We’ve been in India for a week now. I had hoped to post about all my previous travels on here before even getting here but the reality is, I have essentially no disposable time ever.
I am starting to write this post while Mäuschen jumps around in my arms and Mausi is playing in the indoor playground we are now visiting for the third time this week. The heavy monsoon rains aren’t exactly inviting for outdoor activities. That hasn’t stopped us from undertaking trips but they are not the easiest to manage.
JOURNEY TO INDIA
Our flight was 7h30 long and a daytime flight from Frankfurt to Delhi. The other flight options were inconvenient timing with kids. With one child, I preferred red eye because Mausi usually slept most of the flight. This flight however had us arriving in India when the local time in Germany was just a bit past bedtime and I figured we could acclimate quicker. This did however also mean that I would have to entertain two kids on the plane for most of the journey. Or so I thought.
About 2 hours into the flight, the announcement came asking for a doctor onboard. I was just finishing up in the lavatory with the kids when we rushed out to see how I could help. Surely I wouldn’t be the only doctor onboard this huge plane headed to India.
I was. At least I was the only one that responded to the announcement.
MILE HIGH DR. HASSELHOF
The passenger was having an allergic reaction with watery/red eyes, nasal congestion, and difficulty breathing. There was a language barrier but from what I could gather, he started having symptoms after eating lunch. The flight attendant informed me that it was a shrimp dish. Ah-ha! Our likely culprit.
INITIAL ASSESSMENT
He was already wearing oxygen when I arrived at his side. The flight attendants brought over a kit with medication. The only antihistamine available was an unknown dose of loratadine. Neither the folder nor the blister pack said what dose it was. We started with that.
Meanwhile, Mausi was running around the cabin and Mäuschen was screaming bloody murder while another flight attendant swayed back and forth.
After having given the passenger the loratadine and checking vitals, I wanted to check the medical suitcase to see what other medications were available to me in case things escalated.
PREPARING FOR THE WORST
I sat on the floor breastfeeding Mäuschen next to a flight attendant while we looked through the medical suitcase. I was on the lookout for an EpiPen. Unfortunately, there wasn’t one. Only a vial of adrenaline. Thankfully, there was a literature that explained how to mix the right proportions for IV administration. We tore open the IV bag to get all the supplies we needed for me to place an IV should it come to this. We discussed how we would mix and dose the medication if needed.
All while passengers were squeezing past us to get to the toilets on the lower level. A medical emergency was no place for modesty and I was boob full out breastfeeding to manage Mäuschen and simultaneously get medical equipment ready. Priorities.
MONITORING PHASE
We moved the patient to a stretcher in the back of the plane to make him more comfortable and more accessible to us.
We continued to monitor his vitals which included elevated blood pressure (not surprising given the circumstances), stable oxygen saturations, stable blood sugar, and a slightly tachycardic pulse of 103 (again, no surprise there).
His symptoms had improved in regard to the allergic reaction. After about an hour, I took him off of the oxygen to see how he managed.
The guy was obese with supposedly no medical issues or chronic medications. Off oxygen, his saturation started falling again. When I asked him to take some deep breaths, his O2 sats shot back into the mid-90s.
Eventually, he fell asleep (sort of an upgrade to business class for him since he got to sleep lying flat) and we continued to monitor. While asleep on his back, his O2 sat fell to the mid-70s. The altitude likely wasn’t helping but I presume he lives in a hypoxic state at night at home too.
Since we were monitoring him though and seeing that mid-70s number, I decided to place him on O2 again. The lowest dose available was 2L. And almost immediately, the O2 shot up to 98%.
DECISION TIME
A while later, the flight attendant informed me that we were nearing emptying 2 bottles of oxygen and if we were to use a third, the airplane wouldn’t be able to return to Frankfurt because they wouldn’t have the minimum required oxygen bottles on board and they don’t get replenished in Delhi.
It was time to discontinue the guy’s semi-business class experience and I had him sit up instead of sleeping lying down. I monitored him for another 15 minutes off of oxygen while seated and awake. His O2 sats were absolutely fine. He was released back to his original seat.
WRAPPING IT UP
Throughout the process, I kept him and his wife informed of what we were doing. A flight attendant was trying her best to keep Mausi entertained by reading books, playing games, and providing snacks. I had strapped Mäuschen to my back after the breastfeeding session so I could move around more freely.
