Hello, again, from Pushkar. I can now understand why so many travellers spend so much time here. They sell hot apple pie in the street at night and have plenty of western food. They also have many buffets. The breakfast buffet lasts until afternoon and the dinner buffets feature good Israeli food. There are many restaurants to choose from and also many tea shops. But best of all, plenty of book stores. I have spent most of the last ten days reading books.
I moved to a new Guest House on the lake. I have a good sized bed room and an adjacent sitting room with a table and two chairs. The walls have plenty of nails to hang things and twelve shelves as well. For the first time since the week I spent in Harare, Zimbabwe in January, 1996, I have my own room that I was able to decorate from scratch. I put my books on a bookshelf and completely unpacked my pack and put everything on the shelves. Then I hung my pack on the wall. I have greatly enjoyed the chance to unpack everything and put it away in its own place. It has been nice to be settled, but now it is time to move on.
Pushkar has about 15,000 people and many Indian and foreign tourists. Because it is so holy, it also has many holy men. The Brahmins, one kind of holy man, puts a flower in your hand as you walk by and tells you about a festival at the lake. He then drags you down there and makes some blessings with coconuts, red powder and flowers. After requesting a hefty donation he ties a string around your wrist. This is very useful. When another holy man approaches with his flower, all you have to do is show the string and he leaves pretty quickly.
Some days I hung out at my local eateries and read books. One day I took a walk into the desert and climbed a nearby mountain. Yesterday I went to Achapal. It was a nice morning walk to the temple. I met an Indian family there and they showed me around the place. After they left I explored the very nice valley a bit before returning to Pushkar. I saw many peacocks in the trees. When I scared them by walking past, they flew off. I had never seen them fly before.
One morning a monkey jumped onto the electrical wires and died. The local shopkeepers were upset. Apparently other monkeys had suicided this way and even one peacock, the national bird, met his end in this fashion. The men blocked the street and sat in the middle. They sang a few songs and made a few jokes. Then the police showed up for a chat. After the policeman saw the monkey, the protest broke up peacefully. I think they do this every time an animal dies on the wires in the hope that the wires will be moved.
I also ran into Steve and Sheila here. They are the Australian couple that I met in Nepal in November. We hung out for a few days before they headed to Jodhpur.
A few days ago was the national kite festival day. Kites sell for a few cents each and everybody loads up on twenty or so. Then all the men and boys go up onto the roofs and fly kites all day. Apparently this is not challenging enough for Indians, so they add their own twist. They try to use the string from their kite to cut the string of other kites. One man from my hotel roof was able to cut the strings of seven kites before his was cut. In professional competitions they put ground glass onto the string to help it cut, but this was just a festival for fun. Of course, many of the kites ended up in trees so the trees were covered in paper kites for days.
Many people call me 'Babu'. This means grandfather and they call me this because of my beard. Indians don't grow big beards until they are very old so anyone with a beard must be a grandfather.
It has been interesting to see the many Rajistani men in their traditional dress. They wear very big turbans, a big mustache, nice earrings and a type of cloth wrapped around their waist and legs.
My stomach has not been quite right so I went to a doctor. He diagnosed me with 'Gastritis'. I did not have any change so I ended up paying him $2.50. I filled his prescription for about 15 cents and took his cure. It did not work so today I went to a homeopathic doctor. I also paid him $2.50 for his advice and cure. I just started his natural remedy and will see if it is any better than the western method.
They have a very nice alternative to paper plates and cups here. Disposable cups are made of clay. When you finish your drink you can throw the cup in the street and it is quickly ground down to red dust. Disposable plates are made of molded banana leaves. When those end up in the street the cows and pigs take a break from eating paper and plastic and eat the plate instead.
That is about it for now. I will head down to the state of Gujarat tomorrow and then look for a beach to relax on. Fiona, an Australian friend will meet me in Nepal in the middle of February. Then two German friends will meet me in March, along with two Kiwi friends.
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