Does anyone have advice/experience with Antimalarials? I've heard some horror stories and don't want to spend $$$ to spend a few weeks vomiting wildly or any other side effects that'd make climbing more of a challenge.
Can't comment on the area, but regards antimalarial drugs I avoided taking Larium when in Kenya due to friends having bad experiences on it - anxiety, sleeplessness, depression etc. The nhs site recommends trialing Larium for up to 3 weeks prior to leaving to see how it reacts with you.
I recently took atovaquone/proguanil - cost about £35 to cover a ten day trip - side effects seem to be pretty uncommon, and only needs to be taken two days before the trip and for a few days after.
Isn't getting around a bit of a faff, terrible roads etc?You can get all Attenbrough with the lemurs.
POD went fairly recently, he was raving about it.
It’s a bone-crunching 75 minute 20 kilometre drive by 4WD to reach here from the main road. The location is beautiful and there are plenty of ring-tailed lemurs leaping around the trees surrounding the bar area as dusk falls. And that’s about where the good news ends. The rooms are bungalows, and most (including ours) was extremely small – why, with all the land available, they built the smallest possible size, I have no idea. They are however tall, with a mezzanine with a single bed. Walls are plain brick. It’s like sleeping in a cell. There are even smaller “tents with roofs” (cheaper, but must be bitterly cold at night). We found later that they do have better and larger bungalows with real windows. The main bed is quite hard (but OK), but they don’t have real pillows – just a couple of small throw cushions. There is only light from 17:30 to 22:30, a single ceiling pendant makes it impossible to read in bed. Phones and cameras have to be charged back at the bar. The bathrooms are modern, but the water is barely warm. There is no wifi, and the only cellphone coverage is on the Telma 2G network, so no data (warning to anyone buying a SIM at the airport – don’t go with either of the other two operators, as out of the cities their coverage is much poorer). The food is pretty poor, and they even expect one to order breakfast (don’t get excited, just what time and how one wants eggs cooked) the evening before.
Quote from: OliverDIt’s a bone-crunching 75 minute 20 kilometre drive by 4WD to reach here from the main road. The location is beautiful and there are plenty of ring-tailed lemurs leaping around the trees surrounding the bar area as dusk falls. And that’s about where the good news ends. The rooms are bungalows, and most (including ours) was extremely small – why, with all the land available, they built the smallest possible size, I have no idea. They are however tall, with a mezzanine with a single bed. Walls are plain brick. It’s like sleeping in a cell. There are even smaller “tents with roofs” (cheaper, but must be bitterly cold at night). We found later that they do have better and larger bungalows with real windows. The main bed is quite hard (but OK), but they don’t have real pillows – just a couple of small throw cushions. There is only light from 17:30 to 22:30, a single ceiling pendant makes it impossible to read in bed. Phones and cameras have to be charged back at the bar. The bathrooms are modern, but the water is barely warm. There is no wifi, and the only cellphone coverage is on the Telma 2G network, so no data (warning to anyone buying a SIM at the airport – don’t go with either of the other two operators, as out of the cities their coverage is much poorer). The food is pretty poor, and they even expect one to order breakfast (don’t get excited, just what time and how one wants eggs cooked) the evening before.
