Pushkar (and Ajmer..)

We boarded a train to Ajmer the day after. As ever the train ride was a bit funky. Sellers of all kinds of goods roamed up and down, asking you countless times if you wanted to buy their stuff. There was even a band playing in our carriage. At first we didn't have the heart to tell them they couldn't play very well, this was up until they had played right next to us for about 30 minutes and it got tiresome! Another normal thing now is just being approached for money. About 2hrs into the journey this man walked down, and thrust a tin box in our faces without saying a word, just expecting us to hand over some cash. After we ignored him he just stood there, shaking it, but we held fast and carried on ignoring him until he left. It seems harsh but at the end of the day, you can't save the world, and most of the beggars now work for larger organiisations that thrive off the generosity of tourists.
Upon arrival in Ajmer we got a Tuktuk to the Regency Hotel. The driver tried to take us to all sorts of different hotels but you just have to be really stern with them and within 15 minutes we were there. We had planned to spend 2 nights in Ajmer but after seeing the lack of other tourists, things to do, and general state of the room we decided to leave the next day to Pushkar, a half hour bus journey away. That night in Ajmer was when things took a bit of a nosedive. The food was horrible but edible, or so we thought. The next morning Tim had got the dreaded Delhi Belly. So with Tim feeling pretty awful, James tired and an hours journey on buses and rickshaws ahead of us, things were a bit down. With Tim flumped in the corner James then spent 10 minutes arguing with the owner, refusing to pay the hotel for the food we had ordered, eventually working in our favour. The hotel ordered us a horse and cart to take us to the bus stop which was an interesting experience, especially as we were followed half the way there by a woman holding a child begging for money and giving us the death stare. The bus was another affair. We paid 40rps for the trip to Pushkar, and thankfully got on early, because by the time the bus left, it was jam packed full of people. Luckily we got to Pushkar with no incident and then a Tuktuk driver whom we'd asked to take us to the Everest Hotel tried to rip us off 100rps for the 4 minute journey. We paid him 30rps. Later on however we found out that two other travellers who were staying at the same place as us, were so tired after getting off the long bus journey they had done, paid one of the drivers 300rps for the 4 minute journey! Hilarious!

The next few days were a bit of a blur. Tim spent the time either sleeping or dashing to the bathroom, whilst James took the time to catch up on some reading, playing cards and sorting anything out that needed sorting. We had to get the Doctor in on day 2 of the illness after Tim did a miraculous chunder, fountaining all over a wall, the (locked!?) bathroom door, and narrowly missing James. James went downstairs to ask for a doctor. Being James, I knew I was going to be in good hands, as he went and requested/demanded the best doctor in town so we could get this illness sorted. Indeed 5 minutes later, the leading doctor of the hospital in Pushkar came over to treat Tim. It was a huge relief when Tim woke up a couple of days later feeling much better and finally we could continue our adventure!!

It is said that (enter name here) dropped a lotus flower in the sand and Pushkar was created, it is truly beautiful. After an epic breakfast of honey and banana porridge, we ventured out into town in the morning of the 14th to discover the wonderful narrow streets, rows of colourful shops and stalls, relaxed locals and of course the breathtaking lake. We felt being the main attraction the lake should be our first port of call. Once past the bustle of touts located at all the entrances trying to sell flowers, blessings and tours, we found ourselves gazing out to the most wonderful views of the lake scattered with over 30 ghats or bathing pools which were each blessed by a religious figure (the most obvious example being the Ghandi Ghat, blessed as it is said that some of Ghandi's ashes were sprinkled into this pool). The sights of hundreds taking prayer, washing and swimming in these sacred waters truly was sensational and we both felt immediately calmed when we later took a perch next to one of the less popular and thus tranqual ghats on the other side of the lake. Before this, we were approached by two 'priests' who immediately told us of their love for the place and the need for us to drop a flower into the water, take a prayer and release our bad karma. We were obviously scheptical at first after reading up on 'pushy priests' in the lonely planet guide, however we eventually decided to just go for it and see what happened; after all its not every day that you are sitting by one of the most sacreed lakes in the world and being blessed by a Hindi priest. We both took a seat next to a ghat as the priests performed their blessings on us, asking us to repeat a prayer after them to keep everyone safe back home and for a smooth journey ahead. When reaching the end, we were given a wrist band to prevent us from being hassled again at the lake, and despite being told before hand that no money was required as you 'simply pay with the heart', they bugged us for a charitable donation. After starting at 500rps both of us spent time haggling down a price to pay, luckily James paid 80rps and Tim only 50rps as it was the only money we had on us! We did feel it was somewhat cheeky but at the same time just over a pound to be blessed and release all our bad karma wasnt too dreadful. After chilling for 3 hours at the lake we headed back for some lunch. That evening we decided to go and watch the sunset from the top of a nearby mountain. After getting lost on the way we met Ellie wandering around aimlessly like us, and after a pointer from a 4yr old kid, the three of us started the ascent. The views from the top were stunning, a panoramic shot of mountains as far as the eye could see, combined with a vegetated desert. We stayed and got to know Ellie while watching the sun set, before heading back to our hotel for a meal. Ellie joined us which was nice, and we got chatting to some other travellers; the Germans whom had been ripped off 300rps for the Tuktuk ride to the hotel, After much laughing, sharing stories, and drinking Chai we hit the hay.

