1st November

We woke at about half six in the morning – the time we had said we would set off yesterday. Evidently not happening. I feel like I have inhaled the desert in the course of the night. Lauren slept right next to the dying embers of the fire, so god only knows what she actually inhaled through the night. At least I can be pretty sure it was sand and maybe some thorns.
We decided to leave the camp early and skip the camel ride home. We don’t have time to hang about and wait for the men to get a fire going and make tchai and then get our camels suited and booted. The road back to Pushkar is fairly obvious anyhoo. There are great big ferris wheels at the moment in the town that act as a great land mark. We found the road with no difficulty anyway (it was the only road) and just walked along it for forty minutes or so until we came to the field with all the animals for sale in it again. The walk was pretty pleasant actually, even though once we were back in the field we were immediately surrounded by men trying to sell us necklaces and the odd camel. Who is going to emerge from the desert and buy a camel?? Especially when wearing jeans and converses, a backpack and a look of exhaustion??
We struggled back to the hotel through the absolutely packed out bazaar. It is only half past eight, and yet the place is swarming by the Brahma Temple with people buying sweets and wreaths for worship. We somehow managed to get past, but were way-laid again when a street procession of some swamis doing poi and twirling sticks went past accompanied by a jazz band. All very weird.
Decided to try nap for a bit but it wasn’t really happening so we had some breakfast and went out into the melee once more to find some bangles and things for presents. There is a great bangle shop here, I think it is called ‘Shree Banglejee’, which effectively means ‘Sir Mr Bangle’, though my hearing might be a bit off when I asked. We needed to catch a taxi to Anjer station at half past two to make the 350 train, so we didn’t spend long outside as we needed a long shower to remove the ingrained dust and thorns. I get the feeling I will be picking thorns out of me until next week.
We got the train fine and it was completely uneventful, though we did get ice cream on it: the privileges of the upper class carriage. We even managed to take the metro back once we were in Delhi. Thankfully we all have a day off tomorrow for Guru Nanak’s birthday, so we wont need to get up and do anything too early on.
All in all, my trip to Pushkar was good fun, but weird at the same time. I didn’t know how to react really to the beggar children who had been dressed up as Krishna, or the five-legged cows covered in tinsel, or the lecherous priests. It was strange. For some it seemed an incredibly holy place, but on the other hand it was so completely involved in selling itself as such for the tourists that it was hard to feel like you could do anything without being scammed. And that is not so nice a feeling. The food and shops were great of course, as they all cater for tourists and so the menus are all health foody and hippyish. I was glad I went to see it, and glad I went on the camel. But I don’t think I could have coped with much more of it. Maybe if you go at another time of the year, when it is not also the camel fair on or when it is not such an auspicious time to bathe. Maybe then it will be quiet and quaint enough that you can deal with the craziness surrounding you.