a little more than usual to enjoy the tranquillity of staying in the backwaters but it was worth every penny. It’s truly a beautiful place, both in terms of the surrounding and the guest house itself. The Riverside Retreat is located in the huge 900Km network of rivers and canals that run along the coast of Kelara know as the Backwaters. The Backwaters have been and still are incredibly important to the state, supporting farming, transportation, fishing and more becoming the jewel of Kelara’s tourist industry.

We planned a short visit so we could take an overnight cruise on one of the house boats that travel up and down the waterways. We needed to stay somewhere first however so we could find a reputable boat at our leisure rather than being rushed into the first one we came across in Alleppey. However, once we’d experienced the beautiful surrounding, the home cooking and the luxury of the rooms (it was nice to have a bathroom with a sink and mirror) at the Riverside Retreat we were in no rush to find a boat. In fact, as we were so impressed we were happy to let Gigi (the owner) recommend and organise a boat for us whilst we stayed a couple more nights.

Our stay was probably was probably the most relaxing and peaceful of any place we’ve been to so far as The Riverside Retreat is far away from any of the main hubs providing access to The Backwaters, such as Alleppey. When we took a walk round it seemed to be the only guest house in the area and we were the only guests at the time, so we really felt away from it all. Having endured a very long journey to get there we were happy to sit around and watch life go by for a couple of days. Even the task of ordering food was taken care of as we let Gigi’s wife serve us a variety of traditional Indian dishes for breakfast and dinner. However after being served a dozen or so banana and coconut pancakes along with our eggs on toast on our first morning we decided that we need to do something a bit more active than sit in hammock opposite our room. I was keen to get out on the water in some way and fortunately Gigi had a canoe along with a couple of oars. Neither of us have a massive amount of experience on the water, so we had quickly learn to keep the boat in a straight line and not get in the way of the big house boats that also making their way up and down the canals. It was a lot of fun, but hard work (especially co-ordinating our efforts) but we made it down to a nearby village where we stopped for a drink and took a look at the local temples. On the way back I let Maren put her feet up and by the time we returned home I was quite pleased with my new rowing skills. I surprised both myself and Maren with my control of the boat as I manoeuvred to park up along the canal bank back at the guest house. If we’d managed to work off breakfast rowing the boat we soon back in the red after our dinner. Again, we were treated to more beautiful south Indian food, with a myriad of vegetable dishes that I hadn’t experienced to go along with some fresh tuna. The rest of our stay at the Riverside Retreat followed a similar pattern of wonderful but far too big meals and trying to do something more active than watching the world go by along the river during the day. If we’d stuck around for any length of time we’d surely gain weight very quickly as we were so well looked after, but having asked Gigi to arrange our boat trip for Saturday we soon had to leave. We left late in the morning after another delicious breakfast and took a rickshaw to Alleppey to board our boat.

