I usually take a break to relax from the daily monotonous routine and love to explore new places every year. After my winter vacation to Rajasthan trip in January 2020 I soon planned for a summer trip to Uttarakhand in February 2020 that was scheduled for April 2020. There was not much news heard about COVID 19 then and hence as usual everything was planned well in advance, flights booked, advance paid to the travel agent. While I was counting my days from March, there comes the news of a disaster called COVID and all my plans went for a toss and obviously it leaves the person in disappointment. Since then I was at home due to lock down, started working from home roaming inside the home. Too many homes isn’t it? Exactly this is so frustrating for a normal human being but could you imagine what the person goes through if he or she is a Hodophile ☹️ ☹️
Since February there was no travel until October 2020. However, due to certain relaxations in the lockdown regulations there was a hope to travel in October first week and as such 2nd Oct was a holiday, I thought of travelling to some or the other place as I was getting a long weekend. So, I starting surfing for few weekend gateways, found few places and decided to go to Gokarna but was a flop because of the transportation issue. Then planned and booked tickets for Mahabhaleshwar through a travel agent and that was also a mere flop show because of the Janata curfew implemented at few places just a day before my departure. All my hopes of travelling shattered but still I was not ok to accept the long weekend to be just at home. I was still looking out for options with a hope to something or the other and there I see an email from BCF group (Hyderabad Backpackers and City Freaks) stating join us this weekend trip to Hampi (2nd Oct – 4th Oct 2020). I was blushing while reading the email and though I was excited, I was not sure of the trip to be a confirmed trip from my past few days’ sad experience with my plans.
Hence, I quickly texted the concerned person (Bharath Madhava Reddy) to clarify if the trip gonna happen for sure. Fortunately, I received a very positive response stating “YES”. I was elated to hear that “YES” sound😊. I decided to go with BCF’s group along with my son. I made the payment and received the booking confirmation and I was all set to go. Though I was happy to go, I was not 100% happy as I was going with a complete set of unknown group. This was something weird for my family and friends and I was told all possible things to take a step back from going. At once, even I thought of cancelling it as it is for the first time as I was about to travel with strangers and was unsure of people. But still I made up my mind and thought let’s go and experience this trip with strangers.
I packed my bag and was waiting to board the bus at Lakdikapool along with the even organizer Bharath and my first experience only was not good since the bus got delayed by an hour. But then Bharath was with me only I was feeling better as we starting the conversation and knowing a bit of each other. We boarded the bus at 11 PM on 2nd Oct
Day 1:
We reached Hampi at 6:10 on the next day i.e 3rd Oct just in front of the resort that was pre booked for us for this trip. It was nearby to all the places that we were planned to visit. We were 11 in total with various age groups in this trip. We were allotted rooms to stay and were asked to get fresh and be ready by 8:30 AM. After having breakfast in the resort, we started our day 1 exploration to the Ruins of Vijayanagaram Empire.
Before we boarded our mode of local transport, there was a small introduction of the group members who all joined for the same trip as no one knows anyone. Later, started to the ruins which was 20 kms from our resort. We first visited Vittala Temple where we saw beautiful constructions with great architecture, Stone Chariot, Market place, Shiv temple etc. Organizers also arranged a guide who could tell us the history behind each construction and other important aspects of the Vijayanagaram Empire. The distance from the gate entrance to the temple is almost 1 KM, however we do have battery cars if we don’t want to walk. It was suggested by our Guide to go by walk and hire the batter car while returning as there were few places to see on the way to Vittala temple. On our way to Vittala temple by walk we took few pictures at the market place, pushkar. It was worth watching and knowing the history of the great kingdom. After visiting all the places at Vittala temple we then moved to Lotus temple, Elephant Stable, Queen’s palace etc and paused for lunch. With full of hunger (as we walked a lot by then) we entered the only restaurant that was opened after lockdown and hence there was a huge crowed and as expected the food we ordered arrived late and we could finish our lunch by 4 PM. By that time one of our group members also took a small nap as well😊 We then moved to Museum that was just opposite to the restaurant. Later moved to Ganesh temple that was 18” tall and has its own history. From there we went to Visupaksha temple which was a 5 mins walk from Ganesh temple. The temple Gopuram and its architecture was the worth noting. It was already 5:45 PM by the time we got out of the temple. Later we went to Mathanga hill to view the Sunset. The path was little difficult as there was no proper constructed road or steps to climb. Hence, I was very tired by the time we reached our resort. But over all 1st day went well according the schedule. As soon as we reached the resort, took hot shower and all set to have our dinner. While we started from our room, the resort manager comes and wishes us and tells that they have arranged live music till 11 pm. After we reached the dining hall, we encountered live music played by the local musicians with their own instruments and people were enjoying while having their dinner/drinks. Later we went to sleep.
