India
Sānāpur

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    • Day 34

      Kochi —> Hampi

      February 8, 2020 in India ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

      We were up and out of our hotel room, despite not wanting to get out of the comfy bed, by 440 and arrived at the check-in desk at Kochi international airport just after 5. It was interesting being at the airport with the worry of Coronovirus pretty much global now. People were walking round with masks on and there was definitely a lot of measures being taken to ensure it didn’t spread. We checked into our flight and compared food prices in the airport. To both of our discomfort we ended up sharing a meal from KFC with additional loaded chicken fries, our first western food of the trip and of course it was our most expensive yet (still only like £3.50 total). We boarded our flight to Hubli, it was a propella plane and was probably the smallest plane I have ever been on! The flight took off into the smoggy air that hovered above Kochi and we could see the final stages of the sun rising over the horizon.

      I managed to get some sleep on the plane, my head swinging around in the aisle like a pendulum. After I woke up, we listened to some music and before we knew it the seatbelt lights come back on as we begun our descent into Hubli. It was such a short flight, but had cut out a lot of hassle with trains and buses, all for just £20 too. We got off the plane, walked towards the airport terminal - just a single building - and we were pleasantly surprised that the air was cool...a welcome change from the stifling air in Alleppey. Our bags were first off, so we grabbed them and headed out to grab a Tuktuk to Hubli train station with the intention of going to another town called Hospet where we could then get to Hampi. Unfortunately when we got there at 9am we discovered the only train that day to Hospet was at 13:30! As it was still early and cool enough, we walked to the bus staying a few kilometres away to see if a bus was a better option. We’d been warned about not taking this journey by bus as the road was shocking and it takes over 5 hours. We also found the bus was 120 rupees each compared to the train at 65. We thought we better get the train as it would save money and be pretty similar in time overall. On the way back we grabbed some street food which was amazing - a mix of rice and dhal and raita! This killed plenty of time, along with looking for an ATM (which we didn’t find) so the wait for the train was ok.

      We got our general class tickets and attempted to get on. As it was our first train experience we had no idea, but we got onto general class which was jam packed full of locals and went on the hunt for some seats. We eventually found some, and got sat down, but not even a minute later a man came back and started shouting at us that these were his seats (even though there are no reservations). We were so British about it all and just got up with only a small resistance. We then got on a different carriage which had loads of space, but was a sleeper so our tickets weren’t valid. Oh well, we’d risk it...we got sat down and could have a little relax. We were quickly joined by a bunch of Indian guys who took great interest in us asking loads of questions etc etc. It was basically a three hour train ride/ interview. One of the group was a bit odd and decided to FaceTime his friends and showing he was sat with two white guys clearly saying in Hindi that we were from London over and over again. Anyway, we made it nearly to Hospet when the ticket conductor came round and busted us for being in the wrong carriage - the fine was just the difference between the two tickets, but we just said we’d stand by the door and not pay the extra £0.80 each.

      We got off in Hospet and were met with a barrage of Tuktuk offers, at the same time a tiny woman in a face mask pounced on me demanding information, I asked what fit and she just repeated “INFORMATION!!” I told her I wasn’t giving out information without a reason and we started to haggle for a Tuktuk. She then started video recording us and was on the phone to someone. We assumed it was all to do with Coronavirus, but it was all a bit unofficial. We managed to get a Tuktuk for 175 rupees, down from an initial 1200 and went in search of an ATM. It was a nightmare, none were open or they didn’t have cash, and our Monzo cards didn’t work. I was trying all cards in one ATM and eventually managed to use my trusty NatWest card to get money...as Hampi didn’t have any ATMs it was panic stations for about half an hour. After a short drive we arrived in Hampi, a town famous for its vast expanses of boulder mountains and temples. We got dropped at the south side of the river and we’d heard about the ferry across - but this was not a ferry, it was a tiny rowing boat with a motor on the back and it wasn’t more than 30 meters across the river. To take this, a 40 rupee charge was in place, 20 for the person and 20 for the backpack. After a long day this felt like a bit of a kick in the teeth, but oh well. We got to the other side and actually had a free pickup from the hostel...happy to get our stuff of our backs, we immediately went to a sunset spot near the hostel and chilled for a bit before deciding where we’d go for dinner.
      We didn’t venture far, maybe 50 meters to Nayana hotel, A tiny kitchen shack, but it was well reviewed. We shared a veg thali, masala dosa and poori to try a few things. They were all amazing and we decided there and then that this family would feed us for the next three days as it was also very cheap!

