The Rajastani Express

The overnight sleeper train south the the capital city of Rajastan was a doddle. Jaipur is on the edge of the desert and is built in a basin surrounded by rocky ridges on which are built numerous ancient fortress walls. In fact the whole place is wall after ancient wall up on the stony hills. The town is dusty and dirty and even more hassle than is usual for India. It was easy to have a drunken spaced out looking auto driver follow you for 1/4 of a mile pulling on your sleeve. Fortunately, I found a great place to stay and hooked up with some more travelers. I sent the next few days with an Irish couple and an English girl. Lots of fun as we got auto'ed around spotting elephants. Once night we went to a traditional Rajastani "theme" village. It was quite possibly one of the most bizarre experiences ever. A fake village where women with pot on their heads dance and dogs leap through fiery loops. Elephants and camels galore. We were the only foreigners in the place.
After a few days I made my way to Pushkar, I was running out of time to get to Bombay. Pushkar is a seriously holy place for Hindus and a bit similar to Varanasi but without the burning heads and chaos on the Ghat sides. Here the whole pilgrimage thing is taken a lot more seriously and it is frowned on to go down to the Ghats if you're not participating in holy activities. A few streets back from the main Bazaar I found the north bus terminal where I tried to find a holy man named Pintu. I had met a English lady in TattaPannie who now lives with him and his family some way out of Pushkar. I got myself a lift on a motorbike and was welcomed into his temple and shown around by his son. The builders (house under construction) all wanted their photos taken as is normal here. People love it and usually say thank you after you have taken a picture. The only thing in India where money is not asked for.
I made my way back into town and chilled in Pushkar for a few days. This place caters for a lot of foreign visitors. English, French, Canadian, German and especially Israeli.
I walked up to the top of a huge hill and looked down upon the lake, catching a camel back into town. The shops on the front cater for the lost forigners selling hippy clothes and bags and bangles. The Pushkar lake should be renamed Lake-Dreadlock. I managed to find a place that sold beer (the town is dry and you get locked up for drinking) and watched Arsenal hold Chelsea to a 1 all draw. Funny how the town is dry but everyone is stoned here. I had my 1st and last Bang Lasse here. The next day is was a bit of a blur.
Right now I am in Bombay having done a fully circle. The 22 hrs train journey was fine except the man above me farted the whole way and the 80yr old women opposite coughed and whealed and moaned in their sleep all night. To top it off I was sick for the 1st time. Throwing up for the 1st 4 hrs. I feel ok now, but only drinking sugar tea for the moment as I wait for my flight to Sydney.