23rd August

In absolute agony for most of the night. My body, which had been storing up my digestion, decided that tonight was the night and proceeded to vent itself in a very painful way. I was up from about 4 constantly up and down to the bathroom, until I eventually just camped out in there this morning. Absolutely horrifying. I was in so much pain, and just couldn’t get comfortable. I feel today is not going to be a great day…

As a continuation from this morning’s antics, I still feel a bit funny, but have so far kept two slices of toast in me, which is a great achievement. I hope that maybe it was just a single spurt, and won't continue…but who knows.

Got a call from the Vodafone man this morning who told me he was sending in my verification report without needing to see me. An interesting development. Have plugged my dongle in, but have not yet received any positive communication. I would love internet. AIM is closed today, so I cant go and camp out there. The computer room of the hostel has been closed as well, as apparently someone has damaged the computers. Though, to be honest, the computers were already in great disrepair.

It was not a single spurt. I managed to keep breakfast and lunch in me, and was in Coffee Day when the gurgling resumed. I made it back to the hostel, and decided some tea might help settle me, but had to run from the mess and use the drop toilet on the ground floor. I had to ‘go native’ as they say, and ended up trying to work out exactly how to cleanse myself without getting my jeans soaked. I managed to soak them anyway. There is no way I could have made it up stairs without a greater indignity taking place as having to use the hole and bucket. Completely horrifying. I hope tonight is nothing like last night, as I don’t know how I would cope.

Finally managed to finish Tom Jones today. It is quite a nice book, but I think it could have been a lot shorter and more to the point. It has all the issues with 18^th Century prose: too flowery and self-aggrandizing. Also, the prefaces to each book began to get more than a little boring by the 12^th book, and were more in the way than of any interest.

On the way out to Coffee Day earlier I was walking alongside the cholera filled gutter (though I am now sure it must be dysentery filled, as it smells not altogether unlike I did this morning) that runs along the middle of the pavement, when I came across a half of a jawbone in my way. It was fairly fresh, as still covered in bloodstains, but the flesh had been stripped from it. It was probably one of the stray dogs that run around the roads. It was completely horrifying, and I felt quite sick at the sight of it, as the other dogs must have attacked the creature and eaten it themselves. Also, the single bone added to the unusualness of it and my horror, than if I had seen a whole carcass. I suppose, with so many animals wandering the streets, it is only a matter of time before you must bear witness to one of their deaths, and this is the second dead thing I have seen. I have already seen a dog’s body lying in the middle of a busy street, obviously dead having been hit by a car. It really is incredibly sad to think that such a cruel fate happens to an innocent thing, but like all things here, there seems to be no prevention of any chaos. The dogs must be actively encouraged by the council here, as there is no waste management to speak of, and open defecation in the streets, so that the dogs will always roam there to find food. I don’t understand how the Indian people seem so easy with playing blind to all the rubbish and crap they see around them, which they must wade through all the time as they walk the streets.

I was going to eat plain things at dinner, but this was impossible. There was no chapatti and no plain rice. Only a spiced kind of rice, which I think will be my undoing when the night sets in. Already my stomach is protesting. It occasionally makes gurgling movements and I think it is a foreboding of what shall soon come to pass. As I felt like this in coffee day, and then had to run from the kitchen not twenty minutes later, I think the same is in store now.

Please let me survive the night! I have to say, I miss Iain and mum and dad quite a lot right now. I want a hug despite my disgustingness!