Since July 2008 there have been 17 known deaths in humans from rabies disease in Bali. Initially the disease was only being reported from 1 district in Bali but over the last few months it has spread and cases of the disease are now being reported from the densely populated areas of south east & eastern Bali. Travellers to Bali should be aware of the current outbreaks & how to avoid the disease, correct post-exposure treatment and the need to consider having a course of vaccines before travelling to Bali. read full story...

The latest news reported from Reuters and the BBC is that floods caused by heavy rains have killed more than 160 people in West Africa since June 2009.  read full story...

This year both the Meningitis ACWY and seasonal flu vaccines are mandatory prior to the Haj and Umrah pilgrimages. read full story...

Members of the Scientific Exploration Society were invited to visit the village of Riangmaw in the Khasi hills, Meghalaya in 2003 via a naturalist who has regular contact with the villagers through his conservation work. Our trip was a follow on from this to check the installed water system was working, to do an epidemiological study into the strain of malaria in the area, to undertake a nutritional study and paint and equip the village school. read full story...

I was travelling in Bolivia and had made a day trip out to Isla del Sol, a beautiful island on Lake Titicaca. I was bitten by a dog when leaving a restaurant, quite panicked I contacted the Travel Clinic. Previously I had three rabies injections, and since I could not get to a hospital in South America the Travel Clinic organised for me to have two more injections on my return. Thank you so much for your reassurance and help!

 read full story...

Welcome, avid Beast followers, to South America! We have arrived and rescued the Beast from the docks and are about to start on the next leg of our journey.
Alexis has also adjusted the webpage to include some podcasts from our adventures so far from our and Tom's extensive video collection.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cjV37v6Uss. read full story...

We are glad to have an opportunity to write to you. We have had no internet connection until now, so contact has been impossible. As with many things here, the formalities have been longwinded with much form filling and waiting. read full story...

Alexis and Greg arrived in Sydney a week earlier than Adriano and spent a fantastic week being shown around Sydney by Jenny and Jim Greneger, Alexis’s second cousin who had lovingly looked after the Beast for the month. Sydney is very much a waterbased city. There is a myriad of waterways weaving between the suburbs, creating a shimmering city. You can even catch a ferry to work. The centre of Sydney is a series of glittering, towering buildings crammed full of financial and foreign institutions. There are classy surf and turf restaurants lining the available waterways competing with the expensive houses and jetties, all sporting the compulsory boat. There was the obligatory visit to the Sydney Opera House and the Harbour Bridge as well as Darling Harbour. read full story...

Our arrival to beijing was a nail biting,heart pounding experience!We cleared customs smoothly and dashed past all the persistent taxi drivers,in the hope of catching a cheap bus into the city.11p.m made it not the most comfortable of arrivals,however it certainly wasn't new to us!Jumping off at the final stop,our hope of a quick and efficient taxi ride down the road soon vanished.We were immediately swamped by a dozen taxi drivers,and kids,all of which were furiously yelling their piercing mandarin.Completely disorientated we battled to explain our hostels location,but it was instantly apparent they had no idea what we were saying,and vice versa.Our address of course was'nt written in mandarin,so the challenging China experience began here and then! read full story...