I wish I had a device that recorded my thoughts, this writing thing is time consuming. Luckily I just boarded a 19hr train from Hyderabad heading to Mumbai. I need to get in a better schedule of my chores. It’s only been a week since my last post and I have some moments I want to share. Once I got off the train in Hosapete it was a Tuktuk, riverboat, and scooter ride to my home stay. Hampi is the site of ruins from the 14th-16th centuries. The structures changing hands between Indian kings and Arab invaders. Fortresses protecting the people and their resources strech 50km though the hills of the area. After paying for a 500 rupee tourist visitor pass you have free range over all of it. When I heard of Hampi in Goa I was told changes were coming and the ability to experience and stay within the ruins would soon be gone. It was the perfect time for me to go and see what they had to offer. Upon arriving in the area it is clearly a city built for the tourist. Plenty of shops and places to eat fill the popular side of the city. I was staying on the other side of the river, a bit quieter over there. I take a tuktuk to the river from the train station. Again I grossly overpay. I make the mistake of using google maps to judge the distance. It has nothing to do with distance and is entirely based on the market. Without a reference point, it’s really difficult to make an offer on where to start the negotiations. Pro tip1: if you suggest a price and the merchant doesn’t even counter, it’s not a fair price, he’s flabbergasted at his luck. Pro tip 2: always laugh at the first price the merchant offers. It will usually get them to present a counter and if not you cut the suggest price by just over half. I hop on a little barge, pay my 20 rupees and wait for the trip to begin. We are going literally 45 feet to the other river bank but I guess this is the only way across. When I was booking my accommodation there were really no options and concluded supply was low with the new changes. Once I arrived, accommodation was plentiful but unadvertised and I will come to learn why. At the end of a dirt road and with the ruins of a bridge ahead of me I reach the point where my home stay was supposed to be located but there is nothing there but a burning field. A guy sees me standing alone and clearly lost and offers some help. He says the house is up on the hill but good luck finding it. Another younger guy drives by and offers me a ride on his scooter to the end of the road. As we approach the end of the road and he spots Marali, the old man who’s house I’ll be staying at. I walk with him into the hills, past tractors, chickens, and his neighbors homes. He shows me my room and tells me where I can get some food. The room is pretty big but it’s just a room in a cinderblock shelter, wooden bed with blanket, and outhouse for the guests to share. I don’t see anyone else and head to town to get some WiFi. My frustrations have been building to this moment. I just feel like I’m wasting a lot of time at WiFi shops. I have no idea what is happening around me and the country is mobile first. I’m attempting to get around without an Indian phone number -which is required for everything-while trying to assemble something that would resemble a plan. Between lost/poor WiFi connections, technical issues and limited supply I just can’t get anything done. Information is hard to get using translation and it’s expensive to book through 3rd parties. This evening was no different, I spent 6 hours researching routes. When it came down to booking the tickets the Indian payment processing company flagged my cards as fraud for multiple failed attempts and fake Indian phone numbers. Defeated and nervous for my future plans I head back to the room. There I find other travelers who are also staying with the family. We make plans to head out on scooters and explore in the morning. We grab some scooters and take off. I love these scooters so much. We all need to do some travel chores and find some WiFi before we start. We share some tips and information we have learned in our time in India so far. There is a lot of tribal knowledge that seems to be passed down from person to person. We make a plan and take off to see the sights. Seems there is a lake, a few temples, and a mountain that has a great sunset point. We cruise for a bit through rice fields and enormous red boulders. It reminds me a lot of Morrison, nearly identical in so many ways except not cause it’s in India. We see a marker and go explore where it leads. After 500 stairs we reach the top and realize it’s the sunset point. It was noon, a few hours early but at least we know where it is for later. We head to the lake after to relax a bit. It’s a hot day and the water looks nice. Painted on all the rocks is a warning “Crocodiles inside swimming prohibited”. On the bank of the lake we meet a group of guys with thatched boats covered in tar. We ask if they are scared of the gators and they laugh. They explain the police wrote the warnings to dissuade people from drinking the water of the lake. Not sure what to believe but we see some people cliff jumping and everyone seems to have all their limbs. We decide to climb up and join in. Throughout the day we keep seeing holy men dressed in orange around the city and temples. We learn that tomorrow is Hanuman’s (the monkey faced god) birthday and his temple is within the town. They estimated 100k people coming for the celebration. We climb back up the sunset point which is very close to his temple. We race to the top and find the place mobbed. We are there to catch some sweet pics and they are there to worship their favorite god. At the top we find haze and we missed the sunset. A group of young holy men teach us chants and what I imagine were bad words. Everyone echos a chant of “Jai Shri Ram!” On the way down we see they have lined every stair with candles and are in the process of lighting them. In my