      Exhausted, we chilled in the hostel and met a few cool people including Tobias, a German guy who had been travelling for the last two years. He had already been to Central America and some other places we were interested in, so we just chilled and picked his brains for a bit. Eventually it was time to head to bed as we were going to have a few long days ahead seeing Hampi and the surrounding areas.
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    • Day 308

      האמפטי דאמפטי

      December 14, 2022 in India ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

      יורד מהאוטובוס בעיניים מכווצות של אחרי לילה סליפר
      מגיע לבגאז' ורואה שהתיק שלי אחרון, כולם למעט אחת (מעופפת כמוני שכבר הספקתי להכיר בפאלולים) כבר עזבו.
      האמפי מחולקת לשני צדדים כשבאמצע נהר. הצד הדתי של המוניומנטים והצד 'ההיפי' עם ההוסטלים והשאנטי.
      הצטוותנו לחלוק את הטוקטוק של ה1000 רופי כל הדרך (40 דק) לצד ההיפי.
      ככל שהדרך נמשכת אני קולט שאנחנו נמצאים בשטח עצום מפוצץ באבנים כאילו ענק (הסוד יתגלה בהמשך) סידר רוג'ומים כמה שנים מהחיים שלו, טבע ירוק ומקורות מים. מלך האריות משהו.
      נוחת בהוסטל שסגרתי, בונגלו פרטי לפינוק של סוף, העובדים בדיוק מתעוררים ואני כבר מסדר לעצמי אופנוע לימים הקרובים.

      הימים גשומים ובאווירת אינדיאנה ג'ונס אני יוצא עם האופנוע לחקור את הדרכים הצדדיות, לטייל בטבע ולמצוא מלא מוניומנטים עתיקים פשוט זרוקים בצד הדרך.

      יחד עם ההודים והתיירת היחידה הופק ערב סרטים אמוציונליים בזולה שהיא חדר האוכל. סארו הדרך הביתה והנס בתא מספר 7. לא נשברתי.

      פסקת סיפור אחת על, מיקו, ההודי שעובד בהוסטל. הייתה לו חברה תשע שנים, וביום בהיר אחד סבתא שלה חיתנה אותה לבחור בנישואים מאורגנים. שנתיים אחרי, היא כבר עם ילד ממנו, אבל מיקי שולף לי מהר את התמונות שלה ומספר שעד היום היא מתקשרת אליו. מבקשת ממנו שיברח איתה. למרות שהיא היחידה בלבו ולא הייתה לו אחרת, מיקו מסרב.

      יום סיור מקדשים עם מיה (ישראלית שהצטרפתי אליה) ועם האנומן (על שם אל הקופים שנולד פה בהאמפי) אחד המדריכים המדהימים באנרגיות הטובות שלו בכנות ובאווירה.

      דבר ראשון, מאכילים קופים פרל ג'י (עוגיות הודיות). לא זכור לי מתי נתתי ליד קטנה של קוף לגעת בי ככה. חיות עם כפות ידיים זה משגע.
      נכנסים למקדש לראמה, שם שרים ampm, 24/7 נונסטופ תפילות. הצטרפנו עם מצילתיים קטנים לחזק בקצב.
      האנומן (המדריך) מראה לנו תחריטים של ערבים שסחרו בממלכה העשירה שהייתה פעם האמפי, של הודים עושים אקרויוגה ושל האנומן (האל) מחזיק אבנים. בעצם האמת על כל האבנים והרוג'ומים הענקיים פה באיזור היא שאל הקופים היה משועמם לכן הוא זרק ושיחק עם האבנים.

