BOSTON (AP) — A British doctor stranded in the Philadelphia area by superstorm Sandy was so determined to make it to a conference in Boston that she took a $750 a cab ride.

Dr. Sujatha Balija flew to the U.S. a few days before the start of the American Society for Clinical Pathology's annual meeting that started Wednesday in Boston so she could visit her daughter in the Philadelphia area.

She planned on taking the train to Massachusetts. Then Sandy hit. Trains, planes and buses stopped running.

She tells The Boston Globe (http://b.globe.com/PL0bNR ) she called Rosemont Taxicab Co.

Driver Zohar Arzi took eight hours to make the trip, dropping Balija off at her Boston hotel at midnight Tuesday. Then he turned around and drove home.

The pair talked about culture and religion.

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Information from: The Boston Globe, http://www.boston.com/globe