Advice for newcomers in Luanda

I have been here for 2.5 years and can give a few pointers.

1. Malaria - malaria exists here all through the year, you will need a good malaria cream and of course mosquito nets. But indoors the use if air cons helps allot to keep them at bay. Malaria can easily be tested by most of the clinics in Angola and they give excellent treatment should one have malaria. But its a good idea if you suspect you might have malaria to get tested ASAP. You can't play around with malaria.

2. Security ; well yes its better to stay indoors at night but this is not always practical because some people need to move around in the evenings for work of whatever, the best advice is not to wear the best clothes and jewelery when moving around at night, common sense is the best guide. The other option would be to have some company with you when being out at night, if people are in groups they aren't easily attacked. Keep your doors locked(car and house) and don't open for strangers. Wear as casual as possible clothes  and keep money in trouser pockets instead of visibly outside or in your hand, as I say use common sense and also walk around and pretend the place belongs to you and that you know exactly where you are headed etc. Confidence also goes along way.

3. General health: DO NOT drink the tap water, it's not save, most shops sell good quality drinking water which is fine for drinking and preparing food. Get as many vaccinations as possible for Angola, apart from yellow fewer which is mandatory to children over 1 or 2 years(can't remember) and adults. Also consider Typhoid, Hepatitis, Meningitis and Tab tet. A good set of medicines that you use at home can go a long way here including a fully stocked first aid kit. A good multivitamin is essential since the food doesn't contain the same level of nutrition as that of first world countries and in summer the heat literally kills you if you don't use Vitamin pills.

Lukely you can purchase any pill of the counter from Pharmacies here without any doctors prescription, its actually quite funny since in my country South Africa you will not be able to purchase anti-biotics over the counter like you do here without seeing a GP first, well its different here. The pharmacies sells anything that any other 1st world country stocks. And don't worry the medicines are very good quality since they are mainly imported from Europe and other parts of the world, so there is no worry about the quality of the medicine. If you know what's wrong with you and you know what type of anti-biotic to use for what you can easily purchase it, that's just for an example.

Get as much exercise as possible, join the local clubs or gyms to keep fit and get away to the beach on weekends to take your mind of Luanda, it can be very draining without exercise and entertainment since live is very confined to indoors due to the lack of entertainment like in developed cities worldwide.

The veggies one finds here are mostly OK but not great, now and then you find veggies that is great, but not always, that's why the nutrition is not great. The local meat is not of the edible type if you are used to proper Western Standards and you might actually get sick from the local meat and chicken and even fish, especially the fish bought at the Ilha near Luanda since raw sewer is pumped into the ocean here. So be careful, many shops sell good qaulity SA, Brazil and Namibian meat, word of mouth will guide you to these shops.

Its better to purchase fish at beach locations far out of Luanda city since these will be the freshest and not infected by sewer. There is no such a thing as a health inspector here, so if you get sick with food poisoning there is no one to blame.

A good idea is to also get a good general anti-biotic and travel with it when you go outside of Luanda and visit lodges for weekends since food poisoning can happen at any stage, the other option is to purchase a very good natural health product called Herbal Fiber blend from a company in Canada called AIM. It can be obtained online with a simple Google search, these has saved our tummies on many occasions when eating at dodgy or new places.

Their fruit is generally of good quality but not all the fruit and not always all the time, the only fruit that seems to always be good is bananas, pine apples, apples, oranges. But many of these are imported, but eat as much fruit as possible. Make a fruit salad regularly.

PLEASE PLEASE BIG PLEASE. Do not underestimate the sun in Angola, it's not a joke or to be taken lightly, stay out as much as possible or wear t-shirts at the beach and use suncream. At remote sites there is no clinics nearby and if you get a sunstroke emergency it can be fatal. So believe me DO NOT play with the sun, especially in the hotter months from Oct - March, DON'T BE A RAMBO. IT might be your last MOVE.

I helped a gentlemen once who nearly fainted from to much sun exposure by wetting his towel and getting him out of the sun and have him sit with the wet towel over his body while drinking a Coke or something with sugar in, I am not a medic or DR, just used common sense, and in about 20 minutes he was fine again but weak. And he was 120 KM away from the closest clinic, that's why I say do NO PLAY with the sun.

Also listen to the little voice inside, if you have any medical condition that you feel needs to be checked by your local Doctor in you country, please fly out and have that checked there. They have a hospital here that can handle most medical emergencies but not all and the hospitals here are always fulled to capacity with locals also wanting medical attention, if something keeps telling you something is not right with your health rather listen and go back to you own country to have it checked, I could have died last year had I not flown out ASAP after some tummy complications which was a burst appendix at the end of the day. Had I stayed another 2 - 3 days longer in Luanda I would not be typing this today.

And the tests has shown that it was due to a bug that is not found in developed countries anymore. Now we don't easily eat at any restaurants anymore. Hygiene doesn't exist in Angola, sad but true.

So most of all common sense and the little voice inside if it still talks to you, hahahaha

Hope this helps Le Roy

Hi Leroyswart!

Thank you for your insightful article. All the data collected by you will surely be of great help to other members who want to know more about life in Luanda.

Regards,
Sheetul.

Its a pleasure Sheetul, Luanda can be a great or bad place depending mostly on your attitude to life and people and over here allot more has to do with looking after your health. But it can be a very enjoyable place if you make a few friends and don't eat at each restaurant or beach bar you find.

leroyswart wrote:

I have been here for 2.5 years and can give a few pointers.

