Train arriving at Ajmer Junction Station, Rajasthan, India
Except for firing the tour guide in Chittogarh, the day had passed with the preciseness of a Swiss clock. Ajmer Train station finally offered a bit of excitement. At around 11:00 pm it was nothing short of a shelter. The floor was completely covered with people wrapped in shawls, sleeping on the hard concrete. Outside it was as busy as any train station in India.
The way the three of us tumbled from the station around midnight drew a group of young men. Of course they knew we were heading for famous Pushkar, 25 kilometers away. The distance was pretty much all we knew about our next leg of the trip. We also knew that 700 Rupees were way too much for the trip, especially for a TukTuk, but there was not no real taxi in sight. Too tired for long negotiations, we settled at 500 and climbed in, Gilles in the trunk, watching our bags.
While racing, repeat racing, through ghostly Ajmer, the kid kept switching into the lane of oncoming traffic – we don’t know why. Maybe some construction work going on, but it was too dark to see. A few times it was like facing death in the shape of two bright headlights racing towards you.
Then began the painfully slow climb into the hills. This made us suspicious in the beginning: where was he taking us? We kind of remembered reading about two cities being separated by a small mountain range, was it this one? We cursed ourselves for not being better prepared. Except, it would not have made a difference right then. All our worries vanished when we all of a sudden crossed the summit and snaked our way down the hill, seeing the lights of a city in the distance – Pushkar, a sign said…
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