12 FEB 2007 INDIA, from JAIPUR to PUSHKAR

0830HR Breakfast (the only breakfast that was included in the accommodation)

1200HR checked in Hotel New Park in Pushkar. In India, each time we checked in the hotel, the staff will made a copy of our passport with the arrival stamp, and updated their record books with lot of details. For me, so far this is the only country that requires such detailed records.


1241HR Lunch – Sweet Corn Soup, Hot & Sour Veg Soup, Mix Veg Korma, Naan, Parantha, Tea, Total INR160 (S$5.70)

Per the brochure of Hotel New Park:
A visit to Pushkar is assuredly a soul cleansing experience.
Nature seems to have chosen this spot with care and then blessed the surrounding area with great scenic and natural beauty.
A remote ancient town, a devotional city, a treasure of mythological India.
This picturesque township and the sacred lake of Pushkar have their origins rooted in myth. According to Padampuran, Lord Brahma was in search of a suitable site for a Vedic Yagna. During contemplation, a lotus fell from his hand to earth. Water sprouted at the spot and Brahma decided to perform his Yagna here – a sacred fire ritual.
During the great Pushkar fair, held after the festival of Diwali, Pushkar become vibrant with folk dances, magic shows, horse and camel races. Over 100,000 camels, bullocks and horses are traded during the days of the festival.

Around 3+pm, when wandering around the shops surrounding Pushkar Lake, met Mitsue (my yoga course classmate), she was here right after the course for 5 days already.

1512HR Brahma Temple
Said to be one of the few such temples in the world. Apparently Brahma wanted to perform a yagna (self-mortification) at the lake, and when his wife Savitri didn’t attend, he married another woman on a whim. Savitri, understandably annoyed, vowed that Brahma would not be worshipped anywhere else. It’s marked by a red spire, and over the entrance gateway is the hans (goose symbol) of Brahma.


1558HR wandering around the street
1608HR
1620HR
around 5+pm, at 2 of the ghats:
There are fifty-two bathing ghats surround the lake, where pilgrims bathe in the sacred waters. Some have particular importance:
Vishnu appeared at Varah Ghat in the form of a boar,
Brahma bathed at Brahma Ghat, and
Gandhi’s ashes were sprinkled at Gandhi Ghat (formerly Gau Ghat).

1757HR Dinner at Baba Restaurant, as recommended by The Lonely Planet – has good food and a chilled atmosphere.
1759HR Sunset view from Baba Restaurant


Our dinner – Milk Masala Tea (INR10), Minestone Soup [Mix Veg Soup] (INR35), Special Thali with Naan (INR50), Roasted Papad (INR10) and …
… Fried Veg Momo (INR35)
This MOMO – yummy! The sauce is really spicy but nice. Haha we had to order a glass of hot black tea for our burning tongue. This MOMO is much tastier than those we had in Nepal & Tibet last April.
Momo – Tibetan fried or steamed dumpling stuffed with vegetables or meat.

2020HR – back to Hotel New Park
The old ‘door lock’. By the way, the Ashram (where I attended the Yoga teacher training course) uses such door lock too.
ST trying my newly bought ‘ali-ba-ba’ pants (INR100, about S$3.60).