Ian Sturgess
Identify the location of our monthly mystery travel picture and you could win three superb DK guide books worth up to £19.99 each. For February it’s a small tourist city where seaplanes are a great way to get round. Enter online at mirror. co.uk/travel
Holiday park operator Verdant »
Leisure has added Erigmore Estate in Perthshire to its portfolio of bespoke sites with caravans and lodges. It now has 10 destinations in Scotland and Northern England. verdantleisure.co.uk
Banyan Tree resort at dusk
TBuddha shrine at beach
Ian at James Bond Island he sign at Phuket International Airport was intriguing to say the least. It informed travellers that loaded weapons and “munitions of war” weren’t welcome on board aircraft – understandable – and, listed alongside these lethal impediments to a safe flight was something called durian fruit.
How could a humble fruit, which seemed to be classified somewhere between botulism and radioactive waste, be such a threat? Maybe I’d find out.
Despite the seven-hour time difference, we’d arrived reasonably refreshed thanks to a lucky upgrade to Qatar Airways’ multi-awardwinning business class. This is pampering perfection at 35,000ft and their Q-Suites with flat beds, a la carte dining and blissful privacy have truly spoiled me.
The island of Phuket sits in the far southwest of Thailand jutting into the Andaman Sea and measures 30 by 13 miles. Walking out of the airport you’re embraced by the warmth of the Thai evening and welcomed with a slobbery wet kiss of humidity, all adding to the anticipation of this exotic location.
Next morning, we took a boat trip into the Phang Nga marine national park to the north, a shallow bay with coral reefs, mysterious caves, white sand beaches and 42 steep limestone islands scattered across the water like gnarled teeth. Topped with mangrove forests, their vertical sides are covered with twisted stalactites which reach down almost touching the water, giving the area an alien beauty.
Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith was shot here, as was, famously, The Man with the Golden Gun, leading to one rock being renamed James Bond Island in its honour and becoming a huge tourist attraction.
After pausing for a swim in the warm sea where shoals of tiny iridescent green fish flitted in the shallows, we headed back to our base, the luxurious Banyan Tree resort set in 89 acres of manicured lawns and palm-lined lagoons close to Bang Tao Beach, 30 minutes north of Patong. The Banyan Tree
Man With The Golden Gun was filmed here