Here you will find the ABC about climate, money, visa etc. Ambulance telephonenumber and Siloam Hospital in Labuan Bajo opened in December is the most modern hospital on the island, English is spoken. Second best is the Catholic St. Elisabeth hospital in Lela, 10 km south of Maumere. Pharmacies apotik are plentiful in the towns. Doctors have their businesshours usually in the evening. Buy a small bottle of minyak kayu putih teatree oil available in supermarkets. Cap Lang is an often sold brand.
Minyak kayu putih can be used for many purposes like headache, nausea, mosquito bites, muscle pains etc. Malaria occurs in Indonesia, occurs in Flores. Malaria is a serious disease with fluelike syptoms as fever, severe headaches and everything you eat has a bitter taste. There are many theories about malaria, many preventive medicines are sold to avoid malaria such as paludrine nevaquine, Lariam and Malarone.
Considering to take them or not is not that easy as side effects can be serious. The real problem in malaria areas is often the lack of money. I took malariapills for years and had to deal with the side effects of Lariam. In I got malaria tertiana and was sick for a few weeks but I was in good hands on Sumba and later on Jawa.
This is another serious disease, similar to malaria with pains behind the eyes. There is no cure for dengue so rest is the solution and avoiding being bitten. See above at the malaria chapter. On Flores the Cikungunya virus is active. The virus, locally known as a malaria variety which is not is spread by mosquitos. Symptons resemble those of malaria with high fever, headaches, joint pain. There is no prevention drug. A natural prevention used by locals is tea made from papaya leaves which is awfull bitter but it helps.
Be careful as the sun in the tropics is very strong. Take your own favourite brand from home as sunscreen in Indonesia is more expensive and there is less choice. Not uncommon on Flores. Take a slice of ginger jahe , which you can buy at the local market to chew on during the trip. Do not drink tapwater! Water from the tap is not always safe so stick to bottles of mineralwater brands on Flores are Ruteng and Aqua and also drink a bit more than you use to do at home.
