Hampi
My first solo trip
Afternoons are the time when I’m with my thoughts. It was a similar afternoon after a long monotonous day. I completed a month in Bangalore which was supposed to be fun. I went to parks, I went to lakes, I went to malls, I went to museums, and even Koramangala but still a piece was missing (cliche but bear with me). I didn’t meet many new people. To be fair, I didn’t try to as well.
“But wasn’t it your plan Manomay?”
It was but I just didn’t know how to. I went on Reddit, browsed through threads, read what people are doing, and stumbled upon a trip curator called Plan The Unplanned. That was it, the decision was made and I was on my way to Hampi!
We boarded a bus at night, and I sat on a window seat but was alone as more people were yet to join. I was anxious. Really anxious. With no idea of how to start a conversation let alone hold one. The bus started to fill up and a tall guy sat beside me. My heart was racing. Should I start a conversation? Should I ask his name? I had no idea what to do. Turns out we were going to spend most of the bus rides on the trip beside each other. Conversations happened and that’s it, did I make my first friend on the trip? That was not at all stressful and now I was super pumped going forward. We then had a fun ice-breaking activity thanks to Hari and Shubham, the trek leads which made me even more comfortable with the group I am with. Everyone was soo cool and amazing!
I also realized I was probably the youngest one on the trip. I have never been in this situation before. We played a couple of rounds of Mafia - a new game that I learnt and were off to sleep. I woke up only when the bus reached our night stay.
Day 1 Begins
After a local breakfast, we were back on our bus and off to our first activity. Bouldering. I am the clumsiest a person can get on mountains. Super scared of tripping on every step which probably makes me trip even more. Evidently, bouldering was a challenge. The tight shoes made it even worse. After climbing the first rock, I think they were necessary. Our instructor - Jerry, gave some instructions and a few guys already started to climb. It looked tough. At least for me. I didn’t want to be the last person up so I quickly rubbed some chalk on my hands and was right below the rock. Two hands grabbed, one foot on the rock and I was climbing!
The first rock was pretty easy. The climbing was easy. Getting down has always been my fear. I am just too cautious. I’ll climb a staircase skipping a step but while getting down I won’t miss a step. Although I’ll jump from the third last one as what can get wrong from there? The next two rocks were quite difficult. Once I was up, staying up was difficult too. I didn’t think I had a fear of heights until I was up. I still don’t think I have. Maybe it was just Hampi. On the top, we clicked a lot of pictures. It was definitely one of my achievements which I’ll flaunt in random conversations.
The next stop was literally jumping off a cliff into the water. It was something to look forward to. I was confident all along. We went up the cliff, wore our safety jackets, and saw a few people jump off. It was chill. I decided to take a peep at how it looked below. Oh, God. Hampi really gave birth to my new fear of heights. That was so scary. I began doubting my decision. My confidence dropped faster than I was about to from that cliff.
Attempt 1 (jumped on my second one) -
I wasn’t ready but somehow I was the next person to jump. The path was clear. I took my first step towards the edge and everything went silent. I could just hear the water and my heart thumping quicker with every second. The breeze made it worse. I couldn’t go any further and backed off. How am I supposed to do this?
Attempt 2 -
This time I was ready. I volunteered to be the next person to jump. Maybe seeing everyone do it made me a bit comfortable. I took my first step towards the edge and everything went silent. I could just hear the water and my heart thumping quicker with every second. This time I didn’t stop. I kept running, I could feel the height and I took a leap. My eyes were open but I have no memory of what I saw. It took forever to touch the water but was also very instant. Weird if I think about it now. But it was over. The water was comforting me. The life jacket helped too. Spent the next 5 minutes floating on the water and patting myself on my back.
Would I do it again? Hell no!
After all this adventure, we finally headed toward a small hike which led to a beautiful spot to see the sunset. It was too calming. Afternoons are the time when I’m with my thoughts. This was probably the best spot to think. Everyone was quiet. Enjoying the scenery, with wind being the only hustler. Hampi looked very unique. On one side you could see these vast ruins with large rocks over a wide area. Pretty dull for me to be honest. But on the other side, you could also see lush green fields, small farms, trees, and herds of animals.
We ended the day with a bonfire. A bunch of us gathered around the fire, laid down on mats, and gazed at stars. I even caught a glimpse of a shooting star! This was a novel experience. There were probably more but I missed them. I really liked the vibe. We sang songs, the “millennial” songs, which I’m really not used to. I listen to them when alone but never as a group. I wish I was older haha.
Day 2
The second day was filled with conversations and a lot of sightseeing. The sightseeing was tiring but the conversations compensated for it. Knowing myself, I never thought I’d be saying the earlier line. It was really hot. Not the best day to roam in a city like Hampi. We first went to a place that has the chariot printed on a 50Rs note. Yep, that’s it. That was the highlight for me. We took a tour around the place with a guide too. It really explained the significance of Hampi in history as well as the small architectural marvels the place had. But it was hot and it was tiring.
Next, we again went to an attraction and the attraction was really just because of a hope to see an elephant. That was too funny when we realized how foolish we were. Never mind, we sat in front of the place where elephants were “supposed” to be and played a game that I sucked at. I did learn a few games on this trip which I have to play with my friends.
The elephant thirst was finally quenched in a temple that had a smart elephant. A rather sad one. He looked very old and tired. You are so huge man, just run away. Even a loud stomp can wet anyone’s pants, what is stopping you? He was made to receive money from tourists and bless them in return. I was too scared to do it. I’d probably wet my pants even before a stomp. The temple was beautiful though. It even started to drizzle which added to the experience. And there were a lot of monkeys. Like a lot of them! Hampi in general has a lot of monkeys. I have more pictures of monkeys than myself.
From the temple, we headed to watch the sunset from a different spot. I must say this was really one of the sunsets where I loved the company more than the sunsetting. We were at the edge of a cliff and definitely fear-bonded. A lot of laughs later, we were on the way back down. The way down was also too scary for me. I maybe slipped a few times and thought about my life choices.
The night of this day, I’ll not forget for a really long time. It started with celebrating *my first friend on the trip*’s birthday with a small cake-cutting ceremony on the roads of Hampi. We then went to have dinner sitting on the floor and even rolling on it laughing! That dinner was so amazing funny spectacular rofl lmao I don’t know what I’m still laughing while typing this out XD
After dinner started my journey of discovery. Discovery of divine powers. Only a few can experience it and I am lucky to be one. I learnt a magic trick. Or rather, I saw a bunch of smart people giving it all in cracking a trick performed by seasoned magicians who kept us guessing the whole trip. I will never forget the Eureka moment. I’ll never forget how these guys kept going and never gave up.
I’ll never forget this trip. My first solo adventure which was perfect thanks to all the amazing human beings I met. Isn’t it crazy that 20 odd strangers, on a random day, decided that they want to go to Hampi? I guess this is how serendipity works. Everything just fell into place. I’ll sign off by quoting one of the auto-rickshaws of Hampi which said -
“Why be sad when you can be Hampi?”
