The Israeli Vacation Spot
Trip Start
Sep 18, 2004
1
61
69
Trip End
Jun 05, 2005
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Pushkar, India
Tuesday, May 3, 2005
A place to relax
When we arrived Pushkar, we were thrilled to see Lake Pushkar nicely filled with clean green water. This is our first time in India to see a clean body of water. Surrounding the shimmering lake are brown hills, white washed domes, temples and ghats where pilgrims decend for a dip in the holy lake. The small lake, about 1 km in circumference, is considered sacred and people from all over India come to Pushkar to have a dip in the lake.
Pushkar is a very popular destination for young Israelis who just finished their military draft duty. According to some shop owners, during the high season the whole town is filled with Israelis who stay in Pushkar for a couple of months. As a result, there are Hebrew signs all over the streets. Most shops, restaurants and guesthouses owners speak some Hebrew. Just about every other restaurant offers Israeli food on their menus. Since it's the low season now, all the Israelis have gone North to cooler regions. Quite a few shops and restaurants are closed. The ones that remain in town would rather be taking siesta than hawk after us. We are not sure why, but autorickshaws are not allowed in Pushkar. It's such a great place to relax, we can enjoy walking down the street (still need to look out for the cow patties) without too much hassel from the rickshaw wallas.
Why not?
After being in India for twenty days, we notice certain mannerism that confuse us. Quite a few times when we ask a guesthouse owner if he has rooms available, his response is, "Why not?". When we got this response the first time, we were a bit confused. Nowadays, we interpret it as "How can I possibly not have room? Of course I have rooms, it's low season! Of course I have room for wonderful guests like you two." Jesse seems to like this "why not" attitude. This afternoon when I asked him if he wanted to get a cold drink and take a break in the shade, he said "Why Not?".
Sometimes, when we ask questions such as "Is the train station that way?", the person would not reply but wag his head like a bobble-head doll. We never know if that means yes or no. In US, this strange wagging means "I'll do what you say, but you are annoying me." In India, though, we think it means affirmation. I think Jesse must have been an Indian in his past life because he has been wagging his head like that to me.
After Pushkar
In 30 minutes, we'll be on a sleeper bus to Agra, enroute to Jhansi / Orchha.
Comments
I have been to South America, and its the same thing. A lot of Israelis that finished their milletry service are going to relaxe in south america or the far east.
B.T.W there are many places to relaxe in Israel
as well, I guess its just too familiar to them. : )