Dehradun January 25, 2013 - the trek home

Today is our travel day.  Everyone fragmenting already - Deb Rusy, Les Procter, and Nisha Chaudrey all took off this morning.  The bulk of us leave at 3pm for New Dehli, and a few will remain for evening departures.

My travels home, from Dehradun to Arcata, will be over in at least 48 hours, so this blog also includes January 26, 2013.  But it is all a continuum for us, so it all appears here.

One of the diligent hotel workers.  So much in India is done by hand, and by multiple people.  How to keep the unemployment rate down!

Checkout; also a bit of chaos.  Extra bills to pay for laundry and food, keys to turn in, and luggage to bring down.  Really bookmarks that it is the end of the journey.

Illustrious anesthesia team, and yes Butch - "auspicious!"  Bonnie, Les, and Deb.

Pankaj, local anesthesiologist who helped us during the first week.  Mary Beth in the background.  Deb gave him a Wisconsin t-shirt and some payment for his time and monitor.  A great contact for future trips!

Total team - Pankaj, Deb, Les, and Bonnie.

Three generations: Arjun, Yogi, and Kush.  So much knowledge, and so much potential.  All sensitive souls who make the world a better place.

I love the positive spin - rather than "Reserve right to refuse service."

One of our drivers with Pirko and a carload of people in the back and bags on top.  Heading to Dehradun airport.

Mary Beth hopped right up and started loading.  Most of the men would not let us life a finger, and I think we gave them an eyeful with our participation and independence.  Go Mary Beth!  Ever the helper.

Kush and Gary supervising the women loading (kidding).  Everyone helped and worried together.

Produce stand on the way to the airport. 

Little money sitting on the side of the road; you can see the car shadow.  I gave him a "psst" for another shot, and he started running at me.  Aggressive bugger!  They are everywhere, and very confident.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhesus_macaque

Here we are at Dehradun airport, after several check-ins.  They took away my batteries and a dental pick.  Bored I guess.

Lovely art at the Delhi airport.

Nine of the Mudras hand symbols, at Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi.  When I first saw the airport in Delhi in the '70's, it was an old hanger from military days that processed about 1300 people a day at wooden counters in one large drafty room with electric rotary fans for comfort.  Now this amazing, modern facility processes about 35 million people a year, one of the largest in the world.  They are hoping to ramp up to 100 million.  I can't begin to imagine...  They better figure out a way to streamline their customs processing!

Abhayaprada mudra is a protective hand gesture symbolizing strength or fearlessness.

More art, with Bonnie cheesing the frame.  Sorry.

Another farewell - Mary Beth splits off to visit Jaipur; we already lost Gary, John, and Liliana.

Good-byes are a hard but inevitable part of these journeys.  "Until we meet again," perhaps as members of another team.  Each person brings his and her gifts and we all get to share, learn, and grow.  The best part.

For me, I had to continue on another 24 hours, and by the time I got my pets and landed at home, it was a full 60 hours after we left the Aketa Hotel in Dehradun.  In a few days, it will all be a memory, but one I will hold dear.  Thank you all for your amazing effort in a less than ideal situation - your innovation, knowledge, experience, and determination made it work.  I'm not surprised, but am in awe.

Namaste!