And so to the beach...... We've just spent a week at Phangnga (no, I've no idea how to pronounce it either, but I bet a two year old would have no problem), which is an hour and a quarter drive north from Phuket airport. It was the area worst hit by the tsunami in 2004 - it was very close to the epicentre of the earthquake and it's very flat. The wave was 11 metres high. There was nowhere to go. Imagine. We stayed at the Marriott hotel at Khao Lak, recently vot...

Buoyed with the relief of having got through India with no stomach problems and joyful with the anticipation of being back amongst the utter fabulousness of Thailand in just a few short hours, we skipped up to the machine gun wielding policeman at Delhi airport thrusting our documents at him with glee and abandonment, eager to get away from the dust and hassle of India. Brian, as usual, was unprepared for this little last burst of Indian bureaucracy and as a lit...

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...

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 ...