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Zara experiences Ko Phangan’s world-famous Full Moon Party, but beneath the cheap cocktails, music and fire shows, there is danger lurking as the medical team treat a possible drink-spiking victim.
Finally, Zara journeys to Phuket, where she meets Dave, an expat who shows off the island’s high-end beach clubs. She also meets Shakira, a tourist in trouble with the Thai police who reveals how easily dream holidays can go wrong.
Zara then discovers the tragic case of a British holidaymaker who recently lost their life on the island and whose family is still searching for answers. A final catch-up with backpacker Loukas exposes the true price of letting loose in Thailand.
Finally, Zara journeys to Phuket, where she meets Dave, an expat who shows off the island’s high-end beach clubs. She also meets Shakira, a tourist in trouble with the Thai police who reveals how easily dream holidays can go wrong.
Zara then discovers the tragic case of a British holidaymaker who recently lost their life on the island and whose family is still searching for answers. A final catch-up with backpacker Loukas exposes the true price of letting loose in Thailand.
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00:00Música
00:02Todo mundo vai agora
00:04Com as marcas
00:04É uma avóquita
00:07Que é meu marido
00:09Tidра
00:10Ah, eles inteirem os convidados
00:12E desigida
00:13Parqueiro
00:13Parqueiro
00:15Parqueiro
00:15Música
00:17Se esforçam esse rite de passage
00:19Já é assim
00:21Ele é um banado
00:21Cheap, chave e foi condejo
00:24Então, eu passei
00:26De capital Bangkok
00:27Para de pesquisas
00:28Fundo de um ticket para a Copanães,
00:30para entender por que estamos aqui.
00:32E o que querendo?
00:34E o que querendo?
00:36E o que queremos ficar.
00:38Um estilo de que não é só ser free
00:40para ser um homem, mas você é encorajado
00:42para fazer isso.
00:44Eu nunca fui para ir para ir para o que eu estou
00:46indo para tudo em oferta.
00:48Feel a conexão com o seu breast,
00:50com o seu corpo.
00:52E os que estão fazendo um novo novo aqui.
00:54Eu decidi só vender tudo,
00:56e só come aqui e tentar fazer isso funcionar.
00:58Para saber se isso leva para o hype.
01:00Eu já estive em Thailand
01:02por menos de 24 horas,
01:04e eu quase não me engano.
01:06E se há outro lado para esse paradigma.
01:08Ele smatou a bota
01:10e pegou me na cabeça.
01:12Meu brother foi morto.
01:14Não foi um accidente.
01:16Eu estou seguindo o trail de island hocking de Thailand.
01:28Antes de ir para Phuket,
01:30eu estou em Koh Phan Yang,
01:32onde amanhã, eu vou experimentar
01:34a famosa FULL MOON PARTY.
01:36Up to 50,000 partygoers
01:38will descend
01:40on the island
01:42of around 14,000 people.
01:48I'm constantly
01:50seeing footage of the full moon party
01:52on social media,
01:54and it looks amazing.
01:56A UV does look sick.
01:58Oh my God, you will not regret it.
02:00I'm nervous,
02:02because I've never been to something like this before,
02:04and I've heard that it gets pretty mad
02:06and pretty messy.
02:08The party stretches right across
02:10the 1km beach,
02:12with 5lb wristbands giving you access.
02:16I'm meeting Jordan
02:18to get the lay of the land
02:20before it all kicks off.
02:22Hi Jordan!
02:24I'm good!
02:26Goodness me!
02:28Originally from Wales,
02:30Jordan has been DJing
02:32at the full moon night
02:34for the last two years.
02:36Are you excited?
02:38I am, yeah.
02:40I think it's going to be a busy one
02:41that's coming into the high season.
02:42Yeah.
02:43People are coming to Thailand,
02:44they have to experience this.
02:46Yeah.
02:47You have to say you've done it.
02:48Yeah, 100%.
02:49On this beach are all bars,
02:51and they all open
02:52and have like a big party
02:53with everyone having a DJ.
02:55It is one of the nicest beaches
02:56on the island.
02:57Obviously this is an enormous party.
03:01How important is safety
03:04somewhere like this,
03:05where you've got so many people
03:06all condensed into one place?
03:08There's 20,000 people
03:10that come onto this island,
03:11but there's only so much you can do.
03:13I'm sure you've seen
03:15that there was a death here
03:16at the last one moon party.
03:18It happens most months.
03:20Really?
03:21Most events, yeah.
03:22people have drowned.
03:24I had to drag a woman
03:26from the water
03:27after my gig.
03:28Really?
03:29Like four months ago, yeah.
03:30Wow.
