October 31, 2009 – Day 310 – Pushkar, India

Happy Halloween! We didn’t dress up or eat any candy but we did go to the famous camel fair in Pushkar!

A day at the fair

The morning began with a 3 hour bus ride from Jaipur to Pushkar on a bumpy local bus. When we arrived, we were dropped by the Palace and were shuffled into the crowd who was moving and buzzing slowing along through the endless bazaar. Puppets, leather goods, shoes, journals, clothes, metalwares, toe rings, colored powders, food, and the occasional cow littered the market stalls and shops.

Care for a roadside tattoo?

When the crowd began to veer, we went along for the ride and eventually found ourselves at the actual fair grounds. There were plenty of camels around, some with carts or saddles ready for a curious tourist and they were all decked out in festival finery.

Camel making faces at immobile cart

They wore colorful necklaces and puffs of cloth on their noses, some were painted or had their fur shaved into designs and all had the ubiquitous camel expression (not really something you can describe, best if you just see it).

Decked out camel

Into the mix were hundreds of amazingly gorgeous show horses, frantic at the chaos and movement around them, who were prancing, pawing and snorting as the fair raged around them. In another area, a group of locals versus a group of foreigners pulled from the wandering crowds were competing for who could be the first to build a human pyramid and break a clay pot hanging at the top of a pole.

Beautiful Stallion

Behind them was a little girl of about 6 years walking a rope spread between 4 sticks carrying a small pot on her head while her little brother beat on a drum to draw patrons. And behind all of that, there were carnival rides set up—a ferris wheel even!– but relatively few people using them.

I wonder what's in the pot

Quite an exciting atmosphere buzzing with people of all ages and vendors selling all manner of goods, treats, and wares.