I'd want to ride my bicycle Part III: You'd Think I Was Active or Something

For 4 days and 3 nights I've trekked and chilled out (mostly chilled out) among the boulders and banana trees that make up this remarkable landscape.

After my first lazy day of wandering around and getting my bearings of the small village and main bazaar it was time to do some more active travel.

Joining forces with a German backpacker Dorit, who I met on the train up from Bangalore we hired a couple of the usual crappy Indian bikes (gearless, brakeless and heavy) and headed up hill straight out of town in search of the ruins beyond.

Bike riding again, who would ever have conceived of such a thing (certainly not my PE teachers back at school). After a conquering the hills that flank the city we were soon cruising through rice, sugar cane and banana plantations. There neat rows interrupted by enormous smooth granite boulders, some as big as houses. After passing by a view Hindu temples and a Muslim cemetery which had 2 interesting mausoleums we headed towards the Royal Centre.

The Royal Centre has a brilliant concentration of ruins; watch towers, temples, fort walls...Our bikes proved to be a great mode of transport, despite the dirt roads, allowing for infinite photo stops and flexibility that a rickshaw or jeep could never provide. We finally arrived at the heart of the complex as large group of school children pulled up, suddenly the vast grounds were filled with young children all in their uniforms walking in long human chains around the ruins and sitting patiently under trees as their teachers explained their surroundings. The Elephant stables were by far the highlight, a long narrow building with 11 arches each one topped with a different dome. The building was originally used to house the state elephants.

After the ride back into Hampi (thankfully mostly down hill) we had a quick lunch before tackling the other major ruins site of Hampi. Marching along the river passing old gateways and numerous temples still being excavated to this day we reached the Vittala Temple and its famous stone chariot. From all the buildings I've seen in India these ruins reminded me most of those from Cambodia, with their the strict geometry and clear horizontal emphasis . The carvings and ornamentation was also similar.

The next two days were spent over the river (where 90% of the Israelis hang out) I was in search of falafel and hummus but Hampi was out of hummus. The humanity!

The other side of the river certainly does take chilling out to an entirely new level. The place were we had lunch didn't have chair, it didn't even have booths, instead it looked more like a blood bank, with mattresses laid out on either side of very low tables. For natural slouchers like myself it was the ultimate indulgence, but it was almost too easy to fall asleep mid-bite.