Winkie in Pinky

That means Patrick is in Jaipur - the Pink City. It's his mother's pet name for him, and now you all know!

The hostel we are staying at is phenomenal, by far the best one we've stayed at so far. Though the owner, Devendra was unwilling to bargain, we have been tremendously content with the service. The owner has been very helpful in suggesting us places to go and our new favourite restaurant,the Mahon, and the only one we have eaten at so far 4 meals in total. To be honest, we tried to find another restaurant to diversify but we just ended up at the same restaurant in another part of town. The restaurant name was written in Hindi! Pat is in heaven becuase it's vegetarian,and it's all Dal - lentil stuff.

As I (Pat) went into the bedroom last night, I noticed a little black thing moving in my bathroom. We're not sure if it was a large mouse or a small rat, but according to one theory it was a rat because of the length of its tail. Of course I informed the owner, who in turn took care of the issue quickly and wiped of the bill for one beer and gave another beer for free. Sadly, as Sasha and myself are like 12 year-olds, we struggled with our first one, so we have a nice warm beer for the trip tomorrow. It should be noted that one King Fisher beer is 1L, so we're not entirely pathetic.

Back to Jaipur - the markets/bazaars. The most organized chaos to date. Sasha nearly bumped into a camel while walking on a side street, and that's just a fraction of what else goes on in that area. We're looking forward to our next trip back to pick up some gifts for the families and friends back home.

We appologize for making India sound like shit. It isn't at all. It is beautiful, but within that beauty there is something very challenging. You have to become used to people trying to rip you off and you have to understand there is no end to animals (and their shit) on the street. There is also more poverty than you can ever shake a stick at. Within all this, there remains a highly exciting environment and more than enough beauty to counter all the negatives. Contrary to the tropes about Indians, they are very charming, fun, and willing to have a laugh at both yours and their expense, excluding matters of cricket. So, you simply have to accept the shortcomings and understand that India is still evolving from a third world status. If you can do such, with no doubt you'll see a country unlike anything that we've (and most likely yourself too)have ever experienced in our lives.

Sadly, it is our last night with Mark. We part on the morrow, as sadly he's going back to Ireland and we cannot deny we're heartbroken. How do you replace a man who took a 26 hour bus ride because he thought it would be more interesting than a 1 1/2 hour flight or has eaten everything close to shit in the entire Indian diet? We just don't know! Mark, we love you!

We love you all
Sasha and Pat


PS. Don't shave your head unless your father is dead if you're coming to India, as you might be acosted for it, as Mark was. And he hates India just a little more each day. No worries, we love it.