Accidents do happen

I arrived in Hyderabad on a Thursday and on Friday night took a bus to go to Hampi. I was very excited because Hampi is a fantastic place and the group I went with are all people who are also working here for the summer in very interesting projects.

After a ten hour bus drive during which I froze (always, always, always carry a blanket if you're traveling by bus. This time I did not heed Paulina's advice and suffered for it), we arrived in Hospet and took an auto (a rickshaw) to Hampi, 15 km away. The landscape is beautiful, very green and lush, with palm trees and some incredible boulders strewn around.

There is a small river that goes through Hampi. We were staying on the other side so we crossed by "ferry" (a small motorboat). After getting settled in the hotel and eating a very good -and very slow- breakfast, we were ready to explore. We crossed the river again and rented bicycles to go see the ruins. My bicycle even had a basket! Yeiiii

We stopped at the first group of ruins, which were not that exciting, and going down a couple of steps I misplaced my foot and twisted my ankle really badly. It cracked. In seconds it had swollen to the size of a tennis ball. Not good.

Someone went to get a rickshaw to take me to the local clinic (which is in Hospet, 15 km away) and another girl went to get ice. There was no ice to be found so we used a plastic bag full of mango popsicles instead. I got on the rickshaw with Elizabeth, a girl from the UK who is studying medicine, who was great and accompanied me all the time.

As i have mentioned before Indian roads are a bit chaotic. I thought it was an urban thing. It's not. Rural roads get even trickier because now, in addition to the cars, rickshaws, bicycles, scooters and pedestrians, you also get cows, carts, and tractors. So the auto is swerving left and right to avoid these obstacles while I'm trying to keep my leg elevated and still. Riiight. Then the auto breaks down. The conductor takes out a little key and opens a box underneath his seat. He takes out a small wire and starts fiddling with the engine. 10 minutes go by. I start thinking about what our options are (not many). Finally the auto starts again and we reach the private clinic in Hospet (we decided against the government clinic because it would probably be understaffed and would take forever. I don't think there was that much of a difference...).

I limp inside and the nurse says the doctor will be back in 20 min and that we should wait outside (in the hot hot hot sun*). Obviously I did not move from the chair I was on. After a long wait they take me upstairs (there is no elevator, so I jump up the flight of stairs) and take an x-ray of my foot on a machine that was probably donated by Pierre Curie. The doctor looks at it and in very bad English says the dreaded words: "broken". I can't believe it. I can't really see anything from the x-ray (not that I'd be able to, anyways), but neither can Elizabeth and she should know.

The doctor (a general practitioner) then calls the orthopedist who arrives 2 hours later. He looks at the x-ray, says broken, and tells me he'll put on a soft cast to allow the swelling to subside and that in Hyderbad I should go to the doctor again after 4 days to get a hard cast. Between this and the actual cast half an hour goes by. I really need to use the bathroom by this time. Problem is it is a squat toilet. Using this type of toilet using only one leg is a feat worthy of any circus. And I managed it! I was soooo proud of myself.

The new doctor put on the soft cast and decided that the bandages had to be wet even if they are not plaster bandages. They leave and then we realize a very important thing: we need to get back to Hampi before 6 in order to get in the last boat to go to our hotel. It is then 5:10 pm.
Elizabeth started pressuring the nurses to get the doctor so we can pay and go, wet cast and everything. But always the answer was: In 15 minutes, in 10 minutes. It wasn't until we threatened to leave without paying that the doctor showed up.

When the doctor finally came he wrote down the bill on a quasi-scrap of paper. It amounted to 44oo Rp (about 80 USD). We didn't have enough money to pay! The doctor suggested we leave our passport and pay the following day. We don't have passport either. In the end Elizabeth hopped on a scooter with the doctor to find an ATM to be able to pay!! lucky us.

We returned to Hampi as the sun set. This is a big problem because if it gets dark it will be impossible for me to go down the steps of the ghat next to the river. So we're rushing and avoiding more cows, more tractors, more rickshaws, very intense. We make it to the boat to cross over. Success. From there, the rest of the group members had arranged for an auto to pick me up to go to the hostel. Perfect.

I still wanted to see some of the ruins, so on Sunday I went on a rickshaw with Mike to see some of them. I hobbled around on my new crutches, in other parts on a wheelchair and in other parts piggy-backed. They're fantastic and very much worth the visit (I'll write a separate post).

On Wednesday I went to the doctor in Hyderabad, to a very nice hospital. I learned 2 important things: my foot is not broken, it's just a very bad sprain and I have to be on crutches and a cast until July 9; and second thing: the doctor in Hospet completely scammed me! He charged me almost 4 times more than what they did at the hospital. I hope he gets some bad karma.

*For Emily