The 30 minute trip

If I leave here tomorrow
Would you still remember me?
For I must be traveling on, now,
'Cause there's too many places I've got to see.
But, if I stayed here with you, girl,
Things just couldn't be the same.
'Cause I'm as free as a bird now,
And this bird you can not change. 
-lynyrd skynyrd

DAY 0

I planned for a three day vacation and had promptly booked the onward and return tickets to Bengaluru. The plan was to make up plans for the three days ad hoc.Good idea? Probably not. But those three days were all weekdays & since none of my friends would take off from their offices just to look at my face, I decided I'd better not plan anything.Too much of planning!! no 'plan' from now . Once I landed there I realized the days were going to be really boring.To beat the boredom, I decided to scoot out off banglore. Asking around, I learnt Belur-Halebidu-Shravanabelagola could be covered in 1 day (there's a one day packaged tour organized by KSTDC that costs you about 1100/head). Not wanting to be confined by schedules, I decided to make my own itinerary.
  
1) Catch a bus to Belur monday night.
2) Belur & Halebidu by Tuesday.(learnt from sources that this would be really easy)
3) Reach Hassan by Tuesday night
4) Shravanabelagola on Wed and return back to banglore by afternoon.

This route is a part of the Banglore-Mangalore highway

 With this rough plan, I took leave from my friends at around 2100, monday. Bangalore was already nodding off to sleep and I didn't want to be stuck without transportation.In 20 min I was at the "Majestic" bus station .225 km they said.5.5 hours they said. What I didn't anticipate was that the last bus to chikmanglur (all of them have to go via Belur) was at 2300. Too early. I'd be stuck at the Belur bus stand at 0430. So, I called up a few people, checked few maps and came to the conclusion that I could either sleep in the bus stand and wait for sunrise or proceed to chikmanglur which, by my interpretation of the map would be about an hour or more from Belur. Chikmaglur seemed a better option & I'd got some positive reviews earlier (I'm paraphrasing here): "Chikmanglur \m/","Chikmanglur \/",etc.

The bus started off at about 2245 and I drifted off peacefully into REM sleep.After sometime bus stopped somewhere. People started getting down. 0430 ? Ha! Belur! lets see how your bus stand looks at.... wait... .As I moved down the aisle I realized almost the whole bus was empty and the remaining few were also leaving.With a sinking feeling I realized I'd reached Chikmanglur and the time was just 0430. Apparently Chikmanglur was just half an hour from Belur,I felt a little cheated by fate there.
This shock was nothing compared to what followed in the next few minutes. I had boarded the bus wearing a "chennai summer clothing" and as I stepped out of the bus, I started shivering. I was shivering so furiously that I saw the bus stand as a kaleidoscope of yellow lights. something hot... ii nneeedd something hh oo tt. Found a coffee guy, bought myself a cup of coffee and almost poured it all over myself. I smiled at my plight and the guy assumed I was laughing uncontrollably and joined in politely. I stopped him, showed him I was actually chilled to the bone  (shivering not laughing) and needed a place to stay. stay at bus stand?? omg i'd suffer hypothermia. He assumed I was wealthy and directed me to a place that charged me Rs800/day. I was in no mood to search for an alternative as this place was about a Km away from the bus stand and the auto that dropped me had already left.

I realized that I was at the wrong place and at the wrong time.The plans oops 'plan' again.. ok no more, promise! had to be reanalyzed. I decided that could be done later and comfortably snuggled under my sheets.Time was 0500.
This place, "the planters cove" at Chikmanglur offers complimentary breakfast.I was still sleepy as I gobbled down the pedestrian breakfast gratefully. I checked out of my hotel at about 0900 paying Rs800 for The 4 hours at Rs200/hour.As I was moving out, I asked the guys at the reception about the places that I would be able to visit for say, half a day. They provided me with a small leaflet/map with all the places of interest marked on them. On further inquiry I learnt that all of them required a private transport vehicle (cab,SUV). Costly! very costly, chalo next time i'll come back with friends.I decided to walk back to the bus stand as I was still groggy. The City was fresh, cool and inviting and the gentle morning sun warmed me up.

