We left Brighton (ok, Hove actually) for Nepal on a warm and sunny day in December - but we were not to be fooled; we knew that arctic winds, snow, blizzards and freezing temperatures were just around the corner. Weren't they? Oh you poor chilly little souls, how we feel for you.... First though we had to endure the vagaries of a flight transfer in Delhi. How simple it would be to switch seamlessly from one plane to another clutching a pre-printed boarding ca...

Wouldn't you know it? The last bit of the holiday and you'll be relieved to hear that we have indeed arrived at the very best of the best islands. Koh Lanta is a little gem. Far enough away, and sufficiently complicated to reach from Bangkok it feels remote, yet not deserted. There are long soft sandy beaches backed with small bars and restaurants in which to watch the sunset whilst sipping a cold Singha beer and nibbling a Pad Thai. As you move down the l...

Oooh what larks. An eco resort. Sounds such fun don't it? And so right on. However it's only a matter of time before I discover that my view of 'eco' is formed by reading the Sunday supplements, and apparently bears little relation to real life.(why, oh why, is this always such a surprise to me?) In my world 'eco' involves nothing more arduous than wafting around a white sand beach, pausing only to dip my elegant chanel-painted toes into the turquoise waters...

And lo, it was time for the visa run, an unpleasant but necessary part of the trip if we were to stay in Thailand for another month. On paper it was (fairly) straightforward. A tuktuk ride to the pier, a boat trip to the mainland, a taxi to Patong - the sleaze capital of Phuket - for dinner and some light gawping, another taxi to the airport, flight to Kuala Lumpur, hang around the departures hall for 3 hours, flight back to Phuket, taxi to pier, boat back t...

Oh dear. The problem with living a life of unaccustomed and unbridled luxury is the coming back to earth with a bump at the end of it. We waved a rather sad yet royal farewell to our rockstar pad on Coconut Island and set off for Koh Yao Yai, which is just south of Koh Yao Noi (yai means little, noi means big in thai) where we spent a few days last month (keeping up? There may be a quiz later…). How can anywhere compare to the opulence we so quickly grew ...