03:36In just four hours,
03:37the beach will be packed
03:38with party goers.
03:40But after what Jordan's told me,
03:42I want to find out more
03:43about how the event is kept safe.
03:45Hello.
03:46There's only one road into the party,
03:55where police have set up a roadblock
03:58to check vehicles
03:59and people coming in.
04:00So what's the process then?
04:02So what's the process then?
04:12What kinds of things
04:13are they finding
04:14when they're stopping people?
04:15What kind of things
04:16are they finding
04:17when they're stopping people?
04:18They're not stopping one person.
04:19Oh, he's getting inside this car.
04:33They've stopped one car
04:35for like 30 seconds.
04:37Oh, he's getting inside this car.
04:40They've stopped one car
04:42for like 30 seconds.
04:44Oh, he's getting inside this car.
04:46They've stopped one car for like 30 seconds
04:48and traffic backs all the way up.
04:53This is the only road.
04:54There's physically no way
04:55that the current system
04:57they have here
04:58allows for them
05:00to pull over every single car.
05:04I can't see how it's possible
05:06for the police to have any idea
05:07of who's bringing in what.
05:13On the way down to the beach,
05:15I bump into a familiar face.
05:17How are you?
05:18Nice to see you.
05:19Nice to see you too.
05:20Lucas, who I met back in Pattaya.
05:22The last time I spoke to you,
05:24you had a Thai young lady
05:28who was, you know,
05:30wanting a kind of relationship.
05:32Oh, yeah.
05:33What's the latest?
05:34OK, so I kind of was like,
05:35right, we're going to finish here.
05:37She messaged me and says,
05:39you come see me tonight.
05:40I said, no.
05:41You just said no.
05:42I said, no, sorry.
05:43And then the day after,
05:44I went to a bar
05:46and I met somebody else.
05:47You met someone else?
05:48But not like to buy,
05:49not to like,
05:50that sounds terrible.
05:52Not to like, you know.
05:54To pay money?
05:56To pay money to take them away from work.
05:58Basically, I'm just traveling around with her now.
06:00It's just me and June,
06:01going to different places,
06:02partying.
06:03So, this new girl that you've met June,
06:05it was different from the last...
06:06Yeah, completely different.
06:07We met each other just completely naturally.
06:10So, like, we're having a good time.
06:12I don't really mind.
06:13So, is she your girlfriend?
06:14No.
06:15Not my girlfriend.
06:16She's a very good friend.
06:18Shit's getting complicated, OK?
06:21When it gets a bit more,
06:22let's do this together,
06:23let's do that together,
06:24it's feeling a bit more like,
06:26what have I got myself into?
06:29I would love to meet June.
06:31Yeah, I could introduce you, yeah.
06:33Amazing.
06:34Yeah, I'll be good, actually.
06:37Lucas's life has a lot of developments
06:39in a very short space of time.
06:41He's already met a new lady friend
06:43and he's already thinking about
06:45potentially sacking it off,
06:47which is quite interesting.
06:54It's 10pm.
06:56The beach is already rammed
06:58and the party still has another nine hours to go.
07:01Oh, my God!
07:02Where are you?
07:03What?
07:04It's happening there!
07:11My goodness.
07:14This is mad!
07:17And it's only going to get busier!
07:19We are!
07:26The bars are all pumping out different music
07:29and putting on fire shows.
07:32Ah, you should not pay me to do that!
07:37I can imagine if you are a backpacker.
07:39This is, like, the party.
07:42But...
07:44already there are a lot of people
07:46who have pushed it too far.
07:48So I dread to think what it's going to be like
07:50in a few hours.
07:52It's going to be an intense night
07:55for a lot of people.
07:56Ocean Medical Clinic is just metres from the beach.
08:09Unsurprisingly, full moon is their busiest night of the month.
08:14A party-goer has fallen over
08:19and opened up a previous injury.
08:22Oh!
08:24From now it's okay.
08:26Mmm!
08:28This here, you need to do the station.
08:35Where's my mum?
08:36The walk-in service tends to multiple cases like this
08:41throughout the night.
08:43But they also operate a rescue team.
08:48They now have an emergency incident to deal with.
08:57A young man collapsed
08:59and has been brought back to the clinic for urgent treatment.
09:02and, you know, it's pretty a part of it.
09:10It's not nice at all seeing someone in that state
09:13where they are just not responsive.
09:17I wonder if it's been a spot.
09:21The man's friends told me
09:22he only had one more drink than them.
09:26He actually went to grab a drink,
09:28drank this drink,
09:29approached his friends
09:30and just collapsed.
09:32It's coming round a little bit now.
09:42That's good, that's really good.
