What's up Jaipur!?

Sorry for the lull in posts, we’ve been on the road and in between spotty internet connections. Thursday morning proved insightful as we got the chance to sit down with Dr. Kokani at the Pune District Hospital for the second time. We gleaned information regarding potential users and stakeholder perspectives. One of the main takeaways was the complications of device implementation within a hierarchical health care systems such as that of India. Our understanding will drive design decisions and business strategies come fall semester.

After the morning meeting we headed to Pune Airport. Sorry, nothing too blog worthy here… we waited for 3 hours, watched Josh take down a box of mango pulp candy called Albomurphy (sp?), played a game of chess, boarded a plane on the tarmac, took off and an hour later we were in Jaipur. Unfortunately we forgot to take a final picture with our driver Artourage, so this action shot will have to suffice (chances are he’s honking the horn at this exact moment).

 

Jaipur is the capital city of the northwestern Indian state called Rajasthan and a place of immense history. Today we woke up early to tour Amber palace (the ‘b’ is silent) and City Palace. Amber palace was built in the 16^th century and took 137 years to construct. The royal family has since moved their permanent residence to City Palace. Our tour guide at Amber palace was great and we got the chance to play the instruments for the entire Palace! We also got coaxed into visiting the shops associated with the grounds. Not a second went by in which someone was not trying to sell us something. Finally, we drove by the Water Palace, which was the summer home of the royal family, not too bad! The lake served as a natural AC.

 

  

There were elephants, camels, and snake charmers populating the grounds!

      

Following our Palace explorations, we embarked on the 7 hour, 180 mile drive  urban safari from Jaipur to Bikaner. The roads were in stellar condition!! We will be staying in Bikaner until the 21st.

 Friday morning we went to a medical college in Bikaner. We had the chance to interact with community health workers, physicians, and patients in a rural setting. The internet is in and out right now so details will have to be saved for another post.