Wanderlustin’ in Hampi: unplanned and through the eyes of a bad camera!
“For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel’s sake. The great affair is to move; to feel the needs and hitches of our life more clearly; to come down off this feather-bed of civilization, and find the globe granite underfoot and strewn with cutting flints.”
- Robert Louise Stevenson in Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes
Wanderlust is the desire for wandering , for travel . The word comes from German, in which wandern means “to wander,” and Lust means “desire."
It can strike at any time. Be it early in the morning or late at night.
In this case it was the crack of midnight on a Friday.
Me: ‘Let’s go somewhere. I’m bored.’
Friend: ‘What’s close enough to drive to?’
Me: ‘Hampi?’
And so in the wee hours of the morning we were off.
Driving through the night, we reached Hampi at the same time as the morning sun. The roads leading up to Sri Virupaksha Temple are surrounded by the ruins of the ancient city of Vijayanagara.
We were tired and sleepy but the sight of the temple against the rising sun was better than any cup of coffee.
But we decided to pace ourselves and found a guest house in Hampi’s famous bazaar street to crash for a couple hours.
Rested and refreshed we were off once again.
We spent the first few hours in the temple itself admiring the skill and dedication that went into crafting something so timelessly beautiful.
After that we drove off to see the wilds. And we were not disappointed.
We found an intriguing rock formation and hiked our way up. The view was amazing from there. It made me regret not having a better camera.
As the sun went down, so did we. Didn’t want to risk getting stuck in the darkness.
Reaching back to the bazaar, we found a awesome place called the Funky Monkey to rest and refuel before returning to our guest house for the night.
Early next morning we were back on the road. We couldn’t really enjoy the drive to Hampi since it was the middle of the night, but this time we didn’t want the fun to stop.
It might’ve taken longer on the way back, but it was worth every second.
And as with all good things, this trip too came to an end.
But for one glorious day, we were wanderers.
For one glorious day we felt free and unchained.
So follow your wanderlust and go wherever it takes you — even if you can’t find the best camera. You’ll be glad you did.
