Day 2 (Badami Pattadakal Aihole Badami BTM 703kms)
During trips at times we oversleep and wake up late, but today was the heights of oversleeping and getting up super late. Our plan was to get up around 7-8am, ride towards Pattadakal first and then to Aihole, return hotel by almost 11am, check out and leave Badami by 12noon. Somehow both of us ignored the alarm when it rang and we continued to sleep in glory only to realize that it was around 9:30am in the morning already. In a hurry burry both of us got up, but then since we were already late and cant do much about it, we agreed on plan B. Have breakfast, get ready and geared up, load the bike and check out from the hotel once and for all, cover Pattadakal and Aihole and then return towards Bangalore. This would be a bit time consuming but we were ok with it, it was the only feasible and sensible plan at that moment.
When Atul called up reception to give our breakfast order, surprisingly we were told that we have complimentary breakfast along with the booking but the kitchen would be close by 10am and we need to hurry up. Delighted to have free breakfast (cheap thrills of life), both of us got freshened up and headed towards the restaurant situated in the ground floor. The spread was quite wide, idly, vada, poha, bread toast, omelet, corn flakes with milk, set dosa with sambar and chutney, orange juice, aloo paratha, tea and coffee. We ate till we could eat no more, food was really awesome and both were hungry as well. Done with breakfast, we went upstairs to take shower, gear up, pack both the luggage and complete all the checkout formalities. Around 11:30am we left hotel and proceeded towards Pattadakal, which was some 21kms away.
The scorching sun was too harsh and the surrounding weather looked completely dry and lifeless. The roads were in really good conditions, surrounded by hills covered with red stones. It took us 30mins to reach the temple premise of Pattadakal. Gave Rs 10 as parking fee for the bike and the entry was Rs 25 per person, camera was Rs 25 per equipment with extra charges applicable only when someone is taking video. Guess the security measures for this temple is too high, the security personnel checked our tank bag thoroughly and advised us not to use any kind of selfie stick. Once everything was checked and confirmed, we entered the temple site.
Pattadakal is situated on the banks of river Malaprabha and is a pure testament of the architectural prowess of the Chalukya dynasty. There are almost close to 9 Hindu temples in this site, all dedicated to Lord Shiva and a Jain temple. The timeless beauty and historical relevance of these temples is totally mesmerizing, and is a harmonious blend of architectural forms from northern and southern India. This site is accorded as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. The entire premise is surrounded by lush green grass and colorful blooming flowers, with numerous other small shrines and plinths. Apparently, all through all these temples the artisans wanted to express the conflicting concepts of Dharma (duty, virtue, righteousness) and Moksha (liberation) in Hindu theology. They are symbolic to inclination towards integration and experimentation. Atul and I spent some 45 mins here looking around, clicking pictures, understanding the architecture and admiring the conglomeration of all these nine temples. One can take a guide who would explain all the nitty gritty associated with the Pattadakal site. It was from here that we proceeded towards Aihole, some 14kms away.
Another 15mins and we were near the Aihole temple premise. The ride was smooth due to amazing well-laid out roads, the only concern was the maddening heat and sea of crowd coming to visit this temples being a Sunday. There was no parking fee for this place, ticket for one person was Rs 25 and nothing to be paid for cameras if we are not doing any kind of videography. Aihole is a historical town situated on the bank of river Malaprabha and has almost close to 120 temples spread all across the villages and nearby fields. The most remarkable one is the Durga Temple, which is said to be built in late 7th or early 8th century, the features of this temple are semicircular apse, elevated plinth, and the gallery encircling the sanctum. This town is an archaeologists delight with several temples dating back to Chalukyan times, excavation and investigation into the history of Aihole continues and several thousand tourists seek out the serene and spiritual ambiance of this city every year.
We spent another 45 mins here looking around and taking photos. Since it was already 1:45pm we decided to head back towards Badami and then eventually to Bangalore. Before leaving Aihole, we took some cold water to drink and some coconut juice to refresh and cool our body. So, the ride back home started. Via same route we reached Badami and from there we proceeded through the same highway by which we came. Though the heat was unbearable and making us totally exhausted, we agreed to keep going till the time we could. One other major problem was the hard hitting cross wind, it made the ride a bit uncomfortable with wind pressure coming directly head-on. Our speeds reduced considerably due to this cross wind phenomenon and we took good amount of time to cover the distance ahead.
By 3:45pm we reached Hubli, and thankfully today the traffic was much less, considering it being a Sunday. In the next 15 mins we exited Hubli town and entered the highway. Both of us were a bit hungry by now, and also Hulk completed 40K kms right at that moment. Right next to the highway, we came across this restaurant called Sugar and Spice and decided to halt here, take picture of Hulk and have our quick lunch as well. When we entered the place, the guy there informed that we would be getting only noodles, fried rice and some paneer/chicken gravy. Now since we already sat here, we didnt want to go further looking for another place, stop again, agreed to eat here itself. We ordered some chicken fried rice, chicken manchurian gravy and butter milk. Looks like it was a bad decision to have our food in this place, they took a lot of time to prepare the food and we had to keep asking almost 4-5 times. Finally, after a long wait of almost 45mins, the food came, less in quantity not very good in taste, however, we decided to gulp down whatever came and leave as early as possible. Done with food, paid bills, we started our ride back home, almost 425kms left!
Just after leaving the restaurant, we did a quick pit stop to tank up Hulk and keep going on for the next couple of hours. The sun was setting down and the day light was almost getting over, considering the bad roads, diversions all along the highway, Atul had to be extremely careful while riding. With almost close to no breaks at all, both of us kept moving ahead until we reached Chitradurga around 8:45pm. Atul wanted to have a quick cup of tea to get refreshed and finish the remaining 200 odd kms. Right after the Chitradurga toll booth, we stopped by the road-side eatery, ordered two cups of tea, couple of sunny side ups and a pack of small biscuit. Done with the food and tea, we once again started the journey.
Close to 10:45pm we reached Tumkur and there was a sense of relief that home wasnt far away. In no time we reached Nelamangala, took NICE road to exit via Bannerghatta Road (paid a toll of Rs 48). Time was about 12:20am, we had to wake up our apartment security guy to open the main gate. Both of us reached home! Immediately, we unloaded the luggage, took everything and entered home.
So yet again another set of unexplored places are visited and ticked off from our bucket list. It was a weekend well-spent and until we are back with another travelogue of ours, stay safe and keep travelling!