Saturday, 1 November 2014
Pati and BeeBee got up a little later today (7 am) and headed up to the terrace cafe for the same breakfast as yesterday. There are 4 tables there, and when a guest arrived that would have required a 5th table, he asked to sit with them. He is Canadian and traveling alone. His wife, with whom he always travels ("we are trekkers"), got sick at the last minute, so he came alone. He is visiting most of the same places in India that Pati and BeeBee are, but this is the only place they will visit at the same time.
After breakfast, Pati and BeeBee took a tuk-tuk to the fairgrounds and settled in to wait for the first event, the camel beauty contest (how this was different from yesterday's camel beautification event, they never figured out). Camels who were clearly entered in the event were off to the side (as yesterday), but this time there was drumming and camels jumping! People crowded around, close to the camels (and close to the jumping!), making it hard to see exactly what was going on.
The beauty contest was scheduled for 11 am in a makeshift ring; just before 11:30, the 8 camels entered the ring one at a time with their drivers, each making a turn around the front of the ring before joining the others at the back. Each was then brought forward (some bowing) for the seated judges to view, and finally the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners were announced. A camel with a blue cover on its hump was a clear crowd favorite and took one of the three prizes, but, not understanding Rajasthani, Pati and BeeBee do not know which prize. All the beauty contestants left the ring.
After a long pause, camels lined up to enter the ring for the second event: camel dancing. It is easier to suggest a YouTube search than to describe this phenomenom. Before today, BeeBee would have said if you've seen one camel dance, you've seen them all. But the crowd-favorite blue-humped camel was one of the entrants, and after his choreography, which included dancing on primitive trampolines, there was a clear winner.
After this excitement, Pati and BeeBee had lunch at Honey and Spice, a health-food vegetarian restaurant. The food was good, if long in showing up.
They then went to the lake, intending to walk around it, but postponed the walk since shoes must be removed, and by that time, BeeBee's feet were very sore. Upon leaving, and trying to avoid the religious scammers, they were hailed by a familiar voice. It was the driver who had brought them to Pushkar. He is here with another group and will be leaving tomorrow. Unfortunately, he will not be their driver when they leave Pushkar.
Pati and BeeBee then walked back to their B&B and headed to the terrace cafe to rest and blog.
After a few hours of internetting and rest, they took a tuk-tuk back to the market and had a delicious dinner at the best restaurant they have found so far, Hard Rock Cafe. The waiter, Mango, is brother to the young man who makes the meals at the B&B, and told Pati and BeeBee to tell his brother "hi," which they did upon returning. They would like to have breakfast some morning at Hard Rock Cafe; the breakfast menu is very tempting.
Pati and BeeBee got up a little later today (7 am) and headed up to the terrace cafe for the same breakfast as yesterday. There are 4 tables there, and when a guest arrived that would have required a 5th table, he asked to sit with them. He is Canadian and traveling alone. His wife, with whom he always travels ("we are trekkers"), got sick at the last minute, so he came alone. He is visiting most of the same places in India that Pati and BeeBee are, but this is the only place they will visit at the same time.
After breakfast, Pati and BeeBee took a tuk-tuk to the fairgrounds and settled in to wait for the first event, the camel beauty contest (how this was different from yesterday's camel beautification event, they never figured out). Camels who were clearly entered in the event were off to the side (as yesterday), but this time there was drumming and camels jumping! People crowded around, close to the camels (and close to the jumping!), making it hard to see exactly what was going on.
The beauty contest was scheduled for 11 am in a makeshift ring; just before 11:30, the 8 camels entered the ring one at a time with their drivers, each making a turn around the front of the ring before joining the others at the back. Each was then brought forward (some bowing) for the seated judges to view, and finally the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners were announced. A camel with a blue cover on its hump was a clear crowd favorite and took one of the three prizes, but, not understanding Rajasthani, Pati and BeeBee do not know which prize. All the beauty contestants left the ring.
After a long pause, camels lined up to enter the ring for the second event: camel dancing. It is easier to suggest a YouTube search than to describe this phenomenom. Before today, BeeBee would have said if you've seen one camel dance, you've seen them all. But the crowd-favorite blue-humped camel was one of the entrants, and after his choreography, which included dancing on primitive trampolines, there was a clear winner.
After this excitement, Pati and BeeBee had lunch at Honey and Spice, a health-food vegetarian restaurant. The food was good, if long in showing up.
They then went to the lake, intending to walk around it, but postponed the walk since shoes must be removed, and by that time, BeeBee's feet were very sore. Upon leaving, and trying to avoid the religious scammers, they were hailed by a familiar voice. It was the driver who had brought them to Pushkar. He is here with another group and will be leaving tomorrow. Unfortunately, he will not be their driver when they leave Pushkar.
Pati and BeeBee then walked back to their B&B and headed to the terrace cafe to rest and blog.
After a few hours of internetting and rest, they took a tuk-tuk back to the market and had a delicious dinner at the best restaurant they have found so far, Hard Rock Cafe. The waiter, Mango, is brother to the young man who makes the meals at the B&B, and told Pati and BeeBee to tell his brother "hi," which they did upon returning. They would like to have breakfast some morning at Hard Rock Cafe; the breakfast menu is very tempting.
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