Pushkar

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So continuing with my facing fears theory this morning I got up and climbed a 1000ft hill/mountain.... the views over Pushkar were simply stunning, being able to see hundreds of miles in all directions was awesome. At the top of the mountain was a temple but instead of tranquillity there was a 22 year old guy (Rikesh) playing banging trance (that he was also selling) so it was a pretty surreal experience. At about 11am it was 30c up there so I decided to make my way down before it became too hot.

I met up with Mohamed (Ezz) an Egyptian guy who now lives in Norway and sells handicraft from India, Nepal and Egypt and he took me to learn a bit about buying wholesale in India. We went to a stone shop where I picked up a few lovely pieces for a fraction of what it would cost in the UK.

So in the evening I went to the most incredible jamming session in a hotel with about 200 people, an even split between Indians and Hippies! Everyone was getting high on bhang lassi or chai (a legal derivative of pot) and a whole heap of the hippies were getting high on other shit. It was truely magical experience listening to the music, everyone turning up and joining in the singing, playing and dancing but after about 2 hours I began to feel a little uncomfortable. I think I was the only straight person there and was on a totally different wavelength to everyone else. So far I have managed to completely avoid the LII's (Lost in India's) and tonight cemented the reasons why I should continue to do so. I feel quite sorry for the people that have come to India for the "spiritual" environment and got caught up in what I consider to be cults....

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