opinion it was better than the sunset. It’s a weird feeling staying in someone’s home during a home stay. You don’t know if it’s generosity or something you’re going to have to pay for in the end. Can’t say I’m a huge fan due to the imbalance of the relationship. I headed back to the house and the wife of the home cooked me a curry. Anyone who knows me knows I have the spice tolerance of a child. India has shown me that is not acceptable and her cooking reminded me. The previous night when she learned I ate somewhere else she seemed offended and told me she would cook for me this evening. The menu was fixed and felt it was included within the accommodation price (which was high so made sense). I later realize that nothing was included as she handed me the bill as I checked out. Didn’t love how that was handled but again I don’t blame them. The food was market price and was just an awkward transaction. On my final night learned the truth behind the UNESCO rumors and the imminent removal of accommodation locations. My homestay was run by an old man and woman, the booking and online aspects were handled by their son. This wasn’t their first rodeo or location in this business. I was told that the entire area was being converted to a UNESCO protected heritage site which would mean the removal of all residents and all businesses - hostels/homestay included. This seemed reasonable to me as I assumed there would be some sort of relocation package. Protecting ancient ruins is a reasonable initiative I would expect any government to have. I found it strange though there was no literature or signs describing the project or public timelines. I also couldn’t find anything on google and UNESCO has already been protecting some sites for decades. Few tourists know what I’m talking about and the shop owners don’t seem to want to talk about it, strange. I expected more fanfare or conversation one way or an other. Turns out the story is a bit more complex than just an initiative to preserve some relics of a fallen empire. This is my first taste of real corruption in India. Growing up my dad taught me how to grease wheels and get things done. Cash is king and recited stories of how to get what I want and operate in strange lands. While providing a bride is considered unethical in many parts of modern world the rest of the world runs on it. Wether we want to admit it or not, everyone has a price. A number in mind that would allow them to rationalize doing something unethical, harmful, or against their moral authority. I’ve read the stories of corruption in India and experienced it selling software but never seen it in action or the repercussions of those actions. While I don’t condone cheating a company out of software or faking some payments, it does feel a bit victimless. I learned through speaking to their son that the UNESCO story I recited was a fraud in its own. This isn’t the first time that this family and their neighbors have faced a looming UNESCO eviction. Another building they owned which was used for tourist accommodation was demolished earlier this year under the same guise. It has nothing to do with preserving the site at all and everything to do with a big hotel in the main part of town that has low reservations and associated revenue. This hotel was massive and looked like a palace, certainly charging major US city rates for a room. The hotel knows there are tourists in the area but they are not choosing to stay at their establishment. As a tourist there is a large supply of places providing various accommodation levels. These are primarily made up of mom and pop homestays with a few hostels, all run by locals and providing their livelihood. The hotel has targeted these establishments as the enemy and made it their mission to eliminate the competition. The government finds the homestay and hostel locations advertised online and presents them with eviction notices in unison so no one is the wiser. Citing the location as a UNESCO site which forbids business of any kind. The structure must be destroyed and the business must stop. There is no consideration if this is their primary residence or home and no compensation is provided for relocation. The issue has been brought to the Indian Supreme Court multiple times for the multiple rounds of eviction notices and consistently fails to be reversed. Or the case stalls in court and the demolition occurs while in court purgatory. Today is the 5th and have been thinking of these people. They were taking reservations up until the end and had no hope of any other resolution. The woman slept in what would be considered the kitchen of this building, waiting to make me banana chocolate pancakes in the morning. Now her home, source of income, and life was demolished through some fancy paper work to sell more $200/night rooms. Honestly, I’m not even sure I have the entire story, I’m sure I’m missing pieces and history. I’m also not claiming to be an expert in Indian eminent domain laws within the Karnataka province. I just know that it wasn’t right. I wonder about the guy who made that decision and what was his number. I’m sure it was a lot and I wonder if he will ever cross that river to see what the true costs were. I spent the following day on the popular side of the town exploring the ruin sites before catching my train to Hyderabad. I hired a personal tuktuk to make quick work of the distance and we discussed the best route to hit the big sites with the abbreviated timeline. It was a Saturday and the sites are busy with families and elementary school aged kids. One family took interest in me and asked for a picture. The dad was wearing a sick green tunic and took particular interest in my croakies, he put on my glasses, with the croakies still around my neck, and we took a selfie with his grandchildren. The ruins are massive, 18’ stone Shiva statue in a stone temple, a huge city center with aqueduct and water reserves, elephant