09:45Now stabilised,
09:46but with spiking impossible to rule out,
09:48his friends will be keeping an eye on him.
09:55I've come across many stories online
09:57about drinks being spiked here.
09:59With everyone drinking out of buckets,
10:02I can easily see how this can happen.
10:06Hi, girls!
10:07Hello!
10:08How are you?
10:09Are you having fun?
10:10Yes!
10:11What's your plan of action?
10:12So, we're all going to do a bit of karaoke,
10:15have a laugh,
10:16but the most important thing is we have each other's back.
10:19Yeah.
10:20Especially being a girl,
10:21in these events you have to always take hold.
10:24Yeah.
10:25And you have your own button protector.
10:26Yeah.
10:27So we don't have to watch getting spiked.
10:28Yeah.
10:30That is such a good idea,
10:31but it's just very interesting how you prep this in advance.
10:35Come to somewhere like this,
10:38it's party, party, party.
10:41It's...
10:42Everyone's letting their guard down.
10:44And it's easy to get lost in the madness,
10:46but actually you can have a good time,
10:49but you just have to put the right measures in place.
10:52It's very me-coded,
10:53something I would do.
10:54For sure.
10:55It's 11 o'clock,
10:58and amongst the tens of thousands of people here...
11:04How are you?
11:05How are you?
11:06How are you?
11:07It's Lucas,
11:08and he's brought his new travelling companion, June.
11:11Should we go somewhere quiet,
11:12so we can have a proper chat?
11:13Yeah, yeah.
11:14Trying to hear myself thinking.
11:18What's this body pain?
11:19Okay, so, well,
11:20everybody was looking at us before,
11:21and so we just guessed that they thought, like,
11:23Thai bride.
11:25So, it's a...
11:27I have a Thai wife.
11:29Do you have on your...
11:30Yeah, I have English husband.
11:32I have English husband.
11:34We thought it'd be a funny joke.
11:36It's almost like you guys are in a relationship.
11:38No, this is a joke, right?
11:40How did you meet?
11:42I meet him in Pattaya before I come with my friend
11:46and work at the hospital.
11:48You work at the hospital?
11:49Yeah.
11:50Oh.
11:51I want to travel around Thailand like that.
11:53I take my vacation and come with him.
11:55Oh, that's really nice.
11:59Oh, stop it.
12:00What?
12:02We could do some more travelling.
12:03We've got...
12:04We've still got to go to Phuket, too.
12:06You should come to Phuket.
12:07I'm going to be there.
12:08Yeah, because I will be seeing you in Phuket.
12:10Well, I'll see you later.
12:11See you later.
12:12Nice to see you again.
12:13Lovely to meet you.
12:14Enjoy the rest of your evening, guys.
12:16As it gets later, the party gets even more intense.
12:23Hey!
12:24Give me room!
12:25Help!
12:30You want me to go?
12:31No!
12:32I'm not having a go!
12:36They caught her hair!
12:38At the medical tent, Cypriot backpacker Ardic has come in with burns to his lower legs.
12:53And you not drink more alcohol, okay?
12:55Why?
12:56I think you go to sleep better for your food.
12:59No.
13:00You want to go to party?
13:02Yes.
13:03This is my last night in Koh Phangan.
13:05Ah, I think when you drink...
13:06Sleep is for losers.
13:08What sleep?
13:09Okay.
13:10Okay.
13:11What happened?
13:12What happened?
13:13You know that burning rope that they turn?
13:15Oh, did you...
13:16I tried that.
13:17Are you going back to the party now?
13:19Yes.
13:20Going back to the party with bandaged up?
13:22Of course, I'm going back to the party.
13:25Ciao.
13:26And round the corner, I find someone else whose night's taken a turn for the worse.
13:31What's happened?
13:32Someone's nicked the passport and stole it.
13:34Oh, someone stole it.
13:35I lost everything.
13:36You lost everything?
13:37My passport, my credit card, my phone.
13:40Did someone take it from you?
13:42I think so, because I realised my bag was open.
13:45Yeah, but when you're having a party, you don't necessarily think about having your bag here all the time.
13:51A lot of people have said though, don't take your phones out, don't bring it because it'll get stolen.
13:56So is that the party over then?
13:58No.
13:59You won't let a small thing like a lost passport ruin your night.
14:09I'm getting the sense that even when things go wrong, most people don't want to let a problem stop them having a good time.
14:16But with thousands of party goers here, many getting drunk or taking drugs, it's obvious they're vulnerable.
14:26So I've come to the police station by the beach to see how they monitor the island's biggest event.
14:34Ah, some of the CCTV cameras.
