The Dalai Lama won' t give us an interview. What a shaft!

It's 6:40 pm in Dharamsala. We are having a great day.

Awoke at 7:00am, showered (!), and eventually headed out. Despite having enough hot water, I still felt the need to take a bucket bath instead of shower.

We decided to head to the Dalai Lama's temple complex, but got delayed due to many interesting Tibetan shops on the way. When we finally arrived, we were clueless as to what to see because neither Anjum or I had a book explaining the site. So I stopped some Monks until I found an English-speaking one and asked him if there were any guides available. He hesitated, and then started explaining the whole complex to us. He was very sweet. His name is Gelek, he is 20 yrs old, and has been living in the monastery here for 10 years. He is originally from Bhutan. So he pointed us in the right direction, and recommended we walk on a footpath around the complex. He would have liked to take us, but he was wearing a western-style shirt under his robe, and said he would get in trouble (turns out he had just been visiting a cousin- hence the western dress). He asked us to stop by the administrative office later to say hello (we did go by later in the day but the office was closed).

We visited the temple, the bookstore, and the Tibet museum (and souvenir shop, of course). The museum was especially interesting (and disturbing) as it recounted the Chinese invasion of Tibet, and subsequent persecution of its people. The temple complex was full of monks, tourists, and locals meditating, praying, and soaking in the spiritual atmosphere. We had a sense of well-being.

We tried to say hello to the Dalai Lama, but alas he is on a meditation retreat and is in seclusion for 10 days. Anjum tried sweet-talking the Indian guard by telling him she was from Uttar Pradesh (Indian state), but he didn't cave.

So we consoled ourselves by having lunch at an awesome Tibet restaurant (Snow Lion) accompanied by the best tea we have had yet (not butter tea-gross!)

The rest of the afternoon was spent strolling around Mcloud Ganj and doing some more shopping.

Ok, gotta go, we are late for dinner.
Oh, I spoke to Jaime this morning- we meet up on the 24th in Delhi!

Namaste!
Karin

Karin And I Are In The Same Country. Tout Story.

Landed in Mumbai at 1 AM (technically Feb 22). Eric's driver, Ram, picked me up at the airport and took me to Colaba, where Eric lives. Arrived here about 2 AM. Total travel time door to door (Del Mar-Colaba) is in the vicinity of 32 hours.

Tourists are constantly complaining about so-called "touts" in India. These are the locals - usually taxi drivers - that constantly and tenaciously accost foreigners to try to get hired. They are particularly aggressive around train stations and airports where tourists report having really awful and unrelenting experiences with them.

So... Eric had told me that his driver would be waiting with a sign outside the terminal. I collected my bags and headed out - around 1:30 AM. There were dozens of people out there - mostly taxi drivers. And at least 25 signs being held up with individuals' names. I went through each one carefully but my name was nowhere to be found. I waited a few minutes and then decided that I had to call Eric to see if anyone was actually at the airport to meet me. I returned to the terminal and went up to a taxi guy and asked how I make a local call. He pointed to a phone and said "You have to call from that blue phone. You have to put one Rupee in for it to work." I had no rupees. And to get one Rupee (about 2.2 cents) was going to be a big pain in the butt. So I just kind of stared at him for a moment with a confused and forlorn look on my face (which is exactly what I was feeling). After about 10 seconds he reached into his pocket and gave me a Rupee. My very first act in India was out-touting a tout! Or, as Eric puts it, I landed in India and immediately started begging.

I thanked him profusely, made the call, found Ram, and was driven to Eric's apartment. We chatted for an hour and now it's bedtime. It's great to be here. Total sleep over the past 35 hours is approximately 2 hours.

Above is a pic from the plane after leaving London Heathrow.

Hello from McLeod Ganj (Dharamsala)

Just arrived in Dharamsala. It's cold and wet. Again. But we had 2 dry days in a row previously. So the 1st thing we did on arrival: Anjum soaked clothes for laundry, Harry checked himself into the nicer Hotel next door. A + I were debating if we should join him, but I thought that as acting lead I should suck it up and stay with the group. The 'Hotel' is the same as the others- 40 yr old carpet and bedding, unheated, one small space heater. Small water heater. But it is a luxury after 6 nights of camping.

Can't say much yet about Dharamsala except that we have spotted some white people and monks. There are many small Tibetan shops that we plan to visit. Don't know if the Dalai Lama is in town, but we will find out about visiting his complex.