      לצהריים אכלנו טאלי ענק ואחרי עוד כמה מוניומנטים ישבנו לראות שקיעה יפיפיה.
      מודה שאחרי אנקור וואט קצת היה לי קשה להתלהב ברוב המקומות אבל לראות פילה כלואה בתוך מקדש כשמלא הודים סוגדים לה היה חידוש גם בשבילי.

      ספינג' לרגל הפתיחה אצל דודו פלאפל ואני חוזר להוסטל להמשיך לראות את הטרמינייטור 1 ולישון.

      שיהיה לכולם לילה טוב וחלומות על קופים שמתחנים בשידוך ועל הסדרת דרמה בנטפליקס שתצא על זה
      פיס
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    • Day 312

      דונט וורי בי האמפי

      December 18, 2022 in India ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

      מזג אוויר מדהים, קופץ לטבילה באגם של סנאפור.

      פוגש אוסטרלי שאחרי שיחה קצרה כבר הזמין אותי אליו לסידני
      הודי אחד שעובד באיי טי ומטייל, ביקש ממני להיכנס איתו למים כדי שהוא ירגיש בטוח לשחות
      הודי שני כבר בפנסיה 20 שנה ומטייל לבד, אנגלית פרפקט ורגליים עדינות של בנקאי.
      ראיתי לוטרות שוחות וזה שווה.

      שקיעה, מטפס את הדרך לפיסגה, הבחור ההודי שלבוש בכתום ומתפעל את המקדש פה מגיע ואומר לי שאני צריך לשים תרומה בקופה. אני לא יכול פשוט לשבת פה בלי לתרום. הוא עיצבן אותי אז ירדתי קצת למטה.
      הודי אחר שבא לראות שקיעה מסמן לי ושואל אם אוכל ללוות אותו כשנרד כי לא בא לו לבד.
      מרגיש כמו בייביסיטר להודים היום. בקטע טוב. חמוד שאין בהם מבוכה לבקש כדי להרגיש בנוח.

      היום בבוקר אחרי היוגה יעל הגיעה, ישבנו לבוקר ובזולה ישב האסקי גזעי. עכשיו אני באמת לא מתקרב לכלבים בטיול, מי צריך את זה? אבל האסקי סיבירי בהודו, ואפילו שאלתי את הבעלים אם זה סבבה ללטף. "כן הוא חברותי בטח..."
      דפק לי ביס בתוך היד.
      אי אפשר לסיים עשרה חודשים במזרח בלי ביס מכלב אה? הבעלים הסיע אותי לבית מרקחת על הכביש, הבחור פותח את המקרר ונותן לי חיסון בכתף.

      עכשיו אפשר לרכב לאגם, פוגשים את גל ואיילת בחורות מקסימות ואנחנו אוזרים אומץ לקפוץ מהבולדר למים
      נפתח הרעב ואנחנו לדודו פלאפל, לאפה מיקס סביח עם בקבוק טחינה קרוב קרוב.
      לוקח את יעל לצוק לראות עוד שקיעה מדהימה ואחרונה לטיול, פאקינג שיט, שומעים פורטיס ומדברים על החיים.

      ערב יושבים אצל איילת וגל בהוסטל, קצת רום קולה קצת דירבוקים על הדרבוקים ולישון

      בוקר מדיטציה שנכנסה לי לשגרה ובטן, ארוחת בוקר ושוב לדודו פלאפל
      הפעם איילת מעבירה לי שיעור ברישום וזה מדהים איך גם ביום האחרון האחרון הטיול מאפשר ללמוד ולהעמיק בדברים

