Just sitting from Panaji to Hampi

Just sitting for 9 hours. Tuesday morning at 9 am ( 21 of March).  I took a bus from the bus station in Panajim to Hospet. Most people take a tourist sleeper for 500 rps but I took a normal ordinary bus to Hospet, at least they don't drive like idiots. According to the bus people the journey suppose to take about 9 hours.

 

The roads in Goa are fine but small so the driver can not go fast. We leave Panajim and soon we are in a mountain area full of big trees and tropical forest. The views are great. At the border between Goa and Karnatka the police search some luggage for illegal alcohol from Goa. It is not allowed to take alcohol from Goa to Karanatka. In Karanatka the roads becomes very bad, we still go trough mountains and forrest, the road looks like a country dirt road with many way to many holes. At one point I thought the bus driver must be taking a shortcut because the dirt road was so small and the forrest so close by. But no it is just the normal route. Because of mining the roads have become dirt roads. 

 

Slowly we came out of the forest on a plateau, wauw this plateau could look France after a hot summer somewhere in August. I saw people working on the land, harvesting vegetables, cotton, hay etc... The land is dry and dusty you can see far away, there is a strong hot wind coming trough the open windows of the bus. 

 

It not possible to read because of the bad roads, the amazing view and the noise of the bus. Just sitting, it is like zen meditation I just practise sitting, the difference is the view in Zen I look at a white wall here in the bus you see an always changing surrounding. Just imagine how many buses I took while traveling by bus from Amsterdam to India and now I'm in Hampi.

 

The bus arrived late in Hospet so around 8 pm, I decided to stay in Hospet for the night. I stayed in a very Indian hotel for 400 rps It looked like a high rise building. My room had a television (Indians can not stay in places without a television) and even a tub.After a shower I went to the ATM to get some money because in Hampi there are no AT Ms. For dinner I had a masala dosa (6 rps) and for desert some Indian sweets. Indian sweets are so nice. The rest of the evening I watched television.  

India overland by bus and train