Few clicks from our day 1
Day 2:
Early morning @ 4 AM I got a wake up call from Bharath asking me to get ready by 4:30 to visit Anjana Parvat to view Sunrise but my son and myself were not in a mood to go and wanted to sleep bit more. So, other members went to view the sunrise who were accompanied by one of the Organizers and unfortunately, they could not view the proper sunrise due to clouds. So, me and my son thought we took a good decision of staying back😊 Once that team who went to view the sunrise came back, we all got ready, had breakfast and started our Day 2 journey and our first destination was Chintamani Temple. It was very old temple and just behind the temple there was Tungabhadra river flowing. As me and my son were fond of water, we went directly to the river instead of temple and were enjoying in water by the time the rest of the group who went to visit temple came back. As the time was passing, people in the group were knowing each other better as they obviously have conversations which was actually very good. That’s how we know other people, we get friendly and we were certainly feeling happy and there was no more the feeling of we travelling with strangers. From Chintamani temple we directly went to Hampi falls. So our Day 2 was completely a fun trip with no more temples in the itinerary😊 we had good time at the water fall and then headed for Coracle boating after which we were taken to Jungle Tree restaurant for lunch. After lunch we have been to the green Paddy fields for a walk which are at a distance of 100 meters from the restaurant. I enjoyed the walk and captured the moment in my mobile camera. The lush green paddy field surrounded by hills all over was mesmerizing. From there we have been to Anjana Parvat which was nearby. To reach the temple top, we had to climb 575 steps but trust me, the view from the temple top was worth climbing those many steps. The time and the funny conversation we had while climbing the steps was even more relaxing and helped me climb easily. We did shop few things as a token of Hampi memories and reached our resort, had dinner and packed our bags and started our journey back home with full of fresh and relaxing mind set, beautiful memories, amazing friends (not everyone though).
Few clicks from our day 2
The time I spent with unknown people during this trip was cool with load of fun. I certainly cherish these moments. I would like to thank four people in person i.e, Bharath (Organizer), Charan, Sai and Mohan (fellow travellers) who were part of this group and I made my trip even more interesting. Knowing you guys was the most important for me along with the happy moments which I always have it during my travel.😊
Awaiting to join such wonderful trips with BCF which not only is economical but also guarantees fun and enjoyment with security and safety. I being a single parent who travelled along with my 12 year old son with BCF want to express my gratitude for giving me such wonderful moments and people from this trip and hope to have much more in the coming years.
More clicks from this beautiful trip:
Notes from BCF:
We organize this trip very often through out the year. You can follow us on Instagram for regular updates. Insta ID –bcf.official. For more info on BCF upcoming events visit us here. About logo you can read here.
Article by Suvarna Bandala. Thanks a lot to Suvarna for penning down your experiences from the event.
Lets Connect 😃😃
Does this trigger memories of similar experiences? Please share with us. Would love to connect with an engaged audience. We shall post it on bcfblogs!
You can purchase Backpacking Equipment and Other necessary items for your
Backpackers and City Freaks (BCF) 