The Beetle visited Papua New Guinea (PNG) last Christmas and here is an account of Port Moresby. Getting to PNG the first time was not straightforward, although I have since learned that it is much easier to fly from London to Singapore – about 12 hours, and then take a 6 ½ hour Air Niugini…

What is it:Schistosomiasis, also called bilharzia (bill-HAR-zi-a), is a disease caused by parasitic worms. They currently infect over 200m people each year, and the number of people infected increases. Where am I most likely to catch Bilharzia? Africa: Southern Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, Lake Malawi, the Nile River valley in Egypt, Latin America: Brazil, Suriname, Venezuela,…

A recent New Zealand study of almost 900 passengers has shown that up to one in 100 long-haul fliers could develop blood clots, and wearing compression stockings, taking aspirin and travelling business class may not help. The press release says: “New Zealand researchers tested almost 900 passengers who took long-haul flights over a six-week period.…

I decided to go on a safari in Africa – not so unusual. However, all of the travel information I was able to dig up in preparation for this life experience talked about the game drives during the day and the typical you’ll see this many giraffes, this many zebra, this many lion, etc. I…