Hey, I’m on the verge of catching up on my blogging. I’m in Vagator, Goa, and it looks like this will be a good place to unwind, as if I’m under all that much stress.
Badami and the nearby sites are pretty interesting. You’ve seen loads of pictures of cave temples and archeological sites, so I’ll spare both of us this time around. In Badami itself, there are four cave temples, three of which are Hindu and one is Jain. They date from the 6th to the 8th centuries.
There’s nothing like being protected in the arms of the gods, especially if he’s got eight of them.
Anyway, you get the picture. The caves are full of these friezes. They are nothing spectacular, after you’ve seen Ajanta and Ellora.
Near Badami are Pattadakal and Aihole. There are ancient temple and city complexes there. Pattadakal is pretty big, as it was the capital of a Hindu kingdom from the 4th to the 7th centuries. Ailole is a temple complex. Mahakuta is a 16th-17th century temple. It’s still active.
You know what I might always remember. Badami had little tourist scene. In tourist ghettoes, you see a lot of bars. In regular India towns, you may have a bar or two,and a liquors store or two. Badami had the most Indian bars and liquor stores I’ve seen yet. Drinking is a big deal there. And I want to tell you, they don’t mess around. The heck with sipping. Those guys kill a half pint in 10 minutes. On the main drag there are about 10 bars, and they are packed, with turnover in 10 minutes. Boy howdy.
The ride to Goa was dreadful. Karnataka state is actually pretty rugged. The eastern part isin the western ghats (That means hills), and the westernpart winds down to the lush tropical plains of southern India. The road is being modernized toa narrow 2-lane road for about 50 km. So it’s construction and choppy dirt road the whole way. It took 10 hours in a government bus (Read: 40 yearold school bus). My sitting situation wasn’t the greatest. I made it, anyway. Now I’m kicking back. It’s what you do in Goa. I have a nice room in a guesthouse under the coconut palms, about 100 meters from the beach. It’s pretty, and well away from the party. I have a motorcycle, which is perfect for around here, as there is little traffic. I’ll write about it in a couple of days.
Meanwhile, my best to all….