Coffee, Pushkar-Style
Our second day in Pushkar began with yoga, then a smorgasbord breakfast. We walked to a local café for coffee and met the bus there. We'd planned to try the bougie hotel next door, but its coffee shop doesn't open until 1:30, which is quite common in India, so it was lucky to find Café Melbourne, a place that caters for foreigners who want their coffee in the morning. ☕
The Sacred Lake
First stop was Pushkar Lake, a pilgrimage site and one of Hinduism's most sacred. Legend says it formed when Brahma, the creator, dropped a lotus flower, and "Pushkar" means lotus. A semi-circle of 52 bathing ghats (steps) surrounds it, and around 400 temples line the shore. Pilgrims believe a dip washes away sins, especially on Kartik Purnima in November, when the Pushkar Fair is held. Mahatma Gandhi's ashes were immersed at Gandhi Ghat, is one of the 52 sacred stone steps (ghats) surrounding the Lake and everyone goes barefoot on the ghats. It wasn't that pretty in the daytime, but a guest we met at dinner said it's amazing at sunset. 🪷
Hippies, Pilgrims and Bhang
Pushkar is an interesting town. Lots of hippies and travellers come to stay, there are many yoga retreats, and there's a large Israeli community. It's also a holy town where alcohol, meat and eggs are banned. Cannabis isn't legal, but bhang, a drink made from cannabis leaves, is sold in licensed shops. We didn't try any.
Shopping on the Main Street
With pilgrims and backpackers as its customers, Pushkar isn't upmarket. A lot of the fabric is machine-produced and cheap however it is also made with cotton and other natural fibres, I did pick up some (more) clothes, a book, and about five years' worth of frankincense oil from a trusted shopt 🛍️
A Tongue Drum
I also bought a steel tongue drum, a melodic percussion instrument with a clean, bell-like, meditative tone. The seller showed us how he tunes them, which matters, because some are fake and badly tuned. I think I got a good one. 🎵 Bargaining is everywhere, but I now know what things cost, so sometimes I haggle and sometimes I don't.
Lunch and Round Two at the Bougie Café
We had a pizza and snacks for lunch, then rested at the hotel. In the afternoon, I suggested a top-up at the bougie café next door, an oasis, where I finally got the chocolate deep-dish pie that Monique had yesterday
Meeting the Silversmith
Down the road from the hotel is a silversmith, whose father is a goldsmith. We saw his work where he makes it and bought directly from him. There's lots of jewellery in the markets, but you can't tell the quality or see the workmanship, so finding these one of a kind pieces was special⚒️
Show and Tell
On our last night, we laid out all our loot in our hotel rooms. We started in mine, because I'd bought the most stuff (not spent the most money, just the most stuff). I have four children to buy presents for, and I'll only be in India once. Then we moved on to Vicky and Richard's room, which had the second-biggest pile. It was a great tour, and everyone had bought some lovely things. Drinks, dinner, and a good night's sleep. 😴
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