Andrev, a student in the beautiful city of Wroclaw wrote in to tell us about his hometown. He says he would like to tell us about a few interesting things about his city and (hopefully) encourage someone to come here!! Let's begin with a Town Hall – one of the most beautiful late Gothic and Renaissances Buildings in Europe. It was started in 14th century with 15th century towers and is situated in the old Market Square a huge 120 square metres itself – just imagine. Another interesting place to see is St. John the Baptist's Cathedral. This was built on the site of the first wooden church and dates from 1000. The present Gothic cathedral was rebuilt between 1244 and 1376. Further development took place in 15th century and added the side chapels and the main portal. The last thing I would like to describe is Panorama of the battle Raclawice – one of a few preserved monuments of this kind in the world a huge 120m x 15m.

If you would like some more information about Wroclaw please contact Andrev on: and_f@wp.pl

Would you like to take part in a documentary we are currently making for Channel 4? It is provisionally titled Travellers Tales, and is about travellers who have experienced tropical illnesses. Perhaps… you unwittingly transported a bot-fly home from a remote destination? Someone on your expedition was cured by a medicine man? You left the country on a mission to solve a medical mystery? Or are you still staggered by a memorable bout of Delhi Belly? I would like to hear about your experience of the places you have been to in addition to accounts of any illnesses you might have had. I am concerned with illnesses ranging from diarrhoea to dengue and would be very interested to hear your story – funny or painful – with a view to including it in the documentary. Should you be interested in taking part, your journeys will be portrayed accurately and responsibly. Please contact me, Catherine on: Catherine.Brindley@rdfmedia.com

If you're going to visit Japan on business, or even if you are going for pleasure, this website shows you how to you bow appropriately and how to behave when you have been invited to someone’s home. There are lots of hints and tips on appropriate presents to take, how to use the washroom, and this is all animated which makes it quite addictive to look at. Take a look at animator and illustrator Nora Krug's web site – we like this!

If you have plans to visit India this summer – never a good time to go – take note that around 200 people have died during the heat wave that is currently sweeping through Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan and Pakistan where temperatures have soared as high as 47.2C. The high temperatures have led to a shortage of drinking water and deaths through dehydration and sunstroke. Last year, a heat wave killed more than 1,000 people in the state and caused devastating drought. The situation should improve with the approaching monsoon rains, which usually reach the south coast in the first week of June.

Terror alerts are in force around the world; Australia and New Zealand have just warned their nationals to be on their guard in South East Asia: Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, the Philippines, East Timor and Brunei.

The US has issued warnings of possible terrorist attacks throughout East Africa and parts of South East Asia in the wake of the triple suicide bombing in Saudi Arabia.

The US state department also warned of a “continuing concern” of attacks against Americans in Malaysia, particularly in the state of Sabah.

Thailand has dismissed travel warnings by Australia and New Zealand, which say the country is at risk of an attack by Islamic militants. Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Sinawatra said that there was “nothing to worry about” in Thailand and that he “was confident that his country was not a terrorist target, since it was not an enemy of any particular terrorist group. I will ask the foreign ministry to notify the Australian embassy that they should not overreact”.

Malaysia has also hit back at its inclusion in a travel warning issued by the US. Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said that insecurity resulting from the Iraq war had made the United States “afraid of its own shadow”.

The US state department has recommended that Americans defer non-essential travel to Kenya and to carefully review plans to visit East Africa in general. All flights between the UK and Kenya have been suspended after warnings of new terrorist threats in the east African country. It is thought that Al Qaeda, who are believed to be responsible for the bombings in Saudi Arabia this month may be preparing an attack. All US and UK bases in Kenya have been given added security by the country's government.

The UK Passport Service plans to put biometric chips into passports by 2005. The agency is to run a six-month trial to “evaluate issues around biometric capture using iris, facial recognition and fingerprints to support the passport card development programme.” An 'Omnibase' global database of all passports issued will be created, along with a global lost, stolen and recovered passport database which is due by the end of this year.

An exhibition of objects recovered from the wreck of the Titanic, including a chunk of the ship itself is on show at the Science Museum in London.

Visitors can see crockery from the ship, papers, money and personal effects preserved for decades in baggage, and one of the liner's bells.

The display also includes mock-ups of Titanic's first and third class cabins and an exhibit which demonstrates the terrible cold encountered by those trying to escape the ship after it hit an iceberg and began to sink.

Each visitor receives a boarding pass bearing the name of one of the passengers. At the end of the exhibition you discover whether the holder of their ticket survived.