14:38Are they not working?
14:40Oh, there we go, right, one of them's working.
14:44How many cameras do you have?
14:46Wow, can we have a look?
14:50Can we have a look?
15:02It seems to be a skeleton team.
15:04There's only three officers here.
15:06I don't know how to open an office.
15:10Oh, okay.
15:12Fair enough.
15:14All right.
15:15We have stopped here, but today, no.
15:16Today, no.
15:17No.
15:18They've all just gone.
15:19Okay, let me, let me.
15:20But all the CCTV, when people report, like there's something lost, something happened.
15:24Yeah, they can go back and look.
15:26But surely, to work out what incidents are going on, they need to be looking at the CCTV all the time.
15:34I'm told there are more officers patrolling the beach.
15:38But it still feels like the whole event is pretty loosely managed.
15:45But maybe that's part of the appeal for lots of people who come here.
15:50I've been hearing about this for years and to actually be here and to see so many people having fun and the colours and the beautiful beach.
15:57You can see why this is a draw for so many people.
16:00And has earned its status as an iconic rite of passage.
16:14I'm bidding farewell to Koh Pan Yang.
16:17As small as this island is, I feel like it's got so much to offer.
16:21That's why so many young Brits are drawn here and I can really see it.
16:24But you absolutely have to take responsibility for yourself or things could get complicated for you.
16:32Not sure I'll go back to the full moon party, but it's pretty incredible here.
16:37This is my paradise.
16:39For the last part of my journey, I'm travelling to Phuket, the largest and most visited island in Thailand.
17:00With some of the most expensive hotels and high-end villas in the country, it's known for attracting money.
17:06A lot of people actually on social media, when I posted saying I was coming to Phuket, said that it was a very westernised island.
17:15From my first impressions, it almost feels like a city when you're driving through it.
17:21But it also has the island life.
17:22So it's a bit of a different dynamic of a place that I've been to so far.
17:27Through his socials, I've found someone who's made Phuket his home to clue me in.
17:34Chris.
17:36Thai Top, real name Dave, is a content creator originally from Kent.
17:41It's been a while since we've done some top tips about coming to, travelling or staying in Thailand.
17:45Dave's straight-talking videos about Thailand pull in millions of viewers.
17:48I really wouldn't come here looking for love, trying to find your girlfriend because that's just going to be one very, very expensive mission, I promise you.
17:55Peace.
17:59I'm taking a speedboat taxi to find him at Phuket's newest luxury beach club, Yonah.
18:05Hi Dave.
18:06Hello.
18:07Lovely to meet you.
18:08Yeah, great to meet you. How are you?
18:09I'm very good, thanks. What a place to meet, right?
18:11I don't think I've ever been to a club in the sea before.
18:15I think it's the world's first.
18:16Really?
18:17Pretty sure it's the only one in the world at the moment.
18:19How much is it to come here for the day?
18:21Oh my God.
18:22The beds range in prices, right up to over a thousand pounds.
18:25A thousand pounds?
18:26It's incredibly expensive, premium drinks, the best champagnes in the world, caviar for six, seven hundred pounds is on offer here.
18:33Wow.
18:34To be honest, it is pretty amazing.
18:36And if you fancy someone, they can't leave.
18:38You can just chase them around the boat.
18:43Dave came to Thailand two years ago after leaving a job working on the railways.
18:48I've seen a lot of your content on TikTok.
18:50Yeah.
18:51And I found it really quite refreshing.
18:53A lot of creators will present this kind of idyllic image, but you're very honest, sometimes brutally honest.
19:00What made you go down that route?
19:01That was an accident, but it was helping people, so that's all I want from it.
19:05I think the things that perform well are the things that people just don't know about Thailand.
19:09Thailand is very much a country of, if you didn't know, well, it's not our fault.
19:12What drew you to Thailand?
19:14I decided just to pack a bag, sell everything and buy a one-way ticket and just come here and try and make it work.
19:20What's made you stay?
19:21I mean, look at it. Look at the surroundings. It's just such a beautiful place.
19:25Would you ever go back to the UK?
19:27To live? Absolutely not. After being here, I'm not too sure how I'm going to integrate myself back into life there.
19:32Fame, to be honest.
19:34Erm, yeah.
19:39That beach club, wow. But it is Western prices, you know?
19:44I've been to places in Ibiza that were cheaper than that.
19:47And I'm told the luxury housing market in Phuket is next level.
19:52Wow. Some of these properties look incredible. This one is 18 million US dollars, so about 14 million pounds.
20:04That looks nice. If anyone wants to buy it for me, call me.
20:09Someone who can help me learn more is Victoria. A model and an influencer.