Having watched many boats pass along the river during out stay at the Riverside Reteat we had a good idea of what expect, but we hoped that we’d be on one of the nicer boats. When we arrived at the river bank in Alleppey we weren’t disappointed. Whilst it wasn’t a big boat, since it had just one bedroom, it was perfectly formed. Both the bedroom and main deck were beautifully furnished and even the bathroom was far more luxurious then most of the modest accommodation we have become accustomed to. We couldn’t wait to start cruising the water ways and we weren’t the only ones. Even before we were underway we were blown away by the sheer number of other house boats driving past, and as we set out ourselves we were far from the last to leave. There are quite literally hundreds, perhaps thousands, of house boats on the water ways and as we made out way out of Alleppey we had to fight our way through the backwater rush hour. However, travelling at a leisurely pace of just a few miles an hour in the morning sunshine along the wide canals with plenty of space for all the boats it was anything like getting stuck in city traffic back home. As we made our way north the boats soon thinned out and before long we found ourselves in wide open waters as we entered the Vembanadu Lake, which is the longest lake in India and at 1512 square kilometres one of the largest. However, we soon turned back into the canal system where we made to another more modestly sized open water area to find a quiet spot to moor the boat so we could have lunch. To work up an appetite our captain encouraged us to take a swim first, assuring us that there were no crocodiles to worry about. So despite our fears about how clean the water might be we got ready to take a dip. As we made our way in we almost jumped out again due to the temperature of the water, not because it was cold but because it was so hot! The water felt unnaturally warm and would probably be quite acceptable for most people’s bath. Ironically, this was the closest we’d got to a hot bath (or shower) in weeks. Since the water provided little relief from the midday sun we were quickly out again and happy to lounge around until lunch was served, which was more of the same beautiful Southern Indian cooking that we’d experienced at the Riverside Retreat. After lunch we headed off again, and it wasn’t long before we’d decided that it was beer o’clock and the cruise would be enhanced by a little music from our mp3 player connected to onboard sound system. The afternoon flew by as we made our way along canals with palm trees and paddy fields either side and the light shimmering on the water as the sun began to get lower and lower in the sky. However, just as we were really getting into things our captain informed us that we’d soon be stopping for the night as the house boats were not permitted to travel the water ways after a certain time to allow for fishing. We were somewhat disappointed, but we still had a lovely evening taking a walk along the river bank, enjoying a beautiful dinner on the boat and as the heavens opened watching the torrential rain bounce off the river. When it was time for bed though, our boat experience wasn’t quite so pleasant. It was clear that we should have taken the AC option for just another thousand rupees as it’s was an extremely hot and humid night. It was almost impossible to get to sleep and opening the small window into the room barely made a difference. After a couple of hours we managed to finally drift off but we didn’t sleep for long. Maren woke up to see what appeared to be someone at the window peering into the room. Having awoke me I failed to see anything since it was pitch black outside and found it hard to believe someone would be out on the water at this time, but not long after we both saw him back at the window. At the time we assumed that he was trying to get a look at Maren in her underwear and after raising her voice a little he disappeared and we closed the window. However when Maren got up in the morning she noticed that her bag that had been by the window had been tampered with and some items were missing. She initially panicked as it had contained her passport, but thankfully this had been carefully left by the thief on the window sill along with her purse and book. However, it appeared that her credit card was missing, along with a small amount of cash, toiletries and some other minor things. After phoning to cancel the credit card we realised it could have been far worse. We’d made a very silly mistake leaving something near an open window (despite it requiring another boat to get along side) and if any of our other bags, such as the one with all our money or all our electronic gear like my camera or laptop it would have been a disaster.

We’d got careless because of how safe it normally feels in India. In comparison to other developing countries or even in the rougher areas back home you generally feel very secure. Despite the extreme wealth divide between rich and poor in India (along with tourists) incidents of robbery whilst not unknown do not seem to be common. The chances of any crime occurring during daylight or in the presence of any other people always seems to be very unlikely. Whether it’s a strong sense of morality due to the deep spiritual beliefs of most of the population or severe treatment towards those who bring shame towards their family or community that is responsible I’m not sure. Even when we were a victim of crime, the man who stole from us took the time to only take out of the bag what was of use to him and even put back the things that were extremely valuable to us, e.g. the passport. A few days later we also found the credit card which had been put back as well, just not in the compartment it was originally placed in. I doubt for a second that any thief in England makes that sort of consideration.

(Warning it’s about to get soppy)

So despite the slightly unpleasant night, nothing could take the shine off our wonderfully romantic trip on the water and we could still enjoy our breakfast watching the sunrise on Valentine’s day. The fact that our backwater trip crossed into Valentine’s day was completely unplanned (I rarely track the date and haven’t worn a watch in weeks) but that is just typical of our trip so far. I can’t even begin to count all the pieces of good fortune we’ve had, the great people we’ve met (especially those who have looked after us) and I’ve regularly felt like the luckiest person in the world. Maren and I have jokingly started giving regular thanks to the universe for arranging everything so perfectly time and time again. Whatever the reasons for our luck I am truly grateful and even more so that I get to share it with someone I love very much.

