Hampi: Further Afield (aka photo dump)

The rest of our time in Hampi was spent wandering amongst the temples and ruins that are everywhere you look.

We enjoyed the Krishna temple, because the school groups hadn't made it that far yet.

Outside the major temples, are the bazaars, where you can just imagine the hustle and bustle of pilgrims and traders.  There are several bazaars in Hampi that sold everything from spices and jewels to silk and horses.

Also outside the temple complexes are the tanks, where pilgrims would wash before entering the temples.

This the the statue of Lakshmi Narasimha.  Narasimha is the lion-headed incarnation of Lord Vishnu, and apparently, his consort, Lakshmi used to sit on his knee.  Poor Lakshmi has long since disappeared, but Narasimha still ogles where she used to sit.  Our kids began to understand the many incarnations of Vishnu, when they put it in terms of Doctor Who.  We can't decide which Doctor this guy is.

Checking out the lion-headed god.

And here we have Hampi's largest Shiva Linga.  We have to photograph them for Uncle Ian.

The Lotus Mahal.

Parrot.

H. will climb anything we let him.  Luckily, in India, no one is around to stop you.

Monkeying around with Hanuman.

In front of the Elephant Stables.

Local board games.

Colors for the devotees.

Talarigattu Gate

Wedding photos.

The Vittala temple.

The famous Stone Chariot of Hampi.

 The musical pillars of the Vittala Temple.  Musicians used to tap these pillars with sandalwood mallets.  Each pillar created its own note, and royalty would dance to the music the temple provided.

Overall, Hampi was an extraordinary place.  Everywhere you turn there are temples and sculptures, in various states of ruin.  They are hiding in overgrown vegetation, clinging to rocky outcroppings, or peeking above the tops of banana tree groves.  As a weekend trip with kids, there was plenty to see, and the main sites were managable.  However, you can imagine renting a couple of bicycles and spending a week pedaling down unmarked paths and discovering treasures that have been untouched for centuries.  We hardly scratched the surface.