DAY 1

I decided Chikmanglur was out of the scheme of things. The schedule was going to remain the same as the delay due to my morning mishap didn't affect my plans much. From Chikmanglur, it was a breezy half an hour ride to Belur through some really picturesque landscape (cliched but true). My first destination was The Belur temple . By the time I got down, the sun was out, trying to intimidate me. I smiled. Boss, i'm from chennai ok?? this is winter sun for us.
The Chennakesava temple greeted me with a gust of cool breeze as I skeptically stepped into the 12th century.I never expected the temple to hold my interest for more than half an hour. Till now, the trip had just been a personal journey away from anything remotely related to my life.I had wanted to be free from the world and the Android phone's "battery life" hastened the severance of these ties.So,I was least prepared for what greeted me next.I see cars, buses,trains,rockets,computers and I see the society, the polity, the laws and so many other things that gives me an exalted sense of being a human; but never have I been more in awe of human accomplishments than what I felt standing at this temple. I felt like a kid again, trying to gather up data on this wonderful work of architecture.The structures were all shaped like stars in the plan. There were columns that had a cross section of a 16 point star. The detailing was delicate and not even a square inch was spared naked.

the imposing entrance -Belur

the temple, as viewed from the entrance

do u see the filigree work?? each of those beads looked soft as though they might be blown away anytime

columns...

 On my way from Chikmanglur, I had spotted a dam. I wanted to cover that too. There is something about gushing water that’s really awe inspiring. Something inside me said “dams are for evenings”. I agreed. Then Halebidu it is, I decided. On my way back to the bus stand, I stopped by a sugarcane juice stall. Rs 15 for 200 ml of ambrosia.  Wattey!! 

Halebidu is a quaint village situated at about 15 km from Belur; the travel takes about half an hour by the buses that ply the route with good frequency. This journey through rural Karnataka is even better than the Chikmanglur-Belur stretch.For me,The Halebidu temple did not work the same magic as Belur did in terms of the first impression.This temple starts a little abruptly. The presiding deity is lord Shiva (Hoysaleswara) and the structures are similar to the Belur temple. This temple has a history of its own , being the capital of the Hoysala dynasty for sometime. Refer wiki for detailed accounts,time period etc. The stand out points of this temple apart from the carvings is the two "Nandhis” majestically positioned before Shiva and the archaeological museum adjacent to the temple. If I had hired a guide he’d have told me why there were two Nandhis instead of one. I decided I would read it up later.say no to guides. These Nandhis are about three fourths the size of the Brihadheeswara Nandhi at Tanjore.

Halebidu, a small part of the temple that i found fascinating

The museum that is situated near the temple is brilliant. As this was my first exposure to an archaeological museum, I might be over reacting. It is not very big. Various figurines & inscriptions that were found at the nearby ruins are put up for public display. Photography is "strictly prohibited" here. I got a wind of how the sculptures were classified into Shaivite, Vaishnavite or Jaina gods; the coiffure, the posture, the presence of third eye, etc.; thoroughly absorbing. There was also a huge statue (20 feet) of Bahubali among the ruins.

By 1400 the sun was trying really hard to make me sweat, I yielded, I’m accommodating that way. I had also worn two layers of clothing after the Chikmanglur incident. After having 3 glasses of fresh pineapple juice for Rs40  The cost of one in Chennai.  at a nearby shop,I got misled for the first and the last time asking around for the bus stand. I Walked for half a km before someone told me it was very near to the place I started from.

I reached Belur at 1500; I woke up inside the bus at 1515. By this time people had boarded the bus for the return journey. Sheepishly, I trudged out of the bus and proceeded to the nearest hotel for lunch. Tomato rice+onion bonda+curd. Oh ya, coffee. In these parts of Karnataka it is advisable to have coffee at least three times a day. Awesome stuff. Recharged after the nap and the lunch, I decided to visit the dam before proceeding to Hassan. The Yagachi dam is about 2 km from Belur and I Hired an auto for Rs 80, to and fro. After capturing the mandatory, uninspiring, still water snaps, I sat down upstream listening to the water lapping at the shores. A blissful 20 minutes later, I headed back. The total time for this trip was *drum roll* 30 minutes.

the mandatory snap - upstream

 The Belur - Hassan route falls on the Bangalore-Mangalore highway. Being used to the TNSTC/SETC busses that struggle to touch 70kph this fellow seemed to be driving at a breakneck speed. This route was dotted with wind turbines set to a backdrop of the setting sun. With the cool breeze setting in, when was it hot?? the half an hour passed by unnoticed.

