Camping
Day 7: Being Crazy makes me one of a kinds‼
To board Kerala Express at 2000 hrs, I left my hostel and reached the Coimbatore railway station at around 1730 hrs. While I was waiting, I saw the Cape Mumbai Express train arriving in the platform infront of me. Suddenly, I recalled that I have all the camping gear along with me that means I can execute my Pune trekking plan. That’s it; without giving a second thought, I boarded the Cape Mumbai Express train and that too with an unreserved general ticket.
On the way, I was discussing my trekking plan with someone and told him how I boarded this train. That person was like, “How could you do this?” “You are crazy man‼”. After seeing my craziness, he suggested me to go to Hampi, the Vijay Nagra Ruins. And this is how my camping plan was made.
Day 8: Trip to a Multipurpose Dam- Tungabhadra Dam & Night Camp:
I reached and got off at Guntakal Jn at 1000 hrs and from there I took a local train to Hospet Jn. From there, I trekked (carrying a 20 kilos rucksack) to Tungabhadra Dam. It is a multipurpose dam which is used for both irrigation and generating electricity as well. Then, I took an auto ride till the base of the dam and then trekked to reach the top end of the dam, where there is a view point and small seating area as lawns. After roaming all around the garden & having food; in a shared auto I headed to Hampi for camping. There, nearby the river bank, I pitched my igloo tent. I moved the tent about 10 feet higher, just in case the river level rises at night.
Day 9: Magical tour to Hampi:
I woke up to the sounds of camera clicks, just to move out and see at least 15 guys gawking the tent. After stepping out, I realised that it was all about the river, which was just 2-3 feet away from me. I was laughing at the river imagining where I would have been if the tent was not shifted. I got freshened up in the open, bathed along with an elephant and continued for a full day trek.
There is something magical about Hampi that I just can’t describe, there’s a good reason why this place is very much on the backpacker trail in India. Perhaps it is the surreal boulder strewn landscape, interspersed by bright emerald paddy fields. It is the amazing ruins of temples, or the magical stories Hampi ruins showed the glamour it faulted when it was a live rein.
During lunch, a local boy offered to show me some waterfall and I did not want to miss it. So I paid Rs. 50 and started to follow him. He took me through marshes and water logged grasslands to reach an astonishing place. Actually, it was not at a waterfall but the area rocks were cut by water to make smooth crevices and the escapade seemed like a churned ice cream bowl. The view was flabbergasting and can be explained only in a photo. I also crossed the river to climb Anjani Parvat to reach the birthplace of Lord Hanuman. The climb had about 700 Steps. At the end of the day, I jumped to get onto a train to Pune (my sudden plan made when I boarded Cape Mumbai express earlier). Since, I had general ticket with me, so I got into general compartment of Lokmanya Tilak Terminus Express from Guntakal Jn. The general bogie was filled like a gunny bag with vegetables. After a lot of adjustment and fight, I finally got a place to sit and sleep and that too in the toilet.
