2 days ago I woke up with a terrible pain in my face. I then went to the mirror and saw my face all red (especially in parts closer to the nose and eyes). It felt so hot and painful. But however I decided to go the office anyway, because at that time it didn’t seem like it was going to bother me that much.
An hour later, when I arrived to the office, people started to give me funny faces and weird looks. So I went to the restroom, to see my face… and damn… the red marks had somehow turned into bright red “lumps” and it was so horrible. My face looked like it was about to explode. Tried asking a few friends… some of them suggested it was due to some allergy that I might have, and some say its bug bite.
So around noonish, I went to the doctor… being unfamiliar to Jakarta and where the doctors are, I decided to go the nearest hospital to my office.
And man… did it amaze me how much money I spent… Here it goes:

1. Arrived at the hospital, the receptionist made me fill in a form (I wonder if this is also the standard procedure for patients with emergencies)
2. Filled out the form, I was then asked to pay Rp.30.000,- (bout US$3) for the registration fee. She then asked which doctor I’d like to consult with. So I said… Skin Specialist. She then told me to pay Rp.75.000,- (bout US$7.5), and said it was the “doctor’s fee”. And I said.. “Ok” :P
3. Finally I went to the doctors room. Upon entering, as soon as the doctor saw my face, she immediately knew that it was a bug bite. Basically i spent no longer than 10 minutes, and the doctor wrote a prescription for me. I specifically asked her if it was possible not to give me too much medicine (more medicine = more expense). So she gave me 2; one to be taken daily, and another in a form of cream that i must apply twice a day.
4. Good, so now, all I need to do is go to the pharmacy and buy these medicines. After waiting for bout 30 minutes, the medicine was ready. And I had to pay Rp. 98.000,- (almost US$10).

Okay… so basically for just a bugbite, I had to pay a sum of Rp. 203.000,- (bout US$20.3). Minimum wage in Jakarta, as far as I know, is now Rp.600.000,- (about $60)/ month.
A question comes to mind… what happens when the economically-challenged citizens had bugbites… do they really have to pay this much? Spending a third of their monthly salary…?

….. dreaming of a healthy life… and free medicines …. :P