      נפרד מכולם ונוסע לסליפר
      ו.... השם שלי לא מופיע ברשימה
      ו.... הסליפר כבר פה
      "אין לך מקום, ביטלו לך את האוטובוס, "
      - "לא קיבלתי הודעה לא כלום! יש לי טיסה אני חייב לעלות!"
      "אתה יכול לעלות לשבת בקבינה ליד הנהגים"
      "אין לי כסף! אני אתקשר לסוכן שסגרתי איתו שיעביר לכם בגוגל פיי רק תן לי לעלותתתת"

      בקיצור רגעי חרדה, אין סיכוי שהודו תתן לי ללכת בקלות. אני עולה לקבינה ומתחיל להבין מה ייפול עליי, 16 וחצי שעות נסיעה, בלי כיסא או משענת, רק משטח ממוזרן שאפשר להתכווץ אליו, יחד עם שלושה נהגים הודים. ברקס פתאומי אחד ואני מתגלגל על הכביש דרך השמשה הקדמית. ומה הקשר עכשיו? שילמתי הרבה כסף על מיטה והכל
      פלטתי קללה וטאריק הנהג שלידי, אומר לי "היי, נו בד וורדס היר, ווי האב אה האפי ג'רני"
      טאריק עזר לי לחזור לעצמי, בדוק שיהיה לנו הפי ג'רני, ממתי אני לוקח דברים כאלה קשה? במיוחד אחרי טיול כזה ארוך. תודה טאריק ולהודו על עוד שיעור ותזכורות לעצמי רגע לפני החזרה הביתה.

      הנהגים מראים לי את המשפחות שלהם, הילדים, שואלים על הטיול והאווירה מקדימה משפחתית, שלושה אבות.
      הם דואגים לי ואני מצליח להירדם לא רע בכלל כשחמישה סנטימטרים מול הפנים שלי יש מרפק שמזיז הילוכים

      כשמתפנה מיטה הם שולחים אותי אליה ואני נרדם שוב עד לסוף ההאפי ג'רני
      עכשיו אני פה בסטאר באקס, מנסה איכשהו לסדר את זה שהכנסתי את השם משפחה שלי לא נכון בכרטיס טיסה לארץ (כמובן) ומקווה לטוב.

      אז שיהיה לכולם לילה טוב וחלומות על טיסה קלה ונעימה בדרך חזרה הביתה
      פיס
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    • Day 37

      Hampi Chill Day

      February 11, 2020 in India ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

      Again, Tom slept very well last night but I did not, I’d woken up feeling terrible, so we agreed to just take it easy today. We packed up our things as we were checking out and heading to Gokarna this evening on a night bus, and then made our way to our favourite local place for a Masala Dosa breakfast. Went back to the hostel and chilled out on the day beds enjoying the view of the rice paddies directly in front of our hostel. Just after midday we decided to check out the swimming spot near to our hostel, not having particularly high expectations for it I was really blown away with how beautiful it was when we got there. We enjoyed the warm sunshine and before no time went into the water. Not a crocodile in sight and it was so refreshing! After a little while after chilling out on the rocks and soaking up the sunshine was made our way back to the hostel to chill out for a little while as I still wasn’t feeling 100% and I’d need as much rest as possible as I doubted I’d get any sleep on this night bus.

      We decided that we’d pay up as we didn’t want to get held up when it game to leaving. Finally the hostel owner turned up. It was 2295 rupees to pay between us and we tried to pay separately, but as usual, change was an issue. So I paid him first and got change, but then figured that if I just paid for Tom too, we’d get more change as they always round things down here. I asked him to give me another lot of change so me and Tom would figure it out between us. The hostel guy took us both by surprise with what he did next...he said to Tom “hey, give me your money”. He wasn’t prepared to give us the full change without having everything first. He was so aggressive and I asked him if he thought we were going to run away. They guy said no, so I said for him to calm down and not be so rude. Both of us were left shocked by the whole experience and we would certainly be writing a savage review as the hostel made us both ill and it was dirty. This could usually be overlooked if the staff are good, but all of them were money grabbers.

