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Pushkar is a small town surrounding a small lake. The town itself is very old. It is notable in Hindu mythology as the home of the only temple to Lord Brahma, the God of Creation and in some Hindu scriptures, the supreme God. This site was chosen when the Gods released a swan with a lotus in its beak. Pushar is the site where the lotus flower fell to earth. The lake was said to have formed from the tears Lord Shiva cried for the death of his wife Sati.

Entrance to the Temple.

Women from the local countryside all dressed up for a visit to the temple.

The holy lake is used in a number of rituals –

A small shrine on the stairway down to the lake…

We stayed at the Pushkar Place Hotel: It was like a time warp – the building and the whole atmosphere of the place seemed to be from almost a century ago. The front doors had huge spikes on them; the sign-in ledger was just that – a giant paper ledger with two-foot-wide pages. Fascinating and an experience to enjoy.
This is the view of the Hotel from the lake – the best hotel in Pushkar, the only one on the sacred lake.

And this is the view from the balcony outside our hotel room, looking across the lake…

Interesting looking place – an experience of old times; the room looks like it hasn’t changed since the 1920’s.

And… the colourful view of the sunset.

This fellow was just outside the hotel, selling assorted hand-carved wood stamps. It seems he does commissions. Some very intricate ones; plus at least one inappropriate one if you can spot it… although with different meaning in India.

And down the street from the hotel… Note the sign at the bottom. Yes, the town was full of hippies come to find enlightenment.

A Walk through the main market street – lined with shops selling all imaginable goods.

And this is India, where “Holy cow!” is more than just an expression… Cows wander the streets freely – but, they are pretty tame. They just seem to expect me to get out of their way…

If you’re in a quaint unspoiled Indian town, what do you do for dinner? Why, you go for pizza like we did. The pizza was so good we ate some before we took a picture.
We looked on Trip Advisor, and “La Pizzaria” was 4.6 – highly recommended. (A shout-out to Rogers Canada Cellular and their mobile “”Roam Like Home” plan that allowed us to figure out where we were going!) In a town filled with hippies seeking enlightenment, a pizza restaurant must have seemed like a no-fail business. We certainly liked it – fast friendly service, and very tasty food!

On the way out of town we stopped at this small temple. Unfortunately it was closed, but it seems the monkeys were already queueing up looking for any food handouts.

The usual warning applied – don’t get too close to the monkeys; there’s always the risk of rabies and they may attack if they feel cornered or threatened. Plus, keep a hold on everything, they could easily steal something like a camera and run away…