Mauritius

Mauritius is a very popular holiday destination. This is where a lot of Indian Honeymooners head. My wife always wanted to visit Mauritius probably because she had hear some much about Mauritius from her friends. The blue waters of the Indian Ocean always intrigued me. So finally we decided that we'll make the trip this Diwali (2013). My wife's sister and niece very kind enough to offer to look after our two young children while we headed to his island paradise. 

Bain Boeuf Beach

We returned with a truly incredible vacation experience. We flew Air Mauritius, as it's a direct flight from Mumbai. I was quite impressed by their service. I haven't still figured out why they gave us a free upgrade to business class for the whole round trip but I must say that was the surprise package of our Mauritius getaway. 

Air Mauritius Business Class Cabin

View from the Sky

We stayed at the Hilton Mauritius Spa Resort at Flic-en-Flac. This is the south part of Mauritius that is not very busy with tourists. Hilton offers free water sports such as Kayaking, sailing, glass bottom boat rides to view the Coral reef, dolphin ride and what we enjoyed the most - Snorkeling. I must warn that no matter how much sun block you coat on your back, you WILL get sunburn. So make sure you wear a shirt or protective upper body garment. 

Hilton Beach

Beach View of Hilton

Hilton Garden Court

Free Water Sports at Hilton

Some tips if you are planning a vacation to Mauritius 

• If you plan on seeing a bit of Mauritius and explore local food by eating at different restaurants then you are better off renting a car. Renting and driving a car in Mauritius is easy and more economical than hiring taxis or booking sightseeing tours. After a detailed research I hired a car from Ola Mauritius and I must say it was another better  decision we made for our holiday. 
• If you are driving in Mauritius just remember a simple rule - You have to yield to traffic to your right at a Roundabout. Other than that be nice to fellow motorists.
• If you drive to Port Louis or other towns you cannot park in designated areas unless you have a parking pass even if the sign says you can park for 2 hours. Arrange for a parking permit from your rental company or pay hefty fine like I had to.  
• Once you get into Mauritius visit a Emtel or other telecom provider shop and get a local cellular connection. You would just need your passport or driving license and it takes just 10 minutes to complete the process. International calling rates from local Emtel phone are cheap and will save you a lot especially if you have family or business contacts back home you need to talk to regularly. You could get a 3G connection too.
• Most of the tourists locations are not exceptionally good other than the seas and islands. So if you decide to spend your time at the hotels you haven't missed much.
• Snorkeling is a must do activity. If you have motion sickness do not attempt the Catamaran cruises with free cocktails. Just snorkel near the shore. I believe most hotels provide this activity free. Do not venture into water without 'fins' or protection on your feet. Corals are sharp.
• Most hotels give you free Wi-Fi. Hilton gave free Wi-Fi access in their lobby. Many tourists are not aware that a lot of independent restaurants along the beach front also give free Wi-Fi while you  dine. 
• The food at Hilton was good but we had better food at most restaurants we dined at. I was surprised by the food taste, presentation and service quality at most restaurant we ate and I would recommend 'The Beach Shack' and 'The Twins Garden' at Flic-en-Flac and 'Le Batelage' in Port Souillac. We thoroughly enjoyed the seafood with local Creole sauces especially the tamarind based sauces. The restaurant at the Casela Bird Park was good too.
•  There is nothing much you can shop for in Mauritius, other than probably local sugarcane based Rum. Most hotels and shops price their products with Euro as the currency so if you are from a country such as India (like me) with bad currency value you are better off spending on eating good seafood. There is a decent shopping mall close to the Casela bird park called "Cascavelle Shopping Village' that also has a food court (never ate here but looked OK), wine store that gives discount, some local fashion designer shops (my wife shopped at Fleur Soleil) and a Pick-n-Pay super market.
• The local language is Creole which is almost French so hone your French before you travel . However the locals in main tourist areas speak English

Bai du Cap

Motorways - Sugar Cane fields and Volcanic Mountains

Casela Bird Park

Bois Cheri Tea Factory

Pamplemousses Botanical Garden

Chamarel 7 Colored earth

Church in Port Louis

Driving through Black Forest Reserve

Ganga Talao (Myth about waters being from Ganges)

