The moment we hit the road in Fort Cochin, the British Colonial atmosphere was discernable. We arrived at our hotel hoping for some rest, but after finding no AC and a giant cockroach in our room, we switched to another room which turned out to be infested with more than 60 mosquitoes that we had to kill, one-by-one over 2 hours. The next morning put us in a better mood, particularly since a cyclone overnight left the city much cooler for our tour of the Chinese Fishing Nets and seafood market. Cochin’s many European influences were apparent in our tour: a Portuguese church, a Dutch palace, and even a synagogue. We stopped briefly to watch a Tamil movie being filmed before lunch over hearty North Keralan biryani. We were awakened from our post-lunch nap by a deluge of rain. Undaunted, we swam across the street to the fish market to buy some fresh snapper and shrimps which we took to a nearby street stand to grill for dinner. Our driver took us to Alleppey the next morning for our houseboat cruise. Floating quietly with our private crew of three, including a chef who prepared delicious South Indian seafood, we took part in the tranquil life of the Keralan backwater for the day. After we disembarked the following morning, we stopped for some local shopping then boarded our flight to Mumbai. Our last day in India was as busy as Bombay itself, led by a spiritual if talkative tour guide. We spent most of the morning at the Elephanta Caves with its Hindu carvings, then the rest of the day catching glimpses of daily life in the lively city – military exercises at the Gateway of India, cricket in the Oval Maidan, topiary at the Hanging Gardens, bustling traffic around Victoria Terminus, peaceful silence at the Ghandi Museum, and manic laundry at Dhobi Ghat. The highlight was lunch, where we finally got to enjoy Indian street food like panipuri in a safe hygenic restaurant. Our flight home that night was marred by a missed connection in Newark, forcing us to spend the next hours moving from standby to standby. We finally collapsed at home in Boston, exhausted from our whirlwind trip. What we did is not for the faint of heart, but with endurance and stamina, our visit to India was an exhilirating and indelible experience.

We ascended Amber Fort in style aboard our colorful elephant on Friday morning, where we were wowwed by the Hall of Mirrors, but not so much by the block-printing fabrics well-known to the region. We did reveal our geekness with our unsuppressed excitement at the Jantar Mantar observatory, where dozens of stark geometric instruments were used to measure time and location to pinpoint accuracy. After an unsuccessful souvenier hunt and consolation with a sweet lassi from the real Lassiwala, we dined under the stars at our hotel courtyard, where the owners graciously offered to let us stay and shower prior to our overnight train to Udaipur. The 2AC sleeper car was quite an experience, although we had little time to appreciate the surroundings before we fell into slumber. By the time we arrived for breakfast at Jagat Niwas, we were thankful to relax to the beautiful view overlooking the iconic Taj Lake Palace and free WiFi. Our morning walking tour included the Jagdish Temple and City Palace, although the highlight of the day was kicking back at the hotel room on the cushioned window seat with some good books. After a quiet sunset boat ride around the lake, we returned to Jagdish to join the mesmerizing chants of the evening prayers, then dined by the lake at the hotel rooftop restaurant. The next morning, we set out with our driver on the bumpy highway to Jodhpur, stopping along the way for an exhaustive climb up Kumbhalgarh Fort and a tour of picturesque Ranakpur Temple. The excitement of highway driving, which involved a lot of honking and dodging incoming traffic, finally ended in Jodhpur, where we ate on the patio at the renowned On The Rocks restaurant before boarding another sleeper car to Jaisalmer. The 3AC car we shared with a nice Indian family was quite chilly, making it a struggle to sleep without blankets. Jaisalmer welcomed us with sizzling desert heat, as we explored the dirty, narrow alleys of the golden sandstone fort – now occupied by not just people, but the most entitled cows in India. In the evening, we rode camels through the Thar Desert to a camp among the dunes. There we enjoyed a night of singing and dancing despite the torrential rainstorms and lackluster meal. Back at our hotel, we emptied our shoes of desert sand then maneuvered our sore butts to bed. We departed Jaissalmer by train aboard a much more luxurious 1AC car, arriving too late in Jodhpur to experience the heritage hotel. With only the morning to experience the blue city, we breezed through the royal family’s cenotaph and Mehrangargh Fort, then after a kulfi break, boarded our flight for sweltering Cochin.