The following day we had a leisurely morning, being up and out by 10am. Unfortunately we had to spend most of the day doing admin, desperately trying to find/book a train to Agra, along with accommodation. After numerous powercuts we finally found a train for friday! Due to lack of availability we had to pay extra the following morning to confirm seats. Word of advice, if travelling around India by train, get you hotel to book it all, saves a lot of hassle! For luncheon we found a new retaurant in another hotel that we had been recommended. Amazingly we found pasta on the menu. Immediately we both ordered a white mushroom sauce penne. It was such a nice change from chapatis and Alu Matar! After lumch we spent some tme checking out the market stalls. In doing so we found two amazing leather shops, that sold items from small purses to large weekend bags, all for ridiculously cheap prices. The most expensive being 1000rps (under fifteen pounds). Luckily we had no money on us otherwise we probably would have spent several thousand rupees each in that shop, all of which we would have had to carry around Nepal for 2 weeks.

Yesterday was a pretty sweet day. We finally managed to book the train to Agra! After this success we rewarded oursevles by going to a pizzeria that was recommended to us by another pair of travellers staying in the hotel. We then headed back to the hotel to be picked up by motorbike, transporting the three of us to the camels! The three hour camel trek was just incredible. After an interesting “saddle up” - where at a point you're almost virtical, clinging on for dear life as the camel brings up its back legs, then the front – we set off into the desert for a bumpy 3hr experience. Halfway through we stopped in valley, where we were surrounded by steep dunes either side of us. Our guides told us to grab some water and a camera and go chill up at the top of one of the dunes. Gleefully relishing the prospect of running up a sand dune, we started off strong, however within a few minutes we appreciated how steep and difficult the soft sand was to run up. But we got there. And it was totally worth it. The views were stunning and it was really peaceful with a light breeze to cool us down. After half an hour chilling and taking snaps, we childishly dived and jumped back down the dunes, which was insanely good fun leaping out into space falling a fair way and then coming to a cushioned halt atop the soft sand. We ended the trek with a few short gallops that apparently was not allowed but obviously our guides liked us so made an exception. This was definitely an experience that we both agree we will not forget for a long time. Not many people can say they have spent a day chilling on top of a camel.

The last day in Pushkar we decided to splash out a bit on the main bazaar. All the little boutiques and shops were treasure troves for little goodies to bring home. We probably spent about 2000 rupees each on quite a lot of stuff that would have come to hundreds of pounds in the UK. So... we spent just over 20 quid each.. WIN.
That afternoon we went to find a pizzeria that had been recommended to us by Bernaardo, another backpacker. Upon arrival we were in heaven. They made us glorious pizza in a proper pizza oven, and they had a tv which showed some of the cricket world cup, and then the guy switched it over to an episode of Friends, could it get any better? After having a leisurely lunch we decided to venture back through the bazaar and back to the hotel to start sorting our tip of a room as we were leaving the next morning...