We are not actually in Dharamsala. We are in Mcleod Ganj which is the smaller, nicer, tourist spot where the Dalai Lama lives (upper Dharamsala).

As for the last few days, we had 2 busy clinic days. yesterday we saw 211 patients. Our busiest yet. Overall, we did not see as many patients as expected. Only about 1500 total. So many dermatologic and eye complaints. Also a lot of osteoarthritis and general wear and tear from the difficult lifestyle. Occasionally we come upon someone with a rare disorder that we vaguely remember reading about in med school. I am keeping a list of things to look up upon my return.

Our last camp site (outside of Chowari) was lovely. But due to rain we were bummed out for much of the 6 night stay there. Also, everyone was sick (by everyone I mean ~75% of the team). And we revolved some people in and out of a local guest house- basically room with a toilet, heater, and shower- so they can have their diarrhea without having to trek to the bathroom tents (hole in the ground that became disgusting after prolonged use). Harry was there for 2 nights. Anjum stuck it out in the tent. It is unclear what the illness was, but most people are treating themselves for Typhoid. We will probably all de-worm ourselves as a precaution. And will throw in some scabies treatment to boot.

I am dependent on hand sanitizer, baby wipes, and pepto bismol. So far it has worked for me. Except that my hands have lost several layers of skin and perpetually taste like chemicals. I immediately washed them with soap and water on arrival- what a luxury.

When we get back to our room A+I plan to shower. We have do do that very quickly so as not to use up all the hot water in the heater. The second showerer gets the shaft. I have not taken a proper shower since I don't know when. But I have become very efficient at the bucket-bath.

So we have 2 nights here, and on the 23rd take an overnight bus to Delhi. No more clinic. Just free time. We plan to explore and relax. We have internet and phone access, so feel free to write!

Love to you all.

Karin

On My Way to Mumbai II

Now at London Heathrow. LHR is just not a pleasant airport. After finally getting to my departure terminal I was told that I could only bring one of my two bags that I had been carrying from San Diego through security. They told me to stuff one into the other. That would have been impossible so I stepped aside and sort of bound them together with their straps and that was acceptable.

The flight from JFK was pleasant. First, I watched My Bollywood Bride, for obvious reasons. The opening scene was of a Californian dude arriving in Mumbai and being accosted by touts (the people that are constantly trying to get foreigners to hire them). That's going to be me in 9 hours! TheCalifornia dude was going to India to meet a girl - just I am! The parallels end there, however. He is going to seek out an Indian woman that he had met in Santa Monica. They had some kind of relationship and then she suddenly left. Upon his arrival in Mumbai he discovers that she's a huge Bollywood starlette! You'll have to rent it to see what happens.

After My Bollywood Bride I read. First I read The Economist which was largely about how it is likely that George Bush will launch an attack on Iran for various reasons. They believe the clincher is that he doesn't have to answer to anyone now (can't be re-elected) and will be concerned about his legacy (which is looking rather dismal right now).

Following The Economist I read the February edition of Wired. Very interesting article in there that basically tears apart Terry Semel's management of Yahoo! The author's position is that Semel has no clue about the tech side of things and Google is, technically speaking, everything that Yahoo! is not. Semel's a great marketer and deal seeker/maker (though he did blow a chance to buy Google early on) but Google is engineering-first and in the tech world you can't catch up by relying on marketing.

And finally, I did the Tuesday New York Times crossword. Did any of you try Feb 20's NYT crossword? That's a Wednesday if I ever saw one! Unless you happen to be very knowledgeable about Sidney Poitier's career, I suppose.

And this is a cool picture (at least it is for IFR pilots): It shows our route of flight coming into LHR. We had been asked to enter a holding pattern and soon thereafter we were released and told to fly the approach. You can see the pilot's teardrop entry into the pattern and then, just after entering the 4th leg, she does a 270 degree turn to the right to enter the approach. At least that's my theory.

On My Way to Mumbai

Mail & newspaper on hold. House secure. Plants watered. Everything turned off. Online accounts in vacation mode. Everything packed. Work files under control. Actually, one of my clients called me at home yesterday. I really dislike that. But in this case it was for a good cause - a demand letter I had written seems to have worked even though I had put it in the outbox after hours on Friday. I called my office and left word to stop the letter if it hasn't gone out.

I'm at the airport awaiting my flight: SAN-JFK-LHR-BOM. The first two flights are on AA and the last flight is on BA. While I do enjoy flying, this is going to be one long trip.

