Happy Ugadi!

Monday was a holiday for our state, Karnataka, called Ugadi. Apparently this is something like lunar New Year for Hindus in our state and two nearby. Bottom line, it was a day off and the reason for our excursion. Monday we had arranged for auto-rickshaws and a guide. This happened as we had been instructed (as foreigners) to register at the police station, which consisted of signing a book while a guy tried to sell you guide services. Interesting. But we were foreigners in need of a guide…

After checking out of the room and having breakfast at the rooftop dining, we boarded the auto-rickshaws and headed out for a morning of exploring the ruins and Hampi. It was a ton of fun, the kids loved the rickshaws (even the big kids) and it was cool to learn more about India and the civilization. It must have been an awesome place to behold in its heyday. Presently, it fits the bill for a really cool place that time seems to have forgotten, save for the locals, tourists and hippies (there were really some still there). When I tried to explain ruins in 3-year-old terms, Caden nodded knowingly, and said, “don’t worry mommy, I can fix those ruins” and comment on pretty much every one that it was ok it was broken now – he’d fix it up. By afternoon, it was getting REALLY hot, and most of us had had enough. We loaded back into the cars for the ride home. Tired and dirty, we had a little more luck with naps this time. Traffic was a little less for the Holiday (a bit fewer near-death experiences, maybe only 286) and we made it home – home sweet home where I never thought I’d be so happy to have a 2 ½ minute hot shower and settle into my rock-hard, but layered with a 2 inch pillow topper, bed. The power was on, and the fans were working. We’d been out to India, been cultured, and were back to sweet Bangalore. Caden had asked the entire ride home – “are we in Bangalore now?” Yes, it was good to be home.