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ajmer’s chaotic charm and why i regret it

@Oscar Finch3/9/2026blog

so i woke up to a sky that looked like it were muted and decided to wander ajmer without a plan. 19.24 degrees celsius and 29% humidity meant the air was like a stale memory. i felt like a lost tourist in a place that wasn’t trying to hide it. i checked the weather and it’s...there right now, hot and dry, hope you like that kind of thing. if you’re from somewhere with rain, this place is a desert. but hey, maybe that’s the point.

ajmer isn’t exactly the city that makes you feel like you’re part of something. the neighbors here are all about business. one old man on the bus kept muttering about prices and another kept trying to sell me a used scooter. i heard that about the market here-someone told me that the whole place is a trap for tourists who don’t know when to walk away. i don’t know if it’s true but i’m not gonna argue with a drunk guy in a dhoti.

there’s this place called the anardpur fort that everyone seems to recommend. i didn’t go there. instead, i wandered into a café called madras café and saw a sign that said 'no shorts' and immediately thought it was a joke. turns out it’s a real place and the owner was just as confused as me. i heard that the food here is terrible but also maybe the best. i can’t remember. i did order a dal makhani and it was okay. not great. not bad. something in between. the waiter kept staring at me like i was a ghost. maybe i was.

i checked the maps and found a spot near the 티 गत र (if you can read urdu, you’ll know it’s a street). it’s a random alley with a sign that says 'free entry' but it was just a bunch of old bikes and a cat. i took a photo and uploaded it to unsplash.

ajmer street


another photo i took was of a person sleeping on a bench. they looked like they were in deep thought. maybe they were. maybe they were just tired. i don’t know.

ajmer bench


then there was this one image of a local girl selling flowers. she had a basket full of marigolds and looked like she was about to cry. i didn’t ask why.

ajmer flowers


i ended up writing this all over a coffee table in a hostel. the internet was spotty but i managed. i linked to tripadvisor for the fort and yelp for the café. there’s also a local board on facebook that’s basically a bunch of conspiracy theories about the city’s history. i didn’t believe any of it but it’s entertaining. here’s the link: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotels-Ajmer https://www.yelp.com/biz/madras-cafe-ajmer https://www.facebook.com/groups/AjmerLocalTips

if you get bored, jaisalmer is a two-hour drive and totally worth it. not sure if that’s a recommendation or a warning. i’m still not sure. the whole trip felt like a mistake. but maybe that’s okay. maybe that’s the point. i just checked and it’s...there right now, hot and dry, hope you like that kind of thing.

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About the author: Oscar Finch

Optimist by choice, realist by necessity.

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