Friday, 31 October 2014, Pushkar
Pati and BeeBee got up early this morning, eager to take in the first official day of the Pushkar Camel Fair. They had a breakfast of muesli, yogurt, and toast (how different from the previous hotels!) in the cool open-air rooftop terrace restaurant. Around the B&B are gardens, which at this time of year appear to be just dirt plots. The B&B manager told them that all the land around the B&B belongs to his grandfather, and that was the man in one of the gardens with a hoe. In fact, the family owns 6 hotels in Pushkar.
After breakfast, they set off on foot toward the fairgrounds. The roads and streets are paved, with lots of sand at the edges, and lots of what camels leave behind. Also lots of scam artists, trying to hand out flowers to be used for prayers at the lake (where the flowers mark just who can be hit up for $500 to $1000 USD for prayers for their family). Needless to say, Pati and BeeBee rejected all flowers.
Their way to the fair went through the market, streets crowded with pedestrians and vehicles, with all sorts of clothing, jewelry, metal and sandlewood artifacts, fabrics, and food to buy. They followed a map given to them by the B&B and eventually ended up at the fairgrounds, where many schoolgirls in colorful saris were performing a choreographed dance to music. The "fairgrounds" is really a large oval arena with stone seats on one of the long sides and one of the ends, and events that do not need all of the arena tend to happen near the sides with seating. Following the schoolgirls was a dancer performing to music produced by a line of drummers; there were two "guest" drummers who were clearly non-Indians pulled from the seated audience. Following this was a football (soccer) match played by a local team in uniforms vs. all foreign males who wanted to play, collectively call the "rest of the world" team. The rest of the world team scored first and went on to win the match; Pati and BeeBee suspected that perhaps the game was rigged. There were 4 players from the USA, and the rest were from France, the UK, Sweden, and other countries. While all this was going on, a camel beautification contest was also going on to the side. The owner of the most beautifully-decorated camel was crowned king; he mounted his camel and rode in front of the stands, holding a large ornate umbrella over his own head.
As there was a gap in entertainment, Pari and BeeBee went back to the market for lunch at the Laughing Budda, which was up a very steep set of stairs, and on a narrow projection from the second floor of a building. They had an excellent view of the people walking through the market below, and could analyze the behavior of the sellers. Across the street from them, at street level, was a shop prominently displaying bags of something that looked like fancy beans or rice on the left (Pati called them tictacs for their appearance and apparent size as he saw them from a distance) and cartons and packs of cigarettes on the right. The shop keeper watched for Westerners: when they appeared, he called out to them about cigarettes. For Indians, he pushed the tictacs.
After lunch, Pati and BeeBee headed back to the B&B, intending to rest, but the B&B manager convinced them to return for the 6 pm candle lighting on the lake. The candles were really small clay bowls with a wick in oil, and thousands of them were set on the ghats (steps) all around the lake. It was a quite beautiful scene, with lights twinkling and reflecting in the lake. Tomorrow, Pati and BeeBee plan to return to the lake early and walk around it.
After this, they stopped for dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe (not THE Hard Rock Cafe but a restaurant owned by the extended family of the B&B where they are staying). The food was excellent; they plan to eat there again sometime.
Pati and BeeBee got up early this morning, eager to take in the first official day of the Pushkar Camel Fair. They had a breakfast of muesli, yogurt, and toast (how different from the previous hotels!) in the cool open-air rooftop terrace restaurant. Around the B&B are gardens, which at this time of year appear to be just dirt plots. The B&B manager told them that all the land around the B&B belongs to his grandfather, and that was the man in one of the gardens with a hoe. In fact, the family owns 6 hotels in Pushkar.
After breakfast, they set off on foot toward the fairgrounds. The roads and streets are paved, with lots of sand at the edges, and lots of what camels leave behind. Also lots of scam artists, trying to hand out flowers to be used for prayers at the lake (where the flowers mark just who can be hit up for $500 to $1000 USD for prayers for their family). Needless to say, Pati and BeeBee rejected all flowers.
Their way to the fair went through the market, streets crowded with pedestrians and vehicles, with all sorts of clothing, jewelry, metal and sandlewood artifacts, fabrics, and food to buy. They followed a map given to them by the B&B and eventually ended up at the fairgrounds, where many schoolgirls in colorful saris were performing a choreographed dance to music. The "fairgrounds" is really a large oval arena with stone seats on one of the long sides and one of the ends, and events that do not need all of the arena tend to happen near the sides with seating. Following the schoolgirls was a dancer performing to music produced by a line of drummers; there were two "guest" drummers who were clearly non-Indians pulled from the seated audience. Following this was a football (soccer) match played by a local team in uniforms vs. all foreign males who wanted to play, collectively call the "rest of the world" team. The rest of the world team scored first and went on to win the match; Pati and BeeBee suspected that perhaps the game was rigged. There were 4 players from the USA, and the rest were from France, the UK, Sweden, and other countries. While all this was going on, a camel beautification contest was also going on to the side. The owner of the most beautifully-decorated camel was crowned king; he mounted his camel and rode in front of the stands, holding a large ornate umbrella over his own head.
As there was a gap in entertainment, Pari and BeeBee went back to the market for lunch at the Laughing Budda, which was up a very steep set of stairs, and on a narrow projection from the second floor of a building. They had an excellent view of the people walking through the market below, and could analyze the behavior of the sellers. Across the street from them, at street level, was a shop prominently displaying bags of something that looked like fancy beans or rice on the left (Pati called them tictacs for their appearance and apparent size as he saw them from a distance) and cartons and packs of cigarettes on the right. The shop keeper watched for Westerners: when they appeared, he called out to them about cigarettes. For Indians, he pushed the tictacs.
After lunch, Pati and BeeBee headed back to the B&B, intending to rest, but the B&B manager convinced them to return for the 6 pm candle lighting on the lake. The candles were really small clay bowls with a wick in oil, and thousands of them were set on the ghats (steps) all around the lake. It was a quite beautiful scene, with lights twinkling and reflecting in the lake. Tomorrow, Pati and BeeBee plan to return to the lake early and walk around it.
After this, they stopped for dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe (not THE Hard Rock Cafe but a restaurant owned by the extended family of the B&B where they are staying). The food was excellent; they plan to eat there again sometime.
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| Camels! |
Look for a camel named Clyde.
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