Arriving in Hampi feels almost like you've entered the twilight zone back to the paleolithic era when there was nothing standing in the way of your prey except, well, you and a massive boulder. The landscape there is so awe-stikingly bizarre that it seems to have simply emerged out of a dream, where you feel like anything can happen. In this 15th century Hindu temple complex, roaming around neverending ruins I felt something akin to Indiana Jones, about to unlock the hidden secrets of ancient pasts. Climbing up to the little temples at the tops of mountains of boulders makes you really aware of how close you can actually get to the edge while also being insanely jealous of the climbing powers of monkeys.
Probably my favorite thing that happened while in Hampi, however, was getting blessed in a temple by an actual living godess. Laxmi, a large Indian elephant kindly accepts rupee coins for a quick blessing. She collects the money with her trunk, passes it to her attendent, and then swings her trunk back around to rub you on the head. Simply amazing. Her magical blessing in this magical land far far away in the heart of India made me wonder if normal 'modern' life still exists. For now, however, I don't mind waiting a bit longer for it to reappear.
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