Pilgrimage to Pushkar

Mount Abu, Monday 25 February 2013

I'd mentioned before that Gabi, the other volunteer in Jaipur, and I went to Pushkar and Ajmer for the weekend... this was the trip we did on my Delhi Belly day.

Pushkar is a pilgrimage town for Hindus, and Ghandi's ashes were scattered here on the lake. But to me it's a place that has converted to tourism instead. The location was beautiful... a lake and small town on the desert plains, surrounded by hills. But the entire town felt dominated by tourism, with virtually every shop selling tourist tat, from baggy trousers to swords. It's always a pity when tourism becomes the raison d'etre of a place, and the original reason that tourists came gets lost behind the tacky facade.

Still, it was well worth a visit. Some pics below. They're a bit out of order, but I'm tired of fighting with this blogging software! I've also no idea why some of the pics have displayed larger than others. Answers on a postcard, please. We also spent a half day in the larger town of Ajmer, which is where the buses from elsewhere tend to come into. A beautiful lake (pictured below, further down), but not much else of interest to us there.

Pushkar and its holy lake

Always amazing to see people carrying such odd loads on their heads

Grover relaxing at our hotel in Pushkar, overlooking the courtyard

A group of people receiving blessings at the lake in Pushkar

The shady garden courtyard where we enjoyed a few relaxing cups of chai

Gabi in the same garden as above

Grover enjoying a hot lemon, ginger and honey in Pushkar

Street scene in Pushkar

I decided against one in the end!

The contraption used to squeeze sugar canes to make a lovely sweet drink, served with lime

Typical tourist tat

The ghats along the lake looking soft in the sunset. 

Cooking up something...

A fry-up, Pushkar style

An intricate place of worship

Looking up to the hill we climbed to the temple on our first morning in Pushkar

Another typical street scene

The beautiful lake at Ajmer

Me at the lake in Ajmer

Ajmer lake

A snack, anyone?

A monkey enjoying a banana donated by a tourist. The baby wasn't offered any!

Me and Grover at a temple above Pushkar. You can see the town fanning out from the lake in the distance.