FAREWELL INDIA

Oh, India. We have had such an amazing time here, we don't want to leave.  It seems we've hardly scratched the surface of all this incredibly intense, sprawling country has to offer. And we certainly have not drank nearly enough lassis.

From the boat trips, the sadhus, the handlebar mustaches to the incredible food, the Taj, the camels (did we mention the camels?), and the incredible people we met, India is a one-of-kind destination that exceeded our expectations on so many levels.

We will be back...someday.

Incredible handlebar mustachioed man at the milk market in Jaipur.

Kip and friend Alex go native in Jaipur.

Liz takes a dip (to the ankles) in the Ganges.

And of course, we leave you with the obligatory goat in a sweater on a busy street. This place was mind boggling.

A goat in a sweater.  'Nuff said.

FUNNY MONDAY: BUDDHA LIKES ONLINE DONATIONS

While visiting the famous temples of Bodh Gaya, after our time spent in prison the meditation center, we came across this incredible sign, and a man putting on his socks.  Buddha sure was enlightened if he had the forethought to set up online donations before his death in 483 BC.  Now that is enlightening.

And as a bonus, Liz found this tough looking security guard's green and purple knitted booties to be highly amusing.

PHOTO FRIDAY: WALL OF DEATH

Two riders brave the infamous "Wall of Death" at a fair in India.

If you ever get the chance to visit one of India's countless circuses or fairs, your first stop has to be a show at the Wall of Death, aka "Motordome." Just follow the smell of exhaust fumes and the sounds of screaming crowds intermingled with twin-cylinder engines revved to their breaking points. 

The shows are so popular, the fair we went to--the Sonepur Mela--featured two of the high-walled, rickety cylinders. Both had been built from rusted metal supports and wooden planks more at place in a garbage dump than as an elevated road meant to hold up hundreds of spectators and a fleet of speeding cars and motorcycles. 

Once we finally overcame the fear factor, we sat with the masses, amazed by what has to be one of the craziest shows on earth.

Workers chat while a car, driven by a maniac, speeds overhead. A stunned crowd watches form above. The photo was taken through one of the many broken wooden planks on which the cars and bikes depend to hold them up.

BATTERY-POWERED TATTOO ARTIST

A battery-powered tattoo machine at work in India.

He says his name is "Raj," and that he's the king of all tattoo artists. In his heavily-accented English, Raj tells us this matter-of-fact-ly, without animation, which is probably best, since he's at the same time using a battery-powered tattoo gun to pump ink into a paying client's arm.

We've seen some strange things in India. Raj's mobile tattoo parlor, spread out atop newspapers on the dirt, run completely on the power of two 9-volt batteries, and all carried out with little thought for modern hygiene, is right up there with the most shocking of them. 

Brave (or perhaps, unwitting) customers bring their own designs or choose between a selection carved from wood blocks laid out in rows. With a quick negotiation on price, which hovers between $2-$5, the customer sits down atop two stacked bricks, Raj presses the pre-inked wooden artwork against his/her skin and then sets off to work. 

No pretense, no fancy lights or reclining chair. There's also no antiseptic wipes, electricity, sanitized needles or pesky fears of the spread of hep B/C, tetanus, or even AIDS. 

Just a man and his work, as he's been doing it for the past 15 years.

Raj the king of tattoo artists sits in his studio. In front of him are rows of designs carved into wooden blocks.

The artist's tools--ink, designs, tattoo guns and extra 9-volt batteries in case others go dead.

A patron squats patiently as Raj does his work. 

FUNNY MONDAY: A VISIT TO THE WHINE SHOP

Too many long, dusty days traveling can make a person awful thirsty. Along a road in rural India, we asked a local camel herder where we might find some liquid refreshment. He directed us to what he said was a wine shop, supposedly famous for its cold beer and warm spirits. No wine (or whining) was available.

PHOTO FRIDAY: CAMEL FAREWELL

A camel gives us a close-up farewell from Pushkar. 

We promise, no more camel pics...at least for a few days. 

PUSHKAR BEYOND THE CAMELS...MOSTLY

In addition to camels, Pushkar offers visitors some stunning scenery. Set between arid farmland and rocky hills, the  town of 16,000 (which swells to more than 200,000 during the Came Fair) is one of the top pilgrimage sites for Hindus. Temples surround a small lake, which marks the center of the city. The word "Pushkar" means blue lotus flower in Sanskrit, and residents paint the buildings and temples on the lake's waters accordingly.

