This section is dedicated to take away all your "I wish someone had told me that before I went!" experiences. This way, you can spend less time settling in, and more time making new friends in your chosen hostel.
Bordering the desert in Rajasthan, you will find the beautiful town of Pushkar. It is located on the Pushkar Lake, where many of the locals come to bathe, as it is considered a holy lake. It is beautiful to sit and behold for an afternoon and people watch. There are some great restaurants where you can eat while you do so, just beware scammers and don't let any of the locals give you anything. If you take anything out of their hands they will start praying for you and then charge you money. Politely decline and keep moving on.
Pushkar is also home to some of the cheapest and best shopping in India. If you are looking for a bargain, then here is place to shop. You will find all kinds of scarves, clothes, and jewelry. Bargain hard and don't always believe what the shop keepers tell you -- "silk" is not always silk. Make sure that you know the benchmark of what it is that you should be paying for different things and learn to do do the silk test to identify polyesters and fakes. The best time to go shopping is toward the end of the day, as you will drive harder bargains with the shop keepers.
There are quite a few temples around to visit -- the most popular is the Brahma Temple. They do not let you take anything in here, so when you go visit, leave your stuff locked away at your Pushkar hostel. You will find the other temples located on one of the local maps. The city takes a square kind of route around the main streets, so you should be able to do everything on one singular route in the space of a day.
Hostels in Pushkar and other accommodation should be within walking distance of this main shopping area. Most of the good food and restaurants are within this area too, so check out a map and proximity of your Pushkar hostel to this location before booking.
Written by local expertz for Pushkar
Globetrotter