Photos for the back waters are at http://picasaweb.google.com/kris.lander/TheBackwaters

Gokana

Another place, another entry in the blog but after writing so much about Hampi, there isn’t so much to say about Gokana, which whilst it had some charms it was more of the same sand and sea relaxation we’ve experienced in Goa, rather than anything unusual or exceptional. In fact by the end of our stay we had mixed feelings about why it’s attracted much attention in the first place.
It was on our list of places to visit having just appeared in travel guides over the last couple of years. It was said to be “like Goa used to be”, before it became “over commercialised” as far as the hippies were concerned and they’d apparently migrated there over the last few years. Om beach in particular had quite a reputation of unspoilt beauty that was a great place to chill out with an authentic hippy vibe. Whilst it’s just few hours travel from Palolem, we were starting to take the beach for granted, which is why we decided visit Hampi first, despite knowing we’d have no alternative but a 12 hour bus journey to Gokana from Hampi.

The bus journey ended up being one of the more notable experiences, having to travel overnight and attempt to get some sleep in a double bed bunk travelling on the less than smooth and straight roads from Hampi to Gokana. Maren has slowly been introducing me to pleasures of cheap long distance travel in India and this was the roughest so far. It wasn’t as bad as either of us feared but when you get to your destination there is not much chance of arriving in any other state than tired and fed up. It was about seven in the morning once we got to Gokana with a rickshaw required to get us to Om Beach.

The ride over to Om Beach confirmed that this was beautiful place, as we rode high up in the hills looking down to Kudle Beach and this was confirmed again as we walked with our bags along Om Beach looking for somewhere to stay. I wasn’t much in the mood for searching for the best possible room for the best possible price, but Maren persevered whilst I waited with our bags and we ended up with a nice room along the beach. I’d already noted several people who had got up early to meditate as the sun rose and thought Gokana might live up to its reputation.
However, after taking a nap and getting up in the afternoon to take a long swim (something we’ve been trying to do every day when near water) the people here didn’t seem too much different to Goa or Hampi. In fact we noticed several of the young pot smoking Israelis in a room opposite us who were, as they seemed to do in Hampi, getting perpetually stoned.

Swimming however, proved to be another one of the notable experiences in Gokana, after on our first swim we spotted dolphins once we clambered out on to the rocks a few hundred meters from the beach. When swimming the following morning we kept out an eye out for more dolphins and we spotted the same pair swimming close by. I attempted to get even closer by swimming in their direction hoping they might come over to play and show off, but they were clearly too busy trying to catch some breakfast and every time they popped up in the water for air they appeared in completely different direction and eventually they moved away. That said it was something special and it’s the closest Maren and I have come to clichéd “swimming with dolphins”.
Whilst back by the sea we also took the opportunity to get a healthy fix of protein after being on a pure veg diet in Hampi by eating as much fresh fish as we could. We quickly noticed a place at the end of the beach called Dragon Cafe that was barbequing king fish, red snapper, tiger prawns and shark fish. For just less than three pounds, you could enjoy two long skewers of king fish (or for extra pound 6 huge Tiger prawns) served with a fresh salad and rice. Heaven!

Authentic Indian food however was harder to come by, in fact we even struggled to find a single place along Om or Kudle beach that served a good Chai and switched to drinking instant coffee. This seemed to me one of the symptoms of what, for us, didn’t feel quite right about Gokana. The unspoilt beauty of what may have attracted the hippies to the area originally seemed to have gone (along with the majority of hippies) and Gokana is in transition. It’s a new place on the tourist map, just established on the backpacker guides and will surely in time become a destination for package holidays just like Goa. The people themselves also seem to be in transition and you could see how the way of life was being changed in this quiet and traditionally holy town. It seemed to us that the language barrier and the culture clash had made many of the locals uncomfortable, especially the women, like at our guest house. When you are having to deal with young backpackers who, as Sky had told us in Hampi, rarely talk about much other than getting high and sex (and are less than discreet at hiding at least one of those activities) it’s not really surprising. We found it both sad that there was a lack of respect being shown by many backpackers and how we often seemed unable able to raise a smile or have a greeting returned by the local people.

It was only when we visited the town of Gokana that we got a good feeling about the place, it not having perhaps been changed as much as life at the beach had. Preparations were underway for another festival (Maha Shivaratri, the Great Night of Shiva) and these huge carts with massive structures on top that had been wheeled into town from the temple were impressive. It was fun and hassle free to wander round the streets to do a bit of shopping. Cashew nuts are one of the main crops in this area, so we were quick to pick up a bag of freshly roasted ones. We also purchased a couple of new bits of “hippy flare” adding to our ever growing collection of bracelets, necklaces and other hand crafted items that will no doubt be as fashionable as flares once we get back to London. Finally we stopped at a local restaurant recommended by our rickshaw driver, Vinuh. They served a great and inexpensive Thali for lunch, which cost us just 50p each. Whilst eating our food we got talking to the owner (who seemed to enjoy the novelty of western guests) and we got talking about the guru Sai Baba who we were thinking of going to see. He certainly didn’t put us off, so we are now more determined to stop at his Ashram later this month.

