Approaching the end of our epic trip we fancied checking out one of Thailand's islands and spending several days relaxing and soaking up the sun before we land in freezing cold England. We'd watched the movie The Beach some years back and the scenery was beautiful so we choose the area where it was filmed. We caught a boat from the port near Phuket town to Phi Phi. We passed Phi Phi Ley which is the uninhabited one of the two islands and the place actually used...

We flew from Sydney to Singapore, but only stayed there a single night before catching a cheap Tiger Airways flight up to Phuket in southern Thailand to visit our friends Ian and Katherine. Having become accustomed to blank-faced stares or outright hostility at customs and immigration around the world, we were amazed when the Thai official dealing with us not only smiled but cracked a couple of jokes. This attitude was one we found common to every Thai we met - ...