Giant Lotus Leaves in Botanical Gardens

Giant Shiva Statue Near Grand Basin

Le Morne View

Praiere Beach

Gris Gris

Giant Turtles in Botanical Garden

Pretty Sunset

Coral & Fish Viewed from Glass Boat

Coral & Fish Viewed from Glass Boat

Cellular Tower

Desert Served at Casela Park Restaurant

Shrip Raviolli at Beach Shack Flic-en-Flac

Squid at Twins Garden Flic-en-Flac

Swordfish Teak in Tamarind Sauce at Twins Garden Flic-en-Flac

Cascavelle Shopping Village

Hampi Ruins in 3 Days

If you do not know about Hampi then you would have to do some reading. This would be a good place to start: http://hampi.in/hampi. Hampi to me is one of the windows to the past - culture, architecture, topology and way of living. I traveled to Hampi recently with my family. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the Hampi ruins fortunately are not in complete ruins as I was expecting. So if you are someone who has interest in history - specifically that of the Vijaynagara empire, architecture, mythology and earth topology Hampi is a must visit place for you. Of the various landscapes I’ve seen and explored I seriously feel that Hampi’s spellbinding smooth boulder strewn landscape is comparable with the Grand Canyon and the Himalayas. The terrain makes you wonder if some super natural beings played Jenga with these boulders. Some of these boulders seem precariously balanced defying laws of center of gravity.

So why write up this blog? There are several web sites describing Hampi and well-written travel guides but none of these help in planning your Hampi tour. So here is the blog I promised to write. 

Where to Stay

First of all let me cover places to stay. There are a many bed and breakfast accommodations available along the banks of the Tungabhadra river in Hampi. But if you are driving to Hampi or are traveling with your family and young children I recommend you stay in Hospet, a small chaotic town about 10 KM from Hampi. There are several hotels on the Bus stand road and around Hospet. I picked the Royal Orchid Central Kireeti, one of the better and newer hotels in Hospet. I believe it’s a 4 star Hotel, but being a new Hotel in a small town, service level needs improvement. The staff was very friendly. 

You could stay at the Krishna Palace on the same road or at the Hotel Malligi, probably one of the first business hotels in Hospet. Hotel Malligi’s website has a Hampi guide you may find useful. http://malligihotels.com/mythslegends.html#hampi. We had lunch at this hotel’s restaurant and tried various fish delicacies including local katla fish. There is also the Vijayshree Heritage hotel on the Hospet-Hampi road.  You may also chose to stay at the Sloth Bear Resort operated by Karnataka Jungle Lodges in the Daroji bear sanctuary. It's located in the wilderness, providing with-meal plans and free site seeing. If you are traveling with small children I'll not recommend this place. As this is a wilderness lodge there are no televisions. I stayed at one of their properties in Dandeli and was quite impressed by the quality of their service. 

The best time to visit Hampi is from November to February. In November the day temperatures were about 32° Celsius and night temperatures fell close to 10° Celsius. Make sure you brief your co-travellers about Hospet’s narrow dirty roads and chaotic traffic to avoid a culture shock. 
 

Getting There

I drove to Hampi from Pune. I am sure there are many trains and buses to Hospet from places such as Hubli, Bangalore and Goa. It’s about 3 hours drive from Hubli. The closest airport is Hubli. I chose to drive on the NH4 from Pune to Hubli and then to Hospet on NH63 a total distance of 600 KM. The NH 63 is a fairly straight road through windmill farms and sunflower fields and if you are lucky you may have a train for company on the parallel railway track. Watch out for Herons flying across the road. I had a bird hit when two Herons got caught in a crosswind and hit my windscreen head on. Luckily no damage to wild life and car but it was a unique experience. 

As you near Hospet you will see the Tungabhadra dam on your right. Ask for directions to the bus stand. Drive past the bus stand if you choose to stay at the Royal Orchid or Krishna Palace. Make sure you rest well the day you arrive.

Planning your tour

If you have young children make sure they have comfortable foot wear and be aware that the sandy pathways in Hampi are lined with thorny shrubs. If you are travelling with Infants take your pram along. Do not forget to wear your shades, caps and sun block unless you rather prefer perfectly tanned cheeks that would give the local Lamani folks a serious complex. Also remember that other than the Lotus Mahal and Vithala temple sites there is no entry fee at any other sites. The entry tickets bought at one of these sites can be used at the other so just buy them once. There is a nominal camera fee only at the Virupaksha temple. Remember to click a picture of the signboard outside each monument so you have a reference when you view your pictures. 