So, in summary we enjoyed another few days at the beach but we weren’t particularly sad to be leaving Gokana. We hadn’t grown attached to our temporary home like we have elsewhere. Our next destination was in Kelra (near Alleppey) to stay at a river guest house recommended by one of Maren’s recent acquaintances. Getting there was my longest journey yet, requiring 2 rickshaws, a local train and express train that took us just under twenty four hours. We had an enjoyable stopover in Karwar killing a few hours eating at another restaurant recommended when getting a rickshaw. Free from tourist inflation it cost us far less than we expected and the food was not toned down to western tastes. We particularly enjoyed “Veg 65” which we were warned was very spicy (the 65 being some indicator of spiciness we guessed), though not as spicy as “Veg 88”. Not so enjoyable however, was spending over sixteen hours on one train but, as soon as we arrived at the River Guest House, I knew already it had been worth it and I’ve not been proved wrong so far during our stay here, which I’ll no doubt write about as soon.

Pictures for Gokana are at http://picasaweb.google.com/kris.lander/Gokana

Beautiful Hampi

Having begun our stay by seeing the sights and experiencing the festival, we have spent the last few of days getting away from the town and walking into the hills to take in the natural beauty of the area. We started by taking a long walk to a lake that had been mentioned by several people as a good place to spent some time and go for a swim. The lake actually turned out to be a reservoir, but it was still a nice spot and despite the sign saying that there were crocodiles in the lake and swimming was forbidden we were undeterred and made our way around the rocks to find a good spot to hang out. We did go for a swim, but neither of us wanted to spend too much time in the water.

On the way back home we took a slight detour to stop for some refreshment at a place, Baba Cafe, that Maren had visited day before whilst I recovered from a minor stomach upset. It’s a popular place with the many climbers that visit the area and you’ll normally find a friendly Sadhu hanging out there. Another one of the regulars who we started talking to is Squib, a climber originally from the Isle of Man that has been coming to Hampi to climb the rocks since 1997. He fits one of my romantic traveller stereo types having rejected the rat race back at home after working in investment banking. It’s been a while since he’s lived in the UK and he made us laugh when he gave us his email, squibinindia@xxxxxxx.com. He now spends his time solo trekking (for a week or so at a time) around the mountains for the north during the summer and places like the hills of Hampi in the winter. He was a fountain of knowledge about the area so we spent some time picking his brains as we enjoyed a Thali.

There were several interesting conversations. In one of my first posts in India I speculated how the credit crunch and the financial turmoil of the last couple of years might have affected the market sellers in Mumbai. Well it has certainly had a devastating effect on the poor in India and no doubt the rest of world. Squib explained just how poor the local villages near Hampi were and how the price of rice had varied so much in the last couple of years with rice now double the price it was just over a year ago. When you already spend a fifth of your money on rice this can have a dramatic effect and has no doubt made life very hard for many people. We have also seen the effect on the tourism industry in Goa. One of the restaurant owners in Palolem has said that he’d never seen it so quiet in January which is traditionally the peak of the season. Whilst Goa is one of the richer states in India and relatively rich restaurateurs and guest house owners might be able to ride out a bad season, it’s all the businesses that support the tourism industry that are really hurting and as the money coming into the state dries up, it’s the poorest that suffer most. This is one of the reasons that Squib not only doesn’t enjoy his old career but now morally has a problem with gambling money on the behalf of investors in a system that allows such recklessness.

The other thing that both shocked me but really got my attention was the imagery used by Indian press when reporting about the Haiti earthquake which Squib was reading when we arrived. It’s far more graphic than anything that would be shown in the majority if not all of the press in the UK. I saw two images, both showing the piles of dead bodies that had been recovered from the rumble. What hit home so hard though was the man who was casually tossing the body of a dead child out of his truck on to the pile below unable to afford to show any more care than if it was a bag of rubbish. It was shocking but for me it showed the true human cost far more than the tears of those still living or the sight of thousands of buildings levelled. There is a link to the picture here if you are interested but you have been warned.

