One of the only plans I knew we had for India: we were going to Pushkar fair, which is the biggest camel fair in the world. Shannon had found it months ago and wanted to go. I was only delighted to go along with a plan. I knew after my yoga that I’d like to just tag along rather than have to use my brain and make any plans. I agreed and Shannon and Veb got to booking hostels and planning. 

What I knew before I arrived to Pushkar:

1. The shopping was going to be amazing so I knew not to shop anywhere before hand
2. There were going to be shit loads of camels

We arrived on the 2nd of November, which was actually 2 days before the official start of the fair. The actual fair wasn’t just about camels, as I had thought. This was a huge meeting of nomadic tribes from all over India, there would be arranged marriages, trading of camels, selling of goods, sold lots of camel paraphernalia, sports events sports and shows. It had everything you expect a big fair to have and more. 

Since we got their early we went roaming on the 3rd of November. This was the setting up of stalls, people arriving and herders getting set up to begin their trading. We wandered around drinking chai and taking endless pictures of camels. Before India I knew I loved all animals but have a special spot for llamas and cats. It seems this trip is making me fall absolutely in love with camels and goats as well! Camels are herd animals and seeing their interactions with one another was so sweet. I’ve never seen so many camels in one place, obviously since it was the biggest camel fair in the world. 

The routine became like so; get up early, do some yoga, go visit the camels, come home around lunch, do some shopping, go back and visit the camels and then go to Laura’s cafe for some dinner, drinks and special lassis. 

The hostel we stayed in was really nice and had lots of space. We stayed in dorms for the nights we were there and met some nice people. The hostel joined onto the main street in Pushkar which made the fair and shopping easily accessible. The hostel was also about a 30 second walk from the lake where we could witness worshipping on the lake, bathing and sunset. Pushkar was really busy and much more than just a camel fair, which is what I had initially thought it would be. There was so much on offer in Pushkar and I couldn’t recommend it enough to travellers!

1. The Camel fair

As the biggest camel fair in the world took place, we simply wandered around it every day to soak up all the chaos of their everyday lives. The main event really for the camel herders was actually to sell the camel. 

We met a really interesting guy in our hostel who had actually come from Australia to do the walk with the camels and herders for 3 days. He met the herder and camels in one village and walked for 3 days with them, camping with them, eating and drinking with them and learning more about the camel trade in India. He himself was a camel trainer in Australia, hence his desire to come to the biggest camel fair in the world. One of the days, we went down to the fair to meet the herder he had walked with and watch him being interviewed for a documentary. This big tall white man was attracting a lot of attention along the walk. When speaking to the herder he explained that camel herding is not as popular amongst young people anymore and the trade is dying. The locals want the government to do more to encourage young people to keep up the tradition. 

Apart from the main idea of trading and selling camels, there were different events that we attended like camel decoration and camel dance as well as The Voice of Pushkar. I struggle with anything animal related being used as entertainment. I try to accept things on a cultural difference but it doesn’t mean I need to participate in it. Day one I had already said if I became upset, I would leave the venue. Camel trading is how people make money, the animals are seen as live stock just as cows are seen in Ireland. As a vegetarian for most of my life, I’m a massive animal love and advocate. But when I travel, I want to see the differences between our culture and traditions. So I attended the camel decoration but that was enough for me. The winners prize was a pretty big sum of money so I can see why locals would enter. I couldn’t stay around to see camel dancing as it was just breaking my heart even the idea of it!

The Voice of Pushkar was the other event we went to. It was actually a surprisingly big set up. The stage was gorgeous and well presented by a man and a woman. There were dancers and singers all competing to be the next Voice of Pushkar and there was a pretty big audience. The only issue with the event; it was held at night time. I had found that walking around during the day is completely fine. You will get stared at but it doesn’t feel creepy. Well the vibes changed at night and I’m only glad we had 4 of us together and 1 being male. Shannon and I decided that night time is no time for us to be out at anything. Men were staring more, standing closer and even brushed off one of the girls leg on purpose. It just didn’t feel as safe so that was our last night out at the fair, meaning I can’t tell you who won the Voice of Pushkar, sadly.

Shopping in Pushkar:

I had heard from different people as I travelled to not do any shopping until I got to Pushkar. I didn’t do much research but trusted their judgement. I was 100% correct to trust their judgement. Pushkar is actually where a lot of people go to buy wholesale. After being there I can see so many business opportunities. They sell amazing shawls, jewellery, bags, clothing, singing bowls and anything you can think of. When I first started shopping I was overwhelmed by the amount of choice. I wanted to send some gifts home for the family and get some nice things for myself but really it turned into £200 worth of goods and £45 to ship it home. In all of that there are presents for almost everyone in my family and loads of high end stuff for myself as well as singing bowls. After being in Rishikesh and seeing all of the singing bowls and attending some sound healing sessions, I found them to be really beneficial to my meditation and overall well being. I shopped for nearly 4 days coming back and forth to different shops, picking up different business cards and having the chats with the locals. There really is a huge scope for business there. I was thrilled to ship the box and be done with shopping.

Laura’s cafe:

A gorgeous cafe very near our hostel! The name caught my attention (my darling sistra’s name) so we decided to give it a go on our first evening. The food was incredible and they sold beer (against the law in Rajasthan) and special lassis. I had my first beer since the end of September and it was lovely! It went down very well but I definitely hadn’t missed it!

After speaking to the owner over the next few days we learned that the owners of these cafes are allowed to serve beer because they pay off the police. During high season they pay a higher rate than low season and everyone turns the other way. The special lassis were lassis with cannibis in them. I was so shocked to hear that this was allowed but after travelling around Rajasthan, I learned that there is a great belief in using opium in certain ceremonies from the Moghul times. I assume it’s just carried on or they are trying to please the locals! 

Lakeside events and temple:

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By the lake there were always people washing and bathing and also attending ceremonies. There are so many different ceremonies in India I actually can’t even begin to tell you any differences but these were beautiful on the lake and always at sunset. The pollution was still following us from Delhi but it was a lot better here than Delhi.

The temple, Savitri Mata Temple,  that we went up one morning had about 1200 steps and cable cars in case you didn’t want to walk (you had to pay). I took it as a good chance to exercise and the view from the top would be a bonus. The walk was good and sweaty and it felt great to be doing cardio. Along the way we passed loads of locals making the ascent, of all different ages, we saw piles of monkeys and even a few cows. Once we got to the top, the temple was really lovely and the view, completely average with all the pollution. Although there was this lovely temple which locals had spent a long time getting up to, myself and Shannon were still somewhat an attraction. We had loads of women come over to us to get a picture together, which we were both happy to do. I made the decision from day one to do photos with women and children but none with men. 

There were offerings being made in the form of incense, coconuts, bracelets and money. I wanted to make an offering so decided to buy the string and wrap it around the tree. These offerings bring good luck and prosperity. I, of course, made the offering for my Nana B and Granny P.

We stayed in Pushkar for 4 nights but I’d have happily stayed another few nights. There was a great buzz around the city, they had great street food as well as nice cafes. The shopping was amazing and the camels were the absolute highlight. Meeting people along the way is just reinforcing the idea that India is a friendly, vibrant and warm country.