The Acquisition of Teeth

This trip to India has involved rather more time in Delhi than I had anticipated, but the end result is good - I can now chew again! Some background: a few years ago, I lost a number of teeth, which were replaced by a rather large bridge. Unfortunately, the end tooth supporting that bridge collapsed, and had to be removed in South Africa. I have thus been left with a rather large gap, and any serious chewing depended on the one side only. I thus decided to get some new teeth on my next trip to India.

Scan of Tim's jaw - 1

To some people, India might not be the first place they consider when needing dental work, but for me it makes a lot of sense. I've been using the same dentist in Delhi for a number of years - actually a family of four dentists, mostly trained in England, and offering a variety of services, an excellent track record, and great attention to detail. They have 2 surgeries in Delhi, and the one at Connaught Place is just a short walk from where I stay in Pahar Ganj, near New Delhi railway station. The prices are between a third or a quarter of the cost in England or Ireland, and the quality of work much much better, with long appointments and great care taken.

Scan of Tim's jaw - 2

I've chosen to go for an implant + tooth, and a bridge of three teeth. The implant needs to stabilise before the tooth can be added - this takes about 3 months, so after that initial treatment, I've been exploring Rajasthan, and taking some of the photos recently added to my Photo Blog. During that time, I lost a filling, so decided that the best course of action was to return to Delhi and get it replaced by the dentists I was already using. After an examination, it was determined that infection had set in, and the best course of action was a root canal treatment and a crown. This increases my new teeth by one, to a total of 5: plenty to chew on there!

When not confined to the dentist's chair, or waiting for the next appointment, I have been visiting a variety of places in North and Central India. My plan has been to build up a small library of digital photographs, and this trip it has been themed in two areas: the forts and palaces of Rajasthan, and the Buddhist sites of Bihar and Madhya Pradesh.

Nur Mahal Palace, Amber, Rajasthan

In Rajasthan, after re-visiting some of the more famous cities: Jaipur, Jodhpur, Bikaner, Udaipur, Mount Abu; I headed to the deserts around Jaisalmer, and spent a very wonderful 4 days exploring some of the big dunes on the back of a camel. I also visited Pushkar, Alwar, and the ancient town of Bharatpur.

The Lake at Jaisalmer, Rajasthan

After another journey to Delhi, I headed east to Bihar, and the place of the Buddha's enlightenment at Bodh Gaya. I also visited the Buddhist caves at Gaya and Rajgir, the ancient Buddhist university at Nalanda, the site of the Buddha's first sermon at Sarnath, and the site of the his death at Kushinagar, near Gorakhpur.

The Meherangarh Fort, Jodhpur

The Lake at Mount Abu, Rajasthan

There was also time to revisit the ancient Hindu city of Varanasi, and spend a bit of time exploring it slowly. How lovely it was to wander along the banks of the holy Ganges river, to watch the pilgrims, the bathers and the boatmen; and to experience the life in microcosm that reflects the greater wonder of India.

The Mahabodi Temple by night

The Bhutan Temple at Bodh Gaya

This trip to India is nearly over, and I will be heading back to the UK on April 15th. After that, I've decided to venture to new fields, and have a change from the areas I've been travelling in over the last few years. I'm heading to Canada for the summer, and hope to be there for about 5 months. Part of that time will be spent WWOOFing - in other words, voluntary work on Organic farms or homesteading projects. You can read more about it at the WWOOF - Canada website.

Then, at the end of June, I head for the coastal town of Lunenberg, to join the tall ship 'Picton Castle' for a summer voyage along the Canadian coast, down to the States, and across to St Pierre and Miquelon. I've wanted to sail on a square-rigged ship for many years, but the closest I ever got to one was when I took up the hobby of putting ships in bottles, when I was working in the Antarctic. At last I have the chance to experience the full size version, and am very pleased to have been accepted as a member of the crew for the summer.