[YETI]

I've just been having a look at this picture of cyberhippie's and it got me thinking that maybe I ought to include Badami on my next trip.

I don't know much about it though, other than it's a similar landscape to Hampi but less touristy. Is that a reasonable description? If so, I'd love it - Hampi's one of my favourite places in India but I find the Israeli chillum scene there a bit of pain.

If I went to Badami could I expect a similar atmosphere but a bit more relaxed?

Any thoughts about the place, positive or negative wuld be very helpful, thanks.

Btw, I'll be there out of tourist season, during the monsoon, probably. Late September-ish.

[bamboozle]

wow, we really enjoyed the sights at badami... we went there in 2004 on cyberhippies recommendation.
we have not been to hampi yet (next time) so I can't compare it but we did not see any chillum smoking there. over all it seemed like a relaxed rural place with not much to do but admire and enjoy the surroundings...  not sure what september would be like... interesting I bet...
in february it was mega hot and dusty... there were lots of gutter pigs and so many monkeys (we got harassed by one at a hanuman shrine - mad bugger)
the rock temples were spectacular... the deities were numerous and intricately carved... all the way around the north fort was amazing with so many things to look at... we met a young man who showed us around and gave us a bit of history... we found caves with him that we would never have known existed so did not mind paying him a few rupees at the end of our guided tour so he could get a new cricket bat.
the Indian tourists we met were so friendly it was a pleasure to share our sightseeing with them...
we even got lost in the village and were greeted by smiles from everyone...
we stayed at Mukambika Deluxe... dodgy restaurant food, a bar on the roof which was nice in the evening...  unfortunately we awoke one night to the sounds of a miscreant attempting to slide our window open on our ground floor room... however, the hotel guys were great and dealt with the situation promptly and moved us to another room.  the manager was ever so upset and apologetic... but this did not spoil our trip at all...
anyway, enough said... enjoy your journey...
ps  I have attached a few photos taken with a gimmicky camera so not too sure of the quality...

Attached Files

•  badami_caves.JPG   39.72K   28 downloads
•  badami_caves_outside.JPG   39.52K   30 downloads
•  badami__where_the_people_live.JPG   46.76K   38 downloads
•  badami__hidden_vishnu_cave.JPG   41.87K   30 downloads

[Serena]

When I arrived in Badami more than 10 years ago I didn't know what to expect.....start walking down the little alleys, a lot of smiles and "Ta ta" from the children.....but where are the temples? Follow the dull sound we heard finally  we reached the green tank  and find out that the sound was made by a lot of women washing their clothes on the ghats...and now I remember the place with a lot of love and nostalgia....

[YETI]

Thanks, Bamboozle and Serena.

Judging by what you're saying, it sounds like my kind of place. Just the sort of place I could relax for a few days and soak up the atmosphere.

Particularly like the sound of this:

Quote

a relaxed rural place with not much to do but admire and enjoy the surroundings

That's just fine by me - if there's a temple or two to add to the atmosphere, all the better.

Has anyone here been to both Hampi and Badami? Are they comparable? Does Badami have that 'other-worldly' (for want of a better word) feeling you get in Hampi?

Cyberhippie - you must've been to both - you out there, mate?

[edwardseco]

If you have the time to nose around there are some very spectacular temples there hidden away. One near the water was easily my favorite. See the government museum in town for orienting with their model of the area. Very nice and helpful people..

[YETI]

The more I hear about this, the better it gets.

I'd definitely take my time, edwardseco.

I've never been into the one-day-in-Jodhpur-one-in-Jaipur-the-next-in-Jaisalmer type of travelling.

If I like Badami as much as I think I will I'll probably stay for a week or so and have a few side-trips out to Aihole and other places around.

Edited by Dr Funkenstein, 04 August 2006 - 04:21 PM.

[torryquine]

"What Can I Expect?"

You can expect Mr & Mrs TQ rolling up there around the same time.  It looks amazing doesn't it?  We'll be taking in Aihole and Pattardakal too.

[gianni66]

Dr Funkenstein, on Aug 3 2006, 06:14 PM, said:

Hampi's one of my favourite places in India but I find the Israeli chillum scene there a bit of pain.

What do you mean??   I am going to Hampi at the end of the month, my last destination in South India before flying back to Delhi and from there back home... I have rad the great Beach's post about Hampi and caught the warnings about the site, but why should it be more dangerous than other places for the Israeli recent events?

Yes, I understand that what's happening in ME can in some way be an hazard for travelling around - but is there a special reason to avoid Hampi in particular? I have fallen in love with Hampi for what I have read and the pictures seen...  

And, surely, Badami would worth the trip too... but can a life be sufficient to cover all these places?

[gipsychief]

torryquine, on Aug 4 2006, 11:18 AM, said:

"What Can I Expect?"

