11.24.12 and 11.25.12

December 05, 2012

11.24.12 and 11.25.12 - Pushkar

In the morning I wander through the streets of Pushkar again, peering through their shops of saris, bed covers, leather goods, swords!, tourist shops filled with toilet paper and shampoo. I make my way to the fairgrounds, hill after hill of camels, cattle and horses. Again someone starts to walk with me. He says he doesn't want anything from me, not that I asked. I am vague and practically ignore him and his suggestions, just keep walking where I wish. His end goal, was to lead me to his shop that sold stone carvings from Agra. Somehow, with me making my own way, we end up right at his shop. I decide to look, if only for a moment, although I am upset now. He shows me and I give everything right back to him. Then I tell him I am leaving and not buying anything, and of course he starts to get rude. I had previously told him that was the precise reason I didn't like Agra, for their pushiness and rude behavior. He realizes what he is doing and tries to stop, but is unable. I walk through the camels and the tents. It is dusty. Many of the camels have already left after being bought or traded. What is left are most likely the worst of the bunch, but still great to look at.

I wander for hours, through the fair, through the town. Eat some Israeli food, for some reason there are a lot of Israelis here. I later hear it is because when they get out of the Israeli Army, they come here to be wild. To India in general, but also specifically to Pushkar to drink and smoke hashish (which I find is rampant in this holy place, as I am offered at least 5 times a day). I eat dinner and make my way back to the hotel to do some reading on a balcony. The owner of the hotel, different than the rude manager, sits with me. He is an older man, who seems nice enough. In general, people cannot fathom that I am 28 years old and not married. It is unheard of in their society and apparently looked down upon. I have approximately 8 people praying for an urgent marriage for me, and this guy is one of them. But I slowly see where he is going with this, trying to get me into bed with him. Telling me that a woman needs a man and blah blah blah and it's cold and blah blah blah and I need a souvenir, and that is is non-veg when it comes to women. I have finally come to realize what non-veg means when not talking about food. It means not pure, or….it is hard to describe but in this case it means he cheats on his wife. I am done with this conversation and I get up and leave without saying a word. I try to sleep with all of the crazy noise that is not specific to this hotel, as there is constant prayer and music blaring 24/7 during this holy fair, but the speaker is right outside my window I'm pretty sure. I finally fall asleep only to be woken by 5 hotel workers being loud as fuck. All of the rooms of this hotel open up to a central courtyard, and they are in different places on different floors, all shouting to each other and throwing stuff to each other. It is about midnight and I am so mad by this point. Not realizing it is hotel staff, I poke my head out the door, only partially dressed. I call someone over, and when he comes I ask them to be quiet and that I need to sleep, and he looks at me shocked, like "why can't I be loud as fuck at midnight at the hotel where I work?????????" I sleep, then get my ass out of there first thing in the morning to find another place for my last night.

After calling around to a few places that had good reviews and hearing they are all fully booked, I decide to walk around until I find somewhere, and worst case: I don't find anything and I take a bus back to Jaipur. I find a small guesthouse, Payal Guesthouse, and they have rooms available. They are basic, but they are clean. And with prices 3 times the usual cost because of the fair, I decide it is my best bet. Raj, the manager, seems nice enough, but yes I know, I know, I shouldn't trust anyone. He says he does Reiki and if I want later he can practice it on me to heal my energies. I make my way to the fairgrounds and stadium again, where I expect to see the turban tying contest and mustache contest. Both of them are impossible to see, as even though they have a stage, they put it on the ground and let spectators up to the event and no one past 2 feet back can see anything. It is this complete chaos and disregard for logic that drives me crazy about India!!!!!!!! I skip most of it and wander around again. After a few more hours, I start to feel a flu come on, so I make it back to the hotel and ask for a pharmacy. I tell the guy what I have and he gives me antibiotics and cold medicine. Then Raj tells me we can either go to the fair or he can drive to a temple a few kilometers away. And then he proceeds to get stoned as all hell, and I say no way am I getting on a motorbike with him. So we walk to the fair, drink sugarcane juice, watch an Indian circus which seems about par with India and not any crazier than everyday life (fire spitting, knife balancing, hula hooping, riding a motorcycle off of a ramp). Then we go for chai and once again I can see the light, Raj is being a creep and talking about my body, boobs, etc. I am so sick of this shit. I get up and leave again. At the hotel I am starting to feel really sick and I run into him again, where he tells me I NEED Reiki and I NEED a massage and I tell him no way, I am going to bed. I was hungry, but didn't want to risk seeing him anymore, so I went to bed around 6:00pm. He calls me a few times throughout the night, as he has my number from checking in.