Hindus, like the camel traders attending the fair (above right), travel for days and miles to reach Pushkar. Many of the travelers dress up for the occasion (above left, below center), so Kip thought he'd get in on the fun. Luckily, everyone we met seemed to get a kick out of seeing a 6'2" bearded foreigner with a handlebar mustache dressed in a turban and pajama. 

In addition to learning how to tie a turban, we also found out just how large a camel's toes are. Those are huge camel toes!

But mostly while in Pushkar, we experienced just how incredibly stunning a sight you get when you combine thousands of camels, a camel race, a couple hundred thousand people, and three ferris wheels in a semi-dessert surrounded by mountains and holy temples. 

Oh yeah, did we mention we saw lots and lots of camels?

HUGE CAMELTOE IN INDIA

No words...

GENTLEMEN, START YOUR CAMELS!

Of course, there's a camel race at the Pushkar Camel Fair. One loop around the town's sandy soccer field, the first one back to the start/finish line wins a pot of around $200, which is serious money around these parts. Plus, the winner gets bragging rights until next year's race.

Naturally, Kip had to get as close to the action as possible. Liz stayed (intelligently) in the stands with the hundreds of spectators watching the contest. 

It was a close race, but in the end, a camel won. 

Afterward, we walked onto the track/soccer field to meet the winning jockey and snap a couple of shots of the new champion, a dark, smelly critter without a name. Luckily, we had dressed appropriately for the occasion. 

It ain't NASCAR, but watching these fleet-footed beasts sprint full stride a few feet in front of you isn't a bad way to spend part of a Sunday. 

Next time though, we'll be tailgating with a grill and a cooler full of frosty beverages.

THE WORLD'S LARGEST CAMEL FAIR

Trekking for miles across Rajasthan's arid landscape, sometimes for days at a time, countless residents of the region--often with their herds of livestock in tow--travel to what has become the world's largest place to buy, sell, and trade camels.

Liz gets a morning sniff from a resident camel.

It's called the Pushkar Camel Fair, and as seen previously on the site, it's an incredibly scenic and often hilarious event to behold.  We stopped by the festivities for a few days with our friend Alex from DC, who was as amazed as we were at the sight of so many camels (estimates put the number at around 50,000 animals) living, breathing, braying, sleeping, and racing in one place. 

Two traders, after trekking for three days, lead their herd into town at dawn at the start of the Fair.

Our Pushkar alarm clock, set for sunrise each day.

Trading takes place over the span of five days, and many of the men and women in the photos below have trekked for hundreds of kilometers to bring their camels to the fair.  Not wanting to miss anything, we got to the fairgrounds at sunrise each morning to take it all in. OK, we will admit, our early rising was also due to the fact that we had a group of vigorous, obnoxious, insomniac monkeys that frequently pounded on our windows at all hours, as well as the fact that our hotel was located next to one of the many temples in Pushkar, where pilgrims worship their gods quite vocally at all hours. Unfortunately (for Liz) the god of sleep does not have a temple in Pushkar.

But no matter. Thanks to the monkeys and noisy pilgrims, we were ready with cameras every morning to watch the camel camp come alive. More photos to come.

Camel herdsmen gather around the fire for a morning coffee and smoke.

Wake Up Kiss: A camel tries to give another a morning smack on the neck.

Mamma and baby wake up with the morning sun.

Mustachioed herdsman in Pushkar.

Taking in the view.

A camel trader who has not yet had his cup of coffee.

With so few women around, Liz quickly made some friends.

FUNNY MONDAY: PHOTO BOMBED BY A CAMEL

We were attempting to take a colorful, overly-dramatic shot of sari-clad women surrounded by tents, camels and dust at the Pushkar Camel Fair in India. Instead, we got photo bombed by a camel with one of the cheesiest grins this side of the Ganges. 

No doubt, he'll be posting this to his Facebook page and Twitter feed as soon as he sees it. Well played, camel, well played.

PHOTO FRIDAY: THE CAMEL CONDUCTOR

The camels above aren't actually performing an incredibly complicated and well-orchestrated dance move, though it may look like they are. Their owner, the would-be conductor, is simply trying to ensure his hobbled animals stay nearby as potential buyers stroll past to peruse his stock.

