no ricksha, no one rupee, no balloon, no magnets, no problem!

I know I know, it's been a long time and the pics I promised have not appeared! but I promise some nice things to look at before the end of the week.

We're now ssettling down in Pune for the next couple of weeks so I hope to have more time for this blogging thing (I have to admit the infinitely slow connections are a bit of a detraction)

So on the health front: it's been 10 days since my reflexology and Su Jok treatment and my knees and back have responded after only 1 treatment. My knees have been completely pain free and my back has given little hastle - especially considering long train excursions and carrying an ever increasing load (somehow my backpack keeps getting heavier - could this be correlated with shopping?) This seems like something I need to learn and explore further.

In the meantime Jose and I have visited Udaipur - home of octopussy! No one here will let you forget that this classic Bond movie was filmed on location in Udaipur. It is a majestic city on the shores of a quiet lake - and provided much more atmosphere than little touristy Pushkar. We left after 5 peaceful days to attack the crowds and the wallas in the sprawling metropolis of Mumbai.

In Mumbai I visited the Shree Mumbadevi Homeopathic hospital. What an amazing institution! A complete hospital with every department imaginable from a gynaecology department to a rheumatology department. There were even 2 women that had gone into labour waiting to give birth. And they tell me around 80% of all patients are treated homeoapthically. Here life and death situations are treated using homeopathic remedies with full confidence - something Homeopaths in the Western world can learn a great deal from.

There is even a government sponsored research department that for the last 10 years has been focusing on the treatment of HIV/AIDS, and have found success with patients returning to a viral load of zero! I filmed some scenes in the hospital and will have them up on the site at some point (even if it's only after I return)

One thing I've really enjoyed in India is that when I tell people what I do they nod and call me Doctor. Nobody asks what Homeopathy is, and nobody doubts whether it works. Even the tourists, like this French woman I met who works for big pharma and was carrying around her vials of Boiron remedies. People know and have embraced Homeopathy, though there are still many misconceptions about it. Many think that it is only for chronic illness and can be of no help in serious acute conditions - but my time at the Homeopathic Hospital has proven them wrong.

And now I find myself in Pune, home of the famous and indeed infamous Osho Ashram. What was once a true place for meditation, awareness, and hence healing, (and maybe I'll go and check it out once again to see if it's still true to its roots). Tomorrow I begin my internship with Dr. Sunil Anand and I'm sure I will have lots to report.