The last thing of interest that Squib told us about was the local wild life after we asked about the sign warning of crocodiles at the lake. It turned out this sign had been erected by a local business man that had invested in a swimming pool at his guest house and was fed up with people swimming in the lake for free. So there are no crocs in the lake but they can be found around the rivers. Also we warned about snakes, the most common of which is the poisonous Cobra, something we hadn’t given any thought to whilst wandering through the rice paddies, bushes and rocks. Leopards can also be found in this part of India, however the most dangerous animal is the Sloth Bear, which is apparently anything but. The males weigh up to 150Kg, can out run humans and whilst they don’t seek human confrontation they do not like to be surprised. They kill more people than any other animal in India (apparently) and just a single blow with their long claws (normally used to dig into termite hills) can easily prove to be fatal.

This was certainly food thought the next day as we planned to take Squib’s advice by first taking a walk down the river in the afternoon and then to go for a wander out in the hills at night whilst the moonlight lit up the landscape. Both were amazing. Firstly, the walk along the river was truly beautiful. As you wander away from Hampi the green grass along the river banks are quickly replaced by the same crazy volcanic rock and boulders you see up in hills. You can almost imagine the laver flows that had run down the hills thousands of years before and see how they’d cracked and fractured over time and then been eroded into these strange shapes by the weather. We found a spot up by ourselves on one of the rocks looking over the water and the sunset we witnessed has to be the most beautiful either us have ever seen.

After returning back to our guest house and stopping for refreshment we waited for the moon to rise and become bright enough so we could look at the landscape in quite literally a different light. After packing a few provisions, torches, a candle and first aid kit we headed out. As we wandered up in the rocks it felt like we were exploring another planet. Even the places had become familiar during the day seem strange and alien. Along the way we were joined by a very skinny and very itchy dog (who we later called itchyandscratchy), who in exchange for a bit food made us feel a little bit safer by accompanying us. I was sure he’d run a mile if there was any danger, but he’d probably spot it long before us, so he was good early warning system. We weren’t brave enough to go far, but we did make it over the first hill so we could no longer see any artificial light from town. We found a good rock climb up on to and lit a candle, whilst soaking up the almost magical atmosphere of the landscape at night.

So that is pretty much it from Hampi. I feel it’s my first “proper” backpacking experience after what has been not much more than an extended holiday on the beaches of Goa. It’s an amazing place and worthy of its reputation as one of the more exceptional places to visit in India. What made it even more special were the two guys, Tanzen and Sky at Shesh Besh (our guest house) who made us feel so at home that we never ate anywhere else for dinner. That says a lot since we’d normally want to try out as many places as possible and Shesh Besh is the Indian equivalent of a sports bar. That said the food was always very good. We became close with Sky in particular since, as I have previously mentioned, Maren had met him last season at the Sunshine Cafe in Kerla. After a couple of days he started referring to us as ”his family” and we in turn called him our "brother". He’s an interesting bright guy and we’ve had several long chats with him during our stay. More than once he had some pieces of wisdom that resonated with us both so it was something of a surprise when we learned that he was just 22 years old. He said that “perhaps when you live 22 years in India you see a lot of things”. I felt very small at the time. He is so right and most pampered westerners like us really have no idea about anything at 22, if ever. Anyway, this wise young man is just about to leave Hampi to head north to run his own restaurant for the very first time. Over the last few days we’ve had many conversations about his plans and he bounced ideas off us and we’ve even made a few suggestions. We already have plans to go to the north later in the year and we will definitely be paying him a visit if we do and I look forward to asking him whether he has anything special on the menu, beer served in chilled glasses and whether he can play some music off the iPod Maren has given as a gift (hopefully he’ll leave a mix of mine on there) to help him get started.

