If you remember, Suresh and Judy went into the temple for a 'few minutes' and then didn't come back for over an hour. I had lots of time to soak in the Hamp vibe and take pictures.
Waiting for Suresh and Judy outside of the temple. I whined about the wait but I see that I enjoyed my time alone. There were so many beautiful things to look at (including the people).
Banana sellers. 
More cows.
This guy wanted me to give him 500 rupees for this picture. Umm, not going to happen. I think I finally gave him 20 just to make him go away. 
Shoes outside the temple entrance. 
Temple gate, you can see the temple in the back. 
Just walking by. 
Sweeping the street and keeping things tidy. 
The brown cow in the front was the one that made friends with me. Then he left me for his white cow buddy. We all need a contrasting friend. 
Buying bananas to take into the Temple. 
Hello. 
I did manage a bit of shopping though so I will tell you about that. Judy and Suresh had to go back to the hotel so I was left on my own for an hour. I found an art shop where I bought three small paintings, the only non-hindu related art I have seen here. Very excited. Plus, there was a jewelery making shop where I found some beads for Amy. That was a very amusing half hour haggling over the tiniest handful of silver beads. I even got tea. And, of course, the price I wanted. I also looked at these cool brass bowls that sing when you run a wooden wand around their rim. It was very simple and hand made and I liked it so I asked the price. 600 rupees. Since I didn't have Suresh there to tell me if this was a good price, I decided to go back later. When I did, Suresh in tow, a man was there instead of the older woman I had spoken to. When I asked about the bowl, he told me it was 2800R. When I said that the woman had told me 600, he ran out of the store yelling MAMA MAMA. I think I got Mama in trouble. But he gave it to me for 600R. I didn't bother to haggle at that point.
Wandering around Hampi village on my own, shopping and taking pictures. You can start to see the amazing geography of the region.
The river to the right.
The river to the left. 
Shopping in Hampi. These are from that day and the next evening when I was shopping with Judy.
Street Vendor. Those colourful lumps are coloured powder. 
A purse 'store'.
Judy clothes shopping.
Displying carpets for sale. 
More purses. 
Yikes!! Which one (or ten) do I want??
I want that one, no the one beside that one, no not the purple one. 
Lamp shades in Whoville.
the negotiations. 
Stone figures, 20 deep. That evening, this was what we saw as we came up over the rocks. You can see why I was stunned by the beauty.
the ruins around the ancient temple.
The Temple.
The sun started to set while we were there.
Aren't they cute, those skinny knees were just too much. 
That is a monkey at the base of that rock.
I fed some of my left over pizza to a very skinny puppy and he followed us around for an hour or so. Him plus the cow that made friends with me while I waited the hour outside the temple the previous day, I may be coming home with a menagerie.
My puppy. He spotted me from across the rocks.
Then he was there at my feet in an instant. Check out those ribs. I had to give him my left overs. He was so cute with that floppy ear and curly tail. 
View of Hampi Village from the ruins above.
The sun setting that first evening at the Hampi ruins.
Time to leave. Next day in Hampi was more ruins, more gorgeous scenery.
The most intricate water tank in the King's court
Just before I got yelled at and kicked out of the pool.
Aquaducts ran all over, from pool to pool. 
the Lotus Palace. 
The Elephant Stables.
Boys
The elephant's view from his stable. 
Everybody tries to find shade.
Judy created her own shade. 
this picture shows how big those stables are. 
The remains of the market place. Each pillar was a stall.
The famous stone carriage. Apparently, those wheels actually used to turn and the carriage was pulled by elephants. Cool.
These pillars make different musical notes when you hit them and when the wind whips through them. 
Plum Headed Parakeets. 
The sun starts to set on our last day at Hampi. I just reread my post. I really shafted poor Hampi, it really is worth a whole post. I will put lots of pictures to make up for my neglect. However, I will mention that when we were in the King's Balance Palace it was approaching dusk. There were a couple of tour groups there, one from Europe and one from Toronto. They were trying to get the powers that be to let us stay after dark and for the lights to be turned on. While we were waiting to see if we could stay, I saw two excellent birds, an owlet and a very lovey pair of plum-headed parakeets. After 45 minutes or so, sun sets and the palace was lit up for our touristy benefit! It was beyond amazingly beautiful.
After the sun set, they turned the lights on in the ruins. Very beautiful and super creepy/awesome.
The Owlette that arrived at sunset. 
Lights on. 
The carriage lit up. 
Our last evening there, we went to a famous Hampi restaurant, the Mango Tree. It overlooks the river. The seating arrangement is very cool. It is outside and the tables are set up like stadium seats, each one below the one above, seats only on the view side. Every seat overlooks the beautiful view, all below the massive mango tree that creates a 'roof'. Of course, we were there at night so no view. And something peed on us (and possibly our plates) from above in the tree. But since it was dark, I just ate my meal anyway. Judy almost got pooped on too. It made for an exciting meal. The food was good too.
I took a picture of the sign but none of the actual restaurant. too bad, it was impressive. Yikes, closing up. next day we drove all day to Bangalore to make our flight to Delhi the next morning. Delhi definitely needs its own post.
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