Hassan: This place is reasonably big, has an out of the world bus terminus that has come up outside the city. Not joking, with space for malls on the first floor, it looks like an airport.  But I did understand that it was just a matter of time before it became a soulless urea smelling spit covered BS. This city seemed like a great place to camp. The time was 1700 and another glass of sugarcane juice had just been consumed at the bus stop. Mint flavour  .Feeling fresh, I decided I’ll finalize the next day’s plan before I bunked. I went to one of those ‘may I help you’ desks and asked the mustachioed fellow sitting there “how to reach Shravanabelagola” in Hindi followed by an English translation. I got a clear, lucid reply in Kannada, both the times. After a few minutes of wild gesticulations, I understood that there were no direct busses to that place from Hassan. I did not like this. Being tired already, I realized travelling could be difficult the next day. There was a place called Chanrayapattana, half an hour from Hassan, from where busses left to Shravanabelagola every 15 min. I also learnt that this town Chanrayapattana was well connected from Hassan.

I reached Chanrayapattana at 1800 and Shravanabelagola at 1830. A Good Samaritan helped me out with the “bus transfer” at Chanrayapattana; he was also headed to Shravanabelagola.On reaching Shravanabelagola, I spotted a dharmashala run by the temple trust.“The Gomateshwara temple is open from 6 to 6”, the guy at the Dharmashala informed me. I was really tired and I decided to bunk there. The rooms did not disappoint me and they came at an awesome bargain of Rs 210/room (double bed). At 1930 I ventured out to take my dinner.

bird's eye view of Shravanabelagola from the hillock

 Shravanabelagola is a sleepy town around a small hillock that houses the Gomateshwara temple. This town springs to life in the evening. Pushcarts loaded with delicious Street food (mostly chat items) line up on the road side. There are two colleges nearby and boys/girls come out for a walk and take a bite as they return. I gobbled down an ‘Indian’ sandwich for 15 bucks from one of these shops potato masala, pudina chutney, tomato, beetroot, onion, cucumber +two slices of bread, toasted with a dollop of butter. The power went off at eight. Used to all this, I inquired about the scheduled cuts in these parts. Overjoyed at the sight of an informed tourist, he proceeded to explain that the power cuts are scheduled every alternate hour. I slept at 2200 as the fans creaked on and woke up at 0600 as the fans creaked off.

DAY 2

I started at the foot of the temple at 0630. The hillock leading up had about 650 steps. Read somewhere didn’t count.  It’s not a difficult climb. At the top you witness the imposing statue of Bahubali. I had seen a few photographs before and was mildly disappointed with the height. Surveying the place I realized that photographs of the form had to be taken from very close due to the arrangement of the temple. This meant addition of an “apparent height” from that angle. The idol was still pretty huge. There was an aura of “I” as in “This is what I am, go ahead judge me“ about this naked form. Strangely inspiring.

I reached the foot of the hill at 0800 and took my breakfast at the Raghu “restorant”. This breakfast was duly washed down with a cuppa coffee. Direct busses from Shravanabelagola to Bangalore are available at 0700, 1030, 1530 & 1800. So with time to kill I roamed around the town which was back to its “sleepy” mode. While this fellow roams about Shravanabelagola, I’d like to clear your nagging doubt. Why the 24hr clock? Well I’m lazy, I have to use colons and AMs and PMs with every mention of the time. It is tedious. So there.

raghu restorant's pongal with vada (the mandatory food pic of a travelogue)

 The journey to Bangalore is about 3.5 hours. It might have been lesser. My bus got stuck up in Bangalore traffic for about half an hour and I reached Bangalore at 1400. Battle worn and hungry, I promptly proceeded to MTR (lalbagh) for my lunch and ordered "1 number meals”. This is otherworldly stuff,this meals thing at MTR, really, not joking, food of the gods. Come on,gods MUST like bisebelebath. what else would they eat if not this? masal dosa maybe. Anyway I digress.Though there is the urge, I’ll not dwell on my lunch, let’s just say you need to deserve it to enjoy it.

Summary, suggestions

Duration       : 1.5 days, 1 day if you are taking the package tour

Cost             : About 1-1.5 k, I made some stupid decisions so I paid a little more.

Grouse         : KSRTC bus conductors are leeching swindling bastards. Carry change in every denomination, even antique coins if need be. They keep short-changing you. Also there are no 1 bed rooms you have to pay for two bed rooms everywhere. Do I take my girlfriend? If this post really seemed romantic, why not?

Additional info: Blog post length: 3 pages in ms word (just the text)