is there poodle in my noodle

Greetings, family and friends, from Badami, India’s premiere sport climbing destination, about 2 hours north-west of Hampi. We are spending four days in this bustling town before heading to Goa.

Badami’s 5,000 inhabitants are very friendly, low maintenance, and curious (i.e. they stare, a lot). We are the only whites in the village, and when we are not being gawped at like gorillas in a cage, we are posing for selfies for the younger Insta-obsessed folk, most of whom are on holiday here. I am sure we are trending in several countries at present 😂

#whitewesternersontour

As well as being an important pilgrimmage site, the town is also home to a huge menagerie of wild animals. Yesterday, as we climbed, we were cheered on by a balcony of primates, serenaded by a herd of goats, escorted by a lounge of lizards and surrounded by a drift of boars and their cute offspring. That’s not to mention the hangars of bats in the caves, the mating palm squirrels (making quite the racket) and cows, who as always, are the Queens of the Road and will go everywhere they please, thank you very much.

The town is also notable for its heavily-adorned tractors; a long-standing tradition expressing identity and religious beliefs, and making the vehicle more visible and appealing for business.

Most tourists are here to see the cave temples; they are a complex of four Hindu caves carved into a red sandstone hill behind the town. The area served as the capital of the Early Chalukyas during the 6th to the 8th century, when the caves were created.

The climbing has been pretty good. We’ve done a couple of days and are enjoying the red sandstone, which is pretty odd and unlike any rock we’ve climbed on before.

As much as we have mostly enjoyed being immersed in this madness, we both agree that India is not an entirely “pleasant” and contented experience for the independent traveller. Everything is a huge effort – communication is tough, and everywhere we go, we get shouted at and hassled and stared at.

Meanwhile, it is only Jem who is handed the menu in restaurants or spoken to by other men, while I am completely ignored. Ironically, when walking down the street, I get all of the other kinds of attention, mostly unwanted. The gender divide here, for me, is quite crushing.

We have found ourselves yearning after a financial transaction that doesn’t involve haggling, and a social interaction that doesn’t lead to visiting someone’s cousin’s restaurant around the corner. It is hard to describe the extent of the dirt and grime and rubbish, the open gutters; how you can’t walk down the street without dreaming of a hazmat suit.

India has provided an incredible “experiential journey” with eye-opening and humbling moments along the way. But we decided that enough was enough. We have planned to head over to Thailand for two weeks of sport climbing at Tonsai, a world-famous destination that I have previously visited a couple of times.

Next stop, Goa, where Jem plans to realign his chakras.