stables where 900 elephants were housed. Carved stone tiles of gods and depictions of normal life cover all the walls of every structure. Every ruin is fair game for everyone. Climb jump and run throughout the entire area and touch anything you desire. It was really neat to be able to freely explore. I found myself in a pitch dark room below one of the temples and felt very Indiana Jones. Pictures certainly can’t do it justice and very happy I got to experience it. I can’t imagine this model is sustainable or how long this will be available to visitors. My next destination was Hyderabad. Since I arrived in India it’s been primarily more rural and wanted to experience some city life. I booked an overnight train and it arrived right on Indian time, 3 hours late. It somehow arrived on time in Hyderabad. Everything runs on magic here and nothing makes sense. I had a top bunk again and the train was packed. After figuring out the negotiation of getting sheets and the outlet usage I was rocking. Getting up to the top bunk is an acrobatic maneuver and tests my strength every time. These old Indians are agile and make it look simple. The train journey is long and I’m hungry but not much food comes aboard when we reach each station. It’s quiet on the train but once we arrive at the station, it’s very clear I have arrived at a city. I have the location of the hostel and make my way to the tuktuk stand. The car taxi drivers are very pushy and expect me to hire them based that I am a tourist. I push for a tuktuk as I know it’s going to be cheaper. The drivers don’t like to use the meters and says it should be around 250rupees to the hostel. I insist on the meter regardless and he reluctantly flips it on. We cruise through the city in the early morning and it’s cold with the breeze. The meter stops running midway though but is on pace to be much less than 250rupees. We arrive at the hostel and there is no sign or markings anywhere. Some people see I am out of place and point to a newly constructed white building. I approach the gate and a guy pops out from the other side to inform me I’ve made it to the right place. I argue with the driver about the meter and eventually give him 200 rupees as I don’t have change and needed the situation to end. Upon reaching the hostel I could feel something was off and not quite right. The man who popped up at the fence is the “security guard”. He had created a structure out of tarps and branches on the ground level and parking lot of the building. He lived there with his wife and toddler daughter. Always monitoring the property and asking us where we were going. He tells me the hostel is on the first floor and I make my way to the stairs. When I enter the hostel there is no reception just a few guests relaxing in the main area. We chat for a bit and they inform me there is no reception but the guy who runs it should be by in a few hours. Weird, but alright. I relax for a bit and they invite me to some activities later in the day. A diverse group of travelers and locals using it as a makeshift residence populate its rooms. The place is awesome and the people who fill it are even better. We are cracking jokes about each other and ourselves in no time and feeling comfortable. No two people are from the same country except the local guys and we discuss our plans and experiences back home and on the road. Such a diverse group and such similar ideas, fears, and goals. We take off to have lunch and check out a fort of ruins in an older part of the city. Our new local friends play the role of host and order multiple plates so we can try and become familiar with South Indian cuisine. I’ve shared an appetizer with friends even split a sandwich but sharing multiple plates with multiple people was a new experience. I really appreciated their guidance as I was finally able to try and associate names with tastes that I’ve experienced so far. After we ate we headed to the fort and explored for a few hours. Seeing these ruins are great but without a tour guide, I’m pretty lost as to what I’m looking at. I really enjoy the taxi rides though and seeing the different parts of the city. It’s absolute chaos at all times. There also isn’t anything that will remind you you’re alive like a Hyderabad city bus passing close enough from behind to feel the turbulent air pulling on your ear. I have no idea how it all works but it does and everyone is playing ball. That night we gathered a group and went to eat some biryani. Which is an enormous plate piled high with rice, veg, and some meat which you clump together and eat with your hands. We got a chicken biryani and it was the most massive meal I’ve ever had. It was delicious but easily the spiciest amount of food I’ve ever eaten. I went to bed feeling good. Full from a great meal with new friends. During the night I woke up, felt horrible and got sick. Anytime this happens it’s a memory game trying to determine the culprit. It really felt glutinous and uncomfortable as if my body gave up trying to process such a large amount of spicy food, it didn’t know what to do and threw in the towel. I felt horrible and spent the night tying to find some sort of comfort. The next day was really rough. India assaults your senses and everything reminded me of being sick. It felt like freshman year and Captain Morgan all over again. I was in bad shape but no one else got sick so it was certainly a Joe issue. Feeling further frustrated by my current state and an outage with the internet I went out to get a sim card and Indian number. Another process I’ll never understand. I needed a copy of my passport, visa, printed color passport photo, personal reference with Indian number, and address in India. I went to the shop and a woman helped me out. After filling out the paperwork and glue sticking my photo to the document, she handed me a SIM card and told me it should be active probably in a day. I was feeling alright about it