GLOBETROTTER: Tropical treat

I set myself the challenge to experience the wonders of the country in just two weeks and all on a budget of just £800.

So it can be done, but for those among you who can’t get more than two weeks off work or aren’t yet on a gap year, here’s how I did it...

Thailand is an incredible place and in recent years has become an increasingly-popular destination for young travellers, especially after Leonardo DiCaprio flexed his torso there in the movie hit The Beach.

But you know what? That whole backpack ‘thing’ is completely optional; indeed, I travelled around the country with a large fluorescent pink suitcase.

Our flight (I was travelling with friends) arrived in Bangkok late and, as it was too late to get a plane to Koh Samui, our plan was to ‘rough it’ and sleep at the airport.

But workers from nearby hotels who prey on ‘fresh meat’ approached us, and as soon as we had done the maths, scrapped the sleeping-at-the-airport plan to jump in a taxi and retire to one of their hotels.

Having arrived and ordered our first bottle of Chang beer, we then did as anyone would do on the first day of their holiday in a hot country – we jumped in the pool.

However, as we were in the middle of a monsoon (you would have thought we would have noticed), it was only when a piece of roof blew off and narrowly missed our heads that we realised it was best to go back indoors.

Still, early in the morning we flew off as planned to Koh Samui, which was when I first realised just how beautiful my surroundings actually were (the airport alone was something to marvel at and, had we slept there, would have felt four-star).

At Koh Samui we stayed in a few different hotels but even the budget options were amazingly good, with air conditioning and spotless rooms.

Beware of the beaches, however, or at least learn to fake sleep or you will be repeatedly bothered by salesmen, flogging sunglasses and bracelets, every few minutes.

Indeed, despite our care, things still managed to get out of hand; one night, two locals approached us, smiling and friendly, one of them carrying a Polaroid, the other a live iguana.

Naturally we were amused and fascinated and although we said ‘no’ to buying a photo, they stayed chatting to us.

However, when we took a few pictures with our own camera, they turned suddenly nasty and demanded money.

We were confused and denied owing them any, and as the argument went on, we even deleted the pictures we had taken. But as it was clear they weren’t going to leave without a fight or money, we paid.

Thankfully, it was only the equivalent of a few pounds, but, refusing to be shaken by the incident, we were in no hurry to leave.

In fact, it was only when we got into trouble with a man dressed as a woman – one of the region’s much talked about ‘ladyboys’ – that we felt the need to up sticks and leave sharpish.

It happened on one of our wild nights out when a friend of ours got chatting in a club to what we all thought was a pretty Thai girl.

Naturally, we left him to it and arranged to meet back later at the hotel. But when we bumped into him again, instead of a smile he wore a terrified look on his face. And we quickly understood why.

The pretty Thai ‘girl’ we had left him with earlier was now brandishing a large rusty knife to his throat and demanding he come with her to a cash machine.

He quickly – as you do with a knife at your throat – filled us in on what had happened, while his assailant screamed in the background.

However, upon hearing his assailant speak, it was immediately clear she was no ‘lady’ (a closer look at her bulging Adams apple was, let’s face it, a big clue).

Confirmation came, however, when, trying to speak to her to calm the situation, ‘she’ angrily pulled at her padded bra, unintentionally displaying a flat but muscular hairy chest. Panic-stricken (the threat was very real) we took our only option – to run.

Whipping off our shoes (going-out shoes for women don’t usually double as running for your life shoes), we took off as fast as our feet would carry us.

We ran down alleys and jumped garden fences, not having a clue where we were going but hoping our assailant wouldn’t catch up.

Fortunately, some English holidaymakers had seen what was happening in the street and had alerted the police to rescue us.

They took down details of our assailant and assured us this kind of situation was rare, and that they would try their best to catch him/her.

They then gave us a lift back to our hotel.

That night, we sat on our balcony counting our blessings and vowing to leave Koh Samui first thing in the morning for Koh Phangan.

And no great surprise, we kept our promise.

When we arrived at our new destination, we were again besieged by workers from nearby hotels, and so we opted for the reasonably-priced Coral Bungalows and by chance picked the best place to stay on the island.

It was cheap, in beautiful surroundings, with quirky and friendly staff, and had the best pool parties around. It also boasted an hour’s full body massage for the equivalent of only £1.50.

We rented mopeds and sped around the island and through the jungle-covered centre, where you had to be careful to dodge holes – BIG holes – in the roads.

Thankfully, we met some unforgettable people there and really did have the time of our lives.

Sadly, bad timing meant that we missed the famous full moon party but we went to plenty of beach do’s, taking part, among other things, in jumping a flaming skipping rope and watching the sun rise in the kind of surroundings you could only ever dream of.

It was joyous. A genuine adventure holiday. And I’d completed my challenge, with £400 for return flights to Bangkok, £80 on internal flights to Koh Samui, and £320 spending money for two weeks. Although I would advise taking more money if you want to be even more adventurous.

Apart from that, I’d just say stay cautious.

Like any Eden, you still need to watch where you step...

Getting there NATALIE flew from London’s Heathrow airport to Bangkok, changing planes in Abu Dhabi; the first part of the journey was about seven hours, the second part a little shorter.

This was with Etihad Airways (extremely good on-board service).

She got a great cheap deal on flights with STA Travel, who do special deals for students and for under-26-year-olds.

Staying there The prices of hotels in Thailand vary a lot. They were always cheaper if you just turn up, rather than pre-book online, plus you can often haggle the price down.

Prices may also vary, depending on what season you are there.

These prices are per room per night with no breakfast, so even cheaper split two ways.

The first place we stayed in was called the Great Residence where a section of roof blew off, just outside Bangkok and a short taxi ride away (telephone number: 66 2326 7206; website: thegreatresidence.com; cost: 1,500 Baht).

We stayed for a couple of nights in the Nora Lakeview Hotel, on Koh Samui, (tel: 66 7723 0234; website: noralakeview.com; cost: 1,400 Baht), simply because it was easy to book in advance with STA Travel.

It is a small hotel and expensive for what you get but in a good location by Chaweng beach.

We soon discovered that we could have got somewhere cheaper by not booking in advance.

So we quickly moved across the road to the Budget Hotel (tel: 66 7742 2703; website: kohsamuibudgethotel.com; cost: 800 Baht).

When we got a boat over to Koh Phangan we stayed in Coral Bungalows (tel: 66 7737 5023; website: coralhaadrin.com; cost: 500 Baht). However, cheaper when you’re there, advertised as double the price on the website for an air-conditioned en suite room which sleeps three.