One other person had responded to the announcement initially made. A respiratory therapist. Luckily, we did not require their particular skill set for this situation. I can not say enough how happy I am that this passenger did not have a full-blown anaphylactic reaction.
The entire crew was very appreciative of my assistance and offered me drinks and meals. This was not the first medical emergency I’ve responded to but it was the first I was offered compensation for. Although completely unnecessary, I was grateful and happy to accept the offer.
All in all, everything worked out. I gave the patient and his wife a summary of what occurred on board to provide to a primary care physician (which I recommend he start visiting). Furthermore, I strongly encouraged him to have his blood pressure rechecked and discuss having a sleep study done looking for sleep apnea. I also strongly encouraged him to avoid shrimp and maybe see an allergist and get a prescription for an EpiPen.
And with that, we landed in Delhi just a short while later.
DELHI TO JAIPUR
We arrived in Delhi at 1 AM. By the time we were through customs and got to our hotel and into bed, it was almost 3 AM local time.
The next morning, I had someone come to the hotel to do my FBI fingerprinting for my medical license. A nice thing about India is that you can arrange a lot of services to come to you!
A few hours later, we were back at the airport to catch our flight to Jaipur.
The whole travel day from Germany to India was less stressful than the short trip from Delhi to Jaipur. Mausi was on one… probably due to a prior travel day. Tantrums, not listening, etc. It was a lot to handle. I am empathetic that the kids go through a lot with me sometimes and am sympathetic when it all gets a bit overstimulating.
We did eventually make it to our AirBnB. Our host had the fridge stocked with a few basics so we were able to eat some toast before heading to bed.
JAIPUR
So now we’ve been in Jaipur for a week. On all my previous India visits, I didn’t have to worry about day-to-day operations. I was either on a fully planned itinerary or visiting people I knew who took care of it all. There was a learning curve to managing the basics as well as acclimating to the Indian surroundings again.
Our AirBnB host has been so incredibly helpful in many situations. I try to be as independent as possible. I bought an Indian eSIM in the hopes of obtaining an Indian number. Many of the apps require but was only able to find data eSIMs that don’t come with an Indian number. The host said he is happy to order food, groceries, etc. on my behalf so I don’t have to obtain a physical SIM card. If I happen to pass a SIM store, I might still get one to gain some more independence.
It is still monsoon season in India and I think it has rained every day so far. Yesterday there were heavy rains. This hasn’t stopped us from leaving the apartment though.
Thankfully, we found this indoor playground. It is filled with things to play with, climb on, slide down, jump on. The first hour is 500 INR ( approx. $6) and every additional half hour is 150 INR (approx. $1.80).
OPEN TO OPPORTUNITIES
I have a list of attractions I’d like to see while we are in town over the next few weeks. I’m not putting a lot of pressure on myself to see something daily. So many factors affect the ability to do things.
One day, we headed towards Jantar Mantar, which is a large area filled with large astronomical instruments. I was looking for a place for Mausi to run around and get some energy out while also seeing something.
We were approached by a driver outside of the entrance. He inquired if we were going to Jantar Mantar. After sharing that this was our plan, he suggested an alternative itinerary. Since Jantar Mantar is best visited in sunny conditions given many of the instruments require the sun. For just 400 INR ($4.75) he offered to drive us to three sites. He explained that the royal tombs were also a great place to run around, were beautiful, and had an entrance fee of only 50 INR ($0.60).
It sounded like a good plan to me so we went for it.
GAITOR KI CHHATRIYAN
Not so much the royal tombs as advertised by Ali, our driver, but rather the royal crematory and cenotaph of the royal family of Jaipur. Nonetheless, it was a beautiful location indeed and the drizzle made it seem even more mystical.
For just 50 INR for foreigners (the kids were free), we were able to run around and explore.
We quickly encountered a group of Indian women in beautiful, colorful saris. I offered to take pictures of the group as one woman was always out of the group taking pictures of the others. Mausi wanted to take a picture with them which they were happy to do.
(If you want to feel like you are traveling with a celebrity, travel to India as a foreigner with a small child. I constantly have to tell people not to take pictures of the kids or touch them.)
We continued to explore the grounds.
