Since it was Christmas day in a rather un-Christmas-y place, we decided to shower to the accompaniment of Christmas carols on the iPod. We walked back along the river to the same restaurant where we had lunch yesterday for a breakfast of fruit, muesli, curd, and honey and a cup of coffee. It wasn't my mom's Christmas coffee cake, but it was still pretty good. While we sat, we watched the kingfishers dive into the river for a holiday breakfast of their own and saw monkeys warming themselves in the sun.

After walking back to the guesthouse, we fired up the bikes and rode the eight miles into the nearby town of Hospet and hit the ATM for some much-needed cash. We then resumed our tour of Hampi's ruins with some of the outlying temples.



Our first stop was the Queen's Bath, which was surprisingly elaborately decorated on the inside.





We then rode the short distance to the Royal Center, where we wandered through another set of massive ruins and posed for 30 or 40 more photos.



We got back on the bikes and rode to the Lotus Mahal, which was surrounded by a 25 foot high stone wall punctuated with massive guard towers.



Next to the Lotus Mahal were the gigantic elephant stables that once housed the royal elephants.



After a quick stop at the Underground Temple, we rode to the Vitalla Temple. Even though we were bordering on being “templed out,” this temple was worth the visit.



Located in the courtyard was a massive, stone chariot that used to be mobile despite the fact that the axles and wheels are made out of stone as well. In some places, the carving on the temples was remarkably intact and crisp.



Especially impressive were the sets of slender pillars that were carved out of a single piece of stone. Some of the pillars in the temple are musical and will generate a tone if tapped.

We finished temple touring by around 4:00 pm and decided to head back into Hospet to hit the liquor store (and find out about Re's Christmas present). On our earlier visit to Hospet Re spotted a liquor store next to the motorcycle upholsterer. (One drawback to temple towns in India is that they are almost always vegetarian and “dry.”) While I spoke to the seat upholsterer, Re went next door for some whiskey. The upholsterer said that if we come back tomorrow morning at 10:30, he could redo our seats while we wait. When I asked the price, he said 350 rupees each (7 USD). I opened my mouth to haggle on the price, but when I realized how little it actually was, I quickly shut my mouth.

When we got back to the guesthouse we decided to work on our First Need XL water purifier, since it was getting difficult to pump. We purchased some purified water and used it to backflush the canister. While trying to reassemble the unit, I dropped the canister on the floor from chest height. Crap. The instructions say that if the canister is struck hard, that you need to test it with dye to make sure it still works. The unit comes with a bottle of blue food coloring that we used for the test, but very unfortunately found that our canister was indeed ruined. Fortunately, we are carrying a backup filter, which we installed. Unfortunately, the canisters are only rated for 150 gallons, and that ain't gonna last us very long. After a delicious Christmas dinner of falafel, hummus, and pita, I called my parents on Skype to wish them a Merry Christmas. The we enjoyed a nightcap of Diet Coke and Indian whiskey and called it a night.

46 miles over some amount of time. Re's bike is definitely running better and getting better mileage with the leaner pilot jet. Tomorrow I will need to clean mine and install it.