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Webmaster, 25 November 2004
India , Pushkar

Postcard from Pushkar

OK so it's been a little while since the last update. I've been loafing around in Pushkar, which has been great - it's a bit different from the other places I've seen so far and is an easy place to hole up for a while... somehow my initial plan of staying for just a couple of days went out of the window and it's offically my tenth day here, although I'm leaving for Bikaneer this evening.

When I signed off last time I was in Jaipur, just in time the Diwali celebrations... suffice to say the place was lit up most impressively and there was no shortage of kids attempting to maim themselves with dodgy fireworks. I took a walk down to the Old City, and strolled through the wide avenues of pink-washed buildings where there was a real party atmosphere. Only got hassled the once - some guy banging on about gemstone 'import / export' or something but funnily enough I didn't stick around to get stung for a few thousand rupees or a stretch in 'the big temple'.

In Jaipur I had a TV in my room - some highlights:

i) Hindi remake of 'Grease'. Great but a bit strange, since the original conforms to all the conventions of the Bollywood genre anyway.
ii) Johnny Vegas moonlights as Indian popstar Adnan Sami. Google him and check it out - it's uncanny. Fantastic videos too.
iii) Scooby Doo in Hindi. Shaggy still says "zoinks", Scrappy remains really annoying and "puppy power" doesn't help.
iv) ESPN for fantastic Premiership coverage. Settled down to Spurs vs Arsenal with a bottle of Kingfisher and loved every minute... nine goals in an hour, fantastic. I could even have watched a replay of Charlton vs Norwich but since we lost 4-0 I decided to give it a miss.

Other Jaipur things - went and saw the main tourist draws, including the old fort outside of town which had enough monkeys to keep everyone happy. Rest assured I'll be following AnneMarie's advice and will head for the Rat Temple at Deshnoke in the next few days. The best thing in Jaipur though was my trip to the Raj Mandir cinema... the whole experience is an event in itself. I managed to pick the most busy day of the year to visit (Sunday following Diwali) but with a bit of persistence I secured a 'Diamond' seat for the noon show - in the middle at the back, perfect. The cinema itself if well over-the-top in its 1930s finery, and there's just the one, massive screen. There was only one movie being shown - 'Veer Zaara', the festive blockbuster starring Shahrukh Kahn, Preity Zinta, Rani Mukherjee and featuring a fantastic cameo from Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachan. There were no problems following the plot and the Hindi dialogue is punctuated by a few bits of English, especially for the lines which nobody could say in Hindi with a straight face - e.g. "Thank you. Thank you for teaching me the meaning of truth and justice." The audience goes crazy every time something happens, and there are big cheers when the stars appear on screen for the first time. I'll definitely be catching a few more movies before I leave India.

So here I am in Pushkar, where I arrived on the 15th November in time for the annual Camel Fair, which this year runs from the 19th - 26th. There are thousands of tourists, traders, pilgrms, weirdos and of course camels in town for all the action. Unlike the other places I've visited so far, Pushkar is also a real backpacker hangout. This means there's loads of hippy crap for sale in the bazaar, plenty of restaurants offering Italian and Israeli cuisine plus any amount of places where you can get whacked up on bhang lassis. Naturally, there are also plenty of fellow travellers around to socialise with. It's funny - since I've been in India I've barely had any alcohol at all, but since arriving here (where it's banned) I've had more than a few beers and the odd rum into the bargain. In true Indian style, alcohol is prohibited in town but there's a bottle shop a kilometre or so outside... the hotels and some of the restaurants can often come up with the goods as well, for a price.

On my first day here I managed to catch up with Becci and Roger, who regular readers will recognise as two of my fellow PVs at Amarpurkashi. They're Pushkar old hands, having visited before and having settled in a few days before I turned up. Generously taking me under their wing, they showed me around and before too long there were a few of us hanging around town and getting up to leisurely-paced mischief. Big shout to Olivier, Mel and Jonelle - hi guys!

During the fair I took part in a locals vs visitors football match (full size pitch, on sand, at midday, bonkers) which we controversially 'lost' 5-4. It was the proverbial game of two halves - we got battered for the first 45 minutes (although they did have 12 men for a bit until we had a quick count) although a bit of fortune with our offside trap restricted them to 3-0 at the break, by our count at any rate. Then in the second half (in which I played precisely two seconds, admittedly) we adjusted to the conditions, walloped them and got four goals without reply. It was a bit of a shock when we found out we'd been beaten but there you go... home referees and all that. The next day there was a locals vs visitors cricket match but I sat that one out - call it laziness but I didn't fancy frying in the midday sun... our boys put up a good show though, given that most of the team had never seen a cricket bat before.

There are loads of events on the offical programme, but the best fun is to wander off into the dunes outside town and check out the camel grounds where impromptu camps have been set up. One of the guys from Becci and Roger's hotel even invested in a camel and cart and set out for Jaisalmer via the Thar desert - good luck Neil mate!

Oh yep - we managed to meet up with Stephanie and Clara, the ever lovely indestructable PVs from our time at APK. Unfortunately they were only in town for a day and a half but it was really good to see them again - next rendevous in Amsterdam perhaps!

The highlight of my stay here, and possibly my entire trip so far, was the Moustache Competition on Tuesday. To cut a long story short, Roger won second prize and the media coverage since has been great. Rog was the only foreign entrant and to be fair he should have walked off with the title, but alas the popular support of the crowd failed to sway the judges who ended up giving a home-town decision. Oh well - will get a photo up on the site as soon as I can find a reasonable connection!

What else? After a steady diet of basic thalis the wealth of food options here is quite a change, although I'll be staying off the all-you-can-eat buffets for a bit once I leave. There's been so much to see here, with regular cultural shows, dances and a riot of colour courtesy of all the Indian tourists and pilgrims in town. It's the full moon tomorrow which is the most auspicious time for bathing from the ghats which surround Pushkar lake - I'll be in Bikaneer by then though, possible scouting out a camel safari... we shall see.

Right, time to hit the Sunset Cafe for sunset over the lake and a final dosa (much better than Tooting's Shri Krishna ones, London people) before catching an overnight bus out of town.

Oh by the way - Mum, thanks for the Norwich City stickers! I've been giving them out left, right and centre... OTBC!

More soon! Paul xx

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