Pickpocketed on Jen's Big Day

Mose and Kevin atop Moti

Today was Jen’s birthday. Sadly, she got off to a bad start with interrupted sleep thanks to the seemingly unceasing chanting and singing from a nearby Hindu temple.  At breakfast, the Rabe’s offered her a few local gifts to say, “you’re a bloody jolly friend and hope you have a great Birthday” and then got into breakfast.  We all wanted to get back into Pushkar town for a better look around and the boys wanted first to ride a camel.   This they did, thanks to Raju the camel man whose business is right opposite the front gate of the hotel.

Pushkar bazaar

In town the crowds were severe. This was the last of 8 days of festivities and people were pouring into town in droves.  First stop was a leather shop where Nate bought a couple pair of local shoes and sandals and the kids each got a wallet (or in the case of Esther, a pretty camel hide purse). Rupees were handed over to fill them, much to the new owners’ as yet unacknowledged, capitalist greed.

Feeling good the gang pushed on through the crowded streets.  A few minutes later Nate noticed that his wallet appeared to be missing.  With kids in tow he returned to the car to search the luggage as the others went on to the ghats at Pushkar lake.  The sad and horrible truth was that Nate was pick pocketed.  Though Rajiv had spent time warning the group of such dangers and Nate is a seasoned traveller in India, the buttons of his shorts were undone, the wallet lifted and a substantial sum of AUD gone without so much as a hint of a touch. 

This event put a damper on Jen’s special day, no doubt. 

In dull spirits the band of C’s and R’s made their way to Ajmer, just a short hop down the highway (euphemism for narrow rutted road) . Ajmer is India’s most famous and most hallowed Muslim pilgrimage sight, and the burial place of the mighty Sufi Hazrat Moinuddin Chisti. Like Pushkar the city was chockers and our schedule did not permit us to linger but we did manage to walk through the frenetic scenes to the very entrance of the dargah (tomb) and back.  The trip back to Jaipur was quiet except for in the backseat where the decibels remained consistently high as Mose and Esther fought, giggled, cooperated (occasionally) and laughed away the kilometers.

After dinner (which was most welcome) Yvonne was emotionally manipulated into buying a puppet from a visiting musician.  Everyone fell into bed knowing that tomorrow was going to be a super long and full-on day. Just how long and full-on, none of the Melbourne gang could have predicted.