Update: At JFK now. Uneventful flight. They showed The Prestige. This airport is way overheated. Maybe they forgot to turn down the heat now that the one week of actual winter weather has passed. I'm in a t-shirt and I'm warm. The Jet Blue terminal is still surrounded by television crews. Probably leftover from the fiasco last week.

Picture is from the plane as we taxied to our gate at JFK.

Beautiful, Productive Day In The Himalayas. Karin In Charge. Singing. Dancing. I'm Leaving Tomorrow.

I just received a call from Dr. Rash. Today was a gorgeous day in the Himalayas. The team saw over 150 patients and there were many interesting cases. Lots of scabies and rashes. A fair number of years-old untreated spinal fractures. And they are seeing more of the heart-breaking mental-retardation cases where there is little that can be done.

Only 6 people out of the entire team has avoided sickness. Of our Intrepid Trio, only Karin has stayed consistently strong. I have had Karin on a steady diet of hearty Indian fare for the past decade and I attribute her resilience to my own resolute commitment to banghan bharta, saag paneer, chicken tikka masala, and raita.

The other physician on the trip decided that, since the sickness was of unknown origin, they should treat for typhoid (a la Dr. House for those of you familiar). So everyone was put on antibiotics. Karin's thought that more of a wait and see approach might be better - as in wait and see who slips into a coma and then treat.

Karin also described an incredible hike they took from a high mountain pass. They all got our of their Jeeps at 10,000 feet and had a wild no-holds-barred snowball-fight with the drivers. They then hiked up an additional 1500 feet and arrived at a peak that was absolutely spectacular. Incredibly memorable experience.

The lead of the trip has now departed. I think that means that Karin is now in charge. She's so modest about these things that it's hard to be sure but I did the math and according to my calculations when #1 goes home, the assistant to #1 becomes #1. So, I haven't completed the proof yet but I'm pretty sure she's numero uno.

The other night they had a serious rain storm. Everyone retired to their tents for the night. Some time later, Prem the Sherpa unexpectedly came around to make sure everyone was dry. Prem, on the other hand, was going from tent to tent in a torrential rainfall without any rain-gear whatsoever. He was sopping wet. That, in the eyes of our Explorers, made him even cuter than before (he's Karin's height).

Evening activity has improved markedly since Harry reported on the (possibly) rabid dogs that they would name, play with, and run from. The staff have been getting together with everyone and playing music, singing and dancing. Apparently their Indian hosts are talented musicians and it makes for wonderful entertainment. Inevitably the staff asks the Medical Team to sing something they know from their culture. Karin reports that the group then sheepishly tries to figure out something they all know and ultimately are stuck singing childhood camp songs such as "Row Row Row Your Boat" and "Michael Row Your Boat Ashore". They all feel quite pathetic when it's their turn but they swallow their pride and do their part to expose the gathered Sherpas, cooks and other Indian staff to quality North American culture. I'm going to suggest that they move on to Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star and Hava Nagila tonight if they feel up to it.

Meanwhile, back in San Diego (where it's storming today), I am doing some last-minute planning and packing. I had sent this website out to some beautiful hotels in India to see if they might consider discounting our stay to become part of this noble, yet entertaining, effort. Aman has graciously offered to do just that and I'm waiting to hear from a couple of others.

And here is the message you will be confronted with if you try to log into the website for booking trains in India today:

We are currently facing problem with the credit card payment gateways at the moment. Your booking may or may not materialize due to the same.

Quick Emasculating Call From Karin

Karin called me this morning at 5:20 AM. Yes, I was in a deep sleep. Yes, it's Sunday. Yes, I was up in the middle of the night. No, it was not an emergency. Yes, I was ecstatic to hear from her.

My head was in a cloud, though, so she opted to call me back 2 hours later. Her purpose: to tell me to bring socks and feminine-hygiene products to India for her. The weather there was bad so everyone was packed into the kitchen-tent and I could barely make out what she was saying. I was, however, able to hear the entire group erupt into hysterical laughter when she chose a crowded kitchen-tent on a desolate mountain-side in the rugged and unforgiving Himalaya-sierra to instruct me to bring panty-liners to India. Yes, I felt emasculated. But I've recovered - as evidenced by my ability to write about it here.

I didn't get much more information because she was speaking on Harry's cell phone and roaming is about 10,000 Rupees per Himalayan minute. So all I can really tell you is that she's running low on... um... socks.

(OK, maybe I'm still recovering)