Chennai, India

Chennai, India

State Tamil Nadu
Region Coromandel
District Chennai district
Former name Madras
Population (mega city!) 7,088,000

Purpose: Visiting a previous client of Virteasy Dental (https://www.virteasy.com). The original installation visit was cancelled due to COVID (like everything in the world).

Diary

Dates: 26-30 November 2021

Visa Process: The Visa process was a lot easier this time round, given that I was previously granted a business VISA. I still had to go in person, which wasted a day, but that’s life. I also had to do the whole process in French, which added a layer of complexity but I’m surprisingly relaxed in French nowadays. Maybe it’s time to learn Spanish?

Arrival

I went for the hotel recommendation of the university, which just happened to be a 5* hotel. One of the best in Chennai. For less than the cost of a crappy hotel in Europe. Result. The hotel arranged a car to pick me up, which felt hugely luxurious. I arrived really late, ordered some food on the equivalent of Uber Eats and hit the gym whilst I waited, which was closed but they very kindly opened it for me. Turns out 5* means you can have what you want, when you want it. It’s a pretty new experience, but something you could easily get used to.

Getting to Work

I was so happy to finally visit Saveetha dental college. They set up one of the most beautiful rooms featuring Virteasy Dental and were so understanding given the issues with COVID. They were also so positive about the benefits of the system and how it is helping students.

It was therefore a pleasure to give them a demo of Virteasy VR and a glimpse into the future of dental training education.

The Food

A lot spicier to kick off with than in Pakistan (who it turned out removed the heat upon seeing – or being blinded by – my white complexion). It was also a bit of a culture clash when I realised I had a curry, but no fork. I went in with my hands like everyone else. Before too long someone came running over with a spoon. Evidently, I didn’t look at ease using my hands but was keen to be open-minded and join in. It didn’t last long before I changed over to the spoon though. I just wasn’t able to keep up with the speed of eating with my prudish two-finger pickup. You need to perfect the scoop. Turn your fingers into a spoon. I didn’t succeed on that front. Still, the food was lovely.

The Extremes

I went from staying in a 5* hotel, going to the in-house spa and eating out at the finest restaurant (all for less than the budget of a standard work trip in Europe, I might add), to wanting to experience the flip-side. For the later nights, I stayed in the university guesthouse, just as the proud parents of students would do. It was still comfortable and the staff were keen to please.

One of the stranger things was that the TV seemed larger than my new bed. But one of my friends recommended this amazing series: Before Sunrise, Before Sunset, Before Midnight from Richard Linklater. A masterpiece. So glad to have carried around a HDMI cable in my bag all this time. It finally came in handy!