[animeshc]

One long weekend, two Skodas and Hampi!

As the world seemed to be going back to normal and Covid started to appear like a distant nightmare, the temptation of a road trip on the long weekend of Holi was too hard to resist. The choices for weekend getaways from Hyderabad are as diverse as India’s fast bowling options in the 90s and Hampi is probably the undisputed Jawagal Srinath amongst that list.

Even though the weather was going to be far from ideal for Hampi, the idea of spending the long weekend at home appeared sinful. It took some convincing (and a few road trip videos on youtube) to get another friend and fellow Bhpian rodmart@ on-board for the plan.

Now a quick word about Rod. If I had to pick a friend who reminds me of Hrithik’s character from ZNMD, it has to be Rod. Not because you would find him flaunting abs or going deep sea diving with Katrina, but because you could easily find him doing a client call in the middle of a road or choosing an SUV over a convertible for practicality reasons. In short, he is very methodical and likes to plan things multiple months in advance. Any plans with him is essentially a banter b/w the Hrithik in him and the Farhan in me (yes, I will take the liberty to compare my relatively impromptu nature with Farhan from Znmd). Less than a month’s notice to plan for Hampi was really stretching our luck but we somehow managed (Farhan-1, Hrithik-0).

One thing Covid has constantly taught us is the unpredictability of life and who knows whether this trip could be the last one for the year. This was not just my philosophy but also the pitch I used to convince everyone to splurge a bit and book ourselves the fancy ‘Evolve back Hampi’.

The other million dollar question was to decide the route to Hampi. This question has almost become as important to Hampi travelers from Hyderabad as is ‘kitna deti hai’ to people buying a car! After going through multiple team-bhp suggestions, we finalized we would take the Hyd-Kurnool-Bellary-Hampi route.

Day 1

26th March, at sharp 5:45 am, we (me along with my wife P whom I have introduced in this previous blog (Let there be lights! Aurora hunting in Finland)) met at the rendezvous point with Rod and his family (his wife ‘S’ who is multiple times more adventurous than Rod and rides a bike to office everyday! and their kid ‘K’). Last time we had traveled together, hard copies of maps were handed out by Rod, two each for every car lest one is damaged or lost (from a closed car!). This time it was replaced by stern instructions to download offline maps of the area. We were in our Skoda Rapid and Rod in his Octavia.

As you can probably imagine by now, the breakfast joint in Kurnool was already decided by Rod, days in advance and even though we saw a number of other interesting options on the way, they were given as much attention as is paid to the lane markings on Indian roads. The drive till Kurnool was breezy, the only disappointment being the recent addition of numerous rumblers along the way.

To our dismay (and immense sadistic pleasure for me), that restaurant was closed. Farhan-2, Hrithik-0! Thankfully, we had got some backup snacks which saved the day.

We moved away from the magnificent National Highway to the state highway after Kurnool and were crunching miles at a quick pace and it felt like we would reach Hampi in a record time. But a small twist awaited us.






Now Rod was skeptical about traveling on 26th as it was Bharat Bandh on account of farmer’s protest but we didn’t pay much heed to it. As fate would have it, the villagers had blocked the road on account of the protest. Thankfully it was a peaceful one where the main agenda seemed like getting pictures clicked with a long queue of blocked vehicles. We were stuck for more than an hour and if not for the breakfast mess up earlier (and slightly more muscles on my biceps), the repercussions from Rod could have been a lot more severe for not listening to his suggestion earlier. F-2, H-1.

Once we got out, the open stretch of roads awaited us and we thought that the jam was an aberration. But as mentioned aptly by Bane in the Dark Knight, “There’s no true despair without hope”. Soon another protest blocked our way, and then another and another! After multiple stoppages and detours and more than 2 hours behind schedule, we reached Bellary around 1:30 and stopped for lunch.
Thankfully, the journey after that was smooth as all the protesters had probably gone for their afternoon siesta. The last hour before Hampi, as we drove through the Rajaji Bear Sanctuary, was immensely rejuvenating and any signs of tiredness was lost on those twisties amongst the palm trees.