20:16Yeah, some champagne.
20:18Born and raised on Phuket, she also works for the family property business.
20:23Hello everybody and welcome back to my channel.
20:26And her YouTube tours of multi-million pound luxury villas get hundreds of thousands of views.
20:32Hey guys, we've made it to the 700 square meter outdoor living area.
20:39At just 23, she's an expert on the fast-growing high-end property market.
20:46Why do you think Phuket specifically is pulling in such a luxury clientele and building such a luxury market?
20:54I think you're able to do business but also live a chill lifestyle.
20:59You're able to go to a beach club and listen to a DJ who flew from Miami or something.
21:05And then the next day go to a market stall and buy food for like 70 baht or like 2 pounds, right?
21:12You get the best of both worlds.
21:14Victoria's agreed to give me a tour of one of their hottest new properties.
21:19Wow.
21:26This is the first thing you see, of course the view.
21:31This is incredible.
21:33Yeah, this is a six bed, six bath at 20 million US dollars, fully furnished.
21:39So whatever you see in here comes with the price.
21:41Oh, so you get the furniture and clean?
21:42Yes.
21:43Bargain.
21:44Absolute bargain.
21:45And what's the property market like here?
21:50It's definitely growing. Prices are rising every single year.
21:55Oh, this is just, wow.
21:58Yeah.
21:59This is the dream, isn't it?
22:01You have this free-form infinity swimming pool that the minute you're inside the swimming pool, you're the same eye level as the ocean.
22:10I have no words anymore. I run out of words.
22:14I'm wondering about who buys houses like this.
22:20Mentally, I've already moved in.
22:23Mentally.
22:24What are the kind of clientele that are coming here to view it? Can you give me like an overview?
22:28The majority of them are not living here.
22:30They have it to just stay maybe a month or even less out of the year.
22:34What?
22:35Which is, yeah.
22:36This would just be someone's like, I'll just pop over to Phuket when I've got a bit of time.
22:40It speaks to Thailand itself that, you know, we're not a third world country that everybody thinks it is.
22:51Phuket feels like quite an Instagram picture-perfect place.
22:55And the quarter of a million Brits coming each year for luxury, budget and backpacking holidays would probably agree.
23:04But nowhere is this perfect. So I do want to scratch me for surface a bit and see what else is Phuket about.
23:13I go online to find out more about what's happening around the island.
23:22There are numerous stories of motorbike crashes, including several fatalities.
23:28I've been seeing countless locals riding motorbikes without helmets, with tourists then following suit.
23:37I wonder if they know it's illegal.
23:40And if that even makes a difference.
23:43So I'm going to be with the police today for one of their regular roadblocks that they do.
23:47Are there a lot of motorbike accidents that happen here?
23:56Maybe every hour.
23:58Every hour?
23:59Maybe one hour is one case or two cases.
24:02Wow.
24:03What is the punishment and fines?
24:05Thai law, yeah. Phuket spent very low.
24:09Not the same in your country.
24:11If you're not wearing a helmet, I'll find you 500 baht.
24:17500 baht, how many pounds?
24:18I don't know, 11, 12 pounds?
24:21If in the UK, how much?
24:24Oh, hundreds of pounds probably.
24:26So big money than in Thailand.
24:28So do you think that British people come to Thailand and they don't respect or care as much about the law here
24:34because it's cheap?
24:35They can pay, they can pay.
24:38Okay, another guy's been pulled over, no helmet.
24:41They don't wear a helmet, they carry it, but they listen to the music.
24:44They're carrying it, but they're not wearing it.
24:47But not everyone gets a fine.
24:50What's he doing?
24:51So he not, this is very soft punishment, the guy who not wear the helmet.
24:56He got it underneath his motorbike, but he not wear it.
24:59So they're making him do press-ups?
25:00Yeah.
25:01You do push-ups and just more like give him the license.
25:04It's a different approach to policing, but I'm not sure it's enough to change tourists' behaviour.
25:12You do get a sense that young Brits come here on holiday and they feel they can do what they want.
25:18Nothing can touch them.
25:20But clearly, that's not always the case.
25:23Local news is reporting on a serious accident from just last night.
25:29Wow, this looks like the motorcycle is in absolute pieces on the floor.
25:33It does not look great.
25:35And also, the passenger on the floor.
25:38No helmet.
25:39The woman from the crash turns out to be from Manchester.
25:4325-year-old Seren, who's been admitted to the local hospital.
25:51Hi, is it Seren?
25:53Lovely to meet you. How are you?
25:55I'm OK.
25:56Just in a bit of pain at the moment.
25:58Gosh, it looks like a pretty horrific accident that happened.
