Camels, hippies, pujas, and night trains

02.08.09, Sunday & 02.09.09, Monday

Sunday morning took us on a 6 hour train ride from Udaipur to Pushkar, where we again stayed in a fancy palace (with the hardest beds of the journey--mattresses in India are more similar to sleeping on a bench; not sure how I will fare when I get back to the U.S.) After settling in we did a quick walking tour of town, and then some of us chose to get a Puja, which is a Brahmin ceremony where they do some blessings and the you get a bracelet so people won't hassle you in the market and try to trick you into paying for a Puja they want to give you.

Me with our Puja Man

Our Puja man in his 20s, and had a serious mumbling problem. We were to repeat after him, but he also was a Speed Talker so not only could I not understand him, I couldn't talk fast enough. Giving up, I tried to simply utter consonant and vowel noises and hope that I wasn't inversely cursing myself with the Puja.

You do the Puja near the water and throw flowers, dye, rice and a few other things into the water. I admit I forget what it all means, but it was an interesting experience.

On the way back to the palace our Puja man walked with me and told me of his partiality for Obama (an interesting aside is that many people here who bring up Obama to me favor him). Puja Man told me he doesn't always where the formal Brahmin white outfit and that he had an Obama shirt.

Sure enough, the next day someone comes up and starts talking to me--I don’t recognize who it is behind the aviator sunglasses, but then notice the Obama t-shirt and realized it was our Puja Man all hipster-ed out. I loved it.

Back to the night before, I mentioned in a previous post about the Camel Ride. Rama, my camel, was all business, but a good steed. We were able to have chai on a sand dune, too, half way through our camel trek.

Rama takes a T-O.

Me and my Rama, going to the sand dunes today.

The same night we took a small bus to a home outside of Pushkar where we had an authentic homemade Indian meal, first enjoying drinks around a cow-dung bonfire before sitting on mats on the ground for the delicious meal. Only bad thing was, it actually does get cool at night in Northern India this time of year. Note one of my favorite pix, of five of us huddled together for warmth on the bus ride back.

Maria, Beav, Me, Ally, and John huddle it up.

Monday morning I was pleasantly surprised to feed my addiction for pop culture by viewing the Grammy's (we had a TV in this palace) before heading to the only Brahmin temple in the world. Prestigious Brahmin temple aside, the day was filled with a mega-shopping trip for Maria and I.

A lot of you know I do not love shopping--far from it--but the prices here were so much cheaper, and at least the Denver crew knows of my love of skirts (evidenced in the surprise-themed going away "Dress Like Leah" party), that I now am the proud owner of many more hippie skirts along with some other hippie-esque garb. Bring on the festivals back in the CO next year!

After a few hours lounging by the pool (this one much colder than the one in Bijapur) we took an overnight train back to Delhi--where, despite some logistical barriers getting into the middle bunk, I slept surprisingly soundly.

Senor, poolside.