      An hour or two had passed and we decided to walk to the shops to get some snacks for our night bus tonight. We got a bag full of snacks and it only cost us £1, total! On our way back we stopped off at our favourite place again for Veggie Thali and it was not a disappointment, it was delicious - we sure were going to miss this place!

      We went back to the hostel got our bags said our goodbyes to people (despite most of them heading to Gokarna in the coming days) and we left the hostel and walked the 2.5km back to Hippie island and the exact spot we would be getting the TukTuk to the bus station. The TukTuk obviously didn’t leave at 18:30 like it said it would, but eventually the driver crammed 7 of us into a TukTuk and began to drive into the middle of nowhere. After a bumpy journey through various little towns and driving on the wrong side the of the road we stopped in the central reservation of a motorway, apparently this was the bus station. As he dropped us off the TukTuk driver, who crammed us all into 1 TukTuk instead of two and drove like a psychopath asked us all for tips...the Polish woman in the TukTuk refused saying that we had already paid for the TukTuk, he then turned to George and I who backed her up by saying we would definitely not be tipping, especially as he was quite rude! We waited here for an hour until finally the bus arrived. We threw our bags in the luggage hold and got onboard to find our 2 seats that we booked. However, there were only beds on the bus, so we ended up having to share a single bed...
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    • Day 36–38

      Sanapur Tag 2

      December 19, 2023 in India ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C

      Vormittags mit ausfüllen meiner Reiseroute für das Iran Visum zugebracht. Anschließend eine kleine Runde mit dem Motorrad gemacht. Zum Sonnenuntergang mit meinen Nachbarn auf einen Berg mit heiligen Mann gestiegen. Die Nachbarn ein Belgisch japanisches Pärchen sind voll auf der spirituellen Welle und haben dann mit dem Baba am Gipfel getrommelt. Leider wars wieder so dunstig das der Sonnenuntergang gar nicht fotogen warRead more

    • Day 13

      Everyone is staring at us 🫠

      February 22 in India ⋅ ⛅ 35 °C

      Today we went to Sanapur lake close to Hampi that we really wanted to see. On the way there we passed some wonderful landscapes with coconut and banama palms, sugarcane and rice plantations with the boulderstones in the background. Very beautiful and authentic for Hampi. And yes, rice needs A TON of water. It basically grows in a pond…

      When we reached the lake we realized it’s nothing special, it was very bare, hot and creepily empty. We took a few pics and then turned around and sat at the first best cafe for some coffee. Turned out super cozy and we met another guy from the train there. He is Slovakian and traveling the world quite literally. He’s been out for 6 months now and plans to stay for a few more months. He travelled to more than 80 different countries so far and told us all different stories. He visited Jemen before heading to Sri Lanka and now India. He even happened to be in Armenia when the Nagorno-Karabkh conflict was at its worst. He said people were crying on the streets in Armenia and there was no music in the bars. Then he went to Azerbaijan where the vibe was the complete opposite…

      The day continued in the village of Sanapur which seems to be a quite rural but a bit hippie area. People were doing their laundry at the river or in buckets in from of their improvised housing. We had lunch at a cozy restaurant called Island Vibes and our American friend from yesterday joined us. Soon after that we parted ways as we had to head to Hubballi to take the train from there back to Goa. Hubballi is the head quarters of Karnataka region and is a very busy city from what we could see in the 5 minutes we spent on the streets.

      What really stuck out today were all the stares we received. It is interesting and we find it funny and cute mostly, we say hi or wave to people when we see that they look at us. Getting those stares while driving in tuk tuk felt like being on a catwalk. People would also try to slow down and drive just next to us to be able to observe us more carefully. 😅

      But it escalated a lot at the train station in Hubballi where we waited for our train for 2 hours to later learn that it was delayed and they were not announcing by platform until the last minute. We were tired, hungry and stressed. Some beggers approached us and just stood next to us even thoughwe told them to move away. So we kept moving across the station with all the luggage trying to escape that. A lot of young guys also approached and wondered where we’re from and why we’re here. They said they never see tourist in Hubballi. Also no one knows where our counties are so we have started saying that we are from Yugoslavia which helps a bit). At some point there were 10 guys around us just observing us and asking questions. In the end I had to tell them to back off because it was getting claustrophobic.