and after working in telecom i understood there was a process. I can’t imagine what an Indian telecom process would look like and a day sounded more than reasonable. I paid 650 rupees (~$10) for a plan lasting 3 months that included a number and a GB of data per day. The group was heading to do some sightseeing and citing I was feeling better I tagged along. We went to the Muslim part of town to see some of the mosques and bazaars. I didn’t even know India had a Muslim population but here we were. I didn’t last long sight seeing and decided to head back early with some others. Food was hard to get down and I needed rest. India is nonstop and doesn’t wait for anyone. Once you have any weakness it becomes an avalanche quickly. I don’t feel as if the city can feel the weakness and looks to exploit it just that the city is moving and if your not keeping up you’re left behind. Everything is a fight and it’s non stop. This afternoon I had what was most likely my lost difficult moment so far. I felt as if I couldn’t keep my head above water and there was no end. Short term view sure but this is a different kind of fight and I wasn’t equipped to have a fair shot. I was just so tired of haggling over an apple or fighting to cross the street and yearned for a familiar place to rest. I took some time alone and slept it off hoping I would be better in the morning. This place was eating me alive and I was ready to get gone. The next morning I felt 100% better and took my time getting ready. I committed to just relaxing and had no intentions of sightseeing. I needed a vacation from my vacation. One of the guys asked me to grab some breakfast and we took a walk. He has just moved to Hyderabad and I was venting a bit about things I couldn’t make sense of and my frustrations. He gave me a history lesson and a bit of color around the things giving me problems. I’m grateful I met these folks as they were so helpful and truly wanted to make my experience best as possible. They understand the perception westerns have and actively try to separate themselves from “those Indians”. The ones who populate the scammer stories and stereotypes we have in the West. He explains to me his stance around ethics and his dislike of “black money”. Back in 2016 Modi gathered all the politicians in a room and forbid all electronics. Knowing the politicians were corrupt and cash is king. He made an executive decision to remove the currency notes most commonly used to fuel corruption out of circulation within 48 hours. Chaos ensued and the bank of India issued the new 2000 rupee note. From my conversations they consider Modi the Indian Obama and he is very well liked and believe he will be a ten year man - elected to two terms. Everyday I worry about my stash of 2000 rupee notes, no one accepts them and it’s the only note the ATM distributes. A problem I’ve been having but now see the logic from a different perspective. We also discussed the telecom rules and the strange behavior of our hostel. I come to learn that the hostel is run by “black money” and the strangeness I noticed is all very intentional. The hostel is in an apartment in a residential building where rent is ~$1000 per month. The hostel by my estimation generates $5,400 each month when fully booked. The city doesn’t provide business licenses for hostels which explains the lack of options on the Hostelworld app. There is no receptionist because he can’t have any employees. He also is not on the grounds because if the police show up, he’s going to jail. Also if a tourist or guest has any sort of emergency, he’s going to jail. He’ll cut his losses and move on if it comes down to it. Can’t knock this guys hustle but damn that’s a lot of risk for $4k a month. When things feel off here, they are. Later that day I got my new Indian number and was in business. Downloaded all the apps that make Indian life easier. Ola is the Uber of India and now I know how badly I’ve been ripped off as it can estimate the charges moving forward. I also booked my remaining time in India through Christmas and successfully got my Afrikaburn tickets. It was a productive day and I couldn’t be happier. I felt accomplished and it was a full 180 from the previous day. One thing I’ve been seeking and haven’t found yet is the music scene, I haven’t had any exposure to it. That afternoon I had a conversation with someone who lived in Hyderabad and we discussed our favorite artists. Seemed he had a passion for it just as I do. Did you know that MTV unplugged is alive and well and became Coke Studio after it was canceled in the US? It is one of the most popular shows on TV here and I’m jealous there isn’t an American version. It has a focus on fusion music which is the merger of Pakistani and Indian folk songs played with western instruments and covered by popular artists. The songs are amazing and during the show they are always played twice. Once to hear the song live and a second time with the lyrics so you can follow along and not miss the “beautiful story”. Most seem to revolve around the struggles and love story involving a king. It was a great find and I added a bunch to my Spotify playlists. We spent the rest of the time sharing stories about our favorite concerts and discussing classic rock. It was fantastic to make that connection and share similar viewpoints. This hostel felt like a home at the end. It wasn’t the location but the people who made it. It was great to be apart of their lives, celebrating interviews and new beginnings. My time in Hyderabad wasn’t what I expected but maybe what I needed. I’m heading to Mumbai now and curious of its condition as it was just hit by a storm and water cyclone. I have no idea what that means but wore my boots and have my rain jacket ready. I plan on checking out Bollywood and hopefully some music. After a few days I’ll head to the deserts of Jaisalmer in Rajasthan to ride a camel for three days and camp on a sand dune. -Joe