Oman has developed a tourist industry in recent years but it’s mostly based around high-end resort style hotels, so the centre of Muscat has few tourists and fewer tourist attractions. The town centre was typical for a Gulf state: modern infrastructure, friendly but conservative people and good food.

I'm now in India, where I'll be spending 6 weeks undertaking my dissertation with Microsoft's research lab. The lab is very much like a university research department, just without teaching. The academics work on a range of basic and applied research, mostly whatever interests them, some of which might one day be commercialised. The office is great - lots of very smart people working on cutting-edge innovations.

I'll be working in the Technology for Emerging Markets group, which, as the name suggests, researches the technological needs and aspirations of people in emerging-market countries, particularly those for whom access to computing technologies remains largely out of reach. Much of the work here is social-science based, in fields as diverse as economics, anthropology and ethnography. My work will involve analysing the commercial viability of a recent innovation that aims to significantly lower the cost of computing in emerging markets. Seeing the poverty in India on a daily basis brings home the significant positive social impact this product will have if/when it comes to market.

I went to my first Indian film this week. It's called Sivaji and is a cross between comedy, action, musical and love story. The film was in Tamil, with no subtitles, but that didn't matter as the storyline was rather basic, which is lucky as few people in this part of India speak Tamil anyway. It's kind of like watching an opera - you know what's going on but don't understand a word. The main actor, Rajinikanth, is a 57 year old grandfather who looks and acts like Borat. The women in go seriously wild for him and, strangely, the men go even wilder.

The facilities at ISB are phenomenal. Although the school has significant downsides, being located in the middle of nowhere an hour drive from Hyderabad's town centre, the range of sports, social and academic facilities are first rate, leaving little doubt that in a short period of time, ISB will join the league of world class business schools in the global rankings.

On Friday, I became very sick and ended up spending the weekend in bed. The doctor visited me on Saturday and Sunday, before admitting me to hospital on Monday, where I was diagnosed with acute gastroenteritis.

Indian hospitals are quite an experience: nurses don't speak English, random injections without explanation, nothing (except thankfully the needles) was clean and air bubbles entering the drip tubes every time they changed the saline and antibiotics. The doctors though were great and, after 3 days, I've finally come home.

One of the great things about being home again is the ability to sleep. Like everywhere else in India, the hospital employs far too many people and they all seemed to visit my room regularly. During my last night, I was woken up by 3 nurses, 2 sisters, 5 doctors, 2 cleaners (one for the floor, one for the bathroom), 2 catering people, a man in military uniform with lots of medals (never figured out who he was but he popped into my room every 12 hours) and a patient who was lost. This excludes those who came in and didn't wake me.

I'm looking forward to a weekend of rest before returning to work on Monday.