Saturday, October 7, 2023
The group had yet another early departure this morning so we could head out to the holy town of Pushkar. It was an uneventful ride on the bus and I tried to catch up on my sleep for a bit along the way. Luckily, the ride wasn’t too long and we arrived at the hotel around midday, just in time for lunch.
For some inexplicable reason, we were booked into a hotel far from the city center and there was nowhere to go out and explore around the hotel. It did have a pool, which everyone was excited about, but that proved to be the only good thing about the hotel. Anu had warned us that it would be the roughest hotel of the trip and he was not wrong.
The rooms were just awful! Mine looked as though it hadn’t been cleaned in weeks! Dust, dirt and hair were in the corners of the room, the bed sheets appeared in need of a good washing, and the bathroom was foul. It looked like dirt and grim was everywhere. Everyone in the group was shocked and disgusted with the hotel. I felt dirty just sitting in the room. To top it all off, the WiFi signal did not work in any of our rooms, only in the lobby and the restaurant.
We reassembled in the hotel restaurant for lunch after taking our bags to the rooms. The restaurant had a simple menu, which was alright. I was glad that they had a place to eat since there was nothing else anywhere close by to have a meal. I had kofta for lunch and it was alright, though a bit spicy for my liking. Everyone agreed that the food was alright, though nowhere near the quality that we’d been eating in other cities.
The afternoon was left for leisure and most people lounged by the pool. I spent the time relaxing in my room: watching Netflix, blogging, and working (using my cell phone’s data for an Internet hotspot to connect my computer).
The group had decided to do an optional camel ride in the desert in the evening, followed by dinner and a dance performance. I skipped the excursion and remained at the hotel. I have ridden a camel in Mongolia and didn’t really enjoy the experience, so I didn’t have a strong desire to do it again. The dinner and show also didn’t pique my interest. For my dinner, I ate at the hotel restaurant. I was the only one there eating, which was perfectly fine for me. I used the time to get some work done on the blog so I wasn’t so terribly far behind.
The group returned around 20:30 as I was eating, so we spent some time chatting about their evening. They all enjoyed it, but the consensus was that I hadn’t missed anything spectacular. The performance after dinner sounded like it was just so-so, which made me believe that I had made the right decision.
The remainder of the night was spent relaxing at the hotel. It had not been a particularly interesting day – indeed, it seemed a bit of a waste of time. We had another full day in Pushkar tomorrow as well. No one in the group was pleased about having to stay at the shit hotel for two nights.
Sunday, October 8, 2023
Today we were able to sleep in as the day’s sightseeing was due to start until 11:00 – wonderful news! Unfortunately, I woke up at 05:45 and couldn’t get back to bed. I laid in bed for a few hours though, having a lazy time during the morning. I went down to breakfast at the hotel restaurant, but their options were total garbage (I didn’t expect any better) – no one seemed impressed by the food.
At 11:00, we all met for our short city tour around Pushkar. We took the bus into town and were dropped off at one end of the long street market. Anu then led us on a walk through the market, which I didn’t particularly find very interesting. It was just shop after shop selling various goods, but nothing was very unique or special about it. I have been to dozens of similar markets around the world, which is why I was not enthralled with the experience.
Pushkar is a holy city where many Hindus and Sikhs make a pilgrimage. Legend has it that the creator god Brahma came to the earth and reached the location of the present-day city of Pushkar. He spent a thousand years in this location and he threw a lotus flower to the ground. The lotus made the ground tremble and Brahma explained to the devas that he did this to vanquish a demon who lived in the area. Thereafter, the area was known as Pushkar.
The lake in the city is the main site of pilgrimage and there were hundreds of people at the temples along the banks of the lake. The people would pray and then get themselves wet with the water in the lake: some would pour it over themselves using cups or buckets, while others waded into the water and submerged themselves.
Anu had arranged for a priest to perform a prayer ceremony for us while we were there. The priest gave us each a plate filled with various things (flower petals, salt, colored powder) and a coconut. We followed him to the lakefront temple and sat while he performed the prayer. We sat amongst the locals while they prayed and bathed in the water, which was a very interesting experience. The priest laid out a carpet for us to sit on and then began to lead up through the prayer. It was difficult for me to hear what he was saying most of the time due to the noise in the area. He recited some prayers, which the group repeated. He then mixed some of the lake water with a red powder in his plate to make an ink, which was then used to place marks on our foreheads: a dot for the women and a vertical line for the men. We then carried our plates to the edge of the lake and threw the contents of it into the water. It was a very unique ceremony and I was glad that Anu arranged it for the group.
