Important phone numbers:
Fire 112, Police 110-112, Ambulance 119, Search & Rescue 115, PLN (Electricity) 123.
Food, Drink & General Health
Many people coming to Indonesia have heard about “Bali Belly”. With a few sensible precautions this is generally not a problem in North Sulawesi (or the rest of Indonesia). Here’s some tips:
1- Get a Cholera vaccination before you come. Many health professionals say that this also provides tolerance to the various other gut bacteria which can cause problems. Our experience is that this is correct.
2- Preferably eat in places which cook food off the menu when you order it. If the food is out on display, make sure it hasn’t been out for too long. The Warung eateries can be quite safe and often delicious but you need a bit of common sense. They start putting their lunch meals out in serving trays around 11 and keep adding more trays as the food is eaten. But after a few hours and customers dwindle around 2 or 3pm you will see that a lot of the food has been eaten and what is left in the trays may have been sitting there for quite a while at room temperature.
3- Go to busy restaurants. There is a good reason why the locals are there….. the food has a reputation for being healthy and safe. Also their food is turning over quickly. The Google Maps reviews are useful.
4- Bring some Imodium and charcoal tablets (or buy some here) to have on standby. Do some research before you arrive on these medicines so that you can use them wisely and cautiously. This web page has a good run down on what to do if you get “Bali Belly”.
5- Only drink bottled water and clean your teeth with it.
6- Drink plenty of water. It is easy to get dehydrated here. Watch the color of your pee and if it is getting too yellow you need to drink more.
7- Bring a very good quality insect mosquito spray with you as it can be a bit hard to find the good stuff here and the quality and effectiveness varies. Dengue and Malaria haven’t been a significant problem in recent times but a good repellent roll-on or spray will at least stop you being kept awake by mosquitoes buzzing around your head at night. Consider bringing with you a fold away mosquito bed net. They are cheap, lightweight, take up little space in your baggage. They can be installed on top of your bed in 30 seconds.
By following these simple rules and using common sense, you are unlikely to have serious problems.
Traveling & being on the road
Generally, the local people using the streets are courteous, polite and accommodating. But if you don’t understand how to fit into their world you can get yourself into trouble. The motor bikes here often travel fast, weave in and out of the traffic and overtake a lot. As a result, for a newcomer, in can be difficult to predict how the traffic will flow.
As a pedestrian: Crossing the roads. If there is a median strip in the center of the road it is OK to cross and wait in the middle. If there is no median strip MAKE SURE BOTH DIRECTIONS are well clear before attempting to cross. Getting stuck in the middle when the traffic unexpectedly gets busy is scary! When you are mixing with cars and motorbikes it is OK to wave at drivers with your hand doing an up and down “slow down” gesture. The movement makes you more visible and you are telling the drivers that you are moving into the same space as them. Where ever you happen to be walking do not look at your phone at the same time…. you will fall into a hole or trip over. The simple rule is be patient, wait and don’t rush.
As a driver or rider: We can organise a driver and car for you but if you plan to drive yourself, we still recommend for the first few days that you hire a driver so you can observe how the traffic here flows and motorists interact with each other. A driver is not expensive and certainly will make your traveling time much more relaxed! If you want to drive here you will need an international driver/rider license from your home country. Do not ride a motor scooter with just an international car license and if you don’t have a lot of experience with motor bikes back home, this is not the place to learn those skills. The local people regularly use a short beep on the horn to alert other nearby road users and pedestrians. If you see someone who may come close to you just give them a quick tap on the horn.
Other tips & Information
1- Before you come, learn some basic Indonesian language starting with greetings, counting and money. In North Sulawesi a smile and a cheerful “selamat pagi/siang/sore/malam” will get you a long way with the locals who are naturally friendly and helpful. Install a translation app such as Google Translate. An AI app such as ChatGPT is very useful for asking quick questions about aspects of the language and culture. Both these apps have free versions.
2- The local dialect here is “Bahasa Manado” which is a bit different to the national language “Bahasa Indonesia”. The locals understand national Indonesian because all the media use it and it is taught at schools. Younger people will also have learned some English at school. Some of the older people understand Dutch but that generation is now in their eighties.
3- Bring a small backpack for day trips. For our day trips, bring along swimming gear, a small towel, a change of clothes, a fold away umbrella, tissues, hand wipes, water, a phone charger or power bank and any medication you may need like paracetamol.
4- Get travel & health insurance from a known and reputable insurer in your home country. Once the social media algorithms get a hold of your travel plans, you will get served up ads to purchase insurance. Many of these are just scams and they simply will never pay out if you make a claim.
5- Cargo pants with extra velcro or zip pockets are very useful here. You may want to consider attaching a lanyard to your phone so it can’t fall out of your pocket and be lost. You will be often getting in and out of cars, restaurant seats etc so it is very easy for your phone to fall out of your pocket.
6- If you need help organising a local data physical SIM card when you arrive here, let us know. Here is the Telkomsel link to get an e-sim.
7- This Australian Government Website has a lot of useful information for people traveling to Indonesia