A Morning in Pushkar and then on to Jaipur

14th September 2018

Breakfast at the Westin was another good experience, once the staff saw I was trying the Indian food, they rushed over with other things I must try. Overall this hotel has been a very good experience.

However, we have things to do so we have checked out, and our driver is waiting for us at 9 am to take us on the Pushkar Tour. To be honest, we are not sure what to expect, as our travel agent told us that people only come to Pushkar for the camel fair which is in November each year, so clearly we are here at the wrong time.

Our tour guide meets us in town, and explained that the real significance of Pushkar is that it is the Site of the only Temple in the World to Lord Brahma, the main God of Hindu worship. The Pushkar Camel Fair is an important Fair for people bringing camels, horses and cattle for trade, but it also brings a lot of pilgrims to the temple and Pushkar Lake.

We are here far too early by the town is buzzing, as Pushkar is a stop off point for another pilgrimage that is further away, and pilgrims from that pilgrimage are in town. There is also a healthy community of gypsies camped near the fairground hoping to capitalise on the surge of people coming through.

Gypsy Camps

As we get closer to town, we see the now familiar women by the roadside selling food to feed the cows so everyone can start the day by doing a good deed.

Soon we reach the entrance to the fairground, and even though there is no fair happening there are plenty of people around, many of them hoping to make a quick dollar out of the tourists. Our guide explained thjat they are mostly gypsies and we should ignore them. We would have anyway.

The car park to get access to the temple is near the fair grounds, so commercial activities are entered around the carpark, including these people keen to sell people a ride in a cart towed by a camel.

As we get closer to the entrance, overloaded tuk tuks and other small vehicles start discharging their overloaded human cargo.

We saw 4 women get out of  this vehicle and estimate there is still another 10 inside

We join the mob and head through the market to the Temple entrance

Our guide keeps a vigilant eye out for us, particularly after a cow got a bit pushy with Carole (we reckon it was the colour of her top)

We walk through a typical market which is quite busy even this early in the morning

Pushkar only has a population of around 20,000 outside festival times, so many people we see are pilgrims or tourists. A temporary market has been set up to sell souvenirs and cheap jewellery to the visi

tors who are looking for something cheap to take home to their families. Traditional weapons are apparently popular.

As are children's clothes in traditional designs

The entrance to the Shree Brahma Temple is a scene of chaos. First we must go and lock up our camera in a local secure locker, take off our shoes and climb the steps with the enthusiastic mob.

Once at the top of the stairs, our guide explains the significance of this Temple and how Pushkar got its name. Anyway, it is seen to be a very sacred place and many pilgrims come here and then bathe in the lake, nearby. No photographs are allowed in the Temple.

Having done our Temple tour and seen the idol of Lord Brahma (in the Hindu religion the Creator of the universe), who has 4 heads so he can see everything around him, we moved back down the stairs to go to see the lake.

Pushkar Lake

Women coming to bathe in the Holy Water of the lake

A large Sikh Temple graces the other shore of the lake

With so many pilgrims regularly visiting the demand for fast food has increased

To get back to our car, we need to wind our way back through the market and our guide takes the opportunity to show us the two foods that Pushkar is known for.

One is a very sweet chapati seen here soaking in a sugar syrup after being fried

The other is jam made from rose petals

We are also given a  further insight into why there are so many cows wandering the streets. Apparently it is quite common that we cows cease giving milk, they are of no more use to the owners, so they drive to a nearby town and leave the cows there in the firm belief that they will always be fed.

Finally we are back at our car and head off to Jaipur. The early part of the road is bumpy, as usual, but soon we are on a major highway, and travelling at around 80 km/hr, which seems to be the speed limit on most highways. Even on the highways wandering cows are still a problem, our driver advises that it is illegal to let your cows stray onto the highway, but whenever they do, their owners can never be found.

Jaipur is the capital of Rajasthan and has a population on around 4 million. Our hotel is in the middle of town (the new town), and we arrive there at just after 3pm. This time we are staying at a Hilton hotel, which is very nice and is a lot busier than our past two hotels. The roads in our vicinity are in a state of chaos as the government is building a new Metro system for the city, so there are roadworks and closures everywhere. On the way in we saw a couple of car accidents, the first time we have seen any since we have been in India. One had developed into a heated situation with a bit of pushing and shoving going on.

Tomorrow we do the Jaipur tour which looks like it will be a full day.