Hampi is the land of chill. We arrived to a crazed bus station and negotiated the price of hindu deity stickers with wide brown eyed boys in long sleeved shirts. In India, it~s like you~re dropped into a swirling teacup and you~re just trying to either go with the flow or get to the side as quickly as possible. That~s what I most admire about India..the just go with the flow. Finally, one of us negotiated a rickshaw price outside in the rain and we tumbled into Hampi.
Villages built under giant boulders lined the narrow laned streets and children peeked from around the corners of granite to smile a ^namaste.~ We crossed the river on a boat and slushed through the mud to reach the other side, as recommended by several people.
What happened thereafter was pure magic...tbc...