After a bone jangling 10 hour overnight bus ride, and after watching the sacred elephant being washed in the sacred river, i sat down for breakfast and saw, through sleep deprived eyes, 'mushroom tea' on the menu. "That's odd" i thought. This was no ordinary mushroom, but magic mushroom tea. Welcome to Hampi. I have found the hippie trail. So this is Hampi, land of sci-fi landscapes, dreadlocked stoners, rooftop cafes and whitewashed temples.
And it's funny, because just as i was thinking how nice it would be to meet a lone girl-traveller, i did, in the form of Kate, from Bristol. And all was sun and bliss and books until we chanced upon some mad-dog english men, who uttered those fateful, magic words
"fancy a glass of rum?"
And i thought "sod this abstinence lark - bottoms up, boys!" And it was downhill from there. But what a rollercoaster of wonder it was. If we weren't jumping off boulders at the lake, we were mooching around monkey temples, or watching the moon rise or the sun set or vice versa, or bombing about the countryside on mopeds and if we weren't there we would almost certainly be found in one of the many rooftop cafes, where i would indulge my sole vice, my drug of choice, dahl. Ooh, the dizzying highs, the sickening lows of a dahl addiction. So that was Hampi, where everything was very, very...shanti.
And today? today i have mostly been sitting on a beach in, well, Goa. Occasionally i will muster the energy to swim to a rock and back, before deciding that a second breakfast is what's really required...And it is good, very good. But whereas before i was so taken with the sheer lovliness of the place - the fairy lights twinkling in the palm trees, the long crescents of white sand, the delicious fuzzy warbles oozing out of the many bars and restaurants (it really is the perfect Platonic form of a tropical beach) it is growing slightly monotonous - the blue and the white and the green. It begs comparison with Whitesands bay, in west Wales, with its lonely beaches and angry skies - a landscape like a face. Ah well, it is the best place to escape the Real (i.e difficult)India, and to charge my batteries ready to head back to deepest darkest Tamil Nadu, back to my India family, complete with 97 childrenn, and Aunty Pushpa who will feed me until i can no longer move.
And it's funny, because just as i was thinking how nice it would be to meet a lone girl-traveller, i did, in the form of Kate, from Bristol. And all was sun and bliss and books until we chanced upon some mad-dog english men, who uttered those fateful, magic words
"fancy a glass of rum?"
And i thought "sod this abstinence lark - bottoms up, boys!" And it was downhill from there. But what a rollercoaster of wonder it was. If we weren't jumping off boulders at the lake, we were mooching around monkey temples, or watching the moon rise or the sun set or vice versa, or bombing about the countryside on mopeds and if we weren't there we would almost certainly be found in one of the many rooftop cafes, where i would indulge my sole vice, my drug of choice, dahl. Ooh, the dizzying highs, the sickening lows of a dahl addiction. So that was Hampi, where everything was very, very...shanti.
And today? today i have mostly been sitting on a beach in, well, Goa. Occasionally i will muster the energy to swim to a rock and back, before deciding that a second breakfast is what's really required...And it is good, very good. But whereas before i was so taken with the sheer lovliness of the place - the fairy lights twinkling in the palm trees, the long crescents of white sand, the delicious fuzzy warbles oozing out of the many bars and restaurants (it really is the perfect Platonic form of a tropical beach) it is growing slightly monotonous - the blue and the white and the green. It begs comparison with Whitesands bay, in west Wales, with its lonely beaches and angry skies - a landscape like a face. Ah well, it is the best place to escape the Real (i.e difficult)India, and to charge my batteries ready to head back to deepest darkest Tamil Nadu, back to my India family, complete with 97 childrenn, and Aunty Pushpa who will feed me until i can no longer move.
posted by effie at 9:57 PM
1 Comments:
Ah girl, some months have passed already, huh?! I can't quite believe it myself! I am in bed suffering with the exesses of drinking after work for the 7th night running, reading your blog and feeling worse! it is very cold and foggy at the moment which appears to be the only news story along with that of a serial killer in suffolk. the red top newspapers are loving it.
the shelter has aquired some christmas lights which would look more fitting in a shopping mall in the states instead of hanging on our prison style balconies. all we need is the elevator music for a real head fuck!
Elaine is so excited about christmas, but has taken up cross stitch bizarrely,so thats keping her a little quiet!! heather was due yesterday, but we hadn't heard anything. As soon as we know i'll let you!
Me and Si off to New York on the 28th. It will be F***ing cold, imagine that if you will! What a crazy contrast to you! Let us know what you're up to.
Lindsay
xxxxxxxxxx
Post a Comment
<< Home