Pushkar

Houston, we have a problem...

Technology is a wonderful thing - until it bytes you. The uploading of photos has been made impossible due to cracked and scratched CD Roms. D'oh! Anyone with a PhD in computers is encouraged to offer advice/assistance in this matter. Until then, our hearts remain in our throats...



Apart from that, all is well in India. We are currently exploring Pushkar, a sleepy little town built around a lake and surrounded by mountains. It's a bit of a contrast to what we've been exploring lately.





We left you in Jaisalmer, which had a cool little fort which is pushing 851 years of age, and still going strongishly. From afar, it seems as though the fort has risen out of the desert from under a mighty sand dune. Very organic! But the poor old thing is currently being renovated after an overloaded sewage system was causing it to collapse. It was fun to explore and get lost in the maze-like streets and shops perched hundreds of feet above the desert plain. Our exploring was limited to the early mornings and late afternoons. It is a similar environment to Broken hill, except maybe a little harsher, with regular readings of 50 degrees celcius appearing in the summer, ie, NOW. When the locals started saying that the real heat was only a few days off, we skedaddled... if it could be called that.







"Your mission, should you choose to accept it: BIKANER."
Next stop on the crazy bus was a dusty old town in the middle of nowhere called Bikaner. Our patience and civility levels were already being tested inside the rickety old bus (which we caught at 6am)as we travelled through the scorching sand dunes. Can you guess what happened next? Breakdown. An exploding radiator hose saw us sitting in the sun for two hours as we watched camel carts, jeeps and locals (not to mention other buses!!!) pass us by. Our replacement bus finally arrived. Can you guess what happened next? Breakdown. The rear tyre exploded right under our seat which led to another delay. In the sun. Are we having fun yet? Once the tyre (and our undies!) were replaced, a few more hours on the road saw us reach Bikaner. The worst part was the knowledge that we weren't even meant to be on this particular bus anyway - we were on board the 9.30pm overnight bus when we realised that we had left our passports at the hotel, so we missed our intended bus! In Bikaner, we were welcomed by the lovely people at Vinayak Guesthouse. They proved to be our oasis in the desert and looked after us like family. It was really nice. In short, the Vinayak Guesthouse was the highlight of our visit to Bikaner. Catch our drift?



Next stop was a little town called Nagaur where 'Noneya' was born. Noneya is our new friend, Andrea's new alias. India is renowned for its sleazy men. Andrea is renowned for being female. Complete the equation. Everywhere we go, men stare (constantly, openly, longingly) at the wonder of her beauty. Or is it the fact that she has a pulse? Either way, she is the centre of many a man's attention, all who would like to know her name (at least). That's where Noneya came in: short for 'None ya business'. Nagaur is famous (apart for its excessively horny men) for its lush, though ruined, Fort of the Hooded Cobra. Sounds cool. It was impressive, even in its state of disrepair. These fort-building Maharajas knew how to live it up and kill each other.

Now we're in Pushkar, which is where this little story started. Now you know what we've been up to, all in the time it took us to reach Bikaner! See you all at the next epic installment!

Happy Birthday to Felicity for today! Hope you have a great day.

Happy Birthay's to Kelli and Simon for the coming days. Party on Wayne!