Dream Trip 2009

Great Travel Moment

While visiting Hampi, in India, we ventured out early one morning to see one of the main tourist attractions in the area, the Giant Royal Elephant Stables. Expecting only a long building with large doors, we were surprised to find that a festival had taken place the night before, and no-one had yet arrived to clear up the grounds. It was quiet, almost entirely empty. The courtyard was strange and silent like the calm after a storm- so much activity had occurred here only hours before, and now all that remained as evidence was a sea of red plastic chairs; no trash, no bottles, no noise, only chairs. The moment this photo was taken is so representative to me of the unexpected things and sights that took us by surprise so often in India. Round a corner and you might see something amazing, something quite grotesque, or something mundane yet beautiful, like this unexpected blast of silent red.