It's stifling hot here. In the day, the temperature reaches 38 degrees in the early afternoon, and dips down only to the high and moist 20s at night. It doesn't rain a lot in Vellore- the newspapers are full of pictures of Monsoon flooding and submerged cars and houses in Andhra Pradhesh and Mumbai. So far blue skies over here, but the monsoon apparently gets here late.
No problems with food-related upsets so far, but I have been fairly cautious, drinking only water from the hospital mess which the supervisor assured me has been 'microbiologically tested'. Indeed, I don;t think any bugs could survive the chlorine content, which hit me when I first tasted it, though I'm now getting used to that. There are no mosquitoes around although Chikungunya outbreaks have recently occurred in surrouding areas.

My hotel is conveniently located at less than hundred yards from the hospital. It's plush enough and not having air-con has not been too much of a problem. There is a functional (enough power I mean) shower, the bed's clean and comfy and the room is spacious enough with a TV with foreign channels- what more can you ask for? A fridge would have been useful I guess.

The hospital mess is great- you get fresh fruit juices, snacks, and all 3 meals, and they maintain a certain diversity to the menu which has kept my tastebuds enticed so far (so I'm not yet dying for a steak or burger!). I haven't become a fan of the spicy idly breakfasts though.

I've met a couple of overseas doctors here. Uli is an Infectious Disease registrar in Birmingham and has taken a one-year sabbatical to work in Ghana and here. I might be joining him for a trip to Kerala this weekend- Tuesday next being a holiday (india Independence day) I will take monday off. The other is an Israeli doctor spending a few months here who lives at the same hotel as me.
PS: I hope all is ok in UK and Mauritius- do send some news from 51c Edith Road guys! Has Fakhru moved into my room yet?