You can expect Mr & Mrs TQ rolling up there around the same time.  It looks amazing doesn't it?  We'll be taking in Aihole and Pattardakal too.

Badami is a small town or a big  village u could call it.Its dustier n hotter than humpi n has a few temples n a few structurs with  nizam/mugal type architecture. n very few tourists.

[gianni66]

gianni66, on Aug 4 2006, 01:35 PM, said:

What do you mean??   I am going to Hampi at the end of the month, my last destination in South India before flying back to Delhi and from there back home... I have rad the great Beach's post about Hampi and caught the warnings about the site, but why should it be more dangerous than other places for the Israeli recent events?

Yes, I understand that what's happening in ME can in some way be an hazard for travelling around - but is there a special reason to avoid Hampi in particular? I have fallen in love with Hampi for what I have read and the pictures seen...  

And, surely, Badami would worth the trip too... but can a life be sufficient to cover all these places?

...or maybe you are not referring at all to the Middle-East events???
I know the mean ing of the word "chillum", but I am confused about the phrase "Israeli chillum", so I thought you were talking about the ME war!!    I'M CONFUSED, PLEASE EXPLAIN!!!  

(this is what can happen in an international forum grouping people of different languages...   )

[YETI]

No worries, gianni. A 'Lost in Translation' moment, there, I'm afraid.

I'm not referring to the events in the Middle East at all - I'm referring to the large groups of (largely) Israeli travellers that congregate in Hampi with the intention of partying loudly and getting stoned.

Chillum = clay pipe for smoking dope.

I don't want to turn this into an Israeli-bashing thread so it's probably best I leave it there. All I'm saying is that I'm looking for somewhere peaceful where people aren't partying all the time - Badami sounds ideal for this.

torryquine, on Aug 4 2006, 04:48 PM, said:

You can expect Mr & Mrs TQ rolling up there around the same time.  It looks amazing doesn't it?  We'll be taking in Aihole and Pattardakal too.

Maybe this is where we could have our meetup, then. Sounds like a great place.

[Aadil]

Well, comparing Hampi to Badami will not do it justice as Hampi is in a class of it's own with almost no comparison!!! But Badami along with Aihole and Pattadakal make it a lovely trio to see and enjoy the temples and caves. I stayed at the Mookambika Deluxe too and it was a lovely little place with the cheapest and cleanest rooms available in the whole of Badami. The KSTDC Hotel Mayura at Badami was a lousy option and we just saw it and ran away from there!!! Badami also had a bad reputation as far as I was concerned with the small kids who were really satans in disguise as they pelted my friend with stones when she did not give them any of the things (money and gifts) they asked for after asking her to take pictures of them. Really left a sad remembrance of an otherwise lovely experience. Artwise it is wonderful to see the fort as well as the rock cut temples (caves) and they are really worth visiting along with the other two sites I mentioned before. Makes it a lovely two day trip at least one day for Aihole and Pattadakal with the other day for Badami. You can even take three days to see each site on one day which is what I would recommend you do to soak in all the art and sculptures there. Fascinating to see all the old architecture and art work in stone. Do not miss the museums at the sites too. Great to see all the removed pieces of art there too. Hope this helps.

Hampi as a city of ruined temples and palaces is something that is out of this world and it takes at least a few days to see it all. I was there for about five days and have seen only 3/4th of Hampi yet!!! So do give it a lot of time to see it and experience it in all it's glory!!!

Cheers,
Aadil.

[cyberhippie]

Hi Doc,
I really enjoyed Badami and as Aadil has already mentioned, a combinination of Aihole, Pattadakal alongside Badam, makes for a few well spent days!! The caves at Badami are interesting with great stonework, halfway up to the last cave, the geological layering of the rock is quite surreal! For me though the setting was everything, the horseshoe gorge, red stone and blue lake infused a kind of easyness on the eye and spirit!! Of course this is India and the life around the "tank" was frenzied, industrious and chatty.
I never really did Badami justice as I was on a taxi trip with 5 other people, suffice to sayu I would gladly go back and spend a few days in this lazy little frontier town!! The houses along the main street are very photogenic!

The temples at Pattadakal are intricate and lonely, a throwback I'm sure to the early days of the better known "sites" on the " pancake trail" Aihole was a skip through to be honest.............a downside of group travel, but I shot the sh*t with the locals and the chai was "just sublime" and departed as the sun settled just above the horizon, with another great memory of Ma India!!
Travel between the three sites is wonderful, we saw sheep dogs for the first time here, to protect the goats (sheep) rather than herd them, littered around are many temples new and old hewn from the reddish local stone, hand operated fodder cutters, charpoys piled against the walls of squat homes, kids manning the hand pumps for water and buffelo being herded down the roughly single track of tarmac. Mustard fields give a lovely contrast to the red, burnt enviroment.
All in all I would gladly give Badami three or four days, just to explore, the people were for me friendly, and a bit aloof in a proud kind of fashion. Tourism in western terms is still in it's infancy here and there's a minimum of hassle from the "usual suspects"

I don't know which way you're approaching from but I would recommend a visit to Dandeli as well..................More!