It was getting very warm out and we were all hungry, so Anu took us to a nearby restaurant for lunch. The place was very nice – as all the restaurants that Anu had arranged for us – and the food was delicious. They even had a Vietnamese coffee on the menu, which I eagerly ordered. When my drink arrived, it was definitely not... what I had expected. It was a smoothie, not a coffee - they had either screwed up my order or given me the wrong drink. Shortly after it arrived, the waiter came out and brought me the correct drink. It was good, though not as good as the real thing back home in Hanoi.
When we finished eating, the group split up for the remainder of the day. Some remained in town to wander around the market a bit more, while others were returning to the hotel. I opted for the hotel as nothing in the market had caught my eye during the walk earlier in the day. The remainder of the day was spent relaxing, watching movies, working and blogging.
Dinner was at a restaurant back in town and we took tuk tuks to get there from the hotel. The place we were eating was along the edge of the lake and we sat outside on the patio. The area was quite busy and there were many people by the lake, hanging out and enjoying the cooler weather at night. Dinner was good, but it was the dessert that stole the show. There was a dessert called Hello to the Queen, which sounded rather intriguing. Fred ordered one and we were all amazed by it when the waiter brough it out. It was a large sundae with ice cream, sauce, a warm biscuit, bananas and nuts. Lyn tried a bite and she absolutely loved it – her reaction was enough to make four of us ordered one to share. Lyn, Christina, Mandy and I all shared one of the desserts – we devoured it rather quickly too. The mixture of flavors and textures was superb!
When we got back to the hotel, I had to do some work for a little while and then I went to bed just after midnight.
Monday, October 9, 2023
Everyone was happy to be leaving Pushkar this morning, mostly because none of us had enjoyed the hotel. The city itself was nice and I think the group would have enjoyed it more had we stayed at a different hotel. We had a long drive ahead of us to reach the city of Jaipur, which is where Anu lives. As usual, I spent the time napping and trying to listen to a podcast. I’d been listening to “Behind the Bastards” the entire trip, though I was constantly having to rewind or restart episodes because I kept falling asleep.
The first stop of the day was at a textile factory that made fabrics using block-style technique. This uses large stamps to create various patterns on fabric, using layers of ink to add depth and complexity to the designs. We were given a short demonstration of how the blocks are used to stamp the color onto the fabric. The example we were shown was making an elephant. Several stamps were used, each one using a different color and covering a different part of the elephant. The end result was a beautifully colored and detailed image.
The group was then taken into the store where we were shown various fabrics and items for sale. Once we were turned loose, many in the group went in search of various articles of clothing to buy. The textiles were quite pretty, but there was nothing that caught my eye, so I ended up not buying anything. The store had ready-made articles of clothing, but they could also make new pieces from the bolts of fabric available. Many people had clothes made, from shirts to robes to bowties.
We were then taken to the hotel for a quick break to freshen up before heading out into the old town of Jaipur. The city is known as the Pink City and it certainly lives up to the name. Buildings throughout the city are painted in a terracotta pink color. In the 1870s, the son of Queen Victoria, Albert Edward, visited Jaipur. The maharaja at the time ordered the town to be painted pink to welcome the royals because pink was the color of hospitality. The color scheme has remained a part of the city ever since.
Anu took us on a walk through part of the old city so we could see some of the historical architecture and the pink colors buildings. Much of the walk took us past various stalls and shops selling spices, peppers, etc – it was very fragrant, though the peppers were slightly overpowering to me. It was a short walk, but enjoyable.
Dinner this evening was at a rooftop hotel where we could get 360-degree views all around the city – Anu knew where to find the best restaurants in every city! He had told us that this particular restaurant was one of his absolute favorite places to eat, so we had high expectations for the food. It did not disappoint – everyone’s food was delicious! While we enjoyed our meal, we could see dozens of kites being flown across the city. Later on, we were able to watch the beautiful sunset as well.
As with most nights, this one ended back at the hotel with me staying up late to work. No surprise there.
This featured blog entry was written by Glichez from the blog World Tour: 2023.
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