Jeff's India Trip

When Jeff got home from India, he told me the camera batteries kept dying so he hadn't been able to take many pictures of his adventure to India. Although there weren't tons of pictures, I'm glad he at least got what he did. It was fun to finally see pictures of things he described to me over the phone. His best description of India, at least Chennai where he spent most of his time, was "Mexico on steroids" a 3rd world country that was even crazier than Mexico where Jeff spent two years during his mission.

This isthe Dubai airport. Jeff said it was the most beautiful airport he had ever seen with glass columns and huge glass windows everywhere. He spent a few hours here during layovers, but most of his trip was spent in a much more primitive setting.

These are the streets of India. Jeff said the congestion on the streets was unbelievable. There were motorcycles everywhere- notice the child riding in the front. He said the streets were pretty noisy and just busy all the time.

Jeff spent his time getting around in these little cart-like vehicles. He said it was pretty much a hard shell stuck on top of a motorcycle. You would hop in the back and the driver would take you where you wanted to go. Most of his drivers were pretty good, but Jeff did have a few rides where he was just praying he would make it in one piece!

Here's another shot of a typical day on the street. You can see the little cab cars that Jeff would take everywhere. Although I absolutely love seeing the pictures of such a cool place, I'm glad I wasn't doing any driving here, I would have been a major stress case! Jeff said this was one of the nicer streets in the area.

It was pretty common to see oxen pulling carts through the streets, lots of chickens, and other random animals.

This was one of Jeff's favorite places in India. He didn't have cell coverage while he was there and searched around everywhere for a phone so he could call me. He finally found this little place.

Yep, this little wooden box is a makeshift phone booth. Jeff would call me from this little phone and it only cost about 2 cents a minute. It was fun during the calls because I could usually here people jabbering on in the background, Indian music playing, etc. sometimes it got a little loud. His only complaint was that with 85 degree weather, this little booth would feel like a sauna!

There were lots of little local shops around. Jeff had limited space when he left and was able to find a nice shirt for himself here for a pretty decent price. I love seeing all the signs and pictures.

There were also lots of fruit stands around in the city. This particular one was right across the street from Jeff's hotel. I was a little sad there weren't any pictures of his hotel. Darn camera. His room was pretty basic. There was just a fan for cooling, and a faucet at sink level for a shower. It's considered to be one of the nicest places to stay in the area.

One afternoon after surgery, Jeff walked around doing some sight-seeing and found a convention/fair event going on. Although this picture doesn't do it justice, Jeff said it was an area completely jam-packed with people walking around and looking at all the vendors. He said it was one of the busiest/most packed events he'd ever seen.

This was the surgical center/hospital where Jeff spent most of his time doing surgeries. It was actually a pretty nice place with all the latest surgical equipment.

Sadly, this is the only picture Jeff got inside the surgical center. Jeff is standing with Dr Mitra, the main surgeon Jeff worked with during his trip. Jeff said he was a really nice guy and the most amazing cataract surgeon he had ever seen.

This was Jeff's favorite food of the trip. There was a little restaurant down the street from the surgical center and for about $2 american money, Jeff was able to get a big vegetarian meal. He said it was pretty good, and better than some of the other things he tried during his trip.

More than anything, I'm glad the trip went well and that Jeff was able to have such a cool opportunity. I don't think he'll be going back any time real soon, but it was definitely a great experience.