India: Pushkar

July 22^nd – 23^rd

At midday on the day following my sickness, I was feeling much better and we decided to take the 3 hour journey to the nearby town of Pushkar. We were able to take a midday bus to Ajmer and then a taxi from the bus stand the extra 11km to Pushkar itself.

Like many cities in India, Pushkar is considered particularly holy to Hindus due to a lake at its center. I think the lake comes from a natural spring because there is no obvious inlet or outlet and it is relatively small. Hindus believe that it is the place where Brahma dropped a lotus flower and the waters spouted out of the ground (another indication that it is a natural spring)

During the taxi ride on the way in, we had to stop to pay a toll and when we did, a youngish middle aged man popped his head into our taxi and asked us where we were going. At first I thought he was trying to help with directions because our driver didn't speak English but he quickly told us that he owned a hotel that had rooms for as little as 200 rupees a night and that there was WiFi and a rooftop restaurant. Having no other reservations we let the guy show us some pictures on his phone and then agreed to let him lead us to his place. When we arrived we were greeted by a narrow four-story building that was covered in decorations local to the state of Rajasthan. It was open to the air on the top and the whole building had a nice breeze and smelled great. We were greeted by the owner's brother who managed the place and were shown a few rooms ranging from 200-500 rupees. They were small but clean and we settled on one for 300 ruppees that had a nice balcony.

Evening view from the top of our hotel. One of two hills on either side of the lake with a temple on top.

Camel race track and water tower.

Other hill.

Some kids on a neigboring rooftop doing some acrobatics.

Rooftop restaurant

Open roof down into the building. The whole place smelled of incense.

After dropping our stuff off, we went out into the town in search of falafel (lonely planet recommended a particular place very highly and we were set on finding it)

The city mostly consists of single street that winds about 1/3 around the lake an has a lot of shops selling handicrafts and other goods. The touts there are not aggressive but the cows are (Leslie once got a “playful” headbutt from one of the bigger cows we encountered). Our hotel was just off this main road at one far end so we walked down to the street and started heading around the lake. We saw a surprising number of tourists along the way but the place was very quiet (for India) and we were enjoying the window shopping. Eventually we found the falafel place mentioned in the book (along with its competition right across the street) and sat down for some soda and a falafel wrap. The wrape included a pita spread with hummus and filled with falafel, french fries, tomatoe, lettuce, green olives, and a few other things which I am forgetting. It was delicious even though I was not feeling 100% with my digestion.

After the lunch we decided to head down to the lake to check it out. We got yelled at initially because we had left our shoes on but once we took those off and got down to the bank it was very peacful with just a few people bathing on the steps which had been built around the whole circumfrence of the lake. Our guard was down and we were approached by a guy who said he wanted to explain to us about the lake. I figured he wanted a little money but I wanted to hear what he ha d to say. He told us the Hindu history involving the lotus flower and how there are some insert large number temples in Pushkar that all rely on donations. He eventually gave us a blessing along with the most intricate forehead design I had seen yet that involved sticking rice to the colored paste he used. He then split us up (since we weren't married) and did some more blessing which involved some repeating after him and pollution of the lake. Eventually he got to the asking for money bit. He gave the whole spiel about people relying on charitable donations and I had already made up my mind to give him some cash. I took out 100 ruppees (which is a lot for this type of donation) and handed to him thinking we would both go away happy. He immediately asked for 300. This started an arguing match about what I should give and how I was “stealing money from him” which makes absolutely no sense. Against my better judgement I set down another 20 ruppee note trying to end the argument. He said that it was too little so I said ok and took it back and stood up to leave. Then Leslie came over and also got hit up for money as well. She gave 20 and the guy immediately told her that I had given 100. I jumped in and said it was good enough and we both turned to leave. The guy followed us with continual harassment until we made it back to the main road. It is amazing how these people can take an experience that could have been very pleasant and turn it into something that is stressful and irritating.

The evening of the following day we had a bus to take us back to Delhi for the final stage of mine and Leslie's joint trip. We decided to do as many things in Pushkar as we could before we had to get on the bus, and the hotel manager kindly let us leave our bags with him behind the text. We went out and had breakfast on the rooftop of one of the tallest buildings in Pushkar. We then did a little shopping and worked our way over to the local Homeopathic Hospital which offered hour long ayurvedic massages for less than 10 bucks so we each got one. The ayurvedic massage involves using medicated oils that are furiously rubbed into the most meaty parts of your body. The oils feel very good, kind of like a mild icy hot. I reaffirmed that fact that I am exceedingly ticklish in my quads and calves.

Feeling a little dazed we decided to get some lunch. We selected a place that was known for their healthful food choices. Everything they serve is vegetarian and organic. I got a delicious bowl of spinach soup, and Leslie got a piece of chocolate cake.

After that we decided to go check out the Brahma temple which is only one of a few throughout India. Brahma, the creator, has already kind of done his job in Hinduism and therefore does not need to be worshiped and appeased. He created the world and is revered for that but it is not customary to pray to him or build temples for him. I am not sure why there is a temple for him in Pushkar (maybe the lotus thing) but its there. Once the temple was seen and the various touts were appeased, we headed back to our hotel to get ready for a camel ride that we had booked. The ride was for three hours and involved us riding camels with a guide each to keep the camels under control. The ride was very beautiful and the camel riders did some cool tricks with their mounts.