We reached the hotel around 4 and the grandeur of it instantly put a smile on our faces. A showered petal entry, insanely huge rooms which felt more like an apartment, tastefully done interiors, a pleasing view and a free mini bar with cold drinks and sweets which were to be replenished daily! After a year away from office, free stuff felt like such a privilege and I was quite certain to put on a couple of kilos before leaving the place.






We spent the evening on the balcony, enjoying the famous Hampi sunset.



Day 2

A life philosophy of “I could be a morning person if morning started at noon” and the afternoon heat of Hampi meant that our plan was to laze around in the day and step out during the evenings.

A lavish breakfast followed by an hour in the Jacuzzi was the perfect vacation morning we could hope for.



Hampi offers a unique combination of nature, mythology and history. While you can enjoy the history of the Vijayanagar Empire on one hand, you also find a lot of references to mythology, especially Ramayana (where it is referred to as Kishkinda).
In the evening, we drove to the famous Anjaneya Hill which is one of the four claimed birthplaces of Lord Hanuman (yes, as ironic as it may sound, Lord Ram wasn’t the only one with a disputed birth place!). It has about 600 stairs and climbing those with a mask on gave us an intense HIIT workout. The view from the top is quite mesmerizing and one could witness a magnificent sunset from the boulders there.







Though one needs to jump over a few gorges to get the right spot and with an energetic kid with us, we didn’t want to take up that adventure and instead decided to head back and I am glad we did.
Driving through the twisties with palm trees and boulders on one side, with the sun setting in the backdrop and its golden reflection on the Tungabhadra river, it was therapeutic!
We finally found a perfect spot on the road side and enjoyed our very own private Sunset.






Back at the hotel, a pool side gala dinner awaited us with live musical performances, before we chatted ourselves into the night. Sharing a few night views of the hotel below.








Contd...

[animeshc]

Day 3

The morning saw us spending time near the pool and getting a few massages, the ‘Art of doing nothing’ is a good one to acquire .

For the evening, we had opted for a guided tour which included a coracle ride followed by a trek through the famous ruins of Hampi.Thankfully ours was a decent one too.After the coracle ride, we trekked to the Vittala temple and even though this was my third visit to the temple, a lot of interesting facts like the musical pillars were unravelled to me for the first time. At that moment, I realized the value of having a good guide. It is like having Harsha Bhogle in the commentary box while watching a cricket match.








The cliched saying of taking the road less traveled seemed quite apt, as we walked in silence, through the ruins which at one point were the main Bazaar of the Vijaynagar Empire, soaking in the evening breeze and listening to the sound of the river crashing onto the Boulders. As we witnessed another magnificent sunset in the backdrop of the famous Virupaksha temple, we realized how a walk, if done right, could be more relaxing than a full night’s sleep!







Day 4

It was the day of the return and a symbolic Holi celebration preceded our journey. Just as we were about to leave, another traveler, noticing the TS number plate asked ‘what’s the best route to Hyd’ . The return journey was quite uneventful as we returned with the gratification of finding the right template for a perfect lazy weekend. And yes, the final scoreline read 2-1 in favor of Farhan!

Now, a quick summary for all the practical Hrithiks out there who scrolled through the pics just to look for the informational bits:

• The route we took to Hampi was Hyd-Kurnool-Bellary-Hampi and if not for any unexpected events, should take about 7-8 hours for the drive.
• There are good food options around Kurnool and Bellary.
• Evolve Back Hampi, though expensive, is a good option if you want a leisurely trip and indulge in a bit of luxury. It doesn’t have the same finesse as a Taj or an Oberoi which is a function of the design/architecture being inspired by the Vijayanagara Era. The views are also not as mesmerizing as say a Lake Palace (which is almost similarly priced), but it compensates for that with the enormous rooms. Having a Jacuzzi in the room is definitely something you don’t easily find.
• The free mini bar with daily replenishments of cold drinks and fresh sweets was a nice touch. I did manage to put on a kg .
• The food was good, there were a couple of restaurants offering different cuisine options. We had opted for a Breakfast + dinner inclusive package which turned out to be more economical than if we had paid for the actuals.
• If the weather had been better, we could have better utilized the open areas and the library. Maybe, a trip around Dec-Jan would be perfect.
• And a final take away being that if you get a chance to head out on the road, go for it because you never know when Covid returns!

