Camel fair in Pushkar November 2015 - part 1

Our first trip to the desert went to Pushkar in Rajasthan, one of the oldest existing towns in India.  Legend has it that Lord Shiva cried so much and for so long after the death of his wife Sati, that his tears created two holy ponds. One of them is in Pushkar and is one of five pilgrimage sites for devout hindus.
We got out of bed VERY early on a Saturday morning and arrived at the train station in Gurgaon at 6am.

Hurry! The train stops for 2 minutes only! And that was actually true!!

We had booked seats in the luxurious first class - neither goats nor chickens in sight! The service was superb - we got tea in a small red thermos flask, a bottle of fresh water and hot food that would put many an airline to shame.

 

The welcoming committee at our camp.

Outside our tent with the compulsory marigold necklace.

On the first evening we went to visit the horse fair.

 Goodies for horsies.

"The Pushkar Fair (Pushkar Camel Fair) or locally Pushkar ka Mela is an annual five-day camel and livestock fair held in the town of Pushkar in the state of Rajasthan, India. It is one of the world's largest camel fairs. Apart from the buying and selling of livestock, it has become an important tourist attraction. Competitions such as the "matka phod", "longest moustache", and "bridal competition" are the main draws for this fair, which attracts thousands of tourists."

 

Lots of people and lots of activity everywhere. Here some men sorting and selling sugar cane.

In the distance you can see the big ferris wheels - to be honest, a mobile ferris wheel that size (or any size) in India? Not today, thank you very much.

These three lovely boys gladly posed for the cameras with their beautiful turbans...

... then they followed for some time asking for baksheesh.

We had a lovely first day that ended with dinner and entertainment back at the camp.

The guys looking after the buffet were a little shy, but could, in the end, not resist a camera.

To be continued ...