Pushkar

It was hard to leave Udaipur. I felt so comfortable there and my wish was to only spend a few more days, but back to our schedule we carrying on to Pushkar. The week was quite busy as Diwali was approaching and many Indians were taking holidays as well. So this mixed with the number of foreigners traveling made for all the little towns to be busy. Pushkar is known as a Hindu pilgrimage town that has long rooted history that is associated with the Hindu creator-god Brahma. Pushkar is home to one of the world's only Brahma temples and holds much importance in the Hindu religion as this was one of the places where the lotus flower fell from Brahma's hand. We stayed a very nice guesthouse called Inn Seventh Heaven, a hundred year old haveli that has a beautiful open courtyard, with vines hanging from each floor. The laid back environment houses several comfy couches and swinging chairs. This mixed with the scent of freshly picked rose petals and burning incense makes it a great place to chill and curl up with your favourite book and go down for an afternoon nap. Pushkar has been known for the overlander hippies traveling through and this is quite apparent as you walk the main strip through the bazaar. The stores are filled with clothes, silver jewelry, leather goods and a lot of the same things we had been seeing through our travels. The lake is small but serene with several ghats. Similar to Varanasi is some way, there are prayers (pujas), people bathing and rituals happening everywhere. Since it was Diwali the sound of fire crackers were non stop and these were not like anything we have at home. They were the kind that made your heart skip a beat every time they went off. It was something we just had to accept, it was not stopping and nobody was going to do anything about it. October 26th was Diwali and the streets were lit up with tiny candles similar to tea lights all through the small narrow pathways and of course people praying and visiting with family and friends. I wasn't sure what to expect of Diwali, it was known as the festival of lights. I think if we were staying with the host family back in Faridabad we would have gotten a better sense and real feel for what it's all about. I did end up meeting a couple of other female travellers and decided we would do a short hike up to the top of small hill where the Gayatri Temple stands. It felt good to get some exercise in with one of the most beautiful rewards at the top. An Indian sunset. The sun in India is different, it reminds me of a ball of fire, rich in colour, glowing orange. Mother Nature's beauty shining upon us.

What I really loved about Pushkar was the food. First the most amazing juice bar that served the best muesli I have ever eaten in my life, there are several juice shops but if you are ever in Pushkar make sure you make a stop at SONU's, located right in the middle of the main strip. Second the Sixth Sense rooftop restaurant on our hotel. I was starting to crave something besides curry and the pasta and salads we had were to die for, it satisfied my deep craving for "western" food. Pushkar was a great little town and I had a tough time leaving as I knew that the last city on our leg would be Jaipur (another large city) which would be our last stop......tear.