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I've been trying to go to Pushkar since the first weekend in Jaipur. For one reason or another, it never worked. But, this weekend was nearly a full moon and I had completed all the major assignments for this week, so it was the perfect time to go.
Pushkar is another pilgrimmage site very close to Jaipur. It is the site of the only Brahma temple in all of India. Like Varanasi, there are a number of ghats, but they surround a very small lake set in the midst of hills.
My friend Maureen and I got there by bus for under $5 for the both of us. We had planned to splurge a bit this weekend and went for the nicest hotel in the town:the Pushkar Palace which sits right on the lake. That part was really a fun treat.
We spent the day exploring the town and doing a bit of shopping before our sunset camel outing. We each had our own camel with a guide sitting behind us to help steer and control the camels. After experiencing how a camel sits and gets up, there is no way that I would want to be the one holding the reins.
The ride was really beautiful. After skirting the edge of the town, we got out into the surrounding desert/hillside. At the half way point, we stopped for about twenty minutes to listen to a few men playing native rajasthani instruments that are something like a violin. If any of you that are reading this are familiar with the offbeat asian man who sits in Harvard Square playing a stringed instrument...it's a little bit like that but it actually sounds like music.
We found another larger camel group that was having a dinner/dance performance in the middle of the desert. So we hung out with them for a few minutes and watched the performers as the sun was just beginning to set.
I decided it would be a good idea to ask how fast the camels could go, thinking that we would get our guides to let the camels trot a bit. We wound up having a somewhat wild race across the desert back to Pushkar. I'm still not sure how the guide, who is probably half my size, was able to hold me into the saddle.
After the camel ride, we met two other girls from our program at this really bizarre hotel/restaurant called the chill out cafe. In addition to its camel festival, Brahma temple, and ghats, Pushkar is also known for its strung out hippie population. I had heard about it, but it didn't sink in until I got there.
My parents commented that they thought it was strange that I have been having such a negative reaction to the hippie scene here. It's difficult to explain, but it feels wrong here. It feels like all these people wandered into India 40 years ago, have been drinking special lassi this entire time, and have lost all connection to anything. It doesn't even feel like there's any connection to India or what the town once was. In addition to all the wonderful things in Pushkar, there is a warped feeling about the place. Hotels have names like sun&moon hotel or Pink Floyd : Wish you were here. The artists working there have started to make tripped out Indian art...picture traidtional indian painting crossed with fairie art on drugs.
Anyway, I'm really glad to have gone there. I'm beginning to understand more about how to make certain decisions in order to create certain kinds of experience and to avoid other kinds. Unforgettable desert camel ride...
previous travel blog entry
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