India Part 3: Pushkar, Jodhpur and Udaipur

India Part 3: Pushkar, Jodhpur and Udaipur

For the rest of my tour through Rajasthan I went to Pushkar Jodhpur and Udaipur.

For me, Pushkar was the highlight of Rajasthan. I originally planned to just spend one night in order to split up the trip between Jaipur and Jodhpur. As soon as I arrived I realized that this holy city was a place worth exploring so I decided to stay an extra night. It is a very small place but everything about it stood out from the moment I arrived. I now wish I had stayed even longer.

Pushkar has 1000's of temples which must make it one of the mostly densely templed places in the world. This is what gives this extremely holy city the deeply spiritual feeling and vibes that you experience while walking around. It is also a particularly popular place for Isrealis to vacation or move to long term. Many signs are in Hebrew and there is lots of Isreali food which I did enjoy at a local restaurant owned by some Isreali expats. The owner of the hostel I stayed at drove me out into the countryside to meet the Aloo Baba. This is a holy man who has only eaten potatoes for the past 18 years. It seems people bring him potatoes and other non-edible treats quite regularly. Other than that I ate lots of vegetarian food in this strictly vegetarian society. The food was really good, and that is coming from someone who cannot go an entire meal without meat outside of India. I also walked around some temples and the holy lake that the city surrounds.

My next stop was Jodhpur, the blue city. Overlooking the city is an ancient palace that is now only used for tourists. From there you can really see the blueness of the city. Like most places in Rajasthan there was a lot of great food to try, mostly street foods. I walked around the fort, a few temples and just explored the city.

From Jodhpur I took a bus to Udaipur where I spent a couple nights before my flight to Mumbai. Again, Udaipur was filled with ancient forts, palaces and temples. It is also a popular romantic destination for couples. Lots of rooftop restaurants overlooking the lakes where some famous palaces are located.