Ferry accidents are very common in Bangladesh, a country criss-crossed by hundreds of rivers. Two large rivers dissect Bangladesh in two, east and west, the River Meghna and the River Padma and there are hundreds of off shoots. In a country where travel by boat is a daily part of life, and the main means of getting about, another tragedy occurred on May 4th, when a passenger ferry travelling in stormy weather collided with another boat and capsized near the south eastern port of Chandpur. Officials say that the number of people on the ferry amounted to about 150, but survivors say that this was more like 300-400. No number has been placed on the number of fatalities, but it is thought to be in the 100s.

Apart from restricting the numbers of passengers, the tragedy could have been avoided if the nearest rescue boat had proper equipment. Most Bangladeshi ferries travelling on local routes do not keep passenger lists or issue tickets. Most accidents are blamed on overloading or on unskilled skippers, correspondents say. Nearly 200 people were killed when a ferry sank in the Meghna river early last year, and there have been many more smaller ferry disasters.

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This web site provides links to a very wide range of information – everything you might need to plan a trip: links to the latest travel warnings for British, American, Australian and Canadian citizens, lists of travel agents in each of these countries and Pacific Asia, info on cruise lines around the world, national parks, internet cafes, embassies around the world, world time zones, restaurants, exchange rates – you name it!

You may have read recently about one of Buddha’s fingers being brought from Thailand to Taipei in Taiwan. This got the Beetle wondering about other parts of Buddha and where you can see them. It is possible to see the casket containing the left incisor of the Buddha in the sacred temple in Kandy, Sri Lanka. The Beetle queued up for some time to walk past this sacred relic – it was certainly an experience! It seems that there are three of Buddha’s teeth in existence: one in Sri Lanka, one in China and one in Thailand.

Buddhists in Sri Lanka celebrate “Buddha Tooth Festival” which begins on 1st of August every year and lasts for twelve days. Every night during the festival, grand parades can be seen starting from 8:00pm until 11:00pm. The Chinese tooth was found by a monk in 475AD and hidden in what is today Nanking, in China. In times of war, it was taken to Beijing and placed in a stupa. In 1900 when Beijing was invaded, the stupa was destroyed, and monks found the tooth in the rubble. In 1964, the stupa was rebuilt and the tooth placed in the pagoda of Beijing. The third tooth is alleged to have passed into Tibet and transferred to India during the Cultural Revolution before its final resting place in Thailand.

Things to take on your Travels – Padmassana’s rules

As well as the usual Lonely Planet guide and phrasebook here are a few other essentials.

1. Half the luggage you originally put out to take!

2. A sense of humour for when you just miss that boat, plane or train.

3. A sixth sense to keep you safe.

4. A rucksack cover gives an extra level of security and stops straps being mangled on airport luggage conveyor belts.

5. Combination padlocks, saves carrying/losing keys.

6. A good compass and map, particularly for places (Japan, China etc) where you cannot read the local alphabet and where there are a definite lack of street names and building numbers.

7. A bite Zapper, tiny almost weightless electric pulse to relieve those nasty bites and stings, worth it’s weight in gold!

8. Little presents to repay good turns, like postcards of home.

9. And when it’s time to go home be a responsible tourist, leave nothing but footprints and take nothing but photographs.

Got any travel tips for the Beetle? Then e-mail them to: the Beetle!

May 6th 2002, the United States has added Cuba, Libya and Syria to its “axis of evil” – nations it claims are deliberately seeking to obtain chemical or biological weapons. In a speech entitled “Beyond the Axis of Evil”, US Under Secretary of State, John Bolton said that the three nations could be grouped with other so-called “rogue states” – Iraq, Iran and North Korea – in actively attempting to develop weapons of mass destruction.

Source: Reuters

Plans for the first new bus service in central London for over a decade have been unveiled. The route to be known as Riverside 1 (RVS1) will link together more than 40 arts and tourist attractions, five underground stations, three national rail stations and five river piers. It will go from the Tate Modern and the London Eye to the Tower of London and Covent Garden. The Beetle can vouch for the fact that this service has started.

Also free, the nearest tube is: A visit here can be combined with a visit to the Science Museum and the Natural History Museum, but maybe not all on the same day! This has a fabulous display of fashion over the last few hundred years and includes wonderful 1920’s gowns by Schiarpelli and Channel and some more outlandish but nevertheless design classics by such designers as Vivienne Westwood. Other exhibits include examples of design from Tudor times to modern day. Weekends are the busiest time since the admission fee has been scrapped, so try and visit during the week, if you can. Visit vam.ac.uk or tel: (+44) 020 7942 2000.