I admit it; I’m a planner. I’ve always said that half the fun of travel for me is researching far flung destinations, poring over a guidebook (or these days blogs and vlogs) looking for off the beaten path gems. This trip has been a total anomaly in that I did almost zero research in advance. It’s not surprising as our plates were a bit full before we left: moving out of our home of 18 years, selling most of our possessions, transitioning to a nomad lifestyle. Still, it was not entirely comfortable for me to travel halfway around the world without any plans. But 20+ hours on a plane is a lot of time to read your Lonely Planet, which results in a long list of “must see” places to visit.

The thing about planning, though, is that sometimes the destinations live up to your expectations, sometimes they don’t; and every so often, you get lucky and they blow your mind. And that was the case with Hampi. A perfect mix of history, culture, and nature; Hampi was a real standout of our time in India.