Page 19 - india

included a fist full of rupees for something.

We were honestly hungry, so we began searching
the streets for a likely place to grab a bite. One
thing you learn quickly in India is to be very, very
selective about dining. We settled on a small outdoor
café with four or five tables. It was clean and three ta-
bles were filled with western tourists who seem very
happy with the offerings, including pizza that looked
good to us after weeks of Indian food. We ordered the
pepperoni pizza, surprised to see it offered since most
dining spots in town are vegetarian.
The young man who took our order smiled when I
wistfully mentioned my wish to wash it down with a
beer. We settled for a bottle of water. About 15 min-
utes later our cheese pizza arrived topped not by cir-
cles of pepperoni, but round slices of green peppers.
Two large coffee mugs followed. I was about to object
when our server smiled again and pointed into the
mugs. The contents were cold, refreshing and tasted
very much like beer.

The pizza was terrific and after another round of “cof-
fee,” things were looking up at the Pushkar Fair.

Opposite top: The sacred lake of Pushkar with the holy ghats in
the background. Opposite bottom left: Color dress and turbans
are the look of the day during the camel fair. Bottom right: The
girl from Pushkar keeps on walking, sways so slowly and gracefully
with a basket of veggies on her head. Top right: The dark smoky
alleys lined with street food vendors cooking their dishes for the
fair goers. Center: Ron and Mary James enjoying a cup of coffee
that tastes curiously like cold beer while waiting on their faux
pepperoni pizza shown below. Above Left: Vendors sell all varieties
of fruits to fairgoers.

Wine Dine & Travel Spring 2014 19