Where would you recommend as somewhere to spend around a month?

mgt

Hi,

First post. Great forum, way more active than the equivalent Throntree forum

I'm landing in Trivandrum, Kerala in early October. I have a very loose plan, which involves kind of spending three months travelling up the west coast, reaching a friend's farm in Gujarat sometime around late December.

At some point, preferably sooner rather than later, I'll need to see a dentist for some root canal treatment which I understand normally takes around six or seven sessions over three weeks or so. Because I don't want to leave it too long I'll probably get it sorted out towards the start of my trip, so I should be somewhere in Kerala. Where would you recommend I get this work done?

I suppose I'm looking for somewhere that's interesting/cheap/fun enough to stay for a month or so, and also has a few decent dental clinics for me to choose from. Kochi? Trivandrum? Since you know little about me and my interests (in a nutshell: pretty normal, happy-go-lucky 31 year old Brit), maybe you could just state where you would go for these few weeks and why?

Any help, much appreciated

Mark

CliveG

Indian friends of ours have recommended a dentist in Kochi should we need one. His name is Dr. Biju and his practice is near Manoroma Junction (sorry I don't have his exact address). His telephone numbers are 944 7145656, 944 2357299 and 944 2356256.
Kochi would be a good base from where you could go to Alleppey,
Munnar, Ooty, Thekkady while having treatment.

ananda2193

Why so long?

I had one done in Cairo years ago and it took 3 days and cost me probably $15. My daughter had one and it took her 2 sessions. Don't plan on much more than that.

But 7 sessions and 3 weeks! Should get done in less than a week.

mgt

Ananda2193: You might be right about just needing a few sessions - other friends have pointed out that it should only need a couple, like in this country with the NHS. It is just the one tooth that needs the work but there is a mild infection right at the root, so it could be a bit more complex. Anyway I suppose I'll find out for sure when I get there in a few months. The oral surgeon who took my wisdom teeth out recently said as long as I get it seen to before around Christmas time I should be OK.

CliveG: Thanks for the recommendation for the dentist. I think I probably will get the surgery done in Kochi so I'll look him up when I get there.

Skarzan

I concur. I've had 4 or 5 of these puppies and none have taken more than two sessions... most take a single visit.

Nick-H

It depends on how careful the dentist is.

Any decent dentist will not fill a tooth with an infection on the root in one session. I wouldn't go back to such a person.

They need to be sure that the infection has been sorted out before finally filling. This may include several temporary fillings with antibiotic at the root.

Otherwise you are storing up future trouble.

Regret to say I speak from experience .

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ananda2193

And waiting until December with an infected tooth might be too long to save the tooth. I had a tooth pulled once because the root canal was too much money. Luckily, when he pulled it, the tooth was too rotted to save it anyways, so it would have been a waste of money to try and save it. I would have pulled it eventually.

karuna

Things have been a bit dental around here lately, haven't they?

Romford.

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mgt

I think I'll probably get it looked at pretty soon after I land then. Cheers for all the advice.

ananda2193

Just a word of warning. I've had dental work done in Egypt, Honduras and Goa and after a short time, from 3 months to a year, the fillings fell out from all those places.

The last place I had it done was in Goa, and I told the dentist about them falling out from the other places and he assured me that his would stay in, no problem. Well......

But he did say that alot of the fillings are possibly old and expired that's why they fell out.

So, be prepared for the same thing, but all-in-all the dentist's did a great job except for the filling mishap.

kalbarri

if you take up the suggestion for kochi, definitely check out vypeen. it would be interesting to get to know the islanders and there is comfy looking beachside accommodation. it is a short ferry ride to kochi.

mgt

The more I look into Kochi and Vypeen, the more I like the idea of spending an extended period of time there whilst my teeth get looked at.

Kalbarri, that beachside accommodation you mentioned - I don't suppose you have a rough idea how much I can expect to pay for something like that, in Oct/Nov, by the week or even the month (I may really like Vypeen and I have a really flexible itinerary so could stay awhile!)?

kalbarri

i was in that area in february 2006 so it was high season and i think they were asking around 600rps or more right on the beachside. at the time it was above my pricerange. when you go it may be just before the tourist rush and if you had a good look around i am sure you will find a really good price if you are planning to spend a month.
good choice...be interesting to see how you get on there. i am also needing some dental work and am near chennai right now, but i had to get out of the city. it was too hectic for me. so kochi might be the place for me also. i'm keeping an eye on the advice given here.

vandy

Good Day,

I am pretty sure CliveG has spent time on Vypeen
Island, He may be able to help you out on that one


rgds

vandy

CliveG

Hi,
We have stayed on Cherai beach on a couple of occasions. There are numerous hotels with diffrent rates. Check out www.cheraihotels.com for details and prices. There is one called Sealine Beach Resort which looks good. There website is www.sealinebeachresort.com. We stayed in an apprtment next to this hotel as we prefered to be independent but we used the hotel for meals which were good and reasonably priced. If you are interested in an independent appartment either with a room and bathroom or one with a bedroom, small lounge area and bathroom check outsea star beach omens which I think is listed in the first website but if not you can e-mail the manager at jaya-ajith@hotmail.com.
One word of advice if you want to relax on the beach make sure that the hotel has some shade or umbrellas as it does get hot and the sun can be merciless! I would also choose a hotel that is further along for the shops and main beach area as this area gets very busy especially at weekends and can be noisy.
Otherwise the water is good for swimming, you may see dolphins very close to the shoreline and plenty of eagles flying overhead.