26:02Yeah.
26:03Honestly, I don't really remember the accident.
26:04I was drinking and I got on someone's bike.
26:07Before I knew it, I was in an ambulance on the way here.
26:10Did you know the person here?
26:11No.
26:12I was struggling to get a taxi on the street.
26:14A stranger was like, I'll give you a lift home.
26:17And then, one of the worst decisions of my life.
26:20Did you wear a helmet?
26:22No.
26:23No.
26:24I remember that part.
26:25That was a big mistake.
26:26Have you been riding bikes a lot since you've been here?
26:28Yeah, and it's all been fine.
26:29I've actually been quite cautious and safe.
26:31And I've made sure my friends were safe as well.
26:34And then, when I'm by myself, I act like an idiot
26:37and just forget everything that I've been telling everyone.
26:40It's really easy, isn't it?
26:41Your normal thought processes aren't the same, Arno, when you've had a drink.
26:45What's your plans then for when you leave here?
26:48I'm probably not going to do much.
26:50I can't really move this side of my body, so.
26:53Oh my gosh, babe.
26:55I feel so awful for you.
26:57It's definitely a lesson learned.
26:59It's so easy to trust someone because you think,
27:01oh, everyone's riding them, we all know what they're doing.
27:04But it was bad decisions.
27:06Well, I really, really hope you get better quickly.
27:08I wish you a speedy recovery.
27:10Thank you.
27:13I wasn't expecting to see such severe injuries.
27:16I mean, her face was so swollen.
27:18Her injuries here could be life-altering and change her appearance forever.
27:23But that could have easily resulted in the loss of her life.
27:26When Brits do get into trouble here, lots of the emergency services are staffed by volunteers.
27:41Vincent from Lancashire is one of them.
27:48So we are going to Soy Bangla, the main strip of Patong.
27:53Report of an unconscious person at one of the bars.
27:58Vincent has been volunteering for the last nine years.
28:03No, no ganja.
28:07Oh!
28:08Oh!
28:09OK!
28:10OK!
28:11What has he taken?
28:12Cannabis?
28:13What else?
28:14Alcohol.
28:15Alcohol and cannabis.
28:16How much cannabis?
28:18With the patient safely on his way to hospital, I'm wondering if Vincent can fill me in on the types of tourist emergencies he responds to.
28:30So Vincent, what's a typical shift like for you?
28:34So for the past 12 months, cannabis overdoses has been a really interesting one.
28:39I think yesterday we did four, just in one shift.
28:42Wow.
28:43Since they deregulated, so many cases were getting people who have literally landed in Phuket
28:49and within a few hours they've been taken to hospital because they overdosed on some form of cannabis.
28:56Obviously you're a British guy over here in Phuket volunteering for the ambulance service.
29:01How did you get here?
29:03So I came here to become a dive instructor.
29:05I was here maybe one week and I was one of the statistics of having a bike accident.
29:10Bike slipped, I rolled 17 times down the road.
29:13Oh my God.
29:14It was really scary.
29:16And my first thought was, if I'd been seriously injured, who's going to help me?
29:21So I went to our office where my colleagues are and convinced them they need to let me volunteer.
29:29Do you see a lot of tourists and distress and compromising positions?
29:34Fairly frequently.
29:35People do go missing, people are found deceased.
29:38It is a wonder why so many of them do meet their end here.
29:43Is something going on?
29:44Or is it just because people metaphorically let their hair down, go a little bit crazy,
29:50have too much to drink, party too much?
29:52It's holiday brain, they come here and it's paradise, nothing can go wrong.
29:56And unfortunately, it's paradise until it turns to hell.
30:00And for a lot of people, they don't see the dangers until it's happened.
30:06What Vincent's told me really resonates with what I've been seeing as I've been travelling through Thailand.
30:13Phuket is starting to feel like an island of two halves.
30:17It's luxury and escapism.
30:20But does that bring trouble with it?
30:22I'm meeting up with Dave again.
30:26Hello.
30:28Who I'm hoping will give me the real picture of what's going on here.
30:32How easy is it for things to go wrong here?
30:36It's incredibly easy, so much more easier than people think.
30:39People love to come here and enjoy themselves, but there is a very, very fine line between having fun and having too much fun.
30:46There's weekly examples of people going missing or people being found dead in their hotel room.
30:52Thailand gives you a lot of freedom, but things can go wrong really quickly.
30:56It's the same with a lot of things in Thailand.
30:58They don't tell you the rules until it's too late.
31:02Do you get a lot of people approach you with issues and questions?
31:06I can show you the amount of DMs that I get on a daily basis.
31:10See, these are all today.
