$20 For Throwing Flowers into the Lake?

View of Pushkar from the Hotel Paramount Palace, Pushkar, India
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Nik and I left Bundi around 12:30pm and we made our way to Pushkar which is known for its camel fair in November, but also has quite a few ghats around a lake in town.

As we drove in, the main street had been closed off, so Ram couldn't get through that way.  I tried explaining to him that the guesthouse we had booked into was on the other side of the market street, some distance away, but he refused to listen, only listening to some guy who said that the hotel was 200 meters (approx .12 miles away), who basically lied.  I was pretty ticked off because I hadn't packed thinking we would be hiking through town.  Grudgingly, I got all my things and we headed off.

Colorful Building, Pushkar, India
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Immediately, a guy started harassing us to follow him to the lake to throw flowers into the lake as an welcome offering, and then said he would show us the way to the hotel.  I really wasn't interested in all of this given how ladened down I was, but felt like I didn't have a choice.  We walked down the steps of a ghat and as we neared the water we were told we had to take our shoes off.  Well, I wasn't going to have any of that.  I had my hiking shoes on and the effort to get them off with all my stuff was too much for me.  However, Nik stepped up to the plate and threw both his and my flowers into the lake.  The guy then disappeared leaving us to find our way.

Entryway to Ghat, Pushkar, India
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Back up the steps we walked down the main bazaar street filled with people who we dodged.  Finally we made it to our guesthouse that was indeed much further than the 200 meters, as I suspected.  Once at the Hotel Paramount Palace we checked in and then headed out to scope out the market that we had passed just a bit earlier.

Pushkar was definitely the most touristy place we had been to so far, perhaps because it was such a small town and the concentration of tourists being mostly along the one main road.  We opted for some massages, Nik going for the full body massage and my choosing to do just a foot and hand massage that ended up being almost a full body experience, including my hair that once again, like the last massage got really oily.  However, it was good massage and definitely relaxing.

Main Street with the Market, Pushkar, India
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As we walked towards dinner, we browsed the stalls, picking up an item here and there, but the best purchase was a fleece and canvas jacket for 500 Rs (approx $12.82) that I desperately needed.  The guy had to make mine and it was going to be ready late the next morning.  Nik had seen an orange jacket that he was quite keen on (surprise, surprise!) but he didn't break down and buy it until the following day.  We found a place for dinner with indoor seating, a rare occurrence, and had decent pizza.

Paint Powders at the Market, Pushkar, India
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The next morning, we headed out to try and get a good view of the ghats from across the lake.  We decided to head west of town, but after about a 45 minute walk, ended back at the market, having done a big loop.  We decided to try going east and had much more luck, finding a good vantage point for some shots.

As we got close to the lake, two men approached Nik and I separately who pushed flowers into our hands and lead us down to the water.  My guy made me kneel down and wanted me to chant after him.  I figured I would play along seeing where this was going to go.  He spoke some in Hindi, which I am sure I butchered and some in English.  He was basically having me pray to the various gods and for health and my family etc.  Then he said "And I shall give" which I repeated, followed by "twenty dollars".  I burst out laughing and looked him with an incredulous look.   Are you kidding me, $20, for what?  He then told me to say an amount that I wanted to give.  I really didn't want to give anything, not knowing what on earth it was for.  Finally I agreed to 50 Rs (approx $1.28) (Nik having agreed to 40 Rs (approx $1.02), but with the guy only starting off at 200 Rs (approx $5.13)).  The guy then had me throw my flowers in to the lake and then poured water from the lake over my hands.

Pushkar, India
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Nik and I then headed off to check out the Pink Floyd Cafe and Hotel.  As the name suggests, there was a lot of memorabilia and each room was named after a different song.  It had a nice rooftop restaurant where we had a quick beverage before heading off again.  It was time to pick up my jacket which I was very excited to have and I am sure Nik was happy to have his orange fleece again.

It was now time for lunch so we made our way to the Rainbow Restaurant that was not too far from our hotel that had some really good hummus (but still miss Trader Joe's hummus) and pasta.  Nik had called Ram earlier that day confirming the time of 1:30pm and asked him to pick us up at the hotel.  However, just before 1pm, he called to say that he was already at our hotel.  Not sure if he was just early or didn't understand what Nik had told him.  Lunch was over just after 1pm so we headed back to meet up with Ram.  It was funny how even though the same road was closed, Ram was able to make it to our hotel . . . .