Tuesday, December 22, 2009



AJMER & PUSHKAR


So after not exactly brimming with enthusiasm with being here, it was better than I expected and to be fair the sights and offers of Ajmer would have been more than average had I not seen some of the best in Rajahstan prior and perhaps the fact that people come here midways between amazing things is why it'll never be more than average in most peoples eyes.


Besides the array of temples, mosques etc. to see the city itself is the same as most others, the mix of traffic, pollution and livestock that India has been so far - and although not wishing the rest of my trip away the thought of a secluded spot on the beach in Goa does sound like heaven!


I also branched out the extra 15kms around the mountains that separates Ajmer from Pushkar, which is the site of the Holy Lake and Ghat where Gandhi's ashes have been scattered.Given the dry winter season the lake itself is more of a puddle at the centre of the surrounding shrines but nonetheless full on linen-clad hippies and the part time holidaying equivalent flock their in their droves owing to the fact that surrounding the lake is a haven for all the sorts of things in a bazaar that the stereotypes would crave.


So, as I was walking through the markets in combats, t shirt and sunnies (as you do) I couldn't have felt more out of place as if I were wearing a tuxedo, scuba gear or nothing at all.


At this point I must admit although I was the one that stood out I was quite pleased not to get caught up in a whirlwind of such things. So you can imagine my horror, when upon chatting to a couple of local girls (who inevitably want something when they invite you to take their picture) that one asks for my hand and then begins to scrawl on my palm with what looks like a small wrapper with a dark coloured goop.


The horror became realised when they kindly let me know that this was henna and that they were offering me a free tattoo on my palm! By this point the girl in question was scribbling frantically and at this stage I was in too deep and thought that something finished wou0ld at least be better than a forcibly abandoned effort. Not so much perhaps, as the result looks like the creation of a sugar crazed toddler let loose with an orange felt tip pen.


If these hippies are onto something and karma does exist, I certainly got mine.


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