For more information, see: The Titanic Exhibition

The Globetrotters Club has just teamed up with Oanda.com to provide people with information about currency conversions and cheat sheets. To translate currency or make a cheat sheet, visit:

The Globetrotters Currency Converter — get the exchange rates for 164 currencies The Globetrotters Currency Cheat Sheet — create and print a currency converter table for your next trip.

Under 30? A member of Globetrotters Club? Interested in a £1,000 travel award?

Know someone who is? We have £1,000 to award each year for five years for the best submitted independent travel plan. Interested?

Then see our legacy page on our Website, where you can apply with your plans for a totally independent travel trip and we'll take a look at it. Get those plans in!!

In last month’s Globetrotter e-news, we spoke of 31 tourists being abducted and held in the Sahara for over 2 months. In May, 17 of the foreign tourists (10 Austrians, 6 Germans and a Swede) were rescued, said to be unharmed and flown back to Europe. No formal details of the ordeal have been released for fear of jeopardising the safety of the remaining 15 tourists (10 Germans, 4 Swiss, 1 Dutch) who are still missing. The Algerian newspaper El Watan claims that nine kidnappers were killed in the dawn raid near the Sahara desert town of Tamanrasset, 1,900 kilometres (1,200 miles) south of Algiers and that the Salafist Group had kidnapped the tourists for Preaching and Combat (GSPC).

Hello, I am making a new primetime UK ITV holiday series and am looking for various families who are passionate about going on a certain type of holiday to take part. I would really love to have a chat with any Globetrotters to see if you would be interested in taking part. I can be contacted on: mike.cotton@rdfmedia.com or: telephone me on: 0207 013 4574.

Last month we reported that both the French and British authorities had decided to retire Concorde. Now, Richard Branson, millionaire owner of Virgin Airlines, has stepped by saying that he could make Concorde profitable and more affordable. He said, “we believe it has as many as 25 years good flying in it. Concorde is a great ambassador to Britain and should be in the air, not broken up and sold.” Under Virgin, the planes would offer cheaper second-class seats while first class prices would increase.

Science fiction writer Eric von Däniken was the inspiration behind the May 2003 opening of Mystery Park in Interläken, Switzerland. The attraction resembles a giant space station, the centrepiece of which is a 41-metre high, globe-like tower, housing the Eric von Däniken Foundation and offering views of the surrounding mountains. There are seven themed pavilions and a circular glass walkway that connects each structure. These take visitors on a tour of the unexplained, from the Pyramids of Giza to the Nazca lines in Peru to Stonehenge in the UK. For more info, visit: www.mysterypark.ch

Simon, a single guy from the UK is looking for a travel companion to join him from May 2003 onwards in his travels across the US, over to New Zealand and to Fiji. Simon enjoys the usual things in life and is a keen scuba diver. If you would like to join Simon, please contact him direct on: DISNEYBOND@HOTMAIL.COM

Don, a recently renewed member of the Globetrotter’s Club is starting to research travel to Mexico. He is seeking general advice on suggested places to get off the beaten trail, visit with local people and historic sites. He would likely launch the trip from a popular locale (for best airfare rate) and venture away from there. Any suggestions of places/regions to start my research greatly appreciated. Also, anyone have info on renting a basic mid-size motorcycle in Mexico and touring the 'blue highways.' Don can be contacted on donelda@island.net

Need help? Want a travelling buddy or advice about a place or country – want to share something with us – why not visit our Mutual Aid section of the Website: Mutual Aid

Swiss based global travel group, Kuoni has announced that it will stop operating in Burma from the end of the 2003. The move is said to be due to recent events in Asia and low public demand. The MD of Kuoni said “However, we very much look forward to returning to Burma once the British public demands it back, which we expect to happen as soon as democracy is restored in Burma.”

Kuoni was under pressure from UK activist groups including the Burma Campaign UK and Friends of the Earth, both of which – in conjunction with Burma’s democracy movement – are calling for a boycott of companies doing business with what they call “one of the most brutal military dictatorships in the world”.

Have you been to Burma? If so, the Beetle would love to hear from you.

Details: www.kuoni.com / www.burmacampaign.org.uk

“Ladies and Gentlemen, we apologise for the delay, but there is a security alert at Victoria Station, and we are stuck here for the foreseeable future, so let's take our minds off it and pass some time together. All together now…. Ten green bottles, hanging on a wall…..”

Johan from Belgium contacted the Beetle to say that he visits The Gambia on a regular basis. He says that it is true that the bumsters have gone – because of police and army presence, but readers should be warned that inland, in The Gambia, it can be quite dirty with rubbish piled up, mostly plastic bags. But even so, it offers sunshine for when the rest of Europe is cold and snowy.

Any more comments, anyone? E-mail to the Beetle