[edwardseco]

the area was a lot better than I have seen described. I would love to have spent more time even if accomodations weren't 4*. Watch out for the punitive foren pricing (also monkeys!). Next time I will be more relaxed and pay up without regrets or resentment..

[RTodor]

Hi Cyberhippie,
the water in the pond is green not blue - see your own pic  

Dr.Frankenstein (sorry Dr.Funkenstein he he he),
Badami charmed me with its colours - have a stroll around the houses near the pond and enjoy the colourful scene of the market as well.

Have a nice time

Edited by RTodor, 06 August 2006 - 06:09 PM.

[YETI]

Thanks, Aadil, cyberhippie, gipsychief and RTodor - very helpful.

I won't go expecting another Hampi, then. I like the sound of the area around the lake / tank. Think I'll try and get somewhere to stay nearby. I'll have plenty of time to soak up the atmosphere - knowing me I'll probably stay for about a week or so.

Pattadakal sounds good, too - I'm always on the look out for places that are

Quote

a throwback I'm sure to the early days of the better known "sites" on the " pancake trail"

.

Thanks again, everyone - very helpful advice here as ever.

[gianni66]

Dr Funkenstein, on Aug 4 2006, 04:36 PM, said:

No worries, gianni. A 'Lost in Translation' moment, there, I'm afraid.

I'm not referring to the events in the Middle East at all - I'm referring to the large groups of (largely) Israeli travellers that congregate in Hampi with the intention of partying loudly and getting stoned.

Chillum = clay pipe for smoking dope.

I don't want to turn this into an Israeli-bashing thread so it's probably best I leave it there. All I'm saying is that I'm looking for somewhere peaceful where people aren't partying all the time - Badami sounds ideal for this.
Maybe this is where we could have our meetup, then. Sounds like a great place.

OK, I understand now... sorry for the misunderstanding, but sometimes there is a sort of language gap between the English and non-English mother tongue of the forum, when family, slang or non-conventional expressions are used!

However, I read about the full-moon and rave parties in Hampi, but I imagine that this scene is mostly concentrated during the peak season of Goa, being Hampi just few hours away. I can hope that during August (when Goa should be quite desert) this happens much less, is it correct? So I should find a more peaceful place now in Hampi...

What I couldn't imagine is that such scene is mostly formed by Israeli guys, I expected rather English or Italian (though Italian ravers are more concentrated on Thai beaches - Greek, when I was 20!).

Have a nice stay in Badami, the pictures and description look great!

Gianni

[YETI]

I'd imagine that in August Hampi will be very quiet, gianni. I doubt there'll be many parties at all, if any.

I was there last in January, just after Xmas, and it was very busy with a lot of people there straight from the Xmas parties in Goa. There were quite a few parties at night and it seemed really weird to me to want to party in such a peaceful, holy place.

This is a bugbear that I have with Western tourists all over India - although I like parties / techno music etc  myself, I really can't see the point of going to a beautiful, peaceful place and ruining the atmsophere by setting a soundsystem up.

In August the whole place will be very quiet, though. I was in Hampi in April once and I pretty much had the place to myself.

[gianni66]

Dr Funkenstein, on Aug 7 2006, 12:03 PM, said:

I'd imagine that in August Hampi will be very quiet, gianni. I doubt there'll be many parties at all, if any.

I was there last in January, just after Xmas, and it was very busy with a lot of people there straight from the Xmas parties in Goa. There were quite a few parties at night and it seemed really weird to me to want to party in such a peaceful, holy place.

This is a bugbear that I have with Western tourists all over India - although I like parties / techno music etc  myself, I really can't see the point of going to a beautiful, peaceful place and ruining the atmsophere by setting a soundsystem up.

In August the whole place will be very quiet, though. I was in Hampi in April once and I pretty much had the place to myself.

By the way, which weather can I expect in Hampi at end of August?

[torryquine]

Dr Funkenstein, on Aug 7 2006, 11:03 AM, said:

This is a bugbear that I have with Western tourists all over India - although I like parties / techno music etc  myself, I really can't see the point of going to a beautiful, peaceful place and ruining the atmsophere by setting a soundsystem up.

My feelings too, especially when they are places of spritual significance to people.  I'm not in the least bit religious myself but would not want to see speaker stacks next to a Hindu shrine any more than I'd expect to see them next to St Paul's Cathedral.

Besides - you can party anywhere in the world - why waste time doing that in India when there are much better things to do.