Heat of Hampi

The heat that welcomed us in Hospet, as we stepped off the air conditioned train, was akin to that moment when you open the oven door a little too quickly. Only this time there was no where to take a step back.

They warned me…

It is true, that all my Indian colleagues back in London had warned me:

“It’s too hot in April and May!”

Shezus. Now I know what they meant. Minali, on about her third attempt to put me off going, told me I’d need, “… a giant hat, an umbrella…”.

The list was much longer but I had switched off. There’s no way I was going to take an umbrella…

I had already booked our flights. This man wasn’t for turning, and with my pointy face, I look rediculous in a big hats. Denial was my only option.

Kerala, where we spent our first week, was hot but had a pleasant breeze. Goa a bit hotter, but we had a pool.

This was something else. As we taxied in an old banger to Hampi, the wind through the open windows only felt like the oven had been switched to fan.

I’m glad I didn’t listen…

It turns out though, people do in fact survive in this heat, and in Hampi, they thrive.

A lot of the buildings have open walls much like the temples found here. The area seems to also be blessed with lots of water.

Woodstock

“Woodstock 69”, the place Vicky booked for us to stay, is basically a large communal chill out area which serves as a restaurant and lounge area for the young German hippies with nice tanned legs and pretty ankle bracelets to smoke copious amounts of good stuff.

It’s as you might expect with the name, a chilled vibe with really friendly and relaxed people.

The guys who work here: Shemmi, Peter and Ganesha have been lovely. They have won over Harrison and Elliot. Peter took H looking for monkeys and Ganesha took both of them on a trip to slingshot mangoes off the tree in the middle of the rice paddies.

It’s pretty remote here, with a few small shops, surrounded by farmland with the not so busy roads frequented by mopeds, goats, old fashioned tractors, dogs, children, and cows in roughly equal measure.

We’re located north of the river away from the hussle of Hampi to the south. It’s incredibly beautiful. There is so much life here - like everywhere else I’ve been in India so far. There’s an abundance of birds, lizards and monkeys. Obviously the boys love the monkeys!

There are these huge rocks everywhere you look, dotting the hills all around us. A bit like a thousand Logan’s rocks. A beautiful reservoir is close to our home, so we have been scooting up there in the afternoons to cool down.

The only way to get about is to hire scooters. Its too hot to walk any meaningful distance in the sun, the roads are fairly quiet and they are great fun!

I’ll be back

To sum it up, I love it here. I think most people would. I will miss the chilled vibe of Woodstock and the breathtaking views that surround it.

Even the heat was ok when we worked out how to manage it. Basically do as little as possible in the middle of the day. Drink loads of mango lassies and let the boys watch a movie.

Just as we were getting in a routine, alas, we have a train to catch. Farewell paradise, good bye for now Hampi xx