      In the middle of this our stomachs started hurting… we must have eaten something funny. It is not that bad but feels likens defeat that we could go for almost 2 weeks with no symptoms and then the last days it hit us… hope it gets better already tomorrow.

      Our train finally came and we fell asleep on our way back to Goa. ❤️
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    • Day 15

      Abandoned market

      November 15, 2022 in India ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

      Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, owing to the ancient temples, forts and other monuments here. Hampi was the capital of the Vijayanagar Empire around 1500 AD, and by some accounts, the second largest city in the world at that time.

      the Hampi Bazaar is spreads for more than one kilometer. The road passing through the market has series of old pavilions on both sides, some are dated to the 12th century .

      Before it was announced as UNESCO World Heritage Site the place used to be a thriving market.
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    • Day 15

      Sunset on the Hemakuta Hill

      November 15, 2022 in India ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

      TEMPLES ON THE HEMAKUTA HILL

      THE GRANITE SOPE OF THE SACRED HEMAKUTA HILL IS DOTTED WITH SHRINES. THE HILL IS ENCIRCLED ON ITS THREE SIDES BY MASSIVE FORTIFICATION. TO THE NORTH IS THE ENCLOSURE WALL OF VIRUPAKSHA TEMPLE. THE COMPLEX HAS THREE GATEWAYS. MORE THAN THIRTY SHRINES STAND ON THIS HILL. THESE VARY FROM ELABORATE STRUCTURES WITH MULTIPLE SANCTUMS TO RUDIMENTRIES, SINGLE CELLED CONSTRUCTION. MOST OF THESE TEMPLES HAVE STEPPED PYRAMIDAL TYPE OF SUPERSTRUCTURE.

      TWO OF THE TEMPLES HAVE INSCRIPTIONS. THE TRIPLE SHIVA TEMPLE ON THE EAST HAS AN INSCRIPTION RECORDING THAT VIRA KAMPILADEVA, SON OF MUMMADI SINGEYA NAYAKA, BUILT THE SIVALAYA AND INSTALLED IN IT THREE LINGAS. TWO INSCRIPTIONS ON THE ROCK NEAR PRASANNA ANJANEYA TEMPLE DATED 1938 AD. MENTION THAT VIRUPAKSHA PANDITA AND HIS BROTHER CONSTRUCTED A TEMPLE OF VIRUPAKSHA AND DUG A TANK. ANOTHER INSCRIPTION ON A ROCK BASE RECORDS THE SETTING OF A LAMP PILLAR IN THE TEMPLE OF JADEYA SANKARADEVA BY BUKKAYAVE, THE QUEEN OF HARIHARA II IN THE YEAR 1397 AD. THE GROUP OF TEMPLES ON THE HEMAKUTA HILLS FORM ONE OF THE EARLIEST GROUP OF STRUCTURES AT HAMPI AND APPEAR TO DATE FROM ABOUT 9TH TO EARLY 14TH CENTURY AD. AND ALL OF THEM ARE CLEARLY OF SAIVA ORIGIN.
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    • Day 35

      Sanapur

      December 18, 2023 in India ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C

      Zuerst nach Hampi gefahren und wieder einen UNESCO Tempel angesehen, der wird noch immer für religiöse Zeremonien verwendet dann auf dem Weg zu meiner Unterkunft noch den Hanumanahalli Tempel besucht dieser befindet sich auf einem Felsgipfel zu dem man über Stiegen aufsteigt. Es waren viele Schüler unterwegs die die Gottheit der der Tempel geweint ist den ganzen Anstieg rausgebrüllt haben.Read more

    You might also know this place by the following names:

    Sānāpur, Sanapur

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