This past weekend, got a chance to drive by Smokies. As with last minute plans, this needed a few creative ideas to make it happen. One of them was to just drive around and sleep in the car when needed. One of the huge advantage of car camping, is that you are always only a door away from a night full of stars or floating in a mystic fog or waking up to lovely view like this. After trying out some fun light experiments at the Clingmans dome, we decided to head out to NewFound Gap to catch some sleep. The intent was to be able to crash till twilight and be able to enjoy the sunrise from near a view point. But as it is aptly called – Somokies – the view was pretty covered with fog and overcast. After some quick gamble, decided to see if we would have a better luck driving around. As we pulled out of the parking lot and within the next turns, we were greeted with this scene. The sun was just rising behind the mountains lighting up the horizon :)
Hampi, a village in northern Karnataka, India, was one of the richest and largest cities in the world during its prime. It is located within the ruins of the city of Vijayanagara. The ruins are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Trip to Hampi is incomplete without the trek to Matanga hills. Matunga Hill, being at the center of Hampi, and also the highest point, is the best spot to get an aerial view of Hampi and it's surroundings. One can experience the true essence of any new place much deeper – in the first few moments leading to the sunrise and a few moments after, when the world around us is waking up from a slumber. The rooftop of the Veerabhadra Temple at the summit is the ideal place for a sunrise or sunset. Apart from the Veerabhadra temple, there are lovely views sprinkled around, like these.
