Concerning other stuff to take with you / think about:- You might find it useful to start compliling a health check list. Here's a few ideas I can already think of:- - Consider some form of travel insurance, at least to cover you for the first couple of months or however long you can get (maybe 80/90 days?) - Re-consider some of those vaccines not listed in my previous post ( polio, cholera and maybe BCG as they're all free of charge. Just consult your GP first) - Think about Malaria (Expect to pay £40 or more for a complete course) - Consider Paracetamol/Ibuprofen or similar. Colds and Flu over-the-counter medicines - Antiseptic wipes / antibacterial hand gel, Imodium Instants - Get some antibiotics at the local Mercury drug store in Davao (Ciprofloxacin, Moniliasol, Amoxycillin and . - Any help with constipation (Senna etc) - Insect repellent (whichever suits you best) and antiseptic lotion/cream/gel for general bites, cuts and grazes etc - Sunblock. - E45 cream (always a good standby for many things) - Athletes Foot powder - Antihistamines - First aid kit - Regular Prescription meds ( as much as you can convince your GP to prescribe). Don't forget to ask your GP for a letter explaining that they are completely for your personal use, what each medication is for and why you need them. Make sure you have all this stuff in hand luggage. Don't risk it in checked luggage. Finally, and forgive me for mentioning, take as much as you can of whatever is your personal choice of contraceptives.( Condoms ??) Just a few suggestions. I'm no expert on relocations, but I've made a few and I've also made a few mistakes over the years
Well Dave_E, that's a bit strong and an uncalled for personal remark IMO. You could easily critisise the post without actually attacking the person. Why would you want to be so personally offensive. I'm sure you didn't mean to be that. Shame on you! Wouldn't it be much better to suggest why you think his plans are weak and what he could do to improve them? Well that's the way I see it anyway. Especially as by your own admission you have only minimal information. Yes I agree, that's just what I suggested in my post. Personally, I've lived in many different countries and I firmly believe you do need a certain mindset. Philippines is not such an easy country to be comfortable with despite the fact that the language is English. Perhaps this forum can help in achieving harmony in your plan Paul. I hope so. I can easily understand how difficult it could be to have your mahal join you in UK. Even I can understand why you may not even desire that. If you ever considered that perhaps life in UK is a better opportunity for you both, then there is always a way to achieve that. Research the EEA route in UK for you both. Just a possibilty as a fall back position.
Paul, here are some notes on my experiences of moving to the Philippines (I've done it twice!!)* You will find the sense of "foreignness and loneliness quite overwhelming after a month or two. You may know all about "culture shock" but it will still hit you. So - do be sure that you have cable TV and reasonably good Internet access. Try hard not to spend too much time in sports bars/English pubs. You will find yourself enjoying the company of people whom you probably would not spend time with in England and your other halfwill get bored stiff. Try to make a point of getting exercise. You may not be a basketball player or a boxer but there is swimming and cycling, etc. Try, hard, to make friends with well educated Filipinos and you will enjoy their company. Here's one expatriate's summary of the Philippines which I found it hard to disagree with. http://getrealphilippines.com/blog/2013/02/my-list-of-the-best-and-worst-of-life-in-the-philippines/ * with the same woman, I hasten to add - moved because of employment
thankyou for your kind advice Mic.unfortunately someone on here thinks i,m an IDIOT ? never mind there,s always one .
I agree, Peter. Dengue can be fatal if not recognised and treated early enough. In fact Paul is travelling to a city that has had very few incidents of Dengue over the last 12 months compared to, say, Manila or Cagayan. Dengue is caused by a bite from a completely different species of Mosquito to that which causes Malaria. Its flying capabilities are rubbish and it rarely ventures more than a few hundred metres from its breeding ground - a body of standing water. It is most often encountered in the early evening or early morning when it will fly close to the ground, where it is cooler: for this reason it is advisable to wear long pants and socks even indoors (Mosquitos are no respectors of privacy!). Should you get bitten and, after a few days, develop flu-like symptoms, you should seek medical help immediately: a simple blood test will determine whether or not you have Dengue and, if so, the earlier it is treated the better. Be aware though that the body does not become immune to the disease from a previous encounter, the effects of a subsequent encounter are often more serious. That is good advice. Be aware that Type B bloods are in very short supply in the Philippines. Before you travel here, you should consult your GP and seek his advice for lessening the risk of DVT (Deep Vein Thrombosis) on the long flights. And you should also bring a small first-aid kit with at least a tube of Germolene, a strip of medicated fabric plaster ("Elastoplast" or similar), some sachets of Diarrhoea re-hydration salts (from Boots) and a small bottle of Paracetamol. If you need to take medication on a regular basis, you should ask your GP for a letter which explains your medical condition and details the drugs - using both their generic pharmaceutical and brand names - and the dosages - this also holds true for any topical applications. He should also supply you with a Prescription and both will be required to be shown to Philippine Customs should your bags be examined.
A very good point and one that is often overlooked. Condoms are available here but .... how to put this diplomatically ... they're unlikely to fit, being too small, as they are manufactured for the local population. And that applies to "Durex" - which are not imported from the west but are manufactured in Thailand - as well as the cheaper local brands.
my fiancee is has made up a first aid bag with all the items you have mentioned.and has told me about the fever . thankyou for all your advice it is appreciated.i will check on my blood type.
Excuse a silly story to illustrate this - the unspoken "other reason why Filipinas prefer foreigners" - some years ago I was walking down Nanjing Lu in Shanghai http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...oadpic4.jpg/399px-Shanghainanjingroadpic4.jpg with some Chinese friends, in the early evening, when one of us wanted some paracetamol for a headache, so we ducked into a pharmacy. Within a couple of minutes we had to go back into the street because Ling, a very pretty girl, had started to crack up and in a moment we were all giggling fit to bust - what we had overheard was the pharmacist, behind a counter, saying to a customer (he was speaking Putonghwa, because the customer was obviously a visitor to Shanghai: “Bìyùn tào ma? Shì de, dāngrán, wǒmen yǒu bìyùn tào- zhèlǐ shì dāngdì de. Rúguǒ nín xūyào gèng duō de ānquán, zhèlǐ shì rìběn de, ye, rúguǒ nǐ shì fēicháng yǒu xìnxīn de dàxiǎo, wǒmen shènzhì yǒu yīngwén de!" "Condoms? Yes of course we have condoms - here are the local ones. If you want more safety, we have the Japanese ones, here, and, if you are really confident about your size, we even have the English ones!"
Paul. Personal opinion, it is worth while having a full health check-up just to make sure that you are OK before you retire abroad. Perhaps as you are still working for the UK health service there might be a staff check-up plan available?? I get a check up package at Bumrungrad hospital in Bangkok every year or two. I even opted for the treadmill test last year, that was good fun till the nurses started to pull the sticky electrodes off my hairy chest! Fortunately my health is good, though they now prescribe me blood pressure medication. I always have a morbid fear that they might tell me to stop drinking alcohol! One other thing, never play card games in the Philippines!
