PUSHKAR and AJMER

PUSHKAR and AJMER Arrived in Puskar from Udaipur some 285 kms.  which  took about 7 hours.  Once again we were on a crazy highway. So many trucks and our driver Singh weaves in and out of traffic; very nerve racking at times. There are thousands of these trucks on the highway. Whenever you go through a town, the big trucks simply stop on the side of the Highway blocking part of the lanes, very hazardous.  The drivers stop in these small towns to eat, bathe  and rest. They just strip down to their underwear and bathe and wash their clothes in large cement cisterns. The trucks themselves would certainly not pass any safety regulations in any developed countries. Half of them are overloaded and the majority of them have tires that appear to be retreads and coming apart.  On top of this people, animals and other vehicles  are trying to cross or trying to get on the highway.  Driver certainly has to be alert.  Arrived at our hotel,  Aaram Bagh ( Bagh means garden). The hotel was surrounded by mountains and about 5 kms. from town.  The rooms are two unit rooms which are made to look like tents. Beautiful sunset here with the mountains in the background. People on camel rides in the hills behind our hotel, lovely scene.  Pushkar is a pilgrim town with more than 400 temples and Pushkar Lake in the middle of town. We drove done to the Ghats (there are 52 separate ghats here- steps to the lake) and Robin went to give a puja ( an offering which can be food, money, flowers, etc). He threw a flower into the lake, then a holy man gave a blessing for our family and Robin was given a colorful string to put around his wrist.  We also walked through the local bazaar and accosted by all the vendors, most of whom we ignored.  Claire managed to buy some local Indian bangles. Paid 100 rupee....sounds expensive....actually $2.00. The vendor told me that this was his best price, his Indian price. Suzanne and I had quite a laugh as his sales pitch was made up of banging the bangles on a cement wall to show us that they were indestructible and told us that they were also washable. I think this means that you can bathe with them, but think I will pass on this. By the end of the day, I had sparkles all over my clothes, face and the car!  Our driver told us that we only need to spend one day in Pushkar as do most tourists, except for the young kids that come here to smoke hash and opium. In one of the shops that was selling hookah pipes, I heard the sales pitch that the vendor was making to a young European girl. He told her that a certain pipe was better for opium! The kids we saw here all had that spaced out hippie look...lots with Rasta  hair....are we sounding old! The town is also known for its famous camel and cattle fair/sale which happens once a year. We are told that some 2 million people descend on this town when the fair takes place. Not sure where they would all stay, as a very small town. Apparently all the pilgrims who come for the fair/festival take a dip in the local lake during the full moon.  Next day, on our way to Jaipur, we stopped in Ajmer, which is the holiest Muslim pilgrim centre in the sub continent after Mecca.  We visited Anasgar Lake then headed to Jaipur.