30 HOURS OF NONSTOP TRAVEL... AND MORE.

Since my last entry, the majority of my time has been spent on mass transit systems.

The bus from Margao, Goa to Hospet, Karnataka on the "semi-deluxe" bus was possibly the worst ride of my life. Turns out when the ticket guy motioned to the bus when I asked which one it was, we were looking at different busses. The one i ended up on was a glorified school bus, essentially, with bench seats- 2 on the left and 3 on the right. I lucked out and had my own seat, with my backpack tied to a pole at the end. Eventually i figured out how to contort myself so i could lay sideways with my legs wrapped around the pole resting on my bag, but only after I got motion sick from the careening around curves up some big hill. good times. It definitely could have been worse, though. i was the only single woman on the bus, and the only whitey = big spectacle. A young guy befriended me, though, and watched guard whenever I went off into the dark to pee at the numerous stops all throughout the overnight journey.

SWITCHING TO CAPS B/C THIS KEYBOARD IS STICKY. ANYWAY ARRIVED IN HOSPET AT 5 AM AND TOOK A RICKSHAW INTO HAMPI, ABOUT 30 MINUTES AWAY. MY DRIVER, JAY, WAS VERY CHATTY AND I WAS IN SURPRISINGLY GOOD SPIRITS, CONSIDERING THE HOUR AND PRECEDING JOURNEY. HE PUT ON TAMIL AND TELUGU FILM HITS AND I TOLD HIM ABOUT MY BOLLYWOOD ACTING, WHICH HE FOUND EXTREMELY EXCITING. QUITE THE SCENE- HUNCHED IN THE BACK OF A RICKSHAW WITH ALL MY BAGS, LISTENING TO BUMPING MUSIC, BEFORE THE BREAK OF DAWN, DOWN A NARROW ROAD PASSING COW PULLED CARTS PILED WITH HAY. THE LIGHT BEGAN TO BREAK JUST AS WE WERE REACHING HAMPI, AND THE NOTORIOUS ROCK FORMATIONS EMERGED FROM THE DARKNESS- BUT JUST AS SHADOWS AND ROUGH FORMS, WHICH MADE THEM EVEN CREEPIER AND SPOOKIER THAN NORMAL. KINDA LIKE PICTURES I'VE SEEN FROM THE AMERICAN SOUTHWEST, THERE ARE ALL THESE HUGE BOULDERS STACKED AND PILED AND LEANING AGAINST EACH OTHER IN IMPROBABLE, PRECARIOUS POSITIONS. GREAT BIG PILES OF ROCKS ALL OVER THE PLACE, WHICH TOOK ON THE REDDISH GLOW OF DAWN- SO BEAUTIFUL. AFTER LOOKING AT A FEW GUESTHOUSES I DECIDED ON ONE, DUMPED MY STUFF, AND WENT BACK OUT WITH JAY FOR SOME SUNRISE SIGHTSEEING. WE WENT TO A HIGH HILL WITH A KRISHNA TEMPLE ON TOP, HIKING UP PAST SCAVENGING MONKEYS AND THE BIGGEST WORMS I'VE EVER SEEN (SOME SORT OF MONSOON CREATURE THAT EVEN THINKING ABOUT GIVES ME THE HEEBIE JEEBIES), AND TOOK IN THE INCREDIBLE VIEW. JUST GORGEOUS, SPECTACULAR SIGHTS- ROCKS AND TEMPLES AS FAR AS THE EYE CAN SEE. CAME DOWN AND PASSED VARIOUS PARTS OF THE ROYAL CENTER RUINS WHICH THEN I EXPLORED MORE CLOSELY ON THE 2ND DAY, AND WENT TO SLEEP FOR 5 HOURS. WHEN I WOKE UP IT FELT LIKE A WHOLE OTHER DAY, WHICH WAS STRANGE- EXPLORED THE MAIN TEMPLE IN TOWN, THE BAZAAR, AND THE PATH ALONG THE RIVER, REPLETE WITH GHATS FOR LAUNDRY AND SWIMMING. THE HOLY CITY IS FULL OF COWS AND MONKS AND STILL A FAIR NUMBER OF TOURISTS. FRIDAY NIGHT I HAD DINNER WITH TWO DANISH GIRLS WHO JUST FINISHED A FEW MONTHS OF WORKING IN AN ORPHANAGE IN CHENNAI AS PART OF THEIR SOCIAL WORK STUDIES. JUST LIKE UDAIPUR, ALL THE GUEST HOUSES HAVE ROOFTOP RESTAURANTS WITH NEARLY IDENTICAL MENUS, ALTHOUGH LOTS OF ITEMS ARE "CLOSED."
