Island life (TT column 09.09.13)

It never ceases to amaze me how small this world can be, and when travelling this is often exaggerated. Not being a city girl, one day in the hustle and bustle of Bangkok was enough for me so I headed south west to the Gulf islands. My first stop was the most developed island of the three, Koh Samui. I arrived with no prior knowledge of this island, just a few recommendations I'd picked up on my long journey there. As I previously mentioned the internet is impressively efficient so I logged on to share my location with friends; only an hour after arriving I had discovered that someone's brother lived on this island and was keen to show me the sights. You can never beat a bit of inside local knowledge, we were soon off to the eye opening food markets, the clearest beaches and the hippest bars.

As much as I was craving a relaxed beach holiday I also need an amount of adventure so I headed on to discover another two islands. After plenty of time to relax - even though I seem to have the ability to switch off automatically - it was time to make the most of what this part of the world can offer. As you probably know by now I'm always looking for a new challenge so the sport of Muay Thai seemed an obvious choice. I've never attempted any martial arts - the closest comparison I have would be fencing - so it was a completely new concept and one that I thoroughly enjoyed despite the consequential bruises. The other activity I enrolled on is more commonly associated with holidaying on a Thai island. I headed to the sea for the far more relaxing 'sport' of scuba diving and enjoyed the underwater wonders the Gulf has to offer.