Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Pushkar

We had a little change of plan after spending hours bumping along rough Indian back roads washed out by big monsoon rains and are now in Pushkar. Pushkar is a very holy city and has quite strict rules regarding food and alcohol. There are many westerners here and the town is quite laid back and friendly.
Pushkar is in Rajasthan and is very colourful compared to other places we have been. The women's saris are extremely beautiful and the men wear all sorts of colourful turbans.
James thinks he might apply for this job???!!!
We are staying in a hotel -Our Pukka Place - owned by Fiona (an Australian woman living in Pushkar) and her husband Praveen. Fiona is well known in Australia for her textile work and nows runs tours of India and other countries. They have been very welcoming and it's lovely to have someone to talk with who knows the local community well and can explain many things to us about life in India. Fiona and Praveen also run cooking classes and last night we all went to their new house to do a class. First we visited the local market to buy veges and then drove out to their place. This is us enjoying our feast after much hard slogging over the stove!!!
James and I cooking up a storm!
We learnt how to make chappatis... we were meant to make perfect round ones so we were good cooks who could be married off. James made a heart shaped one.......ahhh how romantic!
Praveen recently bought Fiona a camel...yes she has been wanting one for a long time! Here's James, Robyn and Krissy making friends with Baba.
At the moment in India there are many weddings and they are loud and colourful affairs that go on for days. We have seen several going through the streets with loud brass bands and processions of women and sometimes men. Yesterday we saw one with lots of carts carrying the wedding gifts so everyone could see how wealthy the families are. Really interesting.
This one today was very beautiful.
We are enjoying staying in one place for a while and getting a feel for the place. Pushkar has some lovely shops so this morning we went out and did a bit of serious shopping.....now need to go and buy another bag I think!
Hope everyone is well at home. We are safe and resting up after some hectic travelling...taking it easy. Tomorrow Robyn and I are going to do a block printing workshop and tomorrow night Rob and Krissy are going on a camel safari.
Love to all at home...talk to you soon xxxx

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Hello all of you. How are you? Just saw all the blog. That boy gets more handsome everyday. Hope no one runs off with him before he gets home.
Leone rang today to see how i was and if i needed anything. She's a lovely lady.
Lyn asked of you yesterday. Just off to Maclean to see Eileen again.
Love ya, miss ya, hurry home.
Love mum and nan xx