Is it possible to party on the beach at the full moon hedonistic extravaganza on Thailand’s Island Ko Phangan, and come back in one piece without losing your money or dignity?? Of course it is, I am living proof.

Arriving at the party at Ko Phangans resort of Hat Rin with my 7 friends in tow at 12 midnight, we were instantly catapulted into the heaving masses of partygoers. In high season the crowds can reach 30,000, we went in September and there were 12,000 people, still busy but not claustrophobically stifling. Winding our way down a side lane full of bright lights and drink stands, we were as excited as children at Christmas, no idea what to expect but we came with no real expectations. The night didn’t disappoint. Some may call it tacky, but that is half the appeal, and a MUST do event if in this part of the world. Bursting onto the beach the first question was “What to do first, where to go, which direction, left or right?” The answer became clear, first up was to get painted in UV paint of course! Every single person dancing or stumbling past was covered in UV paint, so after studying the selection of weird and wonderful psychedelic colours and patterns, we all became adorned with some fantastic creation of multicoloured stars and swirls over our faces and every inch of exposed flesh. Naturally the next stop was to purchase a bucket of vodka and red bull, and then with gathering anticipation we sauntered happily up the beach, past the skipping rope, which was on fire. Throngs of drunken and spaced out half naked guys were showing their prowess by taking on the fire rope. I haven’t skipped since I was about 8 years old, and the rope wasn’t on fire, and I hadn’t consumed a bucket of vodka, so that activity was safely observed from the sidelines. Miraculously there were no serious injuries on my watch. The music was booming out from all different DJ booths lined up on the beach, a selection of dance, funk, hardcore trance and drum and bass – a fine selection for all tastes. Stopping to dance at each place, I looked around me and everyone was in their own happy place, and I felt like the Joker, having a huge smile plastered over my face with the thought running through my head – “I can’t believe I’m partying in a little dress and flip flops, on the beach of a Thai Island. How cool is this??” Eventually some refreshment was required to reboost the energy levels, so a cup of tea and muesli was consumed in one of the buy cafes down a lane, full of other recovering revellers. Once refuelled it was back to the beach where the sun had risen, blinding us with the dazzling rays. The music was still pumping, the hardcore guys were still dancing and I looked around me at the total carnage on the beach. Bottles, rubbish, cigarette butts strewn all over the sand, and somewhere in the night I had broken my flip-flops and discarded them, so whilst picking my way through the leftovers, desperately trying not to cut my feet open on glass, I was still dancing as I moved along surveying the scene, and as the waves lapped the shore I realised I still had that insane grin on my face, and the same thought of “I can’t believe I’m partying here in a little dress, minus my lost for ever flip flops, on the beach of a Thai Island. How cool is this?”

The only downside, I may need to book an appointment at tattoo removal brentwood when I get home…

Political intrigue, a diplomatic rift that has split two countries, an international mystery centred on a priceless piece of jewellery: perhaps these aren’t the first things that spring to mind when you think of our country’s favourite longhaul destination? Thailand is an incredibly beautiful nation, with its landscape as captivating as its people and where endless strectches of golden, sanded perfection contrast with the exhilirating bustle of Bangkok. For twenty years now Thailand has been embroiled in an international scandal that has seen Saudi Arabia sever all ties with the country, but this week the Thai government took significant steps to end the rift.

The affair started in 1989 when a janitor from Thailand stole jewellery from a palace in Saudi Arabia. Amongst the jewellery was an incredibly rare blue diamond worth an estimated $20million and from then on the story resembles the plot of a Hollywood blockbuster.

The thief escaped back to Thailand, to the consternation of Saudi Arabia, but tensions between the two countries increased further when within a year of the incident three Saudi Arabian diplomats were shot dead in the Thai capital. Diplomatic ties finally reached breaking point when this was swiftly followed by the as yet unexplained disappearance of a Saudi businessman, Mohammad al-Ruwaili, who is believed to have been a witness to the shootings.

The janitor was eventually arrested in Thailand and the jewels were supposedly returned to Saudi Arabia but anger grew in Riyadh when it transpired that most of the jewels were fake and that the blue diamond itself was still unaccounted for.

The severing of friendship between the two previously cordial countries was confirmed when in 1994 the Saudi charge d’affaires claimed that the murdered Saudi diplomats had been silenced on the official orders of the Thailand government. Saudi Arabia had been home to a large number of Thai workers, around 300,000 in 1989, but less than 15,000 were living there by 2009. This incident is estimated to have cost Thailand billions of dollars in trade.

Thailand’s Prime Minister, Abhisit Vejjajiva, is now in discussions with the Saudi charge d’affaires to discuss improving diplomatic ties between the two nations. In a major development this week five Thailand police officers have been arrested and charged with the abduction and murder of Mohammad al-Ruwaili in 1990. Whilst this is seen as an important step in mending the two decades old rift, the murder of the diplomats is still a mystery and until the day when the fabled blue diamond is returned then Saudi Arabia may remain the only country to evade the charms of Thailand.

Speaking of jewels, I was chatting to my brother who works in economics and he believes that there is massive money in buying stocks for red diesel suppliers. To be honest, I’m not convinced, all of this is making me think that purhaps we are forgeting all the true beauty in the world and just focusing on the wealth that it could bring us. I mean do you really think that a theif ever stops to think about how precious the thing in his hand is?