Blessed By a Two-Ton Goddess
I've been looking forward to Hampi since I discovered it on the internet some time ago. And it hasn't let me down.
Hampi was the capital city of India's largest and most powerful Hindu empire. It ruled during the 14th and 15th centuries. It was an international trading center and was one of the richest cities in the world at the time. All that came to a screeching halt when a confederation of Muslim kings came down and kicked their butts. Even with miles-long wagon trains, it took them six months to haul all the loot out of the city.
Today, it's ruins are vast and impressive. Many temples, forums, trader's stalls and royal palaces still remain to be seen. I spent yesterday afternoon and most of today meandering all over it with my trusty guide, Shiva.
Yesterday, we went to a "living" temple, as they call one still in use, and I met and fell in love with Lakshmi, goddess of money. Well, actually, she's just named after the goddess Lakshmi, but she's still beautiful. Unfortunately, my love for her was doomed as she is an elephant and I don't date outside my species. Normally. But that didn't stop her from bestowing upon me her blessings. That was one of the highlights of my trip, in fact. Until I realized what was really going on. Apparently, anyone who walks up to her and offers her a coin gets the same treatment! I felt so used. I watched, deflatedly, as she took money from perfect strangers, handed it to her pimp, and laid her lithe trunk upon the head of the blessee.
I got over my disappointment when I saw the coracles! These are little round bowl-shaped boats made out of a bamboo frame and covered on the outside with burlap and pitch. I expressed my desire to go out in one of these and Shiva negotiated a little scenic trip on the river for us. Whohoo, I forgot all about Lakshmi. Our teen aged boat wallah paddled us along and we stopped and got out here and there to see points of interest. It was cool.
By this time it was getting toward dusk and the skeeters were waking-up. Not wanting to test my malaria medicine, we headed back to the car. On the way, Shiva spotted a millipede. They grow 'em big here, folks. About the size of of a cigar. Got a picture of me holding the big fella that should send shivers up some spines. He tickled, really.
At the parking lot, we found a crowd gathered around a young lady who looked about my daughter's age. Apparently, she was trying to get to the train station about 15 km away and was sorta stranded. In these parts, thats cause for the whole village to turn out and try to figure out how to help. The station happened to be right near my hotel, so we rescued her and gave her a lift. Her name is Annaka and it turns out she is German and has been here 5 times. She was living in a cave near Hampi for the last 2 weeks. You meet the most interesting people on the road.
Today, we saw the rest of Hampi. Mostly the royal complex, where oddly enough, the royal family lived. Coincidence? You decide. Anyway, at one point, we spotted a coconut wallah so I bought us a couple o' nuts. The wallah whacked the top off the coconut with a machete and poped a straw into it. Voila, you have a refreshing tropical drink. I was surprised at how much juice there was inside- must have been more than a pint. After finishing that off, the wallah then took another whack at it and, using the part he chopped off, fashioned a spoon with which to scoop the meat out. Neat trick. The meat, like the juice, isn't like what we're used to, either. Its thin and soft and doesn't get stuck in your teeth. Yumm. Gonna get me some more of those.
Right nearby was a chai wallah with a little kitchen-in-a-wagon. (FYI: a wallah is a guy who does whatever it is that comes before the word wallah). My guide bought us some chai and it was the best yet.
As long as I'm on the subject of food, I had lunch at a place called The Mango Tree. It's all outdoors and clings to the side of a hill overlooking the river and some rice paddies. Its under a great big mango tree. Parrots are flying around. Everyone sits on bamboo mats and eats off little kindergarten-sized tables. The food was as good as the setting. Oh yeah, you have to walk through a jungley banana plantation to get there.
There are these little paan booths all over India. I asked my driver what paan was. He explained that it is a concoction of betel nut and other odd condiments wrapped up in a leaf. Its then chewed and the juice spat out. Supposed to aid digestion, make you sexually verile and give you a buzz, to boot. And it makes your teeth and tongue red. Whats not to like? I wanted some. My guide and driver thought that sounded like fun, so the two of them took me to a stand and got me setup. I think they took pity on me and told the paan wallah to make mine sweet and weak. And they gave me the kind that doesn't require spitting. It tasted good, but my mouth didn't turn red and I didn't notice any sort of buzz. Bummer.
After Lakshmi, my favorite thing in Hampi was the Vittala Temple. In this temple are a hundred little columns that, when tapped on, ring to various musical notes! Nobody knows how they did this and they can't reproduce the effect today. My guide was something of a virtuoso on these columns and we had a ball. Afterwards he mentioned that we were not supposed to do that, and sent me over to apply a small amount of 'grease' to the palms of the guards who had been observing our little concert.
Please don't tell anyone.
