Camels! Part II

The Pushkar Camel Fair itself last about 10 days. From my perspective, the most interesting part of that is the beginning, when all the camel trading occurs. After the first few days, the camels are still around, but it is more about shows and religious festivals. We arrived towards the start of the week, though many of the 20,000 or so camels where probably already gone. No matter, the big crowds come later in the week for the festivals.

On the first day, we took a camel driven rickshaw, but I was keen to ride one of guys they way nature intended: on a elaborately decorated saddle with a teenage worker guiding my every step.

Sharon from WAY up on our camel.

I was really excited. I'd always wanted to ride a camel.

Our steed, Randy. . . Just kidding. 

Katrina and Sharon navigating the traffic.

Those designs aren't going to shave themselves into his hide.

That is a young camel guide. :(

EVERYBODY RELAX!

Love the long range shot courtesy of Katrina Brown.

Before the awesome camel ride, we took part in the religious activities. I am always fascinated when I see western religious tourists that have traveled across the oceans to join the Indian pilgrims. Although we didn't fall into this category, we experienced respectfully.

We entered the ghat (stairs) to Pushkar Lake and were greeted immediately by a Hindu Priest. We removed our shoes and Becky was taken by a separate priest even though I explained we are married. "Do you have children," he asked me. And that was that. After repeating some prayers in Rajasthani (probably) he marked my head with vibrant red color. He handed me an offering of flowers to place in the lake.

Really more of a suggestion.

To continue the backwards telling of the blog, before our Pushkar Lake offering, we went to one of the fair events, Camel Dancing! We walked into an enormous arena to find that the camel dancing would use about 1/50 of the possible grounds and stands that were set up. Instead, a gaggle of fair goers huddled as closely together as possible in the 90+ degree heat around a ring approximately 20ft x 20ft to watch the spectacle. This was obviously not the camel touts first rodeo camel dancing show because they were wisely overcharging tourist for the opportunity to watch from high upon a camel whilst also escaping the moist claustrophobia of the crowd.

Eventually, the show started. I'd like to think of it as camel dressage. There was a lot of high stepping and walking around in circles. The camels craned their necks, stood on boxes and at one point, a man put his entire head in the mouth of a camel. I guess what I am trying to say is, I really think this thing could take off as a spectator sport.

The huge fair grounds. 

The itty-bitty camel dancing area.

Best way to manage the crowed? Just spoon the person in front of you. I'm in there somewhere, photo courtesy of Katrina Brown. 

Some people couldn't handle the crowd. Nancy and her kids, Daisy and Ben, and Katrina.

Head in camel mouth. 

The trust between man and camel is strong.

Oh yeah! 

 And that about wraps up the camel fair festivities that we partook in. There is still one more post to come that will celebrate some of the other cool sights that don't necessarily fit into a category.

Camels!

There are places in India where it feels like you are stepping back in time. Many places. Pushkar, in Rajasthan, is one of those places. And in November of each year, this sleepy town turns into a full blown circus with the annual camel fair. And yes, a camel fair is exactly what it sounds like. Thousands and thousands of camel traders bring their animals to Pushkar to sell and show off their.

It just so happened that this year, the fair fell on the same date as Thanksgiving, which means Becky and I and what seemed like a third of our AES school community hopped on a train west to take part in the festivities.

Pushkar itself is a pilgrimage sight for both Hindus and Sikhs as both Lord Brahma and Guru Nanak spent time here. So adding to the chaos of the camel fair are festivities around a Hindu celebration. In fact, the population of Pushkar goes from 15,000 to 300,000 during the fair. And it absolutely feels like 300,000 people crammed into a city built for 15,000.

The first order of business is to see the camels. We hired a camel taxi to take us on a sunset ride out to where the animals and traders were.

Nancy waiting anxiously in our carriage.

Although it would seem to be the case, we didn't ask for the most decorated camel - they all had bling.

Poop burns well.

The second order of business after getting out to the camels is to mingle. Some of our party were braver than others. 

Katrina didn't get much closer than this, unless you count riding on it's back.

Becky again managing the paradox that is both loving all animals and being skiddish of them at the same time. 

Perhaps my favorite photo set of the entire year.

After a long first day at the camel fair, there is nothing like a little chai to finish off the night. I don't know who said it first, but I've heard it from a number of people: Chai is pretty much always safe. In other words, not all street food is safe unless you really need to catch up on your bathroom magazine reading. Well, Becky and I have been putting that theory to test around India and so far so good. So when you come to visit, sound like a pro when you tell your fellow travelers, "Chai is safe, you know, cause it's boiling."

Speaking of boiling chai, this stuff was seriously hard to hold. Those are pain grins on Becky, Sharon and Nancy. 

Chai Walla

The beautiful powders were for the Hindu festival. And that is all I know.

Wow. I knew there was a reason I was putting off writing this blog post for six months. I have 350+ pictures and they are pretty much all awesome. To make this post less overwhelming (for you), I am breaking here. Part II next.