After months of planning and with help from Indian Panorama, we finally embarked on our 2-week tour of India. We arrived separately in Delhi with my flight from Madurai arriving just hours before Melody’s plane landed Sunday midnight. From our hotel in Connaught place, we met our guide in the morning to tour the Qutb Islam complex, where the towering Qutb Minar loomed more like a victory tower than as a minaret. At Humayun’s tomb, we circled the monument to capture every facade on camera, despite the perfect symmetry. Lunch at Pankara market kept us lethargic as we gleaned over the monolithic government buildings of the Rajpath. Dissatisfied with the faux government-sponsored souvenir shop our guide took us to, we spent the evening finding the real government shops followed by South Indian fast food amidst screaming toddlers for dinner. On Monday, we took a day trip to Armristar via India Rail, where we ignored the syndromic beggars at the station and basked in the luxury of free masala tea and samosas aboard our first-class car. Upon arrival, we scarfed down a thali at a local dhaba, then spent our few precious hours at the Golden Temple. Our spiritual stroll among Sikh worshippers in the gleaming white marble courtyard was awarded with a detour to the kitchen, where we helped prepare rice, dal, and chapatis for the 50,000 or so visitors who mooched there for free. We toured Old Delhi the following day, starting with the Red Fort and Jama Masjid, followed by views of the garishly gilded interior and elephant sculptures at Akshardam temple. After burrowing through the narrow alleys leading to the Hazrat Nizamuddin Aulia and watching a politician receive blessings for his recent election win, we enjoyed hearty Mughal kebab & shorba for lunch, followed by delicious Armritsari fish and Murg Saagwali for dinner. We said goodbye to Delhi on Wednesday aboard the morning train to Agra, where the awe-inspiring beauty of the Taj Mahal was made better with the love story behind its conception and the free admission for visiting on World Heritage Day. At Agra Fort, the red sandstone was reminiscent of the Red Fort, but was much more unique and ornate in appearance. Inspired by the opulence, we splurged on some marble-inlay jewel boxes and dinner at the Oberoi, where we enjoyed sunset views of the Taj and a Gohbi Tandoori so delightful, Melody asked the chef for his recipe. We snuck another peak of the Taj the next morning before setting out for the abandoned town of Fatehpur Sikri along the way to Jaipur. The day-long drive was punctated by a stop at an Escher-like stepwell and multiple mosquito bites before we arrived at Dera Mandawa hotel. Here, the beautiful heritage room, cow-methane powered kitchen, and personal greeting from the husband and wife owner made us feel right at home, as we prepare to journey through Rajasthan.

My experience here at Aravind has opened my eyes to a healthcare system that manages to deliver high quality eye care in a cost-effective manner to millions of people. Over the past 3 weeks, I spent most of my time learning the intricacies of small-incision cataract surgery, a cheap and effective technique for those without access to high-tech phacoemulsification instruments. I also visited Aurolab, where low-cost intraocular lenses, surgical instruments, and sutures are produced and shipped to more than 130 countries worldwide. Yesterday, I traveled to a screening camp and helped the residents and sisters recruit patients from underserved communities for surgery. While these experiences gave me a glimpse of eye care delivery in India, my trip also taught me some of the local customs – walking barefoot, head bobbing as an acknowledgment, eating with your hands (although I’m still hanging onto the toilet paper), and honking … a lot. By the end of my stay, I had learned to raise the spice tolerance of my taste buds, and to no longer be surprised when an elephant walked past the front door. When two other U.S. residents arrived to begin their rotation during my last week, I was able to help them adjust to the system. Over the last two days, we celebrated the end of my stay over a home-cooked meal at Drs. Kim & Usha’s house and a rooftop dinner with Dr. Prajna at Hotel Park Plaza (not to be confused with the Park Plaza Hotel). As I packed my bags for the next leg of my journey, I look back fondly on the hospitality of the Aravind family and eclectic group of friends I’ve made here. It was certainly a trip to remember.

Having to work six days a week here at Aravind meant that there was little time for leisure. So for my first day off, I decided to explore as much of the city as I could. My morning began bright and early at the Meenakshi Amman Temple. After meeting my guide Rishi, who came recommended by both Frommer’s and guesthouse tenants, we proceeded inside to explore the expansive temple complex. Meenakshi is a fish-eyed, triple-breasted goddess, consort of Shiva, and one of the few Hindu female deities to have a major temple devoted to her. The temple is considered by many to be the height of South Indian temple architecture, and is enclosed by 12 gopurams (towers), each as colorful as a Mardi Gras parade. After a requisite blessing by the temple elephant, we spent nearly two hours examining the intricate carvings, learning the lore of the deities, and watching worshippers annoint their foreheads with colored powder. Afterwards, I was led into several shops around the temple periphery, each touting a good rooftop view of the temple, but not before showing me their selection of souvenir statues, silk, and carpets. I did manage to score some teacups and salwars for Melody before heading to the Taj Gateway Hotel for lunch. My rickshaw and I seemed a bit out of place among the fancy cars and clientelle there, but the uphill ride was worth the aerial view of Madurai and a hearty luncheon of tomato soup, chicken curry, and gulab jamun. The afternoon was spent at the Tirumalai Nayak Palace with its lofty yet lackluster architecture, and at the Gandhi Museum, which featured poster boards recounting India’s path to independence and the blood-stained loin cloth in which the hero was killed. I strolled back to the guesthouse from there, stopped for a cup of chai and photos with the locals, then rested briefly before heading back out in the evening to get fitted for a suit at Hajeemoosa and dining on delicious mutton biryani atop the Royal Court Hotel for dinner. Despite the sizzling heat and getting lost on multiple occasions, the hectic day was immensely satisfying.