When I planned for this trip, one of the few things that my amazingly comprehensive planning ideology of “Ah Bugger it, I’ll just work it out when I get there” didn’t actually cover was a little bowel problem. Ah yes, I can hear you all saying, that Damian is hopeless. He ‘planned’ a trip through SEA and 3rd world countries and didn’t pack any gastro tablets. But you would be wrong, I did pack gastro tablets, what I didn’t count on was constipation!

You see, living on a near poverty line diet consisting mostly of rice, rice, rice, more rice, some fish, an egg or two and a little Cah KanKung (greens in garlic sauce) and tofu you don’t get a lot of fibre. Those living below the poverty line often subsist on a diet heavily reliant on carbohydrates, as evidenced by this Australian who is involved in the ‘Live below the line’ campaign to raise awareness of poor eating habits and poverty. I haven’t even been managing to consist on a diet below the poverty line here, where $10 can do you for a day including accomodation. But thats because beer costs $3…

So, new additions to my diet to help the situation include an increasing amount of sambal and Chili and Coffee… just hope I don’t over do it one day!

PS. I’m exaggerating the lack of food selection – their is actually a lot in general except when it comes to greens which the locals just don’t really seem to care about much or seem to include in anything as a side. So if you want greens, you had better order greens!