Idling in Pushkar

After the chaos and hassle of Agra and Jaipur, Pushkar comes as a breath of well needed fresh air. Most know it for the carnival style camel fair each fall, but Pushkar is also an important pilgrimage place for locals who come to bathe in the holy lake. When we arrived we were surprised to see that there was no such holy lake and only a holy puddle left! This years monsoon was poor and thus the lake had dried up.

Due to its religious significance there are some rules to abide by when visiting as a tourist. Breakfast routines must be altered because eggs are forbidden, signs of public affection must be kept behind closed doors and all alcohol is off limits. This doesn’t stop the backpackers from coming in droves, probably due to a well known herb which in Pushkar, is legal. Keep an eye open on menus for a “special lassi” three times more expensive than the rest.

Pushkar’s main bazaar is an array of shops selling the ever popular Aladdin style pants, (that start to grow on you, and are very comfortable!) jewelry, fabric in every colour, and bedouin style floor cushions. Shopping in India is very frustrating for a budget traveler who loves beautiful things because there are bedspreads, cushions and curtains everywhere you look and for rock bottom prices. A room can be decorated fully in under 100USD. In Pushkar, although store owners still yell out for your business, it is comparatively calm compared to the bigger Indian cities we have been to.

Traditionally henna is worn by Indian women for special events such as weddings, or simply as a form of body decoration. There were two women sitting on the side of the street ‘painting’ a tourists hand and it looked so beautiful I decided I had to get some done. Since I am a bit of a germaphobe and tend to wash my hands very often, I opted to get my foot done. The henna-er explained to me that it’s made of henna powder, black tea, lemon and water, and the paste is applied to the skin and stays on for five minutes before being scraped off. The result is a stain in the pattern of your choosing!

Our hotel was a cheapie, costing only 6USD a night and was an extremely good bargain. Everest Hotel is run by a father and his sons and we could not say they could be anymore concerned for the welfare of their guests. Location was also perfect, being only a short walk from the bazaar and would-be-lake. The only thing that didn’t add up was the name?

Day after day could easily be filled sipping special lassi’s and enjoying the desert sunsets but after a few days we decided to leave Pushkar for Udaipur 6 hrs south on the Ajmer-Udaipur express train which runs daily.