A day of living dangerously.
On my last day in Hampi I did three (kinda) dangerous things: I drove a motorbike, I drank the local water, and I jumped into a lake rumored to be inhabited by crocodiles.
The motorbike was a lot more fun than thought it was going to be, having never driven one before. An English couple I met and I rented bikes for 180 rupees ($4) and toured around the farms and villages outside of town. The bike itself was a simple affair, just a two stroke engine on a single gear; it struggled to top 40 kmph (25 mph). But the day was sunny and pleasant, the scenery was interesting and the roads were relatively clear of traffic.
There was an incident with a pedestrian bike, however, when I first got on, in which we were on a slow-rolling collision course. Instinctually I swerved right, which for Indian left-sided roads is the wrong way. Anyways, there was a bump, but luckily no one was hurt. Terribly chagrined, and with the bike rental guy eyeing me very ominously, I hopped back on and drove away. All things considered, it was probably for the best; I was extra careful from there on out.
Touring around outside of Hampi I stopped to photograph some field workers on the side of the road. As I usually do, I showed them their pictures on my digital camera’s LED screen afterwards, and they got VERY excited. In short time I was surrounded by fifteen workers asking me to take their picture in every combination they could think of. After taking a few photos I started to beg off, indicating I had to go, but they would have nothing of it. So I photographed a few more, while they brought chai to drink.
Even though it was made from water they got *somewhere* I figured it would be okay because it had been boiled. I figured correctly, since I didn’t get sick a few days later. Still, at the time it was a tough call to make.
After leaving the field workers I went to the lake, where we dove off a 8 meter rock into a pretty lake in which crocodiles had been rumored. Good times.
The motorbike was a lot more fun than thought it was going to be, having never driven one before. An English couple I met and I rented bikes for 180 rupees ($4) and toured around the farms and villages outside of town. The bike itself was a simple affair, just a two stroke engine on a single gear; it struggled to top 40 kmph (25 mph). But the day was sunny and pleasant, the scenery was interesting and the roads were relatively clear of traffic.
There was an incident with a pedestrian bike, however, when I first got on, in which we were on a slow-rolling collision course. Instinctually I swerved right, which for Indian left-sided roads is the wrong way. Anyways, there was a bump, but luckily no one was hurt. Terribly chagrined, and with the bike rental guy eyeing me very ominously, I hopped back on and drove away. All things considered, it was probably for the best; I was extra careful from there on out.
Touring around outside of Hampi I stopped to photograph some field workers on the side of the road. As I usually do, I showed them their pictures on my digital camera’s LED screen afterwards, and they got VERY excited. In short time I was surrounded by fifteen workers asking me to take their picture in every combination they could think of. After taking a few photos I started to beg off, indicating I had to go, but they would have nothing of it. So I photographed a few more, while they brought chai to drink.
Even though it was made from water they got *somewhere* I figured it would be okay because it had been boiled. I figured correctly, since I didn’t get sick a few days later. Still, at the time it was a tough call to make.
After leaving the field workers I went to the lake, where we dove off a 8 meter rock into a pretty lake in which crocodiles had been rumored. Good times.
posted by Linton at 2:27 PM
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