- Brahma Temple, Pushkar
- the wheels on the bus go round and round
- back to Jaipur
a good night's sleep was disturbed only by the dodgy guy next door ringing our doorbell past midnight and shuffling around outside our door, but then he did fall asleep yesterday in a position in his room (door wide open) that made us seriously think he was actually dead, so perhaps he was a bit delirious from all his sunbathing. we packed - eventually, new purchases making this rather difficult - and checked out, although the ever-pleasant guest house staff let us leave our bags with them until the afternoon at no extra charge. it's been a pleasure staying at their cool, blue-washed haven and we'd gladly do so again.
we grabbed a phone halfway down the main bazaar. as expected, the Pearl Palace now had no availability, apparently, confirming our thoughts about their general service. the facilities at their hotel are excellent, but their booking policy indicates quite clearly that they know how popular they are and filter custom accordingly. we'd obviously failed to meet the required mark. although much more expensive, the reliable Diggi Palace confirmed an alternate booking, but we may also have somewhere additional around the corner from the Pearl for almost a quarter of the price of the Diggi, so we've kept our options open.
we walked to the end of the main bazaar, as Edd wanted to visit the Brahma Temple, one of the few in India so devoted, thanks to Savitri. difficulties with taking in bags meant that Edd went in first and, as it turned out, only. a young boy was keen to show him what to do and scampered ahead. after removing his shoes - how many times have we done that already in India? - Edd followed and watched the busy temple's devotees making their way up the steps, giving a blessing at the beginning of each group of steps and at the shrine half way up.
[Edd - at the top of the white marble stairs and through the portico gate, you see the striking orange and blue structure of the central shrine, surrounded by lesser shrines, with the floor and walls covered in stones celebrating named marriages and births, the majority in Hindi script.
the boy led me with my flower offering to the busy shrine, containing a four-headed image of the deity. i rang the main bell once and gave my flowers to the priest; he was about to do the next bit when his colleague objected to my presence. the boy and the first priest looked at each other and then at me with a little confusion, but it was clear that the second priest did not want me there. the boy eventually translated or me that he did not want any non-Hindus at the shrine. although not agreeing, the other three people involved decided not to press the matter. the boy, who spoke excellent English, instead led me to a shrine to Ganesh in one corner and actually led me through a prayer ceremony with flowers for my family, which i thought was extremely generous of him.he had the beginnings of a few classic Indian tricks up his sleeve. he said that i needed to give another donation. i told him that i had already given my main donation at my Pushkar Puja, which covers the whole town. he corrected me and said that it does not apply to temples. not true, i said. who told you this?, he asked. the priest did, i replied. he paused for a moment and then said, 'yes, that is true.' had very little guile - in a few years' time, he'll be tricking them like the best.
snapping a few (permitted) photographs, i retraced my steps, pausing to place a coin in the hands of the Sadhu standing by the exit, one of the many who seem to inhabit the temple. he said a blessing as the coin fell into his hand and, from his general bearing and very careful analysis by touch of the donation, i realised that he was totally blind.
at the base of the stairs, the boy said that the fee for looking after my shoes was R10. i told him that it wasn't and that it was always R1 or R2 at best. he paused for a moment, smiled and said, 'yes, it is.' no guile. i gave him a good tip - he deserved it, and i am sure will have a bright - and prosperous - future.]
a quick hour's internetting and then it was back to - where else? - Om Shiva's for a brunch of fruit pancakes and mango shakes, sheltered from a still stronger sun. we stayed there for several hours, with no main sites to visit and the day too hot for extended bazaar browsing along the now empty street. in the bright sun, we could see the steep slope up to Savitri's Temple; implausibly, there still seemed to be distant specks of colour making their way up, even in this heat.
our noisy neighbour, the Vishnu Temple
we eventually picked up our bags from the guest house and walked the short distance around to our bus stand. we were half an hour early, so took the time to buy some drinks and sit in the shade, watching the inter-city state buses disgorge their tightly packed insides. the travel agency owner greeted us, said 'rest is best!' and promptly lay down and fell asleep.
perhaps we should have followed his lead, or he knew something we didn't. a relaxed impotency overcame us as time ticked by. we eventually found out that the bus was late. it eventually turned up over an hour tardy, with us to be the last two seated bookings. the remainder of the bus was on a day trip to Pushkar and Ajmer, comprising Hindus, and extended Sikh group, a girl from Croatia and her Indian make 'friend,' who spent the rest of the day chatting her up. apparently, their 'visit' to Pushkar had lasted only an hour and she was not best pleased. but then, she also said that she shouldn't have to bother greeting people or saying 'Namaste,' since she was only in India for two weeks, so we couldn't feel too sorry for her.
we should have asked her if they had already done Ajmer. as soon as we got there, we stopped to decant the group to see two sites, one temple and the city's famous mosque, one of the most important in India. but the group was going to be ferried to and from and around them both in another single hour, less than the average time we were spending at any single place, and we had not paid for the tours, so we stayed with the bus and its drivers for the wait, made easier as they were far more amenable and smiley than the last ones we'd had.
later that same day...
unfortunately, the group was away for more than 90 minutes, leaving us and the drivers kicking our heels at a local petrol station. as with all in India, it sold only petrol and oil, as did all the local environs, so we had to make do with what we had. in the slowly scrolling wait, we saw many vehicles come in and have countless tread-less tyres fixed and punctures repaired at a makeshift tyre shop shack next to the petrol station, where young boys seemed to do all of the main repair work. it was a very male-dominated environment. motorcycles, cars, a tractor and a camel pulling a cart on tyres all rolled up in front of us for speedy running repairs.
traffic, Ajmer style
when the bus finally moved off it was already beginning to get dark and we were already at the time when we should have been arriving back in Jaipur. but it would be over 3 1/2 hours later that we finally reached our destination, a long, frustrating and uncomfortable night-time journey enlivened only by the number of times we seemed to be all about to die, as full beam flashlights replaced horns on this very busy trucking route. the drivers repeatedly touted for business from locals needing lifts to Jaipur or on the way, slowing us down further and filling the bus past capacity. we stopped in the same place as on our outward journey for a comfort break, fortunately without the same plague of flies but unfortunately not without the - considering our mood - thoroughly tedious 'road tax' scam of adding costs to any purchases by foreigners. the stop's 'here or nothing' location making the only options 'drink or nothing,' since the highly extended and throat drying journey had us running low in supplies. all the journey needed now was a crying baby and our wishes were soon answered when the only child on board started up with gusto.
expecting to arrive in Jaipur between 6 and 7, we finally checked into our hotel at 10:30pm. this is India. the drivers still asked for the ever popular 'luggage tax,' although we were sorely tempted to ask then for money back! but on the plus side, our second option - the Sunder Palace, around the corner from the Pearl Palace - came through, ensuring only a short walk with packs through quite a mild night and a huge saving on the Diggi Palace, which we duly cancelled. with nice, big, cool rooms and more of a standard hotel feel, we grabbed a quick lime soda on the roof and then gave ourselves over to an overdue and wonderful shower, our feet literally black from the bus, our bags so hot they felt as if they had been in an oven. after three weeks it was the first real transport problems we'd had, and even then hardly a major disaster - an amazing ratio, on reflection. to a chorus of barking dogs somewhere nearby, a bed that did not bounce or judder and would make no additional stops called louder than anything else.
take care, all
edd & philippa
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