We left Jaipur, another big city,and headed to Pushkar, a kind little village nestled between the Rajisthani mountains and desert. We took the train and booked a 3 AC berth so it was tranquil and relaxing. Second class was an experience but I wouldn't run back to it again! :)
I know Niki blogged about Pushkar a bit so I won't get carried away. It was an interesting mixture of very holy yogis and backpackers looking for some chill time.
It was just the pill we needed. We walked through the winding ancient streets poking in shops and cafes. The shopping was grand, a mix of holy and hippie in everything from clothing to furniture. And very affordable! It was a challenge to zip up our packs by the time we left!
Pushkar was particularly charming because there was very little touting and attention on us was minimal due to the vast number of hippie and backpacker foreigners everywhere.
We enjoyed a relaxing pilgrimage up to the holy temple of Sarawati.(particularly holy right now as there is a 9 day Hindu festival on all throughout India).
Not being of the religious inclination we explored the pilgrimage for its stunning views and peaceful environment. It was also a rather enduring little temple, a bit crumbly but full of character, fresh with the pilgrimage offerings of the holy( usually flowers, photos or money.
They've got one up on Christianity which only accepts money!) :)
And we met some very friendly Indians along the way who passed on some information about the festival.
The next day we shopped and visited extensively with a Belgian woman, Ann who we met at a cafe we loved called the funky monkey(they served
Mojitos under the table in the evenings as its illegal to sell alcohol in pushkar!).
She was quite nice and had been coming here for 20 years. We talked about astrology(of the scientific kind not the quack kind) and the new discovery of a earth like planet in Proxima Centuri B. I ended up showing her pictures of the Aurora Borealis I had on Facebook that were taken by a high school classmate who is a professional astrophotographer.
They were taken in different parts of Saskatchewan and it impressed her very much(thanks Colin!)
The next day was exceptional as we decided to take a camel safari. It was purely enchanting. It was just Niki and I and the camel guide. No mass tour or group, just us. We rode through the desert for a couple hours and stopped to watch the sunset. It was thrilling in that "wow the universe is pretty when the timing is right" sort of way! :)
Just a beautiful afternoon. Our guide was friendly but laid back, let us direct our own camel and just enjoy the romance of being on a camel together!
(we rode on separate camels on the way to sunset point and together on the way back)
There was one other family who had hired camels and were at sunset point and they were adorable and inspiring also. I have always wondered what limitations traveling has with children, obviously there are many (I know my friends with kids are thinking "oh just wait Josh!) but this British family had two little girls ages 7 and 9 and they all looked as happy as can be(at least at this time anyway!) I was very impressed as traveling in India is difficult without kids so I can only imagine with, I think planning ahead is the key!
We said our goodbyes to Pushkar and
headed to Udaipur. *sigh* the train:)
Well, this particular train only had first and second class so we booked first. There was no berth option but we figured first class would be fine.
It had AC.......that's about it, it was a free for all so getting seats was a shit storm and it had mice running around everywhere, Niki didn't notice the mice so I didn't tell her about them until we were already there:)
But it was worth it!
Udaipur has a reputation for being the most romantic city in India but it is a bigger city so I was bracing myself for another Jaipur, which wasn't bad but in Jaipur you had to work to find your relax spot! :)
Udaipur despite its size is gorgeous! And relaxing here seems relatively effortless. It possesses a setting that needs a fairy tale to go along with it. The Maharaja Singh from the 16th century built 5 lakes that were built to fill each other in drought years originating from the river.(this is considered an engineering trophy for this time).
Therefore the city is a water oasis that rivals Venice in style.
We visited the Maharaja's palace today which was nothing short of epic! By far the nicest palace we have seen in India. We then took a boat ride around the lake to a tiny island that is furnished with a lavish garden and restaurant. It was such a nice lazy way to see this pearl of a city. The boat takes you along the lake shore past beautiful renovated 16th century residences, many hotels now. And by the Taj Lake Hotel which for Bond junkies is the hotel featured in the James Bond movie Octopussy.
It looks like a palace floating on water. Truly a site to see and at a whopping $500 a night probably very indulging! ( it has a completely marble swimming pool)
It has been a nice past 4 days, Pushkar and Udaipur have been exceptional parts of our trip. We are feeling a little more like we can breath in these parts of India and that has been refreshing, we receive less attention and are in smaller cities and that has made connecting with the country in our own way, much more possible.:)
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