Osium to Pushkar on public transport

‘It’s not about the destination but the journey’. As corny as it sounds, this saying is spot on.

The point of travelling is to do exactly that – to journey and experience different cultures.

Consequently, the day was spent on public transport – which I really enjoyed. It began on a bus from Osium to Jodpur (a couple of hours costing 50 rupees or 50 pence).

The timings worked out perfectly; twenty minutes after arriving at Jodpur, an air-conditioned bus to Ajmer was leaving. The ticket cost (330 rupees £3 pounds with the female discount). I’m not sure how long it actually was – probably 6 or so hours.

Arriving at Ajmer, a tuck tuck driver immediately approached us and asked: ‘Where are you going? Pushkar? I take you, no problem.’

‘How much?’ I enquired.

‘650 rupees,’ he responded.

I told him it was too much and we would take the bus.

‘Fine, how much will you pay?’ he begged.

‘200 rupees,’ I responded.

He would not lower his price but was so persistent, following us around like a lost puppy.

Finally he settled for 500 rupees but I did not want to go with him. He was so pushy and unpleasant. I much prefer it when people leave you alone.

Instead we took the public bus from Ajmer to Pushkar costing 12 rupees (12 pence). This was much more reasonable and provided a better experience.

Locals hopped on and off while street vendors sold their products outside. We passed families sleeping on the street, which was very upsetting. Some sat under tarpaulins while others just lay in the heat.

We arrived at Pushkar and walked to the hostel. Yet again we were bombarded with tuck tuck drivers. The walk was only 5-10 minutes so we really didn’t need a ride.

We arrived at the hostel in time for a sunset walk around the lake.