Hampi - Lakshmi - Part 1

In Hampi Bazaar, the Virupaksha temple, like most major temples, has a temple elephant called Lakshmi.  Every morning she's taken out for a short walk down the ghat steps at the nearby river to have a bath & a scrub.  Some days she really loves getting in the water by herself without the mahout and just splash around.  I'm making two blog entries of this event one morning I went to watch - one is of going to the water, the other will be of her bath.  Nothing like watching a lady have a bath!
Anyway, here's part 1.

Finally!

First a good trunk scritch on a rock.

Then just playing around in the water.....

More to come soon.....

Hampi! - Stuff on heads...

All over India women (and men sometimes) carry lots of stuff on their heads.  These are just some observations while in Hampi.

Goa....4

Here are some pics from before I went to Hampi.

Heading down the beach

Neil being just a little 'yogic'

....and just relaxing a bit

Off to clean the nets in the morning.

Waiting for their share of the catch.

Just hanging aroung for a bit of the leftovers.

Fishermen's friends

Late afternoon net fishing

Having a bite to eat in front of the 'Secret Garden'

Hanging out with trouble.

A different view of Tom

Goa.....3

Such a place - so hot in the day and so cool in the early early morning.

Sunrise on the beach.

Taking care of business.

...and now for a little sunset wave action in front of the Secret Garden...starring Walter!

(with a GoPro Hero2)

Goa....2

A woman weeding her fields.

A few of the coconut 'seeds' that hit the ground at Secret Garden/

Must have been a long night?

   

Definitely had a long night!

more to come?

Goa!

Well.....nothing like a little 33 hour trip to India, with a 4am arrival.  At least the longest leg (14.5 hours) was on a reasonably comfortable (for economy) airline - Qatar.  Did have fun watching some dummy get kicked off the airplane (from Doha to Goa) for smoking in the toilet before we took off, which meant that we were late as staff had to reconfirm who owned what carry on baggage.Ah well.
But I'm here, have had a couple of nights of good sleep, some quality beach time, and things are looking sunny.

A bit of the gray left behind.

The waiting hut at Secret Garden

Breakfast greeting at the Monsoon

In front of Secret Garden, breakfast on the beach

....and of course....a sunset to finish off the day