Day1 - Temples (Click here to view Google Maps with tour sequence)

Virupaksha

Have an early breakfast and plan to leave your hotel by 9.00 AM.  The drive to Hampi will take about 30 minutes the first day, as you get familiar with the road. The road passes through a couple of villages with a lot of tractors laden farm produce and buses jostling for space. For your first day tour, turn left on the Hospet-Hampi road when you see a signboard with directions to Hampi.  When you arrive at the site drive straight and park at the Hampi Bazaar. You will have to pay Rs 30 parking and entry fee. Several guides here will stop you. Ignore them.  Day 1 will be on foot, so carry a lot of water, packaged juices and eatables for your children. 

I recommend you take a guide at the Virupaksha temple, the starting point of today's tour. See if you can negotiate a full day fee of around Rs 800-1000. Tell him that you plan to cover all of the following temples so his commentary has to be short and sweet. It’s better to be curt upfront than to be rude later. These guides hate to walk and will waste you time at fewer sites. Buy the Rs 100 Hampi color guide published by Good Earth Publications.  It's well written and describes most of the Hampi monuments and sites in detail. Do not spend more than 20 minutes at Virupaksha. Follow this sequence for the first day sightseeing:

1. Virupaksha temple on the left of Hampi Bazaar: 
2. Matanga Hill (View of Hampi Bazaar, Achyutaraya temple and Courtesan's Street from here),  and Achyutaraya temple, Coutersan's Street:
3. Yantrodharaka Anjaneya (Hanuman) & Kondarama temple:
4. Varaha Temple:
5. Vithala Temple, Stone Chariot, Sculpture, and Kings Balance:
6. Lunch at the Mango tree restaurant:
7. Shrines on the Hemakuta hill, Krishna temple, and Ganesha statue: 
8. Badavalinga and Narasimha Statue:
9. Virabhadra, Chandikeshwara, Underground Shiva temples: 

Day 2 - Royal Citadel, Daroji Bear Sanctuary, Malyavanta Hill

Royal Citadel

(Click here to view Google Maps with tour sequence)
Remember to read the Hampi guide when you return to your hotel at the end of day 1. Start early and plan to leave your hotel by 9 AM. Drive straight on the Hampi road past the left turn you took yesterday and head to Kamalapuram. If you did not visit the Pattabhirama temple and the museum yesterday you may want to turn right at Kamalapuram and complete those. Turn left at  Kamalapuram and take the road leading towards Hampi. You need not take a guide today. However it is advisable that you strike a half-day deal with yesterday's guide.

1.     Octagonal Pavilion, Chandrashekara & Sarasvathi temples:

2.     Queens bath and Royal Citadel - Stepped Tank, Public bath, Mahanavami Dibba:

3.     Hazare Rama temple, Pan Supari Bazaar,  Elephant staples, Lotus Mahal:

4.     Lunch:

5.    After lunch head back to Kamalapuram and drive to Daroji Bear Sanctuary, spot wild life:

6.     Sunset at the Malyavanta Hill:

Day 3 - Hanuman Hill, Coracle Ride to 101, 1000 Linga carvings, Jaina temple, Bhima's Gate and Tungabhadra Dam

101 Lingas

(Clickhere to view Google Maps with tour sequence)
Today you will see a mix of mythological sites in the Kishkinda region, the historical town Anegondi and float in a coracle on the Tungabhadra to see sites that can only be accessed from the river. View the Hampi Tour-Day 3 blog for more details.
 

1.     Anjaneya Hill/Hanuman's Birthplace, Anegondi:

2.     Chakratirtha, Coracle Ride, 101, 1001 Lingas, Suryanarayana:

3.     Shopping: Visit the stalls near Virupaksha temple and buy some souvenirs for your trip. Note that the Hampi market mentioned in several travelogues has been recently demolished.

4.     Jaina temple and Bhima's gate: Headback to Kamalapuram. If you haven't seen the Jaina temple, Bhima’s gate and Pattabhirama temples do it now.

5.     Tungabhadra dam: Head back to Hampi and visit the Tungabhadra dam (on map).

6.     End of the tour.

Hopefully you have had an enjoyable tour exploring Hampi. I'll update this blog if I have missed anything. Feel free to leave comments. Although one could cover Hampi in 3 days we stayed for a week during the Diwali break and covered Hampi at an easy pace. We visited certain sites we may have missed or wanted to see in more detail. Have a safe travel and make sure you respect and protect nature and help preserve our heritage for our future generations.