31:11Wow.
31:12These are all today.
31:13Just recently I had, bless her, this girl, saying that she had been caught with a drug.
31:18I think it might have been something that she took on prescription back in the UK.
31:21They actually arrested her.
31:22She's contacted me for help.
31:24As far as I understand, she's still being held by the police.
31:27I've made contact with Shakira, the woman who'd reached out to Dave for help.
31:37She came to Phuket for a holiday with friends.
31:41She'd planned to stay for 10 days.
31:44But two months later, she's still not sure when she'll be allowed to return home to Nottingham.
31:50Thank you so much for meeting me.
31:52Can you talk me through everything from the beginning?
31:54We had been out for drinks.
31:56My friend has told me we can get Xanax over here in the pharmacies.
32:00So you and your friend went in, said quite stressed, and they offered you the Xanax straight up.
32:05Just offered us the Xanax.
32:06What happened next?
32:07When we went into the club, I do remember one of the security guards, like, looking through my bag and them seeing it and stuff.
32:14You know, just putting it back in the bag and me going in.
32:17After spending the night in the club, Shakira and her friends then shared a taxi home.
32:22On the way to the villa is when we obviously got the stop searched by the police.
32:27What?
32:28They've asked for my bag.
32:29I'm like, yeah, you can search it, there's nothing in my bag.
32:31Do you know what I mean?
32:32Mm-hm.
32:33They've pulled out this pack, they've looked inside and they're like, ah, Xanax, ah, okay.
32:38Basically like, yeah, we've got you now.
32:40I was like...
32:41And what did you think when they said that?
32:42I said, yes, that's mine, I bought it from the pharmacy.
32:45What's wrong with Xanax?
32:46Like, I was so confused.
32:47And you wouldn't think, would you?
32:48They took out the handcuff and said, yep, I'm arresting you for...
32:52On me.
32:53After they arrested me, no-one else got searched.
32:56That was it.
32:57From then I was in the cells for three nights.
33:00How was that?
33:03That was crazy.
33:04Absolutely crazy.
33:06It was more the shock.
33:08After being drunk and stuff and then you wake up and you're like, wow, where am I?
33:13The conditions were really, really bad.
33:15You're just literally on the cell floor.
33:17It was, it was, it was crazy.
33:20Has anyone told you about what sentence these crimes carry?
33:23Could get up to two to ten years in jail for this crime.
33:26Oh my gosh.
33:27Yeah.
33:30Shakira has spent almost £20,000 on legal fees in hotels, waiting for her court case.
33:38Do you feel like what happened to you could happen to a lot of people?
33:42People do need to know that these drugs are illegal.
33:46So don't be looking for something that your friend or somebody's told you you can get.
33:52I think Shakira was putting on a massive brave face today,
33:56but deep down I think that she's pretty terrified.
33:59She could have been any of us.
34:01Like she could have been me or any of my friends, you know.
34:05Unknowingly buying prescription medication without a prescription.
34:09Not knowing that is illegal.
34:11And getting arrested.
34:13It's been three days since I met Saren in hospital after her motorbike accident.
34:27Thank you.
34:28Coffee car.
34:29Everyone's staring at me.
34:33Everyone's asking what happened.
34:35Most people know it's from a motorcycle accident.
34:37It's obviously quite common, isn't it?
34:40I definitely could have died.
34:43It was a serious accident.
34:45And we came to the other side, but I had my plans ruined.
34:51All because of one silly decision that I made.
34:57I've seen that tourists have been taking it too far here,
35:01underestimating the consequences.
35:03And it seems many pay the ultimate price.
35:08Looking online, there's lots of articles about Brits who've lost their lives in Thailand.
35:16Especially in Phuket.
35:18So many different stories come up.
35:23British tourist dies in Phuket drain after climbing a barrier.
35:29British holiday maker dies in Thailand motorbike crash.
35:34It was only put up a month ago.
35:37One tragic case that recently hit the headlines
35:40is of 28-year-old Regan Kelly from South London,
35:44who vanished in the early hours of January 3rd.
35:50Two days later, his naked body was found in the water off Patong Beach.
35:58The last time Regan is seen is on CCTV, running onto the beach.
36:06I've reached out to Regan's older sister, Laurie,
36:09and she's agreed to talk to me from the UK.
36:12Hi, Laurie.
36:13I just wanted to say I'm so, so, so sorry for your loss.
36:16Thank you, I appreciate that.
36:18What were the circumstances that led up to that night?
36:22He wanted to make it there for the New Year's Eve party on Patong Beach,
36:26which he did, and he was updating us and saying how fabulous it was.