MEHNDI
After we were through, Mausi and I had mehndi applied to our arm. Convincing a preschool not to touch their arm for 20 minutes while ensuring they don’t get henna all over the car or themselves while also having one arm full of drying mehndi and a baby on your other arm is no simple task. But we managed. And now we both have a lovely mehndi design on our arm for a few days.
Then it was off to see Jal Mahal, the lake palace. With the aforementioned drying mehndi, the rain, and the crowds of people, it was all a bit much for me. We just popped out to snap a pic and then got back into the car.
HAND BLOCK PRINTING FACTORY
Many drivers will take you to a shop/workshop to see local crafts as well and hope you’ll buy something. I’m certain the driver gets a commission on sales made from the tourists they provide. In this case, I didn’t mind as I intended to visit a block print workshop/store anyway.
A man greeted us at the door and started by showing us how block print is done. This was not my first rodeo. It was nice that Mausi was able to learn how it is done and was able to help block print an elephant design. Afterwards, we were led into the shop. I was given a masala chai and Mausi was given some chocolate and water.
They were about to present us with finished block print products for purchase but that wasn’t what I was interested in. I asked them to take us to the block-printed fabrics to make tailored outfits.
Mausi quickly picked out a multi-colored elephant print for a dress before running around the shop and entertaining the other workers, playing soccer with them, and chatting them up in German.
I proceeded to choose two fabric designs for my dresses, two designs for pants for Mäuschen, and a pair of pants for myself. The tailor came to take our measurements and I took pictures of the various block-printed fabrics to send to my mother.
All in all, 2 adult dresses, 1 pair of adult pants, 1 preschooler dress, and 2 baby trousers all tailor-made cost 11,700 INR ($140). I paid half as a deposit and was told they would be delivered to my home in two days at which time I would pay the rest.
I will share the results once I receive the goods. Without seeing the fabric printed before your own eyes, there is always a hint of doubt, about whether or not the fabric is truly block print or a good screen print rip-off.
We then headed back home after a day of adventures with two tired children.
I was so happy that the day unfolded in such a positive way.
I took the driver’s contact info and he drove us the next day to run some errands and visit the elephant village.
ELEPHANT VILLAGE
Going to the Elephant Village rather than Elephantastic was a recommendation from our driver. Since I want to experience many different activities in Jaipur, I decided to give his recommendation a try. The website made it seem like the less pricey option compared to other elephant experiences in Jaipur without listing exact prices. I really should’ve known better to follow up on pricing before agreeing to go.
Two years ago, my mother, her partner, Mausi, and I visited Elephantastic in Jaipur. We had a lovely day getting to know the elephant, feeding her, painting her, washing her, and walking with her. We were provided a snack and at the end of the experience, were provided a home-cooked Indian meal. Overall a great experience and cost about $80 per person.
At the Elefant Village, which I was told was a project from the government to get the elephants out of the city and into a more calm location for them, was significantly pricier. I was offered the “combo” package which included petting, feeding, painting, washing, walking, or riding the elephant for $350 per person. No, thank you. Since we had already made it to the location after getting through the flooded streets and spending well over an hour in the car, I at least wanted to feed and paint the elephant. I wasn’t confident the children would be up for much more than that. For Mausi and I, these two activities cost me $130. So, not a great deal. Lesson learned. I’ll graciously accept recommendations but do my research before blindly following those recommendations.
I’m still happy we got to spend time with such a beautiful creature and it was Mäuschen’s first encounter with the gentle giant. Mausi had equal fun with the elephant and playing in the muddy puddles.
EXPERIENCING JAIPUR
Learning more about block print is what inspired me to choose Jaipur as our location for an extended stay in India. I didn’t fully take into consideration the monsoon time. Luckily, we are on the tail end of the season. I am trying to get Mäuschen to take a bottle so that I can partake in some workshops and hire a babysitter.
There are so many incredible hotels, restaurants, cafes, and bars in Jaipur. Having two small children which includes the energizer bunny and without additional help, it is hard to try to experience them. I’m determined to at least visit a few of the hotels as sight visits so I have an idea of what the places are like. Let’s see what I can achieve. I’d like to share a guide/itinerary to Jaipur after our trip.
Now our two hours in the playground are almost over and I was able to finish the first draft of this post. Yay!
Proofreading, editing, and adding pictures will need to wait until the kids are in bed.
mfg
