Yes, it seems very basic indeed, but it is amazing how many people 'forget' to buy travel insurance before they leave for faraway shores. Perhaps its a particularly British trait - we're used to our government covering us across Europe so when we venture further we just don't think - but getting stuck on the wrong side of the world with no insurance is no joke when the worst happens.

A friend of mine came to visit me in Saigon - he'd been working on a yacht from the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean and so had been covered by his employer for that stretch of the journey. He decided to leave his job and come and visit, but didn't think to get cover for the rest of his travels. One night in Saigon he came off his motorbike and managed to break his jaw in five places - very nasty but it could have been far worse. It still meant getting his jaw wired shut for six weeks and metal plates in his mouth, as well as a whopping medical bill for thousands of pounds.

Happily he is healed and scar free, but I doubt he'll make the same mistake again. I felt very sorry for the family when I read this article in the Telegraph - a family was left with a £25,000 medical bill when a motorbike accident landed their son in hospital.

From August 15th domestic airlines including Vietnam Airlines, Jetstar Pacific and Vasco will start adding a fuel surcharge to flights to help beat increased costs. Charges will range from $3 to $11 depending on the distance travelled, and will help offset some of the losses made by the airlines this year.

Gary Glitter has been flown back to Thailand after being refused entry from Hong Kong. The former star who served two years in prison in Vietnam for child abuse was supposed to be on a flight back to the UK, but claimed he was suffering a heart attack when due to transfer planes in Thailand.

The Thai authorities refused to allow Glitter access into the country, and under Thai law Glitter (real name Paul Gadd) was only allowed to remain in transit for a maximum of 12 hours before committing an offence. He flew to Hong Kong but was again refused entry, and has now arrived back in Bangkok.

It's the rainy season in South Vietnam from late May through to October, and the amount of water that falls is truely spectacular. Here's some of our favourite pictures from Flickr!

The pollution in the Go Dau port on the Thi Vai river, south of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, is so bad that Japanese cargo ships are refusing to dock for fears it will corrode the hulls of their boats.

One thing I could never get over in Viet Nam was the sheer variety of things people carried on their motorbikes. Whether panes of glass, crates of eggs, animals, washing machines or even refrigerators it was all fair game!

Frosted Glass (credit: IpsoFoto)

There's no shortage of tour operators in Vietnam, so we plan to list some of the more unusual amongst them.

Backpacker Tours

Known and loved by many, these offer reliably cheap tours around the country

Sinh Cafe
TNK Travel

Luxury Travel

Exotissimo

Connections Vietnam

Paradissa

Responsible Travel

As I miss Vietnam a great deal, I love keeping tabs on what is happening in Vietnam by reading blogs of people who are still there. Here's a quick run down of some of my favourites - let me know if there's anything I've missed!

News in Vietnam

Thanh Nien - Possibly my favourite as it often has a fair amount of analysis - certainly a lot more than you'd find in Viet Nam News!
VietNamNet Bridge - Translates and publishes news from a wide range of sources

Vietnamese Food

For information on travelling within Vietnam, highlights about the culture and more

Is this the craziest traffic in the world?

With one of the world's highest population densities and over 4 million motorbikes, Saigon has what is quite possibly the craziest traffic in the world!

[credit]



[credit]

Saigon Hotels