New Delhi Expat India

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20 Lakh camels and a whole lot of turbans! - Pushkar, Rajasthan

When: Pushkar Camel Fair - Early November

Two days in Pushkar proved to be a bombardment of impressions and it was not a weekend without humor. My new French friend and I headed off to Pushkar to catch the last weekend of the famous Camel Fair which proved to have two bumpy and sleepless nights included on a bus.

We decided to take a few hours in Jaipur where we arrived so early that every attraction was closed. Nevertheless, we wondered through the dirty red empty streets of Jaipur. I am actually color blind myself, but I am pretty sure that all those guidebooks are off when they describe it as the pink city, it is in fact red. That said, Jaipur was interesting, but there simply were not enough early birds to create that hustle and bustle I would need to be really fascinated.

Five elderly men with big smiles and even bigger turbans welcomed us onto the local bus for a relaxing and entertaining bus ride. After the many communication attempts and their fascination in our digital cameras the men started to become more intrigued in discussions among themselves and probably about the camel fair which is an annual event. These men and their wives were traveling into Pushkar to experience the annual gathering of the rural folks of the land and maybe buy a pitchfork.

We arrived delayed due to the usual ?Indian Stretchable Time? table, but were happy to be at our destination. Walking through the main narrow road brought me to think that this city may become one of the most colorful ones I have seen yet. Colorful turbans were rushing by while beautiful dark skinned women wear wearing their colorful sarees and were interested in the many jewelry stands that were set up along the road side. I was enjoying this and so was my trigger happy finger, which was used for my camera in that case. It really is a photographer?s paradise.

Monkey Monkey Monkey

At least a dozen, if not two dozen, hungry looking monkeys were guarding the entrance to the sacred lake. These monkeys were not shy, they were running around and jumping aggressively against a door. Just behind this lively show there was vivid life by the ghat where people were swimming and enjoying themselves in the sacred water. This all looked like the pictures I had seem in a national geographic and of course it was the same thing.

O.K. Palace

After looking around for accommodation a bit too long, we settled at O.K. Palace. As long as it was a palace I could live with it. The jolly old owner, an overweight (in a jolly way) middle aged women, assured us everything was O.K. here, that included the O.K. garden, the ok beds, even the toilets she claimed to be ok, but that might be overrating them. Well after we had placed our bags we were OK with everything and decided to see if these camels were as funny looking as I was hoping.

The camels were numerous and of many features and ?hair styles?. We met up with some other expat friends from Delhi who were just as keen at riding camels as we were. So for 100 rupees each we had a half hour trip. At this point the fair had not been busier the streets were literally cramped with people and those streets are exactly where our camel owner toke us. The view from up high really gave a good impression of the bustle and hustle of the fair.

Camel Racing

The main event of the day was the camel racing which involved high paying prizes. Beforehand I met with a local camel owner who enthusiastically showed me his best camel, a dancing camel! That?s right this camel could apparently dance on its hind legs! This camel was even worth 2 lakh (25,000 euro)! So this was a real rich guy as he had about twenty camels in total.

The days events involved horse racing, dances, camel racing, and a tug of war between tourists and locals. All very interesting, even though both a camel and horse got dangerously close to colliding with the crowd.

A final trek to the top of a close by mountain gave a stunning view of the city and more close encounters with monkeys.

All in all a highly recommendable trip!

What you should know!

There was plenty of accommodation in Pushkar when we were there (during the camel festival), but you will have to pay more than usual.

Train is a far more comfortable choice than the sleeper bus if you are going to and from Delhi. That probably counts for most places in India.