We sort of kicked back and relaxed here. We enjoyed a hike up to the hill top temple of Savirtri, stepping down to the lakeside surrounded by bathing ghats, ate lots of cuisine at our favorite local joint, Honey and Spice, and had a massage. The town is relatively small and the surrounding agricultural country side is beautiful so we didn’t even mind sharing this haven with numerous other tourists, both Indian and International.

Pushkar’s culinary delights are slightly more restrictive than the traditional veg only restaurants, as eggs are excluded. Our traditional breakfasts of omelets, switched to a tofu equivalent, and actually were very good. Mike also ventured out and tried tofu steak, a huge step b/c at home he wouldn’t go near the stuff. Egglessness piqued my curiosity even more as I passed a night street vendor selling an array of cakes. The spectrum all looked really tasty (examples being honey nut, carrot, apple crumble) and I had to stop and try a piece. While I was contemplating my decision, Mike for the most part was relatively disinterested until his eyes feel upon foiled wrapped treats in the corner. At double the price and a label reading “Special Brownies”, Mike thought he feel upon the ultimate taste temptation of chocolate delights. Having already requested my purchase, Mike asked this to be added to the bill. At once I assured him that he didn’t NEED or really want THESE brownies. Not reading into my warning tone, Mike assured me that he DID want them. A slight back and forth happened until the vendor was enlisted to explain to my husband what “Special” really meant. In a politically correct tone Mike was informed that they would make him feel very relaxed and happy for the night. Finally, he caught on and declined desert for the evening.

(For those of you, like Mike, who don’t know what “Special brownies”, the “special” refers to the added ingredient of marijuana) Here is a good link for a little more info about Pushkar.

Our other highlight of Pushkar is that is where we met Cam from Australia (an amazing guy who has recently left Mexico after 13 years and has the most extraordinary way of minimizing his accomplishments of hiking thousands of miles through almost every continent, his most recent being the completion of the Pacific crest trail in the USA, which runs from the border of Mexico to the border of Canada), and Megan & Roger from Vancouver, who were recently engaged at the Taj Mahal, and companions who we quickly established a friendship with. It was the 3 of them, in-addition to a sole female traveler from England, that we decided to hang out with and journey on towards Bundi with.

December 1st - 2nd
Mumbai

December 10th - 11th
Udaipur / The White City

December 12th
A Side trip to Kumbalgarh fort and Ranakpur Jain Temple

December 13th
Jodhpur / The Blue City

December 14th - 15th
Jaisalmer / The Golden City

December 16th
Random Stop : Bikaner and the close by Karni Mata Temple

December 17th - 20th
Pushkar / Important Hindu Pilgrimage Center

December 20th - 22nd
Bundi

December 23rdth - 24th
Agra

December 25th - 28th
New Delhi

Nuances of India

Volunteering in Mizoram