PUSHKAR AND RANTHAMBORE NATIONAL PARK

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On the road to Pushkar, Robbie and I were smiling all the way. Children ran out of their houses to smile at us and it put us both in a well mint mood. We also saw thousands of Muslim pilgrims walking along the road towards Ajmer, which is the city on the other side of the mountains to Pushkar, in the heat of the midday sun. Our driver explained to us that some people walk two hundred kilometres to get there, and this made us realise how devoted the people here are to religion. Once we arrived in Pushkar, we were immediately warned about people giving us flowers and demanding money. With this warning in place we were quite concerned as we ventured out to explore, but the place was well mint and there were loads of travellers there as well. My friends Bridget and Shar suggested that we go there, and I knew they wouldn't let us down!

We decided to go on a camel safari into the dessert and although it was the first really touristy thing we've done, it was unforgettable, and so funny that my sides hurt after. I think we both smelt of camel a bit afterwards even after having showers! Rob had by far the fastest and the best looking camel of them all. We both had extremely sore bums though after the camels were racing up and down the sand dunes!

The following morning we both still were walking a bit like John Wayne! We met our driver at 6 o'clock in the morning to take a trek up a mountain to the Savitri Temple, where the views at that time in the morning were amazing. I thought at one point that a monkey was trying to steal my flip flops though! When we went into the small temple at the top, inside there were three small marble statues, each with their own set of disco lights flashing around them.

Being in India has made us both appreciate things at home that we take for granted, things such as fresh running water and electricity. When we have been trying upload some more bits onto this blog the power, especially in Pushkar, was constantly going off.

While in Pushkar, we saw a number of Indian wedding parties in the main market square. We saw 3 bands of suited and booted musicians in brightly coloured suits and ties that were playing trumpets and drums and pushing carts with some loudspeakers on that were attached to keyboards. The grooms were parading through the streets on bejeweled horses and the wedding parties were all dancing in the street. The music would start up really randomly, and then stop quite abruptly in the middle of a tune. People on motorbikes and passing cows all seemed quite oblivious to the commotion and pushed their way through the parties. It was the most bizarre and pleasing thing that we have seen in India to date.

Ranthambore National Park is the only place left in Rajasthan that you can see wild tigers. On the journey there, we were shown by our driver (aka the man from Del Monte) how to eat mangoes the Indian way. As we stood on a bridge and rolled and sucked mangoes with him I think he was actually quite proud of our efforts! When we finally arrived at Ramthambore there were a lot of bugs in our little cottage, but Robbie said that it was good practice for Thailand. We also met two couples there, one from High Wycombe and one from Australia. It was a nice break to have a chill and some beers with people who understood our jokes!

On the safari itself, we saw some crocodiles, beavers, monitor lizards, sloth bears, (Rob says I imagined the guide saying that) monkeys, deers and loads of exotic birds, but unfortunately, no tigers. On that morning, it seemed that no one in the whole park saw any tigers, but it was still an amazing experience. We both felt as though we were in Jurassic Park with the jeeps and scenery being so similar to the film. After a chill and a swim that day we went out for a few beers with the other couples, and the 8 percent beers here really go to your head!

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