Day 33 - Pushkar

Had as slow start to the day today because we’re spending the whole day here and, to be honest, there’s not a lot of big attractions in this town. Apparently it’s a “happening scene” if your a little alternative, a truth probably borne out by the number of “hippie” looking white folks, both young and old, getting around the streets. The word is that Pushkar is the place to be if you’re after some “chemical stimulation”, if you know what I mean. To be fair though, it’s also the place to be if you wish to pay homage to your Hindu god. I read somewhere that Mahatma Ghandi’s ashes were scattered in the lake.

After our simple breakfast of toast and tea, Kerry and I trotted off into town, following more or less the same route as yesterday. The air in Pushkar is very dusty because the streets are very dusty which makes for a not so pleasant walk, made worse by my less than optimal respiratory situation thanks to my cold. We walked the length of the main street, also known as the Sadar Bazaar, towards the Brahman temple at the end thereof. According to Anant this temple is quite rare, but I can’t remember why. The curators impose strict entry guidelines which include no leather, no shoes (of course), no bags, no water, no cameras so, for us, we decided no entry. Irene did check it out and reported that the ones we saw in Jaisalmer were infinitely better. I’m sure any member of the Brahman caste would disagree.

Next we went in search of a set of camel figures hanging from string (sort of like a linear mobile) that Kerry was keen on. Plenty of shops sell them. She found one she liked, we bought it then she spied a similarly arranged set of elephants bit larger in size so the camels were traded in. When we get back to Delhi the famous Hindu celebration called Holi will be on. This is where people gather in large groups and throw multi-coloured dye at each other all afternoon. To prepare for that we went in search of some clothes we could wear for the occasion and then throw them away. Humorously, our paths crossed with another couple about our age, Scott and Paula, travelling with a rival tour company doing exactly the same thing. Anyway, after much searching and haggling we acquired a couple of white tee-shirts, some trousers and a skirt for the occasion.

It was time for a coffee and a bite to eat so we walked over to the Sunset cafe where we ate last night. Along the way our journey was momentarily halted by a wedding procession making it’s way through the Sadar Bazaar. A golden carriage, a noisy band, a group of girls dressed in lovely saris and two white stallions bedecked in magnificent regalia made their way along the street ahead of us. The Sunset cafe has a German bakery attached to it (don’t ask me why) so we enjoyed a coffee and a couple of freshly made cinnamon scrolls. From there we walked back to the main street and caught a tuk-tuk back to the hotel as Kerry’s Achilles was getting a bit sore. We paid 150 rupees for the trip which  was a bit steep I reckon bit the driver would not move on his price. Once we got halfway down the rocky and pot-holed road to our hotel I reckon I would not have taken anything less than 150 rupees to take my tuk-tuk down there either.

We rested for a couple of hours the met the group in the lobby and walked back into town for dinner at an Italian restaurant, of which there are lots in Pushkar. The place we chose was a former haveli which, through the narrow street-side doorway, opened up into a lovely, fully-enclosed courtyard with open roof  and flanked by tall coconut trees on all sides and other greenery down at the floor level. Pushkar is a completely veg town, so no meat of any sort is available. I had spaghetti bolognese with soya cubes where the minced meat usually is. Apart from the rubbery-ness of the soya you couldn’t really tell. Kerry had the biggest pesto pizza I have ever seen. It made a family-sized pizza look small. None of our other traveling companions who also ordered pizza could finish theirs so carried the remains home for tomorrow’s breakfast. Kerry finished hers – ‘cos I helped, a lot. Back through Pushkar’s streets we walked, picking up some ice for Kerry’s Achilles along the way.

 

Day 32 - Udaipur to Pushkar

Today we have been one calendar month on the road, since we walked out the door to the bus in Maiden Gully. Today also marks the halfway point of our tour around northern India, if you don’t count Day 1 and Day 22 which are really just for introductions and farewells.

