Camel Fair in Pushkar, Nov 2015 - camel ride, camel decorations, camels everything

We awoke in our beautiful tent - running hot and cold water, shower and a/c! - ready for a dry and hot day in the company of hundreds of camels.

Maia and Ian managed to stay on when it stood up - not as easy as it sounds, a camel gets up on its hindlegs first, which means that the risk of doing a somersault forward is rather high.

I decided to go for the option - a cart drawn by a camel. Well, after a few minutes I think me and my back could have just as well been on the animal as right behind it ...

A wonderful morning in the desert, gently (well ...) travelling along.

Waiting for the business to pick up? Having a little discussion about tactics (how-to-rip-the-tourists-off-today-talk)? Who knows. Whatever it might be, they have all the time in the world, and maybe we have a thing or two to learn here.

Yeah, of course I had to try. But then he followed me, running after the camel cart, for a couple of kilometres before he gave up on selling me one.

 The man with the longest moustach in the world?

 

Part of the show - wait for it - a musical number!

Turns out, the guy had another trick up his ... turban. What you see is his moustach rolled up and place on top of his head.

I almost bought one! They are so beautiful.

Decorations and miscellaneous for camels and horses - a sea of colours and shapes.

An early Sunday morning two weeks in to the annual animal fair in Pushkar and people are slowly moving into the second phase of this event - the religious part.

"Puja is the act of showing reverence to a god, a spirit, or another aspect of the divine through invocations, prayers, songs, and rituals. Bad Karma either of this life or previous life affects the health and wealth of a person. Performing Puja helps us to purify our soul and mind, As Pushkar is the supreme sacred destination of Hindus, performing Puja at the Bank of Pious Pushkar Lake under the supervision of pandit ji helps us to purify soul and mind."

 The easy way to wear a turban :-) The colours are typical for Rajasthan.

 This is now hanging above our door.

It was an action packed, and camel packed weekend. Suddenly it was time to go back home. We got a coach to the train station in Ajmer, and from there a direct train all the way to Gurgaon.

Pushkar Camel Fair - check

Holiday in Ladakh - arriving in Leh, June 2015

On June 1st, 2015 Maia, Ian and I travelled to Leh in Ladakh in north-west India. It was just the start of the season there - because it is in the Himalayan mountains it is high and thus most of the year fairly cold. However, who would have thought we would need hats, gloves and long underwear in June ... IN INDIA!!

Taking off from Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi early in the morning.

Flying over the Himalayan mountain range, well, part of it anyway, was very impressive, especially in the morning light.

Yeah, it was early!

Leh, a high-desert city in the Himalayas, is the capital of the Leh region in northern India’s Jammu and Kashmir state. Originally a stop for trading caravans, Leh is now known for its Buddhist sites and nearby trekking. Massive 17th-century Leh Palace, modeled on the Dalai Lama’s former home (Tibet’s Potala Palace), overlooks the old town’s bazaar and mazelike lanes.

We arrived so early that our room was not yet ready for us, so we had breakfast in the hotel restaurant - which was on the roof top outdoors!!

Because we had landed at 3,500 m above sea level, we had been warned about altitude sickness. As soon as the room was ready we went to sleep to let the body adjust without us interfering. A short walk to a restaurant in town in the evening was the sum of our activities on that first day in the Himalayas.