Hello everyone, from Hampi in central Karnataka!

Last time we blogged, we were just about to catch a night train south to Gokana, to join the dreadlocked westerners living simple lives alongside the locals. What we found was a little different.

We arrived at four in the morning and checked into a place recommended to us by a Swedish author who we met over breakfast. We awoke to find ourselves in a Yoga commune and living alongside some very strange characters indeed! Pick of the bunch was Chris the Litter Nazi, who spent the entire day picking up rubbish and then burning it. His outfit for this noble task was a pair of ultra-tight black pants, which he had tucked deep into his buttocks, presumably to extend the boundaries of his tan.

The rest of the population of the beach were demonstrating a real and serious dedication to alternative living.  Everywhere you looked there was bongo-playing, bracelet making, yoga classes and the smoking of fragrant cigarettes. We managed to escape the commune on several occasions, to visit Gokana town and the famous Om beach – so called because of its resemblance to the sacred religious syllable.

After four days we arranged to travel to Hampi by sleeper bus – a large coach with cabins and very basic beds. When we turned up at the bus stop two buses arrived– one was a super-deluxe air conditioned white bullet, the other (ours) was a tin shed on wheels built in the early part of the last century, with a driver who was unnervingly buoyant for someone who was meant to be sober. After some quick negotiations with the driver of the deluxe coach we handed over 200 rupees (three quid) and were shown to our air conditioned cabins.

Despite our opulent mode of transport, the eight hour journey to Hampi was not good. Sleeping on a vehicle traveling over Indian roads is not possible, especially when there is a cattle grid every two miles. There was also no toilet so trips were made to the rear cabin with an empty plastic bottle in hand. On one such trip another coach came up behind us and its lights lit up my illicit toilet break, much to the amusement of the driver and his mate.

The journey was worth it though – Hampi is truly breathtaking. Mountains of massive boulders dominate the landscape, cut through by a wide torrid river which irrigates expanses of lush green paddy fields and banana plantations. The landscape is stimulation enough, but then dotted amongst the boulders are the remains of the greatest Hindu civilizations ever to have existed.

In the main temple lives Lakshmi – a large elephant that blesses you with her trunk if you give her a rupee. We have been told that she has been trained to only accept notes from westerners, and from our experience this sounds about right! One of the best experiences we have had so far is getting up early to watch Lakshmi take her morning bath in the river, along with the locals, who all wash there together.

In the late afternoon you then climb masses of steps and precarious walkways to reach one of the temples to watch the sun set, rated by many travelers as one of the best sunsets in the world. Afterwards you chat with the holy men, who offer you a blessing, a cup of chai and marijuana.

This morning I went for an early morning run and came across a herd of cows in the middle of the road, which is a very regular occurrence here. Something in my erratic jogging style must have startled them, because they set off on a canter as soon as they saw me, running slightly ahead of me down the road and through the next village. The locals gave me some bemused looks, and were presumably wondering what this sweaty Englishman was doing driving cattle through their village.

Next stop on our journey is Mysore, near Bangalore, which we’ll stay in for a couple of days, and then onto the backwaters of Kerala for some serious chilling on a houseboat! Catch up with you all there!

Love to everyone, Michael and Pipa xxx