Another early alarm saw us down in the hotel lobby packed and ready for a “short” train journey to Pushkar. We’ve sort of “bottomed-out” on our anti-clockwise circum-navigation of Rajasthan and we’re heading north again. Udaipur was pretty lively at 5:30am and despite the late arrival of our transport and a little tuk-tuk congestion at a roundabout we made it to the railway station in plenty of time to catch our 6:00am train. This time we’re in a non-sleeping carriage, just like a normal regional or interstate train carriage in Australia, if you will, with individual, high-backed fabric seats not the uncomfortable vinyl flat boards one gets in a sleeper carriage. Kerry has no problems falling asleep in the upright but laid back position. I wrote yesterday’s blog while listening to a bit of Jethro Tull.

The time went by quickly and we found ourselves in Amjer, our city of disembarkation as the train doesn’t go to Pushkar. Fortunately, our arrival platform had an escalator up to the bridge that crosses the tracks so that made getting our suitcases up there easy. A family at the bottom of the escalator had never seen one before, the mother and a child very unsure about stepping onto the moving platform but with some physical persuasion they eventually did and the quickly building jam on the platform began to clear. Unlike for the ascent, the descent had no escalator. Can’t work out the logic of just one escalator. Oh well, that’s India. Anant carried Kerry‘s case down for her to our awaiting private transport.  Our bags secured in the roof of the cars we set off for Pushkar. Amjer is bounded by a very large and impressive mountain range on one flank, the vegetation on the lower slopes giving way a rocky summit along its entire length which is somewhat reminiscent of the view one gets of the Grampians from the plains on the western side. In the centre of the city is an expansive lake. The mountain range, the lake and the city buildings around it make for one of the most attractive vistas I have yet seen in India. Over a low pass we went to the other side of the range where at the bottom we found the town of Pushkar.

Our hotel is on the edge of town down a dusty dirt road as are many other large hotels. The hotel is circa 1960’s and in need of some TLC. It does have some nice gardens and a swimming pool (not that I would risk putting my hand in it) which make for pleasant surrounds. It’s actually nice to see some green lawn as I haven’t seen any worth mentioning since we’ve been hear. All that’s missing is a cricket bat and a ball. We ate a simple lunch in the dining hall, relaxed for a couple of hours and then headed off back down the dusty track as a group for a walk through town. Pushkar is small with nit a lot going on other than a couple of temple and the main street market. I think this city remains on the tour because of it’s association with camels. I suspect that Intrepid used to encourage their guests to take a camel ride here but thay no longer support that idea. The Pushkar Camel Fair, held in November, is a big deal in Rajasthan. Everywhere there were camels hooked up to drays carting tourists up and down the roadways. The camels didn’t look too unhappy but there’s no telling how they’re treated when not working. Around the small lake we went and found ourselves in the main street, which is just one great, big, long market selling all the usual market trinkets and tourist souvenirs, interspersed with the odd hotel here and there. There is an important Brahman temple at the top of the street which we’ll check out tomorrow. From here we went down to the lake-side to view the sunset. The lake is very important to Hindus a a place of worship as well as a jumping off point for spirits into the next life. There are 50-odd ghats around the lake where devout Hindus with bath to cleanse body and soul.

We retired to the Sunset Cafe, right by the lake, to view the sunset accompanied by the sound of a couple of chaps sitting under a tree playing drums, and enjoy a coffee and cold drink. After an hour the drums fell silent so we decided to remain for dinner. Kerry and I both had a vegetarian Tibetan dish called Momos – sort of like a dumpling or dim-sim – mine were steamed, Kerry’s were fried. Both were very tasty. In the dark we took the 25 minute walk back to the hotel and hit the sack. 

Day 31 - The Udaipur Palace

The day started with breakfast on the roof-top. It was about 10:30am by the time we got up there so I was expecting to be the only one’s there. To my surprise Eric, Cheryl and Irene were still there and in no rush to leave. Again I tried for poached eggs on toast but got fried eggs. Oh well, close but no cigar! Kerry had success getting an omelette which she enjoyed. Eric is keen to understand how the game of cricket works so I picked up on our brief conversation from two nights ago to explain some things in a little more detail.

We were after a pretty light day today as were most of our crew. The only plan we had was to visit the City Palace, just a short walk from the hotel. Through the big red gates we went where at the oicket booth just inside we purchased our Palace grounds passes (30 rupees each) and our Palace Museum passes (300 rupees each). To get to the museum one needs to walk a long steep road or, alternatively for 50 rupees, take the little pretend train. We chose the latter and were up the top in five minutes.

