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Pushkar -- a city around the lake

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Easily my favorite city in the world. Filled with soul. A thousand temples around the Lake of Pushkar. Most famous for the Camel Festival in Oct/Nov. It's a place you can take a respite in India and end up not wanting to leave...

Spiritual and relaxed. It's a place you can rest for a long long time. I wished I could stay. Its people are friendly and beautiful, not to mention their exotic dresses are a feast for the eye. "The Lake of Pushkar formed when Brahma touched the Earth with the petal of lotus..." I was told by a religious man who later became my friend. "...it's a place of magic. When people come to Pushkar, their lives are forever changed..." I believe it. Just walk around the lake, granted that some temple don't allow foreigners to enter, not even people of lower caste... but the peace and simply joy make so many fall in love with the place.

Favourite spots:
Just hang around the lake. It's all good. The streets are full of shops which quite cater to the western-eastern fusion taste -- you can buy some beautiful clothes at phenomenally cheap prices.

What's really great:
Take a morning walk up to Savitri Temple -- enjoy the process, and the final view of the whole city... Falling asleep with the chanting as backdrop and waking up to the chant... I was there during a seven-day religious festival...

Accommodations:
Accomodations are plenty and at unbelievable prices. I stayed in a hotel with a swimming pool at a whopping $6/night. The prices, though, during the camel festival, can be quite high, in the hundreds' range.

Other recommendations:
Take a camel ride into the desert. Eating a good meal in a pictureque restaurant. Watching beautiful children playing in the ghat. Admiring women in brilliant-colored flowing dresses along fields where camels plough.

Published on Thursday June 9th, 2005 by braidedsoul


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