SATURDAY JAY TOOK ME TO SEE THE REST OF THE ROYAL CENTER SITES- SOME IT RIVALS THE RUINS I SAW IN SRI LANKA- JUST MASSIVE EXCAVATIONS, WELL RESTORED, OF BATHS, COURTS, PRIVATE CHAMBERS, STAGES, AND AN EXTRAORDINARY NUMBER OF TEMPLES AND SHRINES, INCLUDING ONE WITH INDIA'S SECOND BIGGEST LINGAM. CRAZY TO THINK THAT MOST OF THIS STUFF ISN'T MORE THAN 600 YEARS OLD, BECAUSE IT ALL SEEMS SO ANCIENT. WE ALSO WALKED OUT FAR PAST THE RIVER PATH I TOOK THE DAY BEFORE, OUT THROUGH A JUNGLE INTO A MORE DESERT LIKE ROCKY AREA WITH AN UNDERGROUND WATERFALL. AMAZING, ABSOLUTELY AMAZING- ROCKS WITH CARVED HOLES LIKE THE GROTTOS IN ROSH HANIKRA IN NORTHERN ISRAEL, BUT DARK- AND THE WHOLE PLACE WAS JUST SO ROCKY AND SURREAL, LIKE I'D IMAGINE THE SURFACE OF THE MOON.
SATURDAY NIGHT I TOOK THE TRAIN FROM HOSPET TO BANGALORE, SHARING A BERTH WITH A BUNCH OF WOMEN AND ONE ADORABLE 5 YEAR OLD WHO HAD THE MOST EXPRESSIVE CHIP-MUNCHING FACES I'VE EVER SEEN. SO CUTE. I'M GETTING BETTER AT SLEEPING ON THE TRAINS, BUT GETTING MORE ANNOYED WITH WAKING UP SO DIRTY, JUST FROM ALL THE PASSING DUST AND POLLUTION. UPON ARRIVING IN BANGALORE, A BUSTLING TRAIN STATION RIGHT ACROSS FROM THE BUS DEPOT, I WAS DISAPPOINTED TO LEARN THAT THE TRULY DELUXE PRIVATE TOURIST BUSSES ONLY LEAVE AT NIGHT. I WAS NOT AT ALL INTERESTED IN SPENDING THE DAY IN BANGALORE, SO I SUCKED IT UP AND TOOK A GOVERNMENT BUS LEAVING AN HOUR LATER TO CALICUT, KERALA. THIS WAS THE NEXT STEP UP FROM THE SHIT SCHOOL BUS- INDIVIDUAL SEATS WITH MORE COMFORT, BUT STILL NOTHING FANCY. AGAIN I LUCKED OUT WITH MY OWN SINGLE SEAT, IN THE VERY FRONT. AND AGAIN, THE ONLY WHITEY, SO LOTS OF EYES- I'M GLAD I WAS SITTING IN FRONT SO I DIDN'T ACTUALLY SEE IT. WE DROVE THROUGH A WILDERNESS SANCTUARY ON THE BORDER BETWEEN KARNATAKA AND KERALA, AND UP AND AROUND MOUNTAINS WITH INCREDIBLE VIEWS OF LUSH GREENERY BENEATH. MONSOON RAINS CAME AND WENT, AND WE ALSO STOPPED FOR LUNCH ON BANANA LEAVES IN SOME STATE RUN PLACE IN THE MIDDLE OF A FIELD SEEMINGLY NOWHERE. WE ENDED UP GETTING IN TO CALICUT AROUND 4, INSTEAD OF 8, AS THEY HAD SAID, SO I DECIDED TO JUST KEEP GOING ON DOWN TO COCHIN, SO I HOPPED ON ANOTHER BUS OF THE SAME VARIETY, AND GOT HERE AROUND 11 LAST NIGHT. NOW I'M OFF TO MUNNAR, A HILL STATION WITH TEA PLANTATIONS HIGHER IN THE MOUNTAINS, AND I'VE GOT TO RUN TO CATCH THE BUS, SO MORE LATER. KERALA IS BEAUTIFUL AND LUSH WITH LOTS OF AMUSING SIGNS FOR THE COMMUNIST PARTY, AND A SURPRISING NUMBER OF ARAB/MUSLIM INSTITUTIONS, SYMBOLS, BILLBOARDS, ETC. MORE SOON!