How I found the real value of stillness in India
Chapter 10: When all around you is chaos, sometimes the most important thing is to stop, breathe and slow down.
Welcome to Chapter 10 of Love at First Flight, my round-the-world travel memoir.
In this chapter, I’m in Hampi, the 14th century capital of India’s ancient Hindu kingdom, when I wake to some shocking news.
You can read chapters 1 to 9 here.
A loud screeching jolted me awake—metal scraping metal, an engine rumbling, then a heavy thudding.
In the dark, I could make out the small wooden hut I’d moved into the day before, the bed nearly filling the space, with my enormous backpack on the floor. The noises continued.
Opening the door a crack, I poked my head out into the morning light.
A bulldozer was tearing through the small shop near my guesthouse entrance, just metres away.
The machine’s arm ripped into the walls and the roof caved in.
What had once been a shop was now rubble, blocking the entrance to my guesthouse.
I threw on some clothes and joined the onlookers. One dazed girl was holding a half-eaten bowl of cereal. When I asked what was going on, she pointed behind her:
“I’ve just come from up the road. They evacuated us while we were eating breakfast. Then the bulldozers came. I had to watch my favourite guest house be torn down.”
The world outside seemed to be falling apart and it was overwhelming. Everyone had the same question: why?
This was not the start I’d imagined when I arrived in Hampi. And it had taken quite an expedition to get here.
The journey to Hampi
Two days earlier, I’d boarded an overnight bus from Goa to Hampi, a city in the neighbouring state of Karnataka, India, which I’d read about in my Goa guidebook.
As a solo female traveller I was nervous, but the cosy sleeping area on the bus helped me sleep through the night.
We arrived in Hampi at 7am. Bleary-eyed, I set off to find the cheapest accommodation.
After checking several places and negotiating prices, I decided on Gopi’s guesthouse, where I’d have my own cute bamboo hut for just 200 rupees ($2) a night.
It was perfect and I couldn’t believe my luck.
Two Swedish guys from my bus, Jonathan and Peter, were also staying there, so we hung out.
The guesthouse’s restaurant overlooked peaceful rice fields and palm trees, which I loved.
Later, I went to the guesthouse next door to work on my blog. When I returned that evening, the power was out.
My hut was pitch-black and my torch wouldn’t work either. Stumbling in the dark, I climbed into bed and drifted off in the silence.
But the next morning, the bulldozers shattered the calm.
Crossing over to the ruins
The machines weren’t done. After demolishing the shop, they tore down the travel agent where I’d planned to buy my return bus ticket. All the other shops closed.
I had no idea now how I’d leave Hampi,
but I pushed the thought aside. It was time to leave the rubble behind and explore the ancient ruins I’d come to see.
A couple of guys ferried us across the river to Hampi.
From the boat, I saw a pyramid-shaped temple towering over the riverbank. My guidebook said it dates back to the 7th century.
Hampi, the ‘City of Victory,’ was once the capital of a medieval Hindu empire. Today, more than 1,600 ruins of temples and statues remain scattered across 16 square miles.
Several rickshaw drivers greeted us as we landed. I negotiated the best price I could and set off to explore Hampi’s historical sites.
The wonders of Hampi
We first visited several statues, including a massive Ganesha, the Hindu god of removing obstacles.
In the Royal Enclosure, we saw the pretty pink Lotus Mahal palace. Nearby were massive stables where the royal elephants once roamed.
However, the sun’s oppressive heat and the morning’s events left me dizzy.
The driver did his best, taking photos of me, but I couldn’t focus. Bemused, he rushed me from one ancient wonder to the next.
Evening reflection
It wasn’t until I returned to the guest house and spoke with the other guests that I realised my mistake.
Everyone was buzzing about the details they’d noticed—the intricate carvings, the way light played on certain statues. There were temples I hadn’t even seen.
Clearly, I had rushed through Hampi, just as I rushed through life, letting the noises of the world stop me from being in the moment.
Then Gopi, the guesthouse owner, gave me a valuable tip.