All the photos from hampi - http://picasaweb.google.com/kris.lander/Hampi

Happening Hampi

It’s been three days since we arrived in Hampi and it’s been very interesting, almost overwhelming at times. By a stroke of luck we’ve arrived for a big festival being held in the town to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the most popular King of the Vijayanagara Empire coming to the throne when Hampi was in its pomp. At a guess around ten thousand people have come to this small town from a 200Km radius. As a result, Hampi is happening, not only full of backpackers but Indian people from villages and towns all over the state and beyond.

Luckily we arrived the day before and quickly made our way over the river which is more scenic and chilled and the price of a guest house hadn’t gone up by three or four times. The first thing that strikes you about the place is the landscape. Hills made up from huge boulders surround the town as far as the eye can see. A small river runs along the side of the town and in the valley it creates are palm trees and rice paddies. As soon as we checked into our hotel we quickly made our way up into the hills, clambering up some rocks to get a view of the place at sunset.

It’s this landscape which was backdrop for when Hampi was a huge city back in the 15th century. It was centre of power for the Vijayanagara Empire and was so wealthy it might have been richer than Rome with its markets full of precious metals and stones. Half a million people once lived here, but all that now remains are the ruins of temples to the Hindu gods and the palaces built for royalty. These ruins stretch over an area of several kilometres from the small town that exists today.

On our first day we walked around the town, with the final preparations for the festival being made as more and more people arrived. We checked out a rehearsal happening at one of the five stages, before making our way up stone steps into the hills to walk around one of the major sites, the ruins of the Achyutaraya temple. It’s the combination of the unusual landscape and the large buildings made entirely from stone that make them so striking.

Afterwards, we headed back in the town to sit down for a snack at one of the local restaurants, an authentic looking place run by a particularly friendly old man who recommend that we try their speciality, Thali. This was my first Thali and fortunately a particularly good and authentic one served up on a banana leaf. They also served up a mean masala chai, full of spice and flavour.

Once fed and watered, we headed to the temple which is located in the centre of the town, which also dates back to the time of the Vijayanagara Empire but is still an active part of the modern Hampi. It’s an expensive business heading inside, paying to get in, paying to use your camera and making donations as you collect your blessing from various shrines. You’ll notice evidence of our blessing on our foreheads in the pictures. We probably shouldn’t have drank any of the holy water given to us after one blessing since the tap water for our rooms is coming from the river, but it’s doesn’t seem to have had an adverse effect. Yet.

With the Hindu gods on our side, we walked around more of the town to see how the festival was shaping up. People were arriving in droves with any vehicle, even a scooter, struggling to get anywhere. The only form of transport that could be guaranteed a clear path was the group of elephants we encountered as we walked around. With plans to spend the night at the festival the following day, we headed back over the river and up into the hills to enjoy another sunset, this time armed with a couple of cold, illicit Kingfishers and made a few new friends who were doing the same. This is the first routine we seem to have formed whilst staying here.

Another thing that seems to have become routine is Maren bumping into people she has met elsewhere in India. For example, purely by chance we have stayed at not one, but two different places (Om Star in Arambol and Shesh Besh here in Hampi) who have staff that were working in Kerla last season at Maren’s favourite cafe. And whilst travelling we have bumped into people at markets, at restaurants, on boats and simply in the street that Maren had met weeks, if not months ago in various parts of India and had no idea that they would be in the same place at the same time. Perhaps the chances are more likely than I might imagine, but it continues to amaze me in a country so big, with so much to see.

The following day we started early and hired bicycles so we could explore more of the ruins around Hampi. Despite a steep hill out of town it’s a nice way to get around and see all the sights. Some of the ruins are more impressive than others, be it in grandeur or the state of conservation. The first temple we stopped at was not notable on either account, however across the road several hundred people were gathered under cover enjoying a late breakfast. It turned out this was being provided for free (as well as lunch and dinner) by the sponsors of the festival. As we headed away from town the size and scale of what was the old city became clearer. The remains of the building impress because of the sheer amount of stone and brick required for their construction and artistry in the stone carving which are everywhere. Sadly in some places, this is being lost and damaged as whilst Hampi is a world heritage site not all of the ruins have protected status. By early afternoon we were also ruined having cycled several kilometres and walked around many temples in the midday sun, so we headed back to rest up so we would be ready to take on the full craziness of the festival at night.

