Rocks and Popppies and a Bit of Insanity

First let me say that Udaipur is a great town. The traffic is insane but, as it was explained to us by the hotel manager, people in India like all the noise and honking and feel ill at ease when things are quiet and calm.  Interesting.  For us, the noise, traffic and constant honking is disconcerting, but the town is charming with a lake in the middle, good food, good shopping and a great park right across the street.  To top it off, our hotel had pretty decent food, a beautiful swimming pool and two tortoises roaming the grounds.  Oh!  And they also had a step well which is a crazy square hole in the ground with water down deep  Scary!
We left Udaipur headed for Bundi a small town somewhat off the normal tourist track.  We were not impressed and, while it has it's charm (pigs wondering the streets, narrow lanes, a small lake and a
roof top to watch the sunset at our hotel), we were not crazy about our rooms and the food we had at a (supposed) highly rated restaurant was pretty sucky!  To top it off, a bull rammed me in the hip because I couldn't get out of his way on the narrow street quickly enough.  A-hole bull!
The drive to Bundi was really quite interesting though,  We passed many government approved opium fields.  From what I can gather, people here use it in tea and/or tincture form as a pick-me-up,  They don't use it in other forms and don't approve of its use in other forms or any other drug for that matter.  Another mindblower!  What???
We also passed a lot of places that sell, polish and ship rocks (marble, sandstone) all over the world.  This area is overflowing with rocks!!!  The use rock for fenceposts!   
We have spent the last two days in Pushkar which is known for its camel festival in November.  You can go for a camel ride but very different than the saddles we used in the desert.  These camels have a colorful cart with a roof and it seems you can ride for a day or a week to another town.
We walked around the town which is full of (mostly pretend) holy men, seekers, people who come from other areas and never leave, and pilgrims coming to swim and bathe in the lake (which was created by Brahma dropping a lotus flower and is considered very sacred).  I could go on and on about the stories I understand (just a few) regarding the Hindu gods, but it is very confusing and more than a little strange.  If you want more info, ask me when I get home and I'll tell you what I remember which is not much.  With as many gods as the Hindus have, I'm not sure how anyone keeps them straight!  On the last day, I walked and hiked up a mountain dedicated to one of Brahma's wives but only made it 3/4 of the way (over 1,000 steps).  The story (shortened version) is that he was scheduled to marry one woman, but she was late so he married another.  Each woman has a temple on a mountain outside of Pushkar with the temple for Lord Brahma in the center of town.  Anyway, it was a nice walk with lots of langurs, beautiful views!
We are now in Jaipur and there is another wedding and so we see fireworks and hear guns/fireworks/cannons? going off to celebrate the big event.  Jaipur is a huge city and not my favorite, but we visited the Amber Fort today which was quite remarkable and unique and then walked along a lake with a palace in the middle - also pretty amazing.  I, of course, liked the birds in the lake which included egrets, storks, herons (two kinds) stilts and more. 
The strange story of this blog is about our driver who was suffering from a bad knee and shoulder for a couple days.  He finally stopped at an ayurvedic doctor while we were having lunch.  When asked about how his appointment went and how he was feeling he said that he got some medicine from the doctor but that the reason his knee and shoulder were painful was because he drank a lassi (a fruit and yogurt drink) at night on a rainy evening.  This is a very bad thing to do evidently. 
Anyway, here are some photos.  It is impossible to explain the total chaos and assault to your senses that happens here, but it is tangible and incredible!

Paints for sale at the market

A small pilgrimage

Some Hindu Temples

A monkey overlooking a temple on a mount

Some working women next to our hotel

Our Resident Peacock

The Amber Fort in Jaipur

A Snake Charmer

A Lake in Jodhpur

Palace Guard in Jodhpur

Gandhi Statue

Lake in Bundi

Lake with ghats in Pushkar

A Turban Wrapping

Pushkar Market

Pushkar Camels

A Government Sanctioned Opium Field Along the Way