You can't win mate. It is a huge rip off that is under investigation.

Try http://www.0044.co.uk to buy an international sim card if you go regularly to the same country

Good point, I have a French, Spanish and Portuguese sim card and whenever I go abroad I leave the number on my UK mobile answerphone. That way if someone desperately needs to get hold of me its at their cost.

This part is not for everyone but I always take my laptop with me and use Skype to call the UK. Free WiFi is not hard to find in any city centre.

Be aware that if you buy pay -as-you-go for France the credit has a time limit on it, sometimes only 15 days! After that your credit is lost and you have to buy a new top up!

Aye, it's a bounder of the highest order. My first month here, 222 quid. This for about forty texts and not more than three quite short conversations. I've just been and had the phone unlocked, 14 quid, about 32 in the UK and now I'm on a Chinese SIM. Ringing the UK is 5 yuen a min, about 33p, text to UK is 7p. Obviously your number changes but the cheapest answer is to keep a range of SIMS and make sure your contacts have a range of numbers to contact you in whichever country you find yourself, i.e. Kev China, Kev Thailand, Kev Vietnam etc etc. It's an arse but it's a cheap arse. You always get talk time and/or texts in the price whenever you buy a SIM.

The International SIMS are another answer, cheaper than your UK provider but still comparatively expensive.

MrI's answer of Skype on Wifi is a revelation if you can do it, I've spent less than 20 Euro's on calls in the three months since he told me about it and I ring the UK often.

SMS

Job done then. If you arrange a Skype account at home - VOIP phone or headphones and michrophone required - then the calls are absolutely free. Incidentally, this info is just the same for when you're on the rigs. how does broadband work out there by the way ?