1. Malaria - malaria exists here all through the year, you will need a good malaria cream and of course mosquito nets. But indoors the use if air cons helps allot to keep them at bay. Malaria can easily be tested by most of the clinics in Angola and they give excellent treatment should one have malaria. But its a good idea if you suspect you might have malaria to get tested ASAP. You can't play around with malaria.

2. Security ; well yes its better to stay indoors at night but this is not always practical because some people need to move around in the evenings for work of whatever, the best advice is not to wear the best clothes and jewelery when moving around at night, common sense is the best guide. The other option would be to have some company with you when being out at night, if people are in groups they aren't easily attacked. Keep your doors locked(car and house) and don't open for strangers. Wear as casual as possible clothes  and keep money in trouser pockets instead of visibly outside or in your hand, as I say use common sense and also walk around and pretend the place belongs to you and that you know exactly where you are headed etc. Confidence also goes along way.

3. General health: DO NOT drink the tap water, it's not save, most shops sell good quality drinking water which is fine for drinking and preparing food. Get as many vaccinations as possible for Angola, apart from yellow fewer which is mandatory to children over 1 or 2 years(can't remember) and adults. Also consider Typhoid, Hepatitis, Meningitis and Tab tet. A good set of medicines that you use at home can go a long way here including a fully stocked first aid kit. A good multivitamin is essential since the food doesn't contain the same level of nutrition as that of first world countries and in summer the heat literally kills you if you don't use Vitamin pills.

Lukely you can purchase any pill of the counter from Pharmacies here without any doctors prescription, its actually quite funny since in my country South Africa you will not be able to purchase anti-biotics over the counter like you do here without seeing a GP first, well its different here. The pharmacies sells anything that any other 1st world country stocks. And don't worry the medicines are very good quality since they are mainly imported from Europe and other parts of the world, so there is no worry about the quality of the medicine. If you know what's wrong with you and you know what type of anti-biotic to use for what you can easily purchase it, that's just for an example.

Get as much exercise as possible, join the local clubs or gyms to keep fit and get away to the beach on weekends to take your mind of Luanda, it can be very draining without exercise and entertainment since live is very confined to indoors due to the lack of entertainment like in developed cities worldwide.

The veggies one finds here are mostly OK but not great, now and then you find veggies that is great, but not always, that's why the nutrition is not great. The local meat is not of the edible type if you are used to proper Western Standards and you might actually get sick from the local meat and chicken and even fish, especially the fish bought at the Ilha near Luanda since raw sewer is pumped into the ocean here. So be careful, many shops sell good qaulity SA, Brazil and Namibian meat, word of mouth will guide you to these shops.

Its better to purchase fish at beach locations far out of Luanda city since these will be the freshest and not infected by sewer. There is no such a thing as a health inspector here, so if you get sick with food poisoning there is no one to blame.

A good idea is to also get a good general anti-biotic and travel with it when you go outside of Luanda and visit lodges for weekends since food poisoning can happen at any stage, the other option is to purchase a very good natural health product called Herbal Fiber blend from a company in Canada called AIM. It can be obtained online with a simple Google search, these has saved our tummies on many occasions when eating at dodgy or new places.

Their fruit is generally of good quality but not all the fruit and not always all the time, the only fruit that seems to always be good is bananas, pine apples, apples, oranges. But many of these are imported, but eat as much fruit as possible. Make a fruit salad regularly.

PLEASE PLEASE BIG PLEASE. Do not underestimate the sun in Angola, it's not a joke or to be taken lightly, stay out as much as possible or wear t-shirts at the beach and use suncream. At remote sites there is no clinics nearby and if you get a sunstroke emergency it can be fatal. So believe me DO NOT play with the sun, especially in the hotter months from Oct - March, DON'T BE A RAMBO. IT might be your last MOVE.

I helped a gentlemen once who nearly fainted from to much sun exposure by wetting his towel and getting him out of the sun and have him sit with the wet towel over his body while drinking a Coke or something with sugar in, I am not a medic or DR, just used common sense, and in about 20 minutes he was fine again but weak. And he was 120 KM away from the closest clinic, that's why I say do NO PLAY with the sun.

Also listen to the little voice inside, if you have any medical condition that you feel needs to be checked by your local Doctor in you country, please fly out and have that checked there. They have a hospital here that can handle most medical emergencies but not all and the hospitals here are always fulled to capacity with locals also wanting medical attention, if something keeps telling you something is not right with your health rather listen and go back to you own country to have it checked, I could have died last year had I not flown out ASAP after some tummy complications which was a burst appendix at the end of the day. Had I stayed another 2 - 3 days longer in Luanda I would not be typing this today.

And the tests has shown that it was due to a bug that is not found in developed countries anymore. Now we don't easily eat at any restaurants anymore. Hygiene doesn't exist in Angola, sad but true.

So most of all common sense and the little voice inside if it still talks to you, hahahaha

Hope this helps Le Roy

Great stuff,
a real primer for every expat...
pramod

malaria is a concern in many parts of africa. use common sense and use repellant at night if out when needed. fever of unknown origin should prompt urgent medical advice.
don't use antibiotics liberally, take precaution and if ill, seek medical advice. not every case of diarrhea requires drugs, most times just fluids is sufficient.
fruits and vegetables are grown naturally and probably better quality here without excessive pesticide use, when boiled or fried to death they lose their health benefits, otherwise they will be fine. vitamins make very expensive urine, except in locations where you really can't get the nutrients you need.....not the case here!! supermarkets have good variety in foods, including many frozen things you may not find fresh (like asparagus)  and the streets always have good fruits and veggies for sale as well. there are great restaurants in luanda where you will eat great food and enjoy nice ambiance. this country has very kind people and beautiful, beautiful places to visit. relax and enjoy.
you'll be fine