Travel Diaries #Pushkar

I've been feeling lazy to write about this October trip but it’s been long pending and if I don’t do it, my travel partner in this trip will get a chance to pull my leg. I’ve written this post in pieces for over a week and now it’s finally in one piece :) #Happy #Proud

Kanika, is a gem. She is an entrepreneur, an avid reader, a person well traveled, someone who takes out time for all her friends and family members. I fail to understand how she manages! But that’s the beauty of this mysterious woman :) I wanted her to write about this trip but it’s just not in her priority list. Duh! And unfortunately, I said I will write about it. So here I go!

2014 has been a good year for me, in terms of travel. Inshah Allah, may 2015 turn out to be much better :) :) I travelled to Bangalore 4 times this year ( and 5^th one is currently on!), Mumbai once, Rajasthan twice. The best one has been the second trip of Rajasthan. It was a dream trip :) Will share about it in the next post.

The first trip to Rajasthan this year happened to be to one of the most beautiful place – Pushkar. It was a short weekend trip , but good enough to explore the place, chill and enjoy - what it’s known for. It was my first solo trip with Kanika so an only girl trip added a lot more fun to it. Ofcourse, guys bring in their own charm. Lol.

Ajmer Sharif Dargah

There is no direct train from Delhi – Pushkar. We took an early morning Rajdhani to Ajmer . Good train but we reached Ajmer an hour late. So with our bag packs, we got down and the view wasn't very pleasing though. All we could see and hear near Ajmer station was people, vehicles and honking! But Ajmer aaye hai toh dargah jana toh banta hai. It was just 2 kms approx. from the station, so we chose to walk and enjoy the scenery on our way. Err..scenery would be the wrong word ;) As we walked towards the Dargah road, the lane started getting smaller and congested. And we could now see Muslims in almost every shop and on the road. With all due respect to Muslims, there is a discomfort that creeps in such situations. Not a fear but an uneasiness. Probably because both Kanu and I are vegetarians. 

We were damn hungry but chose not to eat there. We decided to visit Dargah first and then eat. Finally we managed to reach. And the scene there left us zapped for few minutes. Why was there SO MUCH rush? It was crazy to even SEE! We somehow skipped quickly in a corner to avoid being crushed by the mad crowd. For once we stared at each other, “ Do we want to go inside?” Kanu had seen the dargah earlier in her childhood, I hadn’t. Coming so far , I wanted to see it. So we kept our bags in the lockers and went inside. Thankfully , things seemed better inside. But in the room where the dargah actually is, we just managed to be pushed in and struggled our way to sneak out. My god! It was terrible. We later came to know that unluckily we went on one of those Moharram days.

                    

We had lunch at Honey Dew Restaurant, as per trip advisor rating. The place was ok, didn’t like the food much. Too oily and spicy. And pricey too. Please don’t go there.

Ajmer – Pushkar Bus ride

After our stomachs were full, our mind started working. Now how to reach Pushkar? We chose to take a bus. And I guess our timing was awesome. We witnessed the sunset on our way with a pleasing weather.  It gave me the feeling that the place ahead has magic in store :)

Pushkar Lake

We managed to reach just in time. The evening aarti by the Pushkar lakeside was about to begin. Felt so blessed to witness it. Pushkar Lake is one of the most serene ones I’ve seen.  Tranquility pervaded the ghats. The moments which can make you become one with Nature..was feeling so peaceful, meditated besides the lake. It’s a different feeling altogether to meditate besides a lake. I guess because we ourselves have high water content in us :) There is a no-body state which comes effortlessly. The gentle breeze..the sweet sounds..the liquidness in everything…

The Hippieness!

A view at Nirvana 

Pushkar isn’t too big. And it is a place for hippies. There were more foreigners than Indians :P We went to the best eating joints in Pushkar ( thanks to Kanumato ;). It was she who figured them out. I simply followed, ordered and enjoyed. We went to Nirvana for breakfast, which is a small place but with an ethnic touch and nice music. A place to order food, lie and chill. Food was also fine.  Out of the Blue gave a panoramic view of the city with some rooftop leisure. We went in the afternoon and I am sure at night, the place looks heavenly! 

The best was the The Seventh Inn. It is an Old Haveli which is now made into a mini hotel with a rooftop restaurant. Found it an amazing place! Food was equally good. And guess what? Indian Ocean was playing live less than a mile way! I had never heard Ma Rewa but after hearing it live, I’ve totally fallen in love with it. Seventh Inn was just what we wanted. Good weather, good view, good music, good food …everything was GOOD! We just did not feeling like moving our bumps to get up and go! Haha. I would love to go back there again.

View of the Seventh Inn Haveli

Temple! Camels! And Caravans!

Kanu and I had chosen to go to Pushkar to see the Camel Fair but apparently it was 2 days later L But we still went to the place where the fair was suppose to happen and saw people coming in with their camels and stuffs .The camels looked pretty in those bright colors. Seemed like a fancy dress competition: P  Saw the famous Brahma temple. I didn’t know about its relevance,  it seemed a temple like any other but later read about how famous it is. We skipped visiting the other famous temple (Gayatri). Didn’t had the time and energy. Ok! Energy part was for me, Kanu could walk, I wasn’t willing :P So we dropped.

Overall, a nice weekend retreat. It’s a place for people who are not interested in history much and would like to just have relaxing days with no set plan :) Going alone would also be enjoyable. I am happy that after this trip, I next went on a long elaborated one to Rajasthan. It was like a dream trip of 2014 for which I took a lot of risks, upset many and became broke! More about it in the next post :)

Pushkar Facebook Album : Click here

Keep Smiling,

Swati :)

You may also like to read:

• Travel Diaries #Udaipur
• Travel Diaries #Jodhpur
• Travel Diaries #Jaisalmer