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03. – 16.12.2012 Bangalore & HampiAfter the simple country life we were now drawn back into the city, namely by bus to Bangalore, the third largest city of India and the Indian center for aerospace and computer industries. For tourists there is actually not much to see there but we found a few interesting places anyway.
One highlight of our stay in Bangalore were definitely our couchsurfing hosts Rita and Swarnab. We immediately felt really comfortable with the diverse couple (she is from Russia and he is Bengali) and their two cats Juno and Kali. During the day we cooked together with Rita, devoured her cheese supplies from Russia and went with her to see attractions such as the Nandi Temple with its huge granite monolith in bull shape, Lal Bagh Botanical Garden and the Museum of Technology. Of course, we were always having trouble with the outrageous rickshaw drivers who tried to charge double and triple prices. Haggling with them demanded a lot of endurance and perseverance. In the evenings, after his work day, Swarnab also joined in and we made a tour through all the rock pubs of the city to enjoy Indian beer and the sounds of Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin and Co. (yes, they hear such music in India, too) while exchanging our travel stories. Spontaneously, we decided to join the couple to attend the Guns n'Roses concert in Bangalore. What, they still exist? And they are going to play in India of all places? This, of course, we didn't want to miss. Well, what can be said: It was only Rose without Guns and he has become quite old. The music was good, but didn't knock our socks of.
If you happen to be in Bangalore, the Indian center for aerospace, of course, you shouldn't miss a flight in a flight simulator and so it happened that Olli, under the guidance of a real pilot, learned how to take off, fly and savely land a Boeing 737 and how to control and read all the buttons, levers, indicators and lights in the cockpit. In the end Olli's head was buzzing but he mastered everything quite well without crash landing.
A bit outside of the noisy and hectic city we then furthermore explored 2 very special insider's tips. One of them was the dance school Nrityagram, built like a small idyllic village, where they teach traditional Indian dance and where we were allowed to watch the rehearsal for a dance performance. In their photo gallery we could see that also Mick Jagger was a guest once. The other one was Pyramid Valley, where we visited the world's largest meditation pyramid, inside which it is said that the positive effects of meditation are tripled. A few facts to wonder about: The pyramid is as high as a 10 storey building, can hold 5 000 meditators at once and contains 640 natural crystals from the Himalayas, which should, in addition to its geometry, enhance the pyramid's cosmic energy. For home use or on the go, you can buy funny paper hats in pyramid shape in the shop next door. Then nothing should hinder your enlightenment ;-)
Hampi :
Once again, as it so often happens in India, the contrast couldn't be greater. From the busy hightech metropolis of Bangalore we made the trip to Hampi: historical ruins, UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the most spectacular places we visited in India. At 6 a.m. our bus arrived in the foggy, just awakening small town. At the river bank, where we wanted to cross by ferry to reach our guest house, half of the village had already gathered for their daily morning washing and bathing. Still sleepy and exhausted from our as usual bumpy night bus ride, we accepted, without much thinking, the offer of our friendly rickshaw driver to meet again after breakfast, so that he could bring us in his three-wheeled taxi to all the sights and ruins for the rest of the day.
After a hearty breakfast with plenty of coffee, garlic and ginger-carrot-orange juice, our secret recipe to recover from exhausting bus rides, we met again with our driver at 11 a.m., just in time for the onset of midday heat. Who is stupid enough to go sightseeing during the worst heat of the day? Right, us, of course! As I said, we felt so drained and tired that we had not thought about this important detail. As a small consolation, not many had had the same stupid idea and the sights were not busy at all. The program included highlights such as the viewpoint Hemakuta Hill, Ganesha Temple, Lotus Mahal, the historical Elephant Stables and Vitthala Temple. On our day trip we didn't get even close to see everything. For hours and days you can wander here in the sweltering heat through almost endless, impressive ruins and sit in the shade of coconut stalls to cool off, while sipping coconut water with a straw from fresh machete opened nuts.
Our guest house next to the river, a tip of Swarnab from Bangalore, was the last one at the end of the dirt road and accordingly quiet, with a hammock just outside the room, delicious food and 2 Great Danes. Situated right on the edge of an impressive boulder landscape, that looks as if a giant baby played marbles with the rocks, our accommodation was a climbers' paradise and most of its guests enthusiastic climbers from all over the world. Every day, just in time for sunrise and sunset, since only then the temperatures were bearable, they set out with their climbing mats strapped to their backs to scale the various rocks.
For our last night we safed a very special highlight. About an hour before sunset, we set out on foot to the nearby Hanuman temple, which in the end was further away than the village population had described. A quarter of an hour before sunset, we then hired a young, totally overpriced rickshaw driver named Hanuman, like the monkey God, for the last couple of hundred meters to get to the foot of the mountain. Then we still had to climb about 500 steps up to the temple as fast as possible to enjoy the breathtaking sunset totally exhausted and out of breath just right in time. But every cumbersome step was worth it!
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