Work as it should be

The visit to the Taj Mahal was ok, a must that didn't disappoint me. However I have to admit that sightseeing is not my thing. What I really want to highlight from my visit to Agra is meeting Estefania Faedda. I met Estefania (25, Argentinian) at the roof restaurant of the Shanti Lounge Hotel where both of us had breakfast staring at the Taj. This easy-going girl has been doing India on her own for almost one month. We got on so well that what started as a shared ride to the Red Fort ended as a 3-day trip to Pushkar. On day 3 she left but I decided to stay in Pushkar and here is why:

Pushkar (14000 hab.) is a small town in the middle of the desert which has been gifted by the Gods with the most precious resource in India: water. Water brings life, life includes plants, and certain plants bring a very specific kind of 'relaxed' tourists to this small paradise in the middle of nowhere. But Little Ibiza, as I've named it, can offer much more than that. For me it was a perfect place where I could hike, rest and work on a paper for an upcoming conference; and all that for less than 5 eur/day.

My day at work:
Wake up at 6-7 am. Three hours hike to the surrounding hills. Enjoy the sunrise from the temples on the top. Down to town. Have huge breakfast, shower and body care. Two-three hour work session (reading, writting...) enhanced with lemon teas and classic rock music (at the roof terrace of the Pink Floyd Cafe). Upload things to the net from an internet cafe. Supertasty Indian lunch (1 eur). One hour nap. Visit to some temples or other activities (e.g. mimic chat with a bunch of countryside workers). Dinner & chill out with fellow travelers. Watch the stars. Go bed.

As you can see even the non-puffers will find many reasons to stay in a place like Pushkar for a few days.

TOPps: I hope Woulter takes this post into consideration when they open TOPdesk India.

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Mi visita al Taj Mahal estuvo bien. El sitio no defrauda, pero ver un edificio no es que sea lo que mas disfruto al viajar. Asi que de mi dia en Agra me gustaria destacar haber conocido a Estefania Faedda. Esta argentina de 25 años lleva casi un mes viajando sola por India. Lo que empezo como un viaje en taxi al Fuerte Rojo se convirtio en tres dias viajando juntos. Tras estoy ella sigio con si viaje y yo me quede en Pushkar.

Pushkar es un pueblo de 14000 hab. en mitad del desierto. Bastante turistico, Pushkar se caracteriza por su ambiente hippie. El sitio, al que he bautizado como Pequeña Ibiza, me cautivo, y decidi quedarme unos dias. En estos dias me dedique a subir las colinas que rodean la ciudad, trabajar en mi articulo para la conferencia de Londres, beber te, comer mucho, echar siestas y charlar con otros viajeros. Y todo esto por menos de 5 eur/dia. Por cierto, en una de mis excursiones acabe haciendo mimica con unos campesinos, muy interesante lo que me explicaban (como buenamente podian). Como siempre la gente del campo, la mejor.