Pushkar 2nd April 2006

I woke up real early this morning, not on purpose I’ve got to add, but by 04:00 I was wide-awake. I switched on the T.V to see if there was anything on and the England v Ireland Six Nations rugby match was just starting. This match was played two weeks ago and I’d heard that Ireland won it and I can now confirm that they did! I had intended to make an early start this morning and ride from Jaipur to Pushkar, but I noticed that the Formula 1 Grand Prix from Melbourne was on at 09:30 so I watched that, then had some breakfast and was on the road by 12:00.

I’m pretty impressed with the map I bought in Delhi, as I was able to find National Highway 8 fairly easy and was out of the Urban Area (as they call the towns here) by 12:20. I normally wear a fleece jacket (which I bought in Laos) when I’m riding, as it’s usually pretty cool when I ride in the morning. Because I was setting out at the hottest part of the day, there was no way I could wear a fleece. It was really hot and I could feel sweat inside my helmet (uck), my arms have gone a good colour though!

The road to Pushkar was excellent, three lane highway most of the way, and when it went down to one lane (20 kms from Pushkar), the surface was excellent and the road was twisty (biking heaven). I came across two trucks overturned, one truck written off after rear-ending another, two dead dogs and one dead cow (which had been stripped of its hide, so there was just blood and muscle tissue showing).

I got a room in the Lake Side Hotel, and it really lives up to its name. I don’t generally stay in hotels / guesthouses with a shared bathroom if I can help it, but when the guy showed me the room they had overlooking the lake, I snapped it up. I made a “new best friend” within twenty minutes of venturing out on to the streets, but alas, I lost him a few minutes later when I wouldn’t line his pockets with Rupees.

The lake is right in the centre of the town and is surrounded by Ghats (places of worship / bathing areas) and looks a lot nicer than it does in any photographs that I’ve seen. I came back to my hotel for sunset to see what was happening down by the lake and was rewarded by groups of singers and drummers performing together. There was one crowd more or less directly my balcony who were offering garlands of flowers to a god (I presume) and it was really nice just sitting there listening to all the music and devotional prayers.