Hampi

Arriving in Hampi is a bit like arriving on the set of the Flintstones. Hills of boulders jut up from every corner and palm trees dot the landscape. We took a motorboat across the river to the mellow side of town and stayed in a bright hut with a porch and hammock.The Indian woman running the place has the rare habit of saying "fuck" on a regular basis and allows her turkey and Great Dane to roam freely. To get there, we walked through bright green rice fields and giant hills of boulders. Hampi has plenty of ruins, hills and temples to explore. We went to the main temple, climbed up a hill overlooking the city and walked to an abandoned and crumbling temple on the first day.

On my birthday, I had my first Ayurvedic massage, where I was surprised to find NO sheet to cover my naked body and even more surprised when the "shower" that came with the massage was no more than my masseuse (thankfully a woman) pouring cold water over my head from a bucket and scrubbing my hair and all but the most private parts with a dinky bar of soap. This was the second time I've been bathed by a stranger (first time was in a Moroccan hammam). It was equally as traumatic as the first- perhaps more so, given the cold water and sheer surprise factor (at least in Morocco, I knew I would be bathed by someone else). Needless to say, I still had coconut oil in my hair by the time it "dried."

In the afternoon, we took a small, hand-paddled, bamboo saucer-boat out along the river and past more temples. The rower dropped us off down the river so we could walk up to one of the many Hanuman temples of the area (Hanuman is a Hindu deity revered for his strength and generally takes the shape of a monkey. It's no surprise that monkeys can usually be found hanging around Hanuman temples). At the top, we climbed barefoot over giant boulders until we found a front-row seat to a fantastic sunset.

If we had more time, I would have delved into the rock climbing scene and more ancient ruins. But I had to keep moving. We took an overnight bus to Pune, recent site of terrorist bombings. We met up with Jason for breakfast at one of the cafes targeted by the bombings and had our bags searched before we entered. The German Bakery that exploded down the street was still in shambles and heavily guarded. We walked over to the OSHO ashram, where Brian spent a few weeks recently, and peeked in the gates (admission fees are not within a poor traveler's budget). Jason got in trouble when he tried to take a picture.

Next stop- Aurangabad, ancient cave temples and fun festivals!

To read about the beach, the mountains and a town in between, click HERE.

Ooty, Mysore and Om Beach

From Auroville, Brian and I took a mammoth journey involving 3 rickshaws, 4 buses, 1 train and 24 hours of our time. We finally landed in a hill station called Ooty. It's a kitchy holiday spot for Indian vacationers and home to the "first time in the world" thread garden, a lake for paddle boating, local souvenirs of homemade chocolate and Nilgiri tea and a rose garden sporting few flowers and plenty of pornographic name signs for roses that haven't bloomed. They also have a race track for horses and motorbikes.


The climate was cooler and I enjoyed a reprieve from mosquitos. The hotel overlooked the lake and surrounding mountain panorama. My favorite part was a 12-mile trek through tea plantations, a small village and finally a peak overlooking mountains, valleys and tea plantations. The trek was peaceful and the viewpoint meditative.

Next, we travelled through a tiger reserve on our way to Mysore. We saw elephants and monkeys, but no tigers :( Mysore is well-known for producing sandlewood products and boasts luxurious royal palaces. It also hosts a lively market, the best masala dosa I've ever eaten and a temple on a hill with views of the city.

After three days in Mysore, we took a 14-hour bumpy bus ride to Gokarna, a small beach town on the West Coast (Arabian Sea) and home to a temple on wheels. We settled into a tiny hut on Om beach, a mellow cove 2 km south of Gokarna. There we took in lots of sun, lost a fight with a cow over a loaf of bread and enjoyed yoga on a terrace overlooking the ocean. The views were spectacular.

Utopia has a parking lot?

None of us had the right expectations of Auroville. When our cab dropped us off from French-quaint Pondicherry, we all three sat still saying "No, we want you to take us to AUROVILLE." He smiled, commented on our first time and said "This IS Auroville." We had just arrived via a strip of ugly store fronts, trash piles and standard guesthouses, something we were used to seeing all over India. Auroville was supposed to be special. Technically speaking, we were in Auroville, but only on the outskirts. We later relocated to an Auroville-community guesthouse, much closer to the center of the community. It was called "Aspiration" and we had a small hut with palm-frond roofing. Our rent included three vegetarian meals a day and a contribution to the Auroville community, which enabled us access to certain places like the solar kitchen (with yummy steam-heated food!). Our bathroom always provided us a wide range of wildlife, including big spiders, cockroaches, geckos, snails, slugs and a mouse that ate a hole in my bag in an honest search for peanuts. During an intense bout of diarrhea, these creatures became my friends and welcome distractions.

Auroville is an intentional and international community, comprised of residents from over 30 countries. It consists of many rad sub-communities focused on art, health/wellness, sustainable living, spiritual seeking and/or re-forestation of the surrounding land. A bird's eye view:In the center lies the Matramandir- a gigantic globe of silence and concentration (aka-meditation). Jason pointed out that the experience kind of feels like a sci-fi flick. As we walked up the white-carpeted, spiral ramps, in complete silence, surrounded by "salmon-pink" light, he felt like we were loading up the mother-ship for a journey into outer space. That we didn't disembark onto another planet came as a disappointment to him. The "inner chamber" has no artificial lights, only one beam of sunlight streaming down the center of the room, hitting a large crystal ball. The entire room is white. It was a powerful place to meditate. We also had a chance to meditate underneath the globe around the Lotus Pond and I loved the nearby and enormous banyan tree.

The three of us naively rented one moped the first day to explore the massive community. We quickly realized we would be better off with two motorbikes. Here's the motorbike montage:

Brian and I were really excited to have the opportunity to drive out to Sadhana Forrest, where our good friends Christine and Jonathan lived for several months last year. The community focuses on re-foresting the surrounding area.

After a few days, I realized how much Auroville has to offer- it's a special place. Bureaucratic procedures make it difficult for visitors to plug-in to the community quickly and I regretted time constraints that prevented a more thorough exploration of the area. We checked out a cello concert, ate yummies at the French bakery and Brian took an Ashtanga yoga course.