Hampi Pictures

I've let too much time go by without posting more pictures from our trip to Hampi.

I'll spare you the history lesson and let you look at the pictures.  To give you a very high-level overview, the area is thought to be created from volcanoes that eruped under the ocean millions (or maybe even billions) of years ago.  The volcanoes created granite, so pretty much everything you see is granite.

It's amazing that thousands of years ago without the equipment we use today, people built these civilizations that are still standing today.  They think it took 30 or more years to build some of these things.  Can you imagine if we wanted to buid something today and they told us it would take 30 years?  We would say no thank you!

 Ganesh is inside this structure.  Notice the detail on the top.  Also, on the right there is a lady bent over cleaning the grounds.  It gives you a perspective of just how big all of these things were!

Check out this two-story structure. 

 A piece of the mountain broke off and fell on this structure, but it was still standing.  Just this one corner was not 'square' but the rest of the structure looked to be in good shape.

 That temple is probably 13 stories tall, but from this vantage point it doesn't look like it!  It was mostly overcast while we were in Hampi.  That was a good thing because it could have been very hot!

 Check out the crazy eyes on this guy!

 This detail of carving was all over the place!  Here is an example of their hunting techniques.  I found it interesting that in that day many women hunted too.

 This was a water reservoir of sorts.  It's pretty deep - and there were 7 of these on this one site alone!

 The leaders used to go underground into this space to talk about private concerns.  (It had a top and was ultra-secure.)  Our guide told us about it and then asked if we wanted to go down the steep stairs to be inside it.  I emphatically said yes!  Bryan immediately said really? 
We climbed down the stairs and then had to turn into this extremely dark hallway that was really wet to get into the part you can see here.  About half way in I realized that that location is probably a perfect location for the highly poisonous snakes of the area and froze!  At that point it was clear why Bryan was so surprised I wanted to go down there!  Suzanne coaxed me into the open space below.  I'm glad that we went down there, and glad that we got out of there without any unwanted critters!

 We did a lot of climbing these small mountains on Day #2.  We stoped here for a break.  You can see by the red on our foreheads that we visited the temple earlier that day.

 This carriage was not build to move, but rather designed to be a piece of art.  It was really impressive!  We heard it is one of the most popular spots in Hampi.

 This was the entrance.  You can barely see the intricate carvings at the top.

Many Hindu people travel here if they are unable to have a baby or if they are in need of a home.  They tie little bundles to the tree and hope they can have a baby or build little homes at the base of the tree if the yare in need of a home.  If they do have a baby or get a home, then the couple brings their family and friends here for a huge feast.  This picture doesn't really do it justice - there was SO MUCH stuff tied to the tree and on the ground.

 These were Elephant stables for the Elephants.  It seemed to be a very nice place for them.