Pushkar

We left Udaipur with regret to come to Pushkar. Pushkar is a Holy City with the only temple to Brahma in India. Both Ghandi's and Nehru's ashes were scattered at a ghat here.
We had to leave the hotel at 5.30am which was a challenge. We were taking the train to Ajmer which would arrive at 11.25 and we would be met with a driver who will stay with us for the next 9 days. The train  journey was a challenge too. There were wide comfortable leather seats but the toilets were squats and I don't know if you ladies are expert on using squat toilets on a wobbling train but I really need more practice which I hope to avoid aquiring. Beloved of course had no such difficulty.
The main signs at stations were in Hindi although there was always an English one too but were only near the exits ,usually at the front of the train and not where our seats were nearer the rear. The train seemed to be making its way to Dehli by stopping at nearly every station enroute. At 11.25 precisely it pulled into a station and we got out only to find as it drew away that we were at somewhere in the countryside called Nasirabad. Fortunately we were able to contact the driver and he came and rescued us after an hour.
After lunch we went into Pushkar hoping to see the Brahma temple but we never did. To get to it you have to walk along this quite long , flat pedestrianised (except for motorbikes) road lined with shops and restaurants selling tourist crap to westerners. Much of this "crap" is quite colourful and attractive and it was sold in Udaipur too but there it was interspersed with high quality shops mostly selling miniatures but also carvings and some bespoke tailors. In Pushkar it is just the bottom end with no quality goods and numerous cafes sellling not so much local food but erzatz western food aimed at a definately hippy clientele. Hindu and Buddhist new age accoutrements were packed edge to edge. We had a nice fresh pineapple juice but had walked for 3/4 hour without seeming to be any nearer to the temple and wondered if we'd missed it so turned round and came back.
The "Holy City" does not allow alcohol or non-vegetarian food inside it. (Eggs count as non-veg but not cheese). We were therefor surprised that numerous stalls sold leather goods. There were also a lot of english language bookshops selling travel guid not only to India but much of SE Asia, and a large range of books noe of which I would want to read (you know that save for the motorbookshop in Charing Cross that's usually an impossibility); Howard Marks biography and lots of New Age books on findng youself. The westerners were as I thought had died out 40 years ago too - total hippes. Some our age who must have stayed like that and young new age people with dreadlocks. Despite the alcohol and non-veg ban Pushkar has its own special or "bhang" lassi (with cannabis) and apparently is known for its decorated chillums. Perhaps that explains things.
Beloved found whole flocks  of Enfield Bullets though.