For anyone living in Delhi and slightly interested in travelling, doing a classic Jaipur-Ajmer-Pushkar trip on a bike or in car is a must. And I along with some friends of mine did it too in our small car. Not that we expected any great scenery on the way, but we were just excited to be together and doing a ‘road trip.’ The Delhi- Jaipur highway is in pretty good condition making the drive easy. After Jaipur it gets a bit bumpy towards Ajmer and Pushkar.
Pushkar is primarily famous for the only Brahma temple in the world and the annual Camel Fair held in the month of November each year. It is supposedly a very religious town and the moment you are identified as an outsider/tourist, you are sure to be literally accosted by guides to go to the Brahma temple and also get a prayer done for your ancestors by somewhat questionable priests by the lake. It is a whole scam running out there in open. I have travelled extensively in Varanasi, and been to Rishikesh and Haridwar but have not experienced a priest mafia of this sort anywhere. And to top it all, you are warned of dire consequences if you do not visit the temple or get the prayer done at the lake ! This is not any sort of personal angst against any religion or god that I am trying to express..
It’s just one of those experiences which I thought I had to share here. It was sunset by the time we headed to Pink Floyd Cafe in one of the alleys around. It was the best part of being in Pushkar. The ambience was great, the place was done up well, clean and food was great. We decided to settle on the rooftop and not satiated with one, we ordered two rounds of a full meal. Oh yes, we also had their ‘special’ and ‘very special’ lassi. Pink Floyd also doubles up as a hotel/guesthouse with each room named after the legendary albums. But over all it was great place to be, with very friendly staff and gave us time to relax and unwind without any pressure of eating and vacating the place.
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Note: pictures have been sourced from the Internet.
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Richa Gupta is based in Mumbai, is an avid traveller and also passionate about writing and encouraging responsible and alternative travel ideas. After having worked in the fashion industry for over six years, she decided to quit and started with a little not-for-profit initiative to help people with travels which not only help support local culture, economy and environment but also offer life changing experiences. Her work and blog can be found at http://thebluedawn.com