Pushkar

With fireworks going off most of the night, it’s quite possible that we might have slept in a bit to make up for the restless night. Fortunately, there is a temple not far from our hotel where, at 7:30am, they broadcast someone playing the drums over a set of speakers mounted to the roof. This let’s us know it is time to get up and enjoy a refreshing cool shower, before heading down to the all-vegetarian restaurant (ironically called “Sizzles”) for breakfast.

We have one full day here, and plan to spend it in Pushkar, a small town about 10 miles from Ajmer that is fairly well-known on the hippie circuit. Aside from the $10 hotel rooms and non-medicinal marijuana, there is a fairly large market, is a mostly car-free part of town that has drawn our attention, and we also want to see the lake the town is built on, which is very holy to Hindus for its connection to Shiva.

While relatively close by, Pushkar lies on the other side of a steep ridge from Ajmer, and tuks-tuks just don’t have enough oomph to haul us both up and over. There is local bus service however, and at 20 cents, the price can’t be beat.

Our first stop when we arrive is the lake, which is mostly surrounded by ghats, where all kinds of people have aggregated to partake of the holy waters. As a non-Hindu, it looks to me like just a dirty lake, but it never hurts to hedge your bets, so after doing a quick check for open cuts, we take a turn wading down the slimy steps.

The market is pretty much as advertised, lining both sides of a narrow street suitable for little more than pedestrians, bicycle rickshaws, and the occasional camel. We manage to find a few gifts for the boys here, even though it means waiting for my trusty travel buddy to look at every single item in the shop before settling on just the right one. We also buy the kids a collection of the best XBOX games and because they’ll want them soon, find a place where we can send them international courier. I’m sure they’ll arrive just fine.

Pushkar is also in the process of gearing up for its annual camel fair, where people from all over Rajasthan come once a year to buy and sell camels in a giant tent city that suddenly appears in the desert on the outskirts of town. We’re about a week early for that, but even now there is plenty of activity and ample opportunity for camel rides (which, as a courtesy to two very important friends, I shall pass on this year).

With a bit of time left to kill, we decide to try out a Shirodhara massage, which is basically an hour of warm oil being poured over your forehead to help restore balance to one’s chakra. It is definitely different, and with the greasy hair that comes out of it I certainly fit in better with the hordes of backpackers, but I have to admit it was extremely relaxing (or at least the parts when I wasn’t asleep were).

As night falls, we head back to the bus stop for our return trip to Ajmer. The day has been pretty uneventful this far, so we see no bad omen in a helpful group of people having to rock our bus back and forth to get it rolling down the hill so the driver can start the motor. It’s clearly not healthy though, and no more than a mile out of town, it calls it quits.

We’re all able to pile into the next scheduled service (which is standing room only), and while it powers up the hill without breaking a sweat, the twists and turns have the lady sitting directly in front of Ang painting the side of the bus with half digested chunks of paneer. Packed in like sardines, there’s not much you can do but go to your happy place, which I’m guessing for Ang right now might be a giant bottle of Purell.