The shot was taken at the Pushkar Camel Fair, the world's largest showfloor for buyers, traders, sellers of camels. It's an amazing event and one you'll be reading about a few more times on this site for the next week or so.

VARANASI: PHOTO BONUS: PART DEUX

If you couldn't tell, we really liked Varanasi. Here are a few more of our favorites.

Because where else can you have a monkey with a gun, a tranced out
sadhu, and a bunch of kids all in the same photo?

A view of the main ghat from a nearby hotel balcony.

Yes. Another sadhu. These guys are awesome.

Our hilarious boatman who conned us into riding with him for two days.

Although the below video doesn't even begin to show the goings-on in an Indian street at 8 AM on a Tuesday, it might give a brief idea.  This auto rickshaw driver was incredibly proud of his new sound system, and cranked it up to get us excited for the journey to the train station.

For more poorly filmed and extremely low quality, boring Varanasi videos (are you excited yet?), check out the YouTube links here, here, and here.

VARANASI: A PHOTO BONUS

Considering it's one of the oldest cities on the planet, Varanasi is pretty photogenic. Here are a few shots from our two visits...

We know, another sadhu photo. 

This kind-faced boatman offered us a ride.

It's not all pretty. Cows, dogs, and a man in a blue t-shirt dig through a pile of garbage in the street.

Just one of the many amazing murals that cover the concrete walls along the Ganges.

A pilgrim sits on the side of his boat. No doubt he is "healthy breathing."

The fire and music show that takes place on the Main Ghat each evening at dusk.

An artist captures the "washing of the buffalo" on canvas.

VARANASI--AS OLD AS TIME

"How old is that building?" Liz asked our boatman, as we rowed past one of the many palaces along the Ganges, India's most sacred river.

"It's been there since the beginning of time" he replied, in all seriousness. We laughed and grinned at each other, but after some thought, we realized our boatman wasn't too far off. Varanasi, formerly called Benares, is one of the oldest cities in the world. Even ask Mark Twain, as we noted in our previous update.

The holy river, called "the Ganga," flows through the city center, and is the hub of life in this town. Pilgrims come from across the country to make puja (offer prayers) in its holy waters.

Many Hindus and Buddhists in India make this their final pilgrimage, as their bodies are carried by their families to the cremation ghats on the riverbank, their ashes ultimately committed to the waters. Having seen the cremation practice at the Hindu temple in Kathmandu, we were familiar with the ritual that takes many visitors to the area by surprise. Unfortunately, these cremations have become a sort of morbid tourist attraction.

In addition to prayer and cremation, the river is used by all people to perform daily tasks such as brushing one's teeth, bathing, washing clothes, and even washing your herd of water buffalo.

Really. We weren't kidding about the burning trash.

This action along the water's edge is best observed by a peaceful rowboat, and we took advantage of the opportunity on several occasions. Unfortunately, a few boatmen took advantage of us as well, charging us double the going rate ($4), but it's to be expected in India.

And, while a lot of the action is on the water, the labyrinth of streets behind are as fascinating as they are disorienting. With the average width of the alleyway being around 5 feet wide, we enjoyed the challenge of dodging fast moving motorcycles, piles of sticky manure, massive cows, and burning piles of garbage, all encountered numerous times on the short walk to our hotel.

Liz with a coffee banana lassi in Varanassi.

Anything can be found in the narrow alleyways of the city, from temples to clothing, to the amazing lassi stall where we were served incredible homemade yogurt drinks, somehow chilled despite the heat. We even have a lovely video of the guy who made them for us.

But reality is never more than a blink away. As we enjoyed our freshly created beverages in the street, we watched as several bodies passed within inches of our clay cups, their singing families carrying them in the direction of the funeral pyre at the river.

India has a very "in your face" style about life...its harshness, its beauty...and death...is out in the open and on the streets, particularly in a city like Varanasi, where dying is equivalent to salvation, as long as you're burned with wood and your ashes reach the holy waters of the Ganges. It's a messy, raw reality that's one of the most intense places we've visited, and that we would love to someday visit again...while we're still alive.

Bodies burn, mourners mourn, and boats full of wood for the next fires await nearby on the holy Ganges.

A pilgrim ponders life from the riverside.

Liz poses with a sadhu covered in ashes. 

A monkey with a gun holds up a crowd of children at an impromptu show in a narrow Varanasi street.