At the top we were swamped by official tour guides who wanted to help us get a better understanding of  the history of the Palace and life therein. Briefly, the City Palace is one of three built by the Mewar dynasty rulers over the last 470 or so years. The other two being the Lake Palace in Lake Pichola and the Monsoon Palace up on a distant mountain top.

The Palace is indeed grand in proportion and opulence. Without a human or audio guide by our side we followed the well signposted route that takes one through the Palace. One just needs to observe the audio listening point signs on the walls to know where to stop to read about what one is looking at. And there are plenty of them along the route. Marble is the predominant building material used to construct the Palace. There are so many rooms, both big and small, along the route joined by countless narrow passageways and even more narrow flights of steep stairs. The Mewar dynasty must have all been quite short people as most of he doorways are barely 5ft 8” high. We both had to duck our heads numerous times to avoid being clocked on the head by a big marble lintel. The tour notes and commentary on the walls are really informative and well written. Plenty of artwork adorms the walls and the rooms and corridors contains glass cabinets that hold many interesting artifacts collected from across the reign of the Mewar. The elevation of the Palace provides stunning, panoramic views across Lake Pichola towards the Aravali mountain range to the west and the city to the east.

After a couple of hours of wandering we found our way to an open are cafe adjacent to the Palace’s large main square. Here we sat for light lunch and a cool drink. Not cheap, exactly as one expects them to be, but convenient with good service. We caught an electric golf cart back down to the gates and then continued further down the Palace Road in search of an entrance to the Saijan Niwas gardens. After two failed attempts to find a gate that was open we headed back to the hotel, stopping to gather some provisions for tomorrow’s train journey. It was now 4:00pm, too late to start anything new, so via our WhatsApp group, we organised dinner at a nearby restaurant. At 6:00pm Kerry, Cheryl, Eric and I wandered down to the Virsaat restaurant for dinner. The owner/manager was very attentive as we sat in his lush, green courtyard in the open air away from the noise in the streets outside. We all tried something a little different based on the advice of the manager and none of us were disappointed. Even dessert got a run this evening!

After our meal we were back at the hotel in five minutes, settled our account with the Concierge and went upstairs to prepare for tomorrow’s very early start.

Day 30 - A rest day

Some wise person once said, “This is a marathon, not a sprint”. Good advice we needed to take heed of. Cheryl’s drugs worked a treat. I got a good night’s sleep for the first time in a few days and felt much improved in the morning. Still not out of the woods entirely, but I can see the light. We spent pretty much the whole day at the hotel, sleeping in until about 9:30am then going up to the roof for a late breakfast, back to the room to catch-up on the blog, sent our dirty laundry to Reception, back up to the roof in mid-afternoon for the second worst cappuccino I’ve ever had (plus it took 33 minutes to be served) and then back to the room to prepare for tonight’s catch-up with the gang.

Just after 5:00pm we walked back into the main part of the old town, retracing our steps from yesterday. Along the way we dropped into a Pharmacy to get some Cold & Flu tablets and some throat lozenges. We checked the venue for tonight’s performance of traditional dance, then found a coffee shop to relax in before heading down to the dock. We were booked to watch a performance of the various dancing styles that have emanated from Rajasthan.

The performance was held in the courtyard of the Bagor Ki Haveli in Gangour Ghat, down by the lake. The audience sat on low stools and mats around the performance area. A group of musicians playing traditional instruments sat to one side of the stage. Over the hour long presentation, four girls dressed in vibrantly coloured attire performed many traditional dance routines each representing a different region of Rajasthan. Each routine was introduced by an MC, also dressed for the occasion. Marionette-like puppets also have a place in Rajasthani culture so we were treated to a performance by a superbly skilled puppeteer who made his puppets really come alive. What he could make them do was truly amazing. The puppets really took on a life of their own. Three men from the troupe played out a battle between a god and an evil spirit which was entertaining as well.

After the show, our group made its way the Rainbow restaurant for dinner. Although quite nice, it was not a patch on last night’s meal or venue. Kerry, Irene and I grabbed a tuk-tuk (after haggling over the price) back to the hotel while the others walked home.