Well unfortunately Manju’s guesthouse didn’t turn out to be too quiet after all. It wasn’t human commotion, but farm animals. A young dog barked away numerous times during the night interspersed with a couple of roosters who seemed to be a bit early for sunrise and one of them sounded half broken...add in a rambunctious swan and it does not make for easy sleeping especially considering I wasn’t feeling 100% with a very slight fever. In the morning I decided I must change accommodation. I felt a little bit bad for Manju as he seemed like a really nice guy and all of these animals actually lived next door at one of his competitor’s places but you have to look out for number one first. I packed up my small bag and headed back to one of the places I had seen yesterday which was 100 rupees more per night (300 versus 200) but had solid walls and the big bonus of an attached bathroom!
My new accommodation:
After settling in I crossed the river on the little ferry boat and began to explore the bazaar on foot. I headed down the main thoroughfare that was lined with covered stone walkways on either side. Reaching the end I began climbing the stairs built into the rock. The first few buildings had some impressively decorated pillars and in one sat a massive bull who had obviously had his belly and snout rubbed by many worshippers over the years. Next I encountered an old lady who acted as guardian over the monkey god that was colourfully painted. She didn’t look like she was “official” so I was fully prepared that she would be asking for some money from me for the bit of red paint that she smeared on my forehead. I obliged her with 10 rupees but she asked for 10 more which I ignored as I continued walking up some more stairs where I was greeted by a nice view down at the Achyutaraya temple at the foot of Matanga Hill. Achyutaraya was the third ruler of the Tulu Dynasty and he died in 1543.
The main thoroughfare:
Fancy pillars in a covered walkway:
Yes, the rocks are quite big:
I guess it's a bull:
Looking back towards Virupaksha Temple:
The monkey god Hanuman:
There was hardly another soul around as I walked aimlessly around the temple area but then a security guard carrying a bamboo stick appeared and I said hi to him (actually I said “Namaste”). He became a personal tour guide for me for the next 5-10 minutes. He pointed out various figures in the sculptures but after a while they just became names to me. He rapped his knuckle on a few sides of some of the thin rock pillars and a different tone was produced on one side versus the other. I thanked him for his time and began to walk down a long and wide thoroughfare which was at one time the Sule Bazaar, one of ancient Hampi’s principle centres of commerce. I checked out a few more buildings and an hour or two later I was templed out for the day.
Looking down at Achyutaraya Temple:
Inside the courtyard:
Awesome ray of sunlight coming through:
More of the temple:
A somewhat still covered walkway:
A watering pool for the temple:
Rocks galore:
After a mid-afternoon lunch by the river I moseyed back to the river crossing and headed back to my guesthouse...I didn’t want to overdo it on my first full day.
I love these round boats:
The always packed ferry boat:
Next to my hut a family seems to have been hired to whack some rocks out so they can put in a garden. Tough to see here but the kid looks about 11 or 12 years old..veritable child labour...at least it's Saturday and perhaps the kid still goes to school...
That looks like the sunbeam in Indiana Jones, although he was in Egypt. Still, pretty cool!
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