Pushy Pushkar

G’day all,
Well I’ve spent the past three nights in the small town of Pushkar in Rajasthan and have just arrived in Jaipur by train today. I took a first class train from Jodhpur to Pushkar and it was such a nice experience. I had air conditioning, leg room and even peace without a hundred people trying to sell me things while I try to sleep. Every train station over here is full over homeless people and it’s such a shocking sight every time I catch a train. There are often hundreds of dirty, diseased, and often limbless peoples laying on the ground looking half dead begging for money. You also see many people with no legs wheeling themselves around on a skateboard with blooded bandages on their scabbed up hands. It’s also common to see people with huge infected open wounds on display with dirt and flies buzzing around their cuts and gashes. One thing that hits you when you come to India is that you should never complain about anything as just to live in Australia makes you the feel like the richest person on earth. The poverty and quality of life over here is beyond shocking and believe me we have nothing to whine about ever. I didn’t know what to expect from Pushkar as I’ve heard so many things about it yet knew not a thing about the place. The town is very small and it’s all based around a holy lake called Pushkar Lake. Surrounding the lake is 52 ghats and 400 white temples. The town in total has 1000 temples and the population is of Pushkar is only 14,000 people. So basically it’s a pretty holy place and apart from the lake there is sweet bugger all to do but chill out. It’s a weird mix of very religious Hindus and Hippies in this town and 1 blonde haired Aussie wearing a Crows guernsey. When I first arrived I found some nice cheap accommodation then went for a stroll to check out the lake. As soon as I got down there some fake priest tried to rip me off so I was too scared to go back for another 2 days. The next day I had 2 Gypsy girls shake my hand before starting to draw a henna tattoo on my hand and wanted a lot of money for it. The town didn’t sit too well with me as everyone tries to rip you off so badly. They often do it by being so nice then making you feel guilty and then scamming money off you. They are so good at it they almost brainwash you. Apart from the lake there was nothing to do so I just chilled out with these great Israeli guys and a really cool older English bloke for the next 2 days. All we did was chill out by the swimming pool and hang out on hammocks so it was really nice just to do nothing for once. The one cool thing about being in Pushkar at this time of the year was that it has just become the wedding season here. Each day there is about 70 crazy weddings going on around the place and if you thought Greek weddings were big you should see an Indian Wedding. Hundreds of people dance like jack hammers up and down the street all night as Indian dance music beats the night away up full blast. The ceremonies are huge and whole palaces are rented out and packed for the night. Last night I finally braved the lake again and bought this “passport” thingo which is really a bracelet which tells the scammers to leave you alone and it worked. It was really nice by the lake but the water looked like green pea soup. If the Ganges is septic this lake would have been 10 times worse. They have everything from snakes to floating body parts to weird fish jumping out of it yet people still bathe in it. Today I went to this Brahma Temple and almost got scammed again. I was so annoyed that I don’t think I’m going to really miss pushy Pushkar. It’s not just Pushkar that’s like this it’s the whole of India but I found Pushkar was the worse of all. It is impossible to not get scammed at least a few times over here. Everyone is after commission from guest houses and dodgy travel agents. The taxi or rickshaw drivers tell you “oh there has been a train crash you must take the bus now” or “that guest house burnt down in a fire but this one is good and cheap” or if you just ask to be dropped at a landmark like the clock tower they will say “which clock tower”. The whole country is so corrupt and without the Lonely Planet travel guide book I would be stuffed trying to get around. Every Indian business is so desperate to get their name into the Lonely Planet as it boosts their customers 10 fold. I’ve recently found a method of getting one back on the Indian scammers. I now tell them I’m an editor for Lonely Planet on a research trip searching for things to add to the book. So far it works a beauty as they go from trying to rip me off to them being honest and giving me the best deals. If I’ve just been ripped off I tell them afterwards and leave the buggers with a few sleepless nights. Not long now and I’ll be back in Pommy Land.

Keep it real…Woodsy