So it's wedding season in Pushkar. This means huge celebrations with the groom tarted up to the nines riding around on a horse (also dressed as a Christmas tree) like he is the Maharajah. Every groom we have seen looks utterly terrified but this may be due to the weight of his pineapple shaped bejewelled turban. Big crowds chase him down the narrow streets carrying electric lights (powered by a wheelbarrows at the back) and then stop for a jumping dance session. When he reaches his destination which is his new brides love nest the Crowds let off one or two huge fireworks/gunshots. This goes on throughout the night. Didn't want to sleep anyway...
First trek(!?) today (sneakers and water) up to Saraswati temple at the very top of Pushkar. The kind of thing that keeps getting closer with every giant cliff step you take but it just keeps going on and on. I was crawling by the end. We stopped for a pit stop with an Indian family who asks "why you come here?" "devotion?" It may have been the heat but it was a difficult question to come answer. The family had done this climb to pray for a better life but we were just living the dream.... M just answered "for fun" and they pushed off.
View overlooking Pushkar was insane- men with their goats herds, big hills with temples dotted in between and one big road leading to nowhere. Not going to lie the temple was a bit of a village hall type scenario (gutted if you had walked all the way just to see that) but the view was sensational.
Much better walking down Everest than up, even had a little kid with his Bollywood ring tone keeping us entertained.
Arrived back in the centre and booked our bus onto Jaisalmer, even this you have to haggle your way to get the best price. We thought it would be a breeze though with the guy working for the official transport system on his dodgy photocopied name badge.
Collected our bags from Bob Marley and went to a post office for M to send off all her purchases home. Stayed here quite a while with the postman slash magician showing off his 'unbreakable string.' It was all very funny I was handed it as I was 'bigger' and even I couldn't break the darn thing. Different sense of humour here but as we have been warned we must 'apply and adapt.'
Whilst waiting at Mr official transport's little office we were accosted by some street kids begging for food by pinching their fingers together and lifting them to their mouths. Sarah had a pink North Face fleece she was desperate to ditch so presented it to one of the boys. He scuttled off and sat on a step to try and figure out what on earth it was-think he thought it was a tent at one point. But he then put it on and walked over to his mates like Joseph and his technicoloured dream coat, the cat that caught the cream. He was so happy it was the best thing to watch, his other mate cleverly realised there were in fact two layers to the garment so ripped out the waterproof one and paraded up and down the streets of Pushkar like Naomi Cambell.
We got lead by Mr Transport through a dark alley to his house...felt very odd being told to sit on the steps of his swanky pad to wait for the bus. When we arrived there were a couple of Germans with their backpacks who also were waiting. It was like something from Babel, I didn't like it. Not one bit.
The bus arrived nearly 2 hours later and it was full panic stations "GO GO GO 40 RUPEES LUGGAGE" I absolutely categorically was NOT going to pay this fee so jumped on the bus and into our sleeper cabin. Imagine a sort of microwave oven/battery cage where you are able to lie with a sdlign door. Quite cosy actually and we got out our sleeping bags, my bag of Haribo Han had tucked in my backpack (dreamy) and my Dvd player that my beautiful Godolphin ladies gave me (shout out.) All set for a cracker, but then the Dvd player didn't function (late to find I had not removed the plastic seal) and the bus was going at about 150 miles an hour so were getting thrown all over the place like a maraca. Plus the horn was just ludicrous, imagine a Nokia ring tone at full blast in a horn. There were two men sitting in the drivers bit, I think one was the horn blower, just had his finger on the horn button continuously. It was mental, we stopped off in random places in the desert where turbaned men in yellow with walking sticks would jump on and scream. I got pretty freaked and told M I was scared so she put her little arm round me whilst I slept with one eye open....
First trek(!?) today (sneakers and water) up to Saraswati temple at the very top of Pushkar. The kind of thing that keeps getting closer with every giant cliff step you take but it just keeps going on and on. I was crawling by the end. We stopped for a pit stop with an Indian family who asks "why you come here?" "devotion?" It may have been the heat but it was a difficult question to come answer. The family had done this climb to pray for a better life but we were just living the dream.... M just answered "for fun" and they pushed off.
View overlooking Pushkar was insane- men with their goats herds, big hills with temples dotted in between and one big road leading to nowhere. Not going to lie the temple was a bit of a village hall type scenario (gutted if you had walked all the way just to see that) but the view was sensational.
Arrived back in the centre and booked our bus onto Jaisalmer, even this you have to haggle your way to get the best price. We thought it would be a breeze though with the guy working for the official transport system on his dodgy photocopied name badge.
Collected our bags from Bob Marley and went to a post office for M to send off all her purchases home. Stayed here quite a while with the postman slash magician showing off his 'unbreakable string.' It was all very funny I was handed it as I was 'bigger' and even I couldn't break the darn thing. Different sense of humour here but as we have been warned we must 'apply and adapt.'
Whilst waiting at Mr official transport's little office we were accosted by some street kids begging for food by pinching their fingers together and lifting them to their mouths. Sarah had a pink North Face fleece she was desperate to ditch so presented it to one of the boys. He scuttled off and sat on a step to try and figure out what on earth it was-think he thought it was a tent at one point. But he then put it on and walked over to his mates like Joseph and his technicoloured dream coat, the cat that caught the cream. He was so happy it was the best thing to watch, his other mate cleverly realised there were in fact two layers to the garment so ripped out the waterproof one and paraded up and down the streets of Pushkar like Naomi Cambell.
We got lead by Mr Transport through a dark alley to his house...felt very odd being told to sit on the steps of his swanky pad to wait for the bus. When we arrived there were a couple of Germans with their backpacks who also were waiting. It was like something from Babel, I didn't like it. Not one bit.
The bus arrived nearly 2 hours later and it was full panic stations "GO GO GO 40 RUPEES LUGGAGE" I absolutely categorically was NOT going to pay this fee so jumped on the bus and into our sleeper cabin. Imagine a sort of microwave oven/battery cage where you are able to lie with a sdlign door. Quite cosy actually and we got out our sleeping bags, my bag of Haribo Han had tucked in my backpack (dreamy) and my Dvd player that my beautiful Godolphin ladies gave me (shout out.) All set for a cracker, but then the Dvd player didn't function (late to find I had not removed the plastic seal) and the bus was going at about 150 miles an hour so were getting thrown all over the place like a maraca. Plus the horn was just ludicrous, imagine a Nokia ring tone at full blast in a horn. There were two men sitting in the drivers bit, I think one was the horn blower, just had his finger on the horn button continuously. It was mental, we stopped off in random places in the desert where turbaned men in yellow with walking sticks would jump on and scream. I got pretty freaked and told M I was scared so she put her little arm round me whilst I slept with one eye open....
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