Slowing down to see more
Gopi rented me a bike so I could explore the ancient city at my own pace.
Cycling around felt liberating. Confident from the previous day’s rickshaw tour, I revisited sites with fresh eyes and discovered new ones.
Finally taking my time, I learned the musical secret of one temple—its pillars made a twinkly sound when you strike them with your fingers, each playing a different note.
I glimpsed the real Hampi, too—a man on a cart pulled by cattle, while women washed colourful clothes in the river.
On this near-perfect day, I rode along, smiling and singing. Pure joy.
Even when a herd of cows blocked my path, I didn’t mind.
I had this India thing sorted. But there was still more slowing down to do.
Making plans over dinner
At dinner back at Gopi’s, I confided in Jonathan and Peter that I didn’t know where I’d go after Hampi.
I felt I’d already ‘done’ Goa and I should use the rest of my time in India to see more. Maybe sail the backwaters of Kerala or visit the Taj Mahal—that was a must, surely?
The boys lent me their India guidebook. As I flicked through it, more potential destinations appeared. My stomach tightened and my mind started spinning.
What was I going to do? Where should I go? How would I even leave Hampi without a travel agent to buy a bus ticket?
What was the ‘right’ decision? Then an idea came to me.
Finding clarity in stillness
I spotted a quiet area by an abandoned restaurant, in the rice paddy behind the guesthouse.
Excusing myself, I went over there and began the qigong routine that Panda, my teacher from Arambol, had taught me.
One movement involved sweeping my hands down to the floor, drawing up the earth’s grounding energy. As I focused on my breath, my heart rate slowed and my stomach unclenched.
The storm inside me quietened. My chaotic thoughts and swirling questions gently faded.
Finally, I was still. No more noise. Only calm.
Returning to the table, I looked at the guidebook again. When I reached the section on Palolem in Goa, my heart did a little flip.
My mind was confused—this was not where I’d planned to go. But this wasn’t a logical decision. It was my intuition, now that I’d made space to hear it.
I shared my thoughts with the boys. Excitedly, they told me about Francisco, a guesthouse owner in Palolem, who’d served them the best breakfast and masala chai in India.
Well, then.
My heart had decided: I was going to Palolem. And I was going to find Francisco.
Sunset over Hampi
On my final day in Hampi, I started reading The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron. Her words resonated with everything I’d been experiencing. To rediscover our creativity and emotional flow, both destruction and stillness are required. Only then, she said:
We begin to excavate our buried dreams.
Among the ruins in Hampi—old and new—I reflected on my obsession with control and what I ‘should’ be doing. That side of me needed to be torn down to find the serenity and guidance within me.
Despite—or because of—this, everything was going to be OK. More than OK.
Shortly afterwards, the guesthouse owner next door, who’d seen me there writing my blog, offered me a bus ticket back to Goa. It felt like a miracle.
Jonathan and Peter invited me to the ‘monkey temple’ on a nearby mountain. After climbing nearly 600 steps, we saw stunning views across Hampi—as well as several monkeys.
Sitting on the rocks, we soaked in the peaceful orange sunset and simply appreciated the moment.
Hampi had taught me that things can change, often beyond our control, but we can choose how we respond. The challenge of facing the unexpected can be good for us.
I now understood the value of slowing down, making space for stillness and allowing my intuition to guide me.
Listening to my heart, I knew my next step was Palolem. I didn’t need to understand why.
But, as I’d soon discover, my heart was absolutely right to take me there.
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Stay tuned for the next chapter, where I discover what’s waiting for me in Palolem.
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This was such a beautiful read - I love how you got to experience a beautiful unfolding in Hampi and also how you relayed it here. Reading your chapters make my heart pang for India. I've been once but I stayed in the same place for 3 weeks 😅 Which I loved and was deliberate, but man am I yearning to return and visit all of the places you're mentioning!
Claire I like how you got to explore Hampi at your own pace. I love to rent scooters whenever I go to a new town or something when traveling. I love scooters so so much. India reminds me a lot of the Philippines with the rice fields and palm trees.