Turbans, glittering saris, camels, blue houses...colourful desert of RAJASTHAN!!!!

Namaste again!


After a little bit more relaxing days at the beaches in Kerala and Goa we continued to a vibrant desert of Rajasthan.
The Land of the Kings is without a doubt my favourite one in India. This is a place where tradition and history blend with friendly people and beautiful landscape. All those characteristic turbans, glittering saris, camels, even more cows on the streets, rhythmically traditional music, mainly vegetarian food, pilgrims, holy lake, palaces, forts, havelis (traditional, ornately decorated residences), blue houses...and people who invite you on a cup of chai and want to know everything about you.

Rajasthan according to the 2001 census has a population of 56,5 million (and now even more)!!!! The state has an area of 343,000 sq km with the capital city in busy Jaipur or so called »pink« city with its famous Hawa Mahal.

Our first stop after a looong ride from Goa was in holy city of Pushkar. This place is well known among hindu pilgrims, because it has busy Holy lake and the world's only temple devoted to Bramha. Lord 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. The round shaped Holy lake was formed when Lord Brahma dropped a lotus here. It issurrounded by numerous ghats & temples which are very busy in the morning time.
Another particularity for Pushkar is strict vegetarianism...no eggs, no meat, no alcohol and even no kissing. BUT...we discovered one delicious »all you can eat« vegetarian restaurant. You would be surprised to discover the various selection of vegetable combinations and endless plates of chocolate balls. Mjami! Well...for me it was great, but Saso - after a couple of days he became really desparate. Why??? Let me put it this way...he even dreamed meat balls, kebabs and steaks! He had »meat dreams«!hahaha...poor guy.
Another thing - we spent our first night in a lovely guest house with one defect!!!! Our close neighbours were israelis with huge speakers and loud trance music whole(!) night! They really are soooooo uncivil! Of course we moved first thing in the morning.

Our next stop was in Bundi.
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...I immediately fell in love with this city! My favourite city in whole India. Without a doubt! I don't want to repeat myself, but...u can not meet so many nice people in one day like on the streets of Bundi!!! And here you can see old forts, palaces, temples, blue narrow streets and havelis beautifully designed with unique stones.

The majestic Taragarh fort stands proudly on the top of a hill with a beautiful views and annoying monkeys behind your steps. It is necessary to carry a stick with you just to scare away those daring monkeys!!!

The Bundi palace has a stunning marquee and a gallery full of murals in the miniature technique. The walls are decorated with beautiful paintings and elephant statues. We spent half of a day there and just enjoyed in a peacefulness of the past.

Next day we rented a motorbike and explored surrounding countryside. Words are not enough to describe all the nice experiences...so take a look at the captured moments. I just have to mention one occurrence. It was on the way back when we saw a big group of indians sitting below the temple. When they saw us they immediately invited us in their company. All were so curious and hospitable! They were celebrating the birth of a male child...music, dance, food and chit-chat :) They even convinced me to dance on their traditional music with one lady in a yellow sari. Dancing in the middle of Rajasthan on a local celebration, well... these nice moments are captured forever in my mind.

Days went by so fast...way tooo soon we had to move from Bundi where people on the street already knew our names. Ajmer, Jaipur and Jodhpur were next one on our »list«.
Jodhpur with its glorious Meharangarh fort, clock tower, Sardar market, fruit juices, spices and special »makhania lassi«. I don't know if I mentioned so far anything about lassies, but they are sooo good!!!! They make them by blending yogurt with water, salt, and spices until frothy..and sometimes they even add fruits. Delicious!!!!

Ok...enough for this time :)

I uploaded 5 (!) pages of pictures so take your time :)

Enjoy wherever you are! ! ! !

Take care,

Janaaaaaa

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