We had another grueling day of travel. This time to Manali. The trip was filled with potholes and surprises (as well as some breathtaking views). We went up, down, up, and back down again as we traveled through the Rothang pass (13,051 feet) and ended in Manali (6,725 meters). We ran into some landslides along the way, but this was a road more traveled than two days ago, which made it easier.

Along the way, we stopped in Manali to enjoy the sights, including the world-renowned Hadimba Temple.

We also took the ferris wheel a few times, which was just south of Old Manali, which was a blast. It wasn’t the safest ferris wheel ride I’ve ever been on given the operators were both alternating between YouTube and Facebook on their cell phones the whole time and the thing was revolving at max speed. We did our best not to worry too much about the lack of doors on each car. We were a little motion sick afterward but the views were worth it.

Today we’re leaving Manali and heading to a small town called Bilaspur and then on to Delhi. I want to extend a special thank you to the other attending physicians in my group: Dr. Tuffanelli, Dr. Alto and Dr. Chen. A big thank you to the HHE staff and for the leadership of Ravi Singh and his wife, Carolyn.

I also want to thank my parents for bringing half of the supplies to Europe to make this trip possible. And thank you, again, to all of you for your support and well wishes.

Maybe this trip will qualify us as having performed an echo at the highest altitude?? Who knows?

Most importantly, I am ever so grateful for having the opportunity to interact with these amazing patients and work with our next generation of medical students. I look forward to them taking care of me down the road. I am blessed to have had the chance to participate in this trip.

❮ ❯