Visitor MS0402 
| Visitor |
| Sex? |
male |
| Profession/occupation? |
medical student |
| Home country? |
UK |
| What made you want to go to
Solomon Islands? |
browsing the web |
| Arriving in Solomon
Islands |
| When did you arrive in Solomon
Islands? |
June 2004 |
| Did you encounter any
bureaucratic difficulties? |
no, said I was a tourist |
| What was your first impression
after arrival? |
Why have I landed in an Australian military base? |
| Living in Solomon
Islands |
| What did positively surprise
you? |
If you try very hard and have free accommodation then it
can be very cheap. |
| What did negatively surprise
you? |
took over an hour to get to a swimmable beach in
Honiara |
| What took longest to get used
to? |
in Honiara everything becomes black and sooty from the
pollution |
| What did you miss most in
Solomon Islands? |
eating raw tuna |
| What should you have brought
along? |
Marmite (Vegemite is rubbish) [bread spreads] |
| What did you do to prevent
malaria? |
mosquito nets, spray and Larium |
| Place and province where you
spent most of your time? |
Honiara, Honiara-City |
| Other places/provinces where
you stayed? |
Gizo, Kolombangara, Uepi, all Western Province |
| Where did you stay? |
Kiwi-House, Phoebe's, rural health centres, Uepi |
| How long did you stay at each
location? |
Honiara - 6 weeks, Gizo - 1 week, mobile med. centres
Kolombangara - 1 week, Uepi (holiday) - 1week |
| How much did you pay for
each? |
Kiwi - free, Phoebe's SBD 55/night, Kolombangara - free,
Uepi - SBD 1,000/night |
| Where did you usually eat? |
home |
| What did you typically pay for
a normal meal? |
at home SBD 20, eating out SBD 50 - 150 |
| What local food/beverage did
you like most? |
ice cold coconuts when thirsty, a few special brews and a
Larium on Friday night |
| What local food/beverage did
you like least? |
snake beans - inedible which ever way you cook them |
| Working in Solomon
Islands |
| How did you usually go to
work? |
walk |
| Where did you work? |
NRH - 3 weeks in paeds, 3 weeks surgery, Gizo -
male/childrens wards and OPD [outpatient department] |
| What was your occupation? |
student / junior doctor |
| What were your working days and
hours? |
NRH: 8am-4pm, Gizo: 9-5pm, mobile clinic: when patients
arrive until everyone's seen |
| What was particularly difficult
in regard to your work? |
Ill? Take some Septrin and come back in a month... |
| Did you feel accepted by the
locals? |
yes |
| What did you usually do in your
spare time after work? |
read books, sleep, go to email shop, drink |
| Leaving Solomon Islands and
looking back |
| When did you leave Solomon
Islands? |
August 2004 |
| How long was your stay? |
3 months |
| How do you judge the length of
your stay? |
just about right |
| What did you learn from the
locals? |
how to open a coconut with a stone and sharp stick and
how to trawl for tuna |
| Your advice to prospective
visitors? |
No amount of energy will change staff's relaxed attitude
towards a severely ill patient |
| What did you miss most when
back at home again? |
The uncomplaining and brave patients and staff. |
| What did you enjoy most when
back at home again? |
Sweating less. |
| Would you go back for another
stay? |
maybe |
| Estimated total cost of your
stay (including travel costs)? |
GBP 2,200: 900 flights, 200 insurance, 650 living
expenses, 450 - 1 week holidays |
| Additional comments? |
Good - Mataniko Falls, war memorial tour, Bonegi 1 and 2,
Tulagi (take local boat over), fresh fish, breath hold
diving, scuba diving, kayaking around Uepi, just spending
time at Uepi, mobile medical clinic (awesome).
Bad - being in Honiara at weekends, totally disorganised
internal flights (expect delays of up to one or two days),
snake beans, total lack of transport apart from locals,
outrageous politicians. |
