Even cheaper than in India

During the past 23 years of our stay in Finland, Annikki and I have used the opportunity, whenever we visited India, to get our specs made there. This was because a visit to an optician in Finland was really expensive.



This was one of the several reasons cited in our book, "Handbook for Survival in Finland", to make frequent holiday visits to Third World countries!

Not having visited India for the last 8 years, both our eyesights have been failing. We had our eyes tested a couple of times, but neither of us felt the need to get new specs.

However, last year, my eyes started giving trouble. A visit to the optician suggested possible development of cataract in one eye. So I was referred to the Oulu University Research Hospital for a complete eye check up.

I finally went through this last month. The specialist cleared me of any cataract but said that I had severe myopia which suggested that instead of the multifocal lenses I had been using, I should use separate reading glasses and an other for normal vision.

In Finland, multifocal lenses cost over € 200, while single focal lenses are considerably cheaper. I had paid Rs 12000 for my multifocals in India in 1999, so even there the specs were not cheap.

A few issues ago, on the Oulu Best Buy Blog, I had covered the new guys in town, Specsavers. So I thought I would give them a try as these specs were going to be a test as to whether I could revert away from multifocals.



What a shock I got!

I was offered two pairs for just € 18, one for reading and another for normal vision. In Rupee terms this works out as less than Rs. 1200, including the frames!

This was cheaper than I had ever paid for my specs in India during the last 40 years.

I now intend to get another 4 pairs of reading glasses - one for the bedroom, another for the living room, another for the kitchen and the fourth for my office in the cellar. The fifth pair will remain in my pocket for general use when out of the home. maybe I will also get another pair of normal vision specs to keep in the car!

Thank you Specsavers for arriving in Oulu!