Monday, September 8, 2008

Day 2: Belgaum - Darwad - Hubli - Gadag - Hospet - Hampi

I was happy to get up and get out of Nipani. NH4, the Mumbai-Bangalore highway is a beauty. So beautiful on the Karnataka side with flowers lined up in the middle. Clean. Wide. No potholes. The drive was amazing. It's dotted with green villages. The oxygen does so much good. When you drive with your hands wrapped on the motorcycle handle, wind gushing on your face, looking at green, bright green all over, a gentle sun still slowing getting higher up in the sky and then you take a deep breath -- wow, it's so clean, so refreshing. Your chest fills up.

I stopped for breakfast at a shack at a village along the way. Enjoyed nice upma, idli and a great conversation with folks there. When they asked, I told them I was going to Bangalore and they were surprised...why would you want to drive? One boy, I get so bored driving 40km, how can you drive so long? The owner of that restaurant shack was a great cook. As I prepared to start the Bull, a local man stopped me and wanted to chat and take a look at my maps. I casually inquired how far Hampi was and he said something...I think 4-5 hours or so.

Somewhere around Darwad or on the way, I kept chewing on Hampi. I've always wanted to see it. The idea was seeded in Ladakh when I met a Brazilian guy who always earned enough to escape to India and would spend time in Ladakh and Hampi. I wanted to see it. So when the sign for Hospet showed up, I didn't think much, I quickly took a deviation like I did with Wai and went off to Hampi.

As is my habit, I forget something or the other (that morning I forgot my helmet in Nipani)...I forgot the camera's memory stick. I was looking for a reasonably sized town/ city to buy one. That city was Hubli.

I was impressed with Hubli. It was clean, people were nice. It had all the amenities of an old Pune or old Bangalore or Mangalore without the pollution or the traffic. I stopped at a Sony showroom and quite easily bought the memory stick. The kids in the shop were amused that I was headed to Hampi. They asked, "How do you manage for food?" "Fuel?" "What's the average?" "Where do you sleep?" :)

The road to Hampi is one of those smaller highways. A little boring drive I must say. A little dry too if I recall. Hospet to Hampi is horrible if you drive through the city. The most painful part of this region is the number of unpainted speedbreakers you come across...I seriously think I went over 75-80 speed breakers to get to Hampi. You can't even see them. Anyways I reached Hampi by 2PM. Sticky with sweat and a little tired. Hampi deserves another entry.

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