Hampi was the capital city of India's largest and most powerful Hindu empire. It ruled during the 14th and 15th centuries. It was an international trading center and was one of the richest cities in the world at the time. All that came to a screeching halt when a confederation of Muslim kings came down and kicked their butts. Even with miles-long wagon trains, it took them six months to haul all the loot out of the city.
Today, it's ruins are vast and impressive. Many temples, forums, trader's stalls and royal palaces still remain to be seen. I spent yesterday afternoon and most of today meandering all over it with my trusty guide, Shiva.
Yesterday, we went to a "living" temple, as they call one still in use, and I met and fell in love with Lakshmi, goddess of money. Well, actually, she's just named after the goddess Lakshmi, but she's still beautiful. Unfortunately, my love for her was doomed as she is an elephant and I don't date outside my species. Normally. But that didn't stop her from bestowing upon me her blessings. That was one of the highlights of my trip, in fact. Until I realized what was really going on. Apparently, anyone who walks up to her and offers her a coin gets the same treatment! I felt so used. I watched, deflatedly, as she took money from perfect strangers, handed it to her pimp, and laid her lithe trunk upon the head of the blessee.
I got over my disappointment when I saw the coracles! These are little round bowl-shaped boats made out of a bamboo frame and covered on the outside with burlap and pitch. I expressed my desire to go out in one of these and Shiva negotiated a little scenic trip on the river for us. Whohoo, I forgot all about Lakshmi. Our teen aged boat wallah paddled us along and we stopped and got out here and there to see points of interest. It was cool.
By this time it was getting toward dusk and the skeeters were waking-up. Not wanting to test my malaria medicine, we headed back to the car. On the way, Shiva spotted a millipede. They grow 'em big here, folks. About the size of of a cigar. Got a picture of me holding the big fella that should send shivers up some spines. He tickled, really.
At the parking lot, we found a crowd gathered around a young lady who looked about my daughter's age. Apparently, she was trying to get to the train station about 15 km away and was sorta stranded. In these parts, thats cause for the whole village to turn out and try to figure out how to help. The station happened to be right near my hotel, so we rescued her and gave her a lift. Her name is Annaka and it turns out she is German and has been here 5 times. She was living in a cave near Hampi for the last 2 weeks. You meet the most interesting people on the road.
Today, we saw the rest of Hampi. Mostly the royal complex, where oddly enough, the royal family lived. Coincidence? You decide. Anyway, at one point, we spotted a coconut wallah so I bought us a couple o' nuts. The wallah whacked the top off the coconut with a machete and poped a straw into it. Voila, you have a refreshing tropical drink. I was surprised at how much juice there was inside- must have been more than a pint. After finishing that off, the wallah then took another whack at it and, using the part he chopped off, fashioned a spoon with which to scoop the meat out. Neat trick. The meat, like the juice, isn't like what we're used to, either. Its thin and soft and doesn't get stuck in your teeth. Yumm. Gonna get me some more of those.
Right nearby was a chai wallah with a little kitchen-in-a-wagon. (FYI: a wallah is a guy who does whatever it is that comes before the word wallah). My guide bought us some chai and it was the best yet.
As long as I'm on the subject of food, I had lunch at a place called The Mango Tree. It's all outdoors and clings to the side of a hill overlooking the river and some rice paddies. Its under a great big mango tree. Parrots are flying around. Everyone sits on bamboo mats and eats off little kindergarten-sized tables. The food was as good as the setting. Oh yeah, you have to walk through a jungley banana plantation to get there.
There are these little paan booths all over India. I asked my driver what paan was. He explained that it is a concoction of betel nut and other odd condiments wrapped up in a leaf. Its then chewed and the juice spat out. Supposed to aid digestion, make you sexually verile and give you a buzz, to boot. And it makes your teeth and tongue red. Whats not to like? I wanted some. My guide and driver thought that sounded like fun, so the two of them took me to a stand and got me setup. I think they took pity on me and told the paan wallah to make mine sweet and weak. And they gave me the kind that doesn't require spitting. It tasted good, but my mouth didn't turn red and I didn't notice any sort of buzz. Bummer.
After Lakshmi, my favorite thing in Hampi was the Vittala Temple. In this temple are a hundred little columns that, when tapped on, ring to various musical notes! Nobody knows how they did this and they can't reproduce the effect today. My guide was something of a virtuoso on these columns and we had a ball. Afterwards he mentioned that we were not supposed to do that, and sent me over to apply a small amount of 'grease' to the palms of the guards who had been observing our little concert.
Please don't tell anyone.
posted by Rick | 6:15 AM
1 Comments:
I was a little worried at first to find out just how you were blessed. ;o) Thanks for taking time to post. Nancy
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