And so it truly WAS to be the authentic Asian adventure.... never within the next few days could I have imagined to experience:

*fried crickets and worms at a night market in Phuket
*sip the infamous 'buckets' paddling in the sea at night on Koh Phi Phi island
*trawl through its mud-ridden streets with backpack in tow as the monsoon weather hit
*sail across the crystal-clear waters in a traditional 'longtail' boat to a secluded beach
*camp overnight at 'The Beach' beach on Koh Phi Ley paradise island

Somewhat thrown in to all this from the moment I touched down in Phuket, I was soon living the Thai dream!

After literally dumping my backpack in the local Phuket Town guesthouse, and starting to drift off (finally) from the epic 21 hour journey...I was suddenly awoken by a little Thai lady from reception inviting us to go to the local night market. The intrigue here instantly won over jet-lag. So off we went.

And so so glad I did....rows and rows of street vendors and food stalls selling literally - anything, and everything. Fresh exotic fruits, local spices, stuffed vine leaves, fresh fruit shakes, mango punch, pigs heads, chicken feet....it was all on the menu...our guide then let us sample some of the 'local cuisine' - which, casually included fried crickets, worms and grasshoppers. "They good they good - lady you tryyyy!".... "I not tryyyy!' I instantly said to myself....I was already so conscious of 'traveller's tummy' - so wasn't too keen about this on my first night! According to my fellow-travellers, they - 'tasted like crisps'..I beg to differ! I opted later on for what was classed as 'grass jelly'. The first, and not surprisingly last time!

What a way to spend my first night in Thailand...AND my stomach handled those rather spicy stuffed vine leaves I sampled earlier...