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[androdev]

Nice trip report with some lovely photos. Hampi, like Goa, never disappoints I guess :-)

Originally Posted by animeshc

Day 3
The route we took to Hampi was Hyd-Kurnool-Bellary-Hampi and if not for any unexpected events, should take about 7-8 hours for the drive.

Did you consider Raichur route? Have they finished the road widening of Raichur route?

[animeshc]

Originally Posted by androdev

Nice trip report with some lovely photos. Hampi, like Goa, never disappoints I guess :-)

Did you consider Raichur route? Have they finished the road widening of Raichur route?

Thanks, yes it in-fact keeps getting better with each trip!

Yes, the Rachiur route was the other option. Since we saw mixed reviews for both the routes, we just picked the Kurnool one as it provided a longer run on the Hyd-Blr highway and once it turned out to be okay, we then didn't risk the Raichur route for the return journey.

[NitSat]

Wonderful little travelogue, great pictures. All these beautiful travelogues are literally pushing me to take a road trip sooner than later.

Mighty impressed by the room pictures. They look Royal indeed.

Wish that Farhan Hritik banter continues with future episodes.

[kiran_aithal]

Nice travelogue, good pics..... Hampi and surrounding areas have so much to offer....
And Orange County (or Evolve back - as it is called now) is at such a wonderful place and setting, you wouldn't want the royal treatment to end....

Originally Posted by animeshc

The last hour before Hampi, as we drove through the Rajaji Bear Sanctuary , was immensely rejuvenating and any signs of tiredness was lost on those twisties amongst the palm trees.
Contd...

BTW, guess you wanted to mention 'Daroji' Bear Sanctuary and not 'Rajaji' .. did u get to see any bears?

[KANNURAN]

Nice Pics. Nice Travelogue.

Just one polite suggestion: Being an automotive forum, the CAR is the STAR. Regardless of the setting and the context, the viewers yearn to see and read about the CAR more than anything else.
A few car images interspersed in the beautiful images would have made it SONE pey SUHAGA

[animeshc]

Originally Posted by kiran_aithal

And Orange County (or Evolve back - as it is called now) is at such a wonderful place and setting, you wouldn't want the royal treatment to end....

BTW, guess you wanted to mention 'Daroji' Bear Sanctuary and not 'Rajaji' .. did u get to see any bears?

Yes, I am now considering their properties at Kabini and Coorg for the next trip.

Oops, thanks for pointing out. Its Daroji, nope we didn't spot any.

Originally Posted by KANNURAN

Nice Pics. Nice Travelogue.

Just one polite suggestion: Being an automotive forum, the CAR is the STAR. Regardless of the setting and the context, the viewers yearn to see and read about the CAR more than anything else.
A few car images interspersed in the beautiful images would have made it SONE pey SUHAGA

Fair point, I also realized the same after coming back that we didn't have any good pictures of the cars.

[SinghShu]

Splendid writeup with the exotic Hampi pictures adding to the beauty.

I remember travelling to Hampi a couple of years back and while we reached there by Train, I rented a car (my first time ever renting a car) and explored the place. Happy memories came back reading your travelogue!

[SouravS]

Nice travelogue, and the pics were also very good.
Your travelogue is well in time too for me - planning a trip to Hampi soon (plan has been in the works for a while now) - your travelogue will help planning it. Looking forward to Hampi now...

[Dr.AD]

Originally Posted by animeshc

One long weekend, two Skodas and Hampi!

Very well written travelogue, with some lovely pictures. Thanks for sharing this. Quite entertaining writing style and narration too. Look forward to reading more travelogues from you.

Coincidentally, we drove to Hampi just this past weekend, and your travelogue which I saw almost immediately after coming back from our own Hampi drive made me relive the trip. We also had the same theme - a long weekend, and two cars! Funny coincidence :-)

[salicylates]

What is the name of the hotel you stayed near HAMPI

THANKS

SAMIR

[sriharsha_m87]

Originally Posted by salicylates

What is the name of the hotel you stayed near HAMPI

THANKS

SAMIR

It think it's Evolve Back Kamalapura Palace.