An Adventure is Never Far Away

Hampi is a desert oasis. Strewn with ruins and temples, the tiny town is a major tourist center. Tourists flock here from the over-run beaches of Goa to relax by the river and bask under the stars. Shops line the main street in town with colorful clothing, jewlery, and plenty of roof top restaurants offering all of the western favorites like pasta, pizza, and falafels. I just had a fantastic lunch at a more local spot while enduring the smiles and comments of other customers. They must not get too much business from tourists. I need some new pants, so after this cup of chai I'm going to go see what kind of deal I can bargain on some clothes that I would never dare to wear at home!

A few hours later...
This afternoon I set off to explore the town and surroundings of Hampi. I followed the shops and guest houses down to the river where local kids splashed in the water and the more daring of the bunch jumped from boulders into the cool, refreshing water below. A steady flow of tourists were boarding boats to take, I'm assuming, a tour of the river and a nearby "traditional" village. I continued down the path along the river. After a few hundred meters the path turned uphill, lined on either side by dense banana tree plantations. After passing through a small parched village, trucks loaded with their banana harvest, and a small restaurant, I saw a small, unassuming sign tacked to a palm tree, Waterfall, it announced pointing down a well troddened foot path. The dirt trail led me back down towards to river and eventually gave way to a mountain of boulders. I scurried up the boulders eager for the view on the other side. A lush green valley lay before me. Massive boulders piled on top of each other to create hundreds of mountains, a majestic river lined by coconut palms and banana trees lazily meandered through fields of rice paddies and sugar cane. It's what I imagine the wandering camel caravans would hope to happen upon during their long journeys through the deserts just north of here. A hidden desert oasis. In my awe, I lost the path I'd been following and instead of finding it again, I opted to hop along boulders, zig zagging my way down river, relishing the silence and beauty of my surroundings.

The sun was hot, pounding down on my head and bare shoulders. The feeling of sand started filling my mouth and throat. My lips became sticky with dried saliva. I really needed some water. The gentle flow of the river tumbling down rocks was a cruel and constant reminder of my thirst. Yet despite its enticing gurgling, I knew that drinking the river water would be something I would come to regret. I headed further down river spotting Hampi's massive temple not too far off. I precariously ambled my way through the rows of rice paddies and sugar cane fields, which eventually led me to the banana plantations. I started into the banana trees, but soon worried that the density of the trees would be disorienting and that I'd end up wandering aimlessly through the trees until nightfall. I turned around and made my way back down to the boulders and the river. Hopping along the boulders once again, town in sight, hardly able to swallow as the feeling of sand in my mouth intensified, I was sure I'd be back in town soon. But then I hit a dead end. It was swim across the river or turn back. I had my camera and passport with me, so swimming was never really an option. So I turned back to towards the banana plantation, and started into the trees. The road has got to be just ahead, I kept telling myself. And sure enough it was. After a long 10 minutes of trying desperately to walk through the mud and muck of the plantation in a relatively straight line, I found the road. Unsure how far I was from the village I originally passed through and remembering from my days as an organic farmer how wet the trunks of bananas trees are, I peeled off a good chunk of banana tree trunk and chewed on that until I reached the village. The moisture from the tree trunk helped to quench the sand from my mouth, and water from the village well had an almost spiritual quality. I've never been so thirsty.

Just before town, I stopped at The Mango Tree restaurant, a serene and blissful restaurant situated under an ancient mango tree overlooking the banks of the river. I sipped on fresh lemonade and laughed as I recalled my little adventure.