India: Pushkar
What a refreshing change Pushkar is from Jaipur! After sleeping in and enjoying a late breakfast, I left the dirty pink city and made my way to the small town of Pushkar, arriving around 6:00 pm. After checking into a kitschy family-run guesthouse, I wandered through the dusty winding roads, passing friendly shop owners, curious children, and the occasional "Holy Man," dressed in orange lungis.
At nightfall, I went to the rooftop restaurant of the guesthouse, where I immediately joined three other girls, two of whom were fellow Americans (Catherine and Emily are perhaps only the second and third American girls I have met since traveling!). We chatted aimlessly, played cards, and then watched a loud wedding procession make its way through the streets below. It is currently "Marriage Season" in Rajasthan, so the sounds of beating drums and melodic flutes echo through the streets at all hours of the day while grooms ride white horses flanked by dancing men and musicians to meet their wives-to-be, dressed in elaborate red saris and joined by other colorfully adorned women.
Heavy rains began to pour that night, signalling the arrival of the anticipated monsoon. I was surprised to find a few cockroaches scurrying out of the drain in the floor of my bathroom; I was appalled that these few menaces were followed by at least one-hundred more (not an exaggeration!) disgusting creatures...more roaches than my shoe could kill! Amazingly, as soon as the rain stopped, the roaches had disappeared, but it still made for a sleepless night!
Friday morning, in need of a day of relaxation, I joined the other girls in paying 50 Rupees for a day swimming and sunbathing at a hotel pool. It was the perfect day, and I was happy to get some color on my increasingly-paling body. After a cool shower, camera in hand, I again wandered through Pushkar, one of Rajasthan's most holy cities known for one of the world's only Brahman temples and a large lake surrounded by sacred ghats, places where pilgrims bathe and present offerings. I was met by a guide who showed me how to conduct the ceremony of blessing my relatives and friends, throwing flowers, salt, and other offerings into the water, finished off by tying a puja bracelet to my wrist. He then demanded a "donation" as I expected, and put him in his place after he tried to complain about my meager, backpacker gift of 50 rupees...I told him that his god would not mind.
That evening, the girls and I settled in a local guesthouse to watch Germany beat Argentina...a perfect ending to a perfect day.
Even though I love Pushkar and could spend another week wandering through this enchanting town, with its courtyards filled with pilgrims coming to dip in the holy waters, aspiring young cricket players, smiling holy men with dreadlocked-hair, and the ubiquitous hordes of lazy cows, I need to move on. In a few hours I head to Bundi, another small village in Eastern Rajasthan.
At nightfall, I went to the rooftop restaurant of the guesthouse, where I immediately joined three other girls, two of whom were fellow Americans (Catherine and Emily are perhaps only the second and third American girls I have met since traveling!). We chatted aimlessly, played cards, and then watched a loud wedding procession make its way through the streets below. It is currently "Marriage Season" in Rajasthan, so the sounds of beating drums and melodic flutes echo through the streets at all hours of the day while grooms ride white horses flanked by dancing men and musicians to meet their wives-to-be, dressed in elaborate red saris and joined by other colorfully adorned women.
Heavy rains began to pour that night, signalling the arrival of the anticipated monsoon. I was surprised to find a few cockroaches scurrying out of the drain in the floor of my bathroom; I was appalled that these few menaces were followed by at least one-hundred more (not an exaggeration!) disgusting creatures...more roaches than my shoe could kill! Amazingly, as soon as the rain stopped, the roaches had disappeared, but it still made for a sleepless night!
Friday morning, in need of a day of relaxation, I joined the other girls in paying 50 Rupees for a day swimming and sunbathing at a hotel pool. It was the perfect day, and I was happy to get some color on my increasingly-paling body. After a cool shower, camera in hand, I again wandered through Pushkar, one of Rajasthan's most holy cities known for one of the world's only Brahman temples and a large lake surrounded by sacred ghats, places where pilgrims bathe and present offerings. I was met by a guide who showed me how to conduct the ceremony of blessing my relatives and friends, throwing flowers, salt, and other offerings into the water, finished off by tying a puja bracelet to my wrist. He then demanded a "donation" as I expected, and put him in his place after he tried to complain about my meager, backpacker gift of 50 rupees...I told him that his god would not mind.
That evening, the girls and I settled in a local guesthouse to watch Germany beat Argentina...a perfect ending to a perfect day.
Even though I love Pushkar and could spend another week wandering through this enchanting town, with its courtyards filled with pilgrims coming to dip in the holy waters, aspiring young cricket players, smiling holy men with dreadlocked-hair, and the ubiquitous hordes of lazy cows, I need to move on. In a few hours I head to Bundi, another small village in Eastern Rajasthan.
posted by Tiffany Joiner at 10:52 PM
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