Just after night fall we made our way to the ferry to cross the river. The ferry whilst normally operating during daylight hours was running a special service to accommodate all the people who wanted to go to the festival. Unsurprisingly they were charging a special price, 30Rs, which was double the 15Rs during the day, which is also triple the 5Rs locals pay. The ferry man assured us that they’d be no further increase in the fare on the way home and that the ferry would be running until at least eleven.

As soon as we made it to the other side, the evening started badly. Maren was groped by an unidentified assailant as we stepped of the boat despite being well covered and obviously with someone. It wasn’t long before it happened again in the crowds of people, so I had to try and walk behind her at all times. Despite a break in the afternoon, our patience was wearing thin having already dealt with far more than the usual attention you get as westerners due the hordes of people that were in town for the festival. The most benign forms are normally pleasant and easy to deal with. Young people often just try to get your attention by saying “Hi” or “How are you?” as you pass and want shake your hand. With older people, this then invariably leads to the two most popular questions, “What is your country?” and “What is your name?” No big deal, even if you have to do it many times. The next most common request is to pose for a photo. I lost count a long time ago how many family holiday pictures we have featured in or the times Maren has been requested to pose in a photo with group of young Indian guys. This can be a little more time consuming, but again it is in good humour. Perhaps more unsettling, but I believe free of any real nastiness, is when people stare at you or burst out laughing as you pass. Whilst this doesn’t happen all the time, it’s probably more common with people who perhaps have rarely, if ever, had much interaction with westerners and with the festival on Hampi had a lot more people who might fall into this category. The only aspect of attention that is difficult not to react negatively to is the more sexual kind. This is generally very rare and normally just an incredibly cheeky pinch on the arse. However, in the festival environment with thousands of people in large crowds, made up of predominately male groups it was a concern and it became difficult to really relax and join in with the fun. That said, we didn’t find a lot of fun, the first two stages we visited had been taken over by local politicians and religious leaders so they could speak at seemingly great length. We instead, decided to focus more on finding as many interesting snacks been served up along the streets. Once accompanied by a local English teacher at one of the schools we started to relax a bit more and enjoyed sitting down for a chai and watching people enjoy the night. The town did look amazing as well, with the all the temples and statues lit up by multicoloured lights which made them look even more special.

The real drama of the night however had yet to unfold. On returning to the river, we noticed a distinct lack of boats making any crossing and a large group of people that were stranded on our side of the river. It was difficult to find out what was going on as the boats were parked on the other side, but after speaking to one police officer he seemed to suggest that the boat would be running again in an hour so we decided to wait it out at a restaurant. After far more than an hour and having just gone eleven (which was the latest the ferry was going to run till anyway) there was still no sign of activity and it seemed unlikely that there was going to be any.

Time for plan B. We had watched people wading across a shallow part of the river all night, but it wasn’t easy or well lit. If we fell over then we were going to get wet, which wouldn’t normally be much of a problem except I was carrying my camera. However, with no other option we were going to have to try. Getting to that part of river was the first challenge. The only access we could see was to make our way along the river bank. This would have been straight forward if one part of the river bank hadn't become a public toilet for those unwilling or unable to pay for the privilege of using the facilities nearby. There didn't seem to be much choice though, so walking very carefully along with another couple we set off. Soon enough we spotted evidence of human “activity” and even some in progress. Having successfully negotiated all obstacles we reached what seemed to be a dead end so we decided to walk back to try and find another way round. We were half way through again when someone called out to us to come back and they would show us the way through. I felt sorry for the poor man squatting in the bushes who we walked past not once but three times in the process. This time however we were through and now at the river crossing where some young Indian guys were helping people get across the river seemingly for free. I was relieved that it was a fairly simple walk across but Maren was touched up a couple more times for the privilege of being escorted across. Somewhat traumatised by our ordeal but happy we’d soon be in bed we made our way home only to hear the noise of a boat starting its engine! We got the full story on the other side of the river and were told the ferry had been shut down by the police since they were illegally operating at night. Obviously they had not paid enough baksheesh, so they were waiting for them to leave so they could resume the service. A small consolation was that we’d saved ourselves 60Rs each (the price doubling again), just less than a pound.

Check out the photos at http://picasaweb.google.com/kris.lander/Hampi