Pushkar Bastards!

Pushkar is beautiful, as you can see, but mental. The Dewali festival is on at the moment and everybody is going crazy with fireworks, but don't think 'Oh wouldn't that be pretty, night time, with all those lights over the lake.' Yeah right, Indian fireworks are crap and loud.

Little kids (who are all little bastards i might say) have got these massive bungers that'd get you arrested in Australia for having and thrown in gaol for six months, that or, they'd claim you were a terrorist because they're big and dodgy, the cheaper ones are homemade. Tourists that buy them give a rupee to some kid to light it, so they (the tourist) can go home with ten fingers. Not that i'd know about that. Some accidents just won't happen.

But the kids have come up with this great new game called, 'Scare the Shit Out of Tourists.'

Picture this, It's late night, the narrow alley back to your guesthouse is pitch black and you're playing your usual game of dodge the cow patties in the dark. The cows are asleep in their pile of rubbish and rotting food. But that's all okay because you've just come out of a not so secret bar where they serve apple juice that costs a fortune, but tastes more like wheat and hops than apples, so you're feeling easy. Good. You've had a great night with other tourists even if you have broken a few religious laws. Life's great! You've got your girl on your arm and you're strutting home like a king.

That's when you hear the sniggers. A soft hiss. And the mother of all explosions lights up the alley, right next to your Converse All Stars.

The festival of Dewali is going off with a bang.

That happened a few night ago, now, the festival has well and truly kicked off the place sounds like Beirut, night and day, though some people have spent a little more on their fireworks, don't buy home made ones, and send them into the sky to make a bit of a show. So it's nice.

And I've got my defenses, ear plugs. A good sleep and a peace of mind. It also works against stalking wallahs.