Hospet / Hampi

Yesterday was a packing day, but we found some spare time to head out after lunch. We had planned to go to the movies, but when we arrived we found that they don’t really have many matinees. So instead we found a book store and ended up buying some books. It’s really nice to see Yasmin and Roya so excited about books.

There were also CDs and DVDs. This had a bigger draw than the books, particularly when we found some of the Harry Potter series. We ended up walking away with a few books and a couple of DVDs too.

The train left at 10:30 pm last night. We hired a coolie to help get us to the right spot. These guys work hard for their money. You give them a dollar or two and they put your suitcase on their head and weave you through the crowd to the right platform and to the area where you can board your train car. We only had one suitcase to carry, but I’ve seen some of these guys loaded down with a couple of suitcases on their heads and a duffle bag over each shoulder!

We arrived in Hospet just before 8:00 am. We hadn’t booked a hotel, so we went to a couple. The first one had dirty windows, the floor looked like it needed a mop, and they had old boxes and chairs in a corner. This was just the lobby. We took a look at the room and decided to try another place.

We settled on a nice hotel, but a small room. We paid a reasonable rate for an okay room, but we also have use of a pool!

After we got our school work in and had some lunch we went to the pool. Yasmin and Roya were in for four hours straight! Nadim and I were in and out a few times and enjoyed a shady, pool-side spot with our books. The only drawback was that there were a lot of locals there that were quite interested in my bikini. I covered up when I wasn’t actually in the water, but I felt a little self conscious at least until another western couple came to the pool.

CM