36:32Regan arrived in Phuket with a friend
36:37and planned to spend a month travelling across the country.
36:40and then we didn't hear anything for two days.
36:45Myself and my dad had texted Regan and it was only one tick.
36:49After the second day, we were just growing even more concerned
36:52and we were just, like, trying to post on socials that Regan's missing
36:56and then obviously discovered that Regan had been found in the sea.
36:59Laurie and her dad then flew out to Thailand.
37:06So what did you find out?
37:08Regan was seen outside the hostel having a conversation with this guy that he'd met
37:13and then Regan gets up and then he leaves and then he runs down.
37:20I'm thinking he wants to go to the sea and just go for a walk along the beach.
37:25I'm not sure.
37:26But what happens on that beach after, I don't know, because I've had lots of messages warning me.
37:37It can be quite a violent place at night, especially early hours of the morning.
37:45Did the police do an investigation into what happened to your brother?
37:49I wouldn't really call it much of an investigation, if I'm honest.
37:53They just said, listen, accident.
37:55I feel like because it hit British media, they have just opened and closed the case
38:01because they don't want to put tourists off.
38:03I feel like somebody knows what happened to Regan, but they just, they're not sharing.
38:07What do you think happened to Regan?
38:09I believe my brother was murdered.
38:12It wasn't an accident because when he was found, he had a sock on his foot
38:16and he would never have entered that sea with a sock on his foot.
38:20It just wouldn't happen.
38:23Laurie and her dad did their own investigation and tracked down the man who found Regan's body.
38:29He was very helpful.
38:31He said he drove out on the jet ski to him.
38:35He said, I held his hand and I drove him back to, back to, back to the shore, which was,
38:41yeah, it was hard, that was hard.
38:43The tourist police politely advised that if we continue asking questions, he said,
38:52we are stirring up a hornet's nest.
38:54It feels like this is leaving more questions than it is answers, actually.
38:58So many more questions.
39:00I feel like I've come back from Thailand and it's completely changed me as a person.
39:04Completely changed me.
39:06I can't see how I'm ever going to get my head around it.
39:09God, that's really emotional.
39:19You know, that whole time when I was speaking to her, I was putting myself in her shoes thinking,
39:23how are you so strong talking about this?
39:25Because I would be in bits if this was my brother.
39:27It feels like Laurie and her family will never be able to close the book.
39:33And it's awful. Awful.
39:36Stories like this make me scared to be in Thailand.
39:38As the sun goes down, I've come to the beach near to the main strip, where Regan spent his last night.
39:54It's literally a stone's throw from Bangla Road. I can just see it now.
40:02No one's sure whether he went for a swim or whether he was forced into the water.
40:09It could have been an accident.
40:11But getting answers out here is pretty difficult, if not impossible.
40:18We contacted the Phuket tourist police, who told us they do not have authority to investigate Regan's death.
40:27Their role is to assist the relatives of the deceased in relation to which they said they did their best.
40:33They said they did not prevent the relatives from investigating on their own.
40:37We also contacted Phuketong Provincial Police, who are responsible for the investigation, but did not receive a response.
40:54My journey through Thailand is drawing to a close.
40:58But before I go, there's one last person to catch up with.
41:02Lucas, you made it!
41:04How are you? I did.
41:05He's alone again, and he's just told me he's also about to leave.
41:10So, this is your last few days then, so are you going to be going home?
41:13Yeah.
41:14How long were you originally going to come out here for then?
41:17Six to eight weeks.
41:18And how long has it been?
41:20Three and a half.
41:22Where do you think it's gone a bit wrong?
41:25Pattaya.
41:26How much are you spending in Pattaya?
41:28Around £100 to £200 a day.
41:31£200 a day?
41:32Yeah.
41:33The point of coming to Thailand though, was to keep the prices down a bit.
41:36Yeah.
41:38Would you do it again?
41:39Would you pay for sex again?
41:40No.
41:41I think because I've learnt the hard way.
41:43No.
41:44Because of how I felt when I was sober.
41:46I would never do this back at home.
41:48I don't think I let myself down because it was an experience and like I said, I don't regret it.
41:52But the feeling was kind of just like, ooh.
41:57Could your trip have potentially been a bit longer?
42:00Yeah.
42:01I could have done three months.
42:02I guess I'm here for a good time, not a longer time.
42:05Good things come to an end, I guess.
42:07You came to Thailand alone and you're leaving Thailand alone.
42:09Yes.
42:11Having made a few new friends along the way.
42:12Yeah.
42:14I've loved it.
42:22This trip to Thailand has been one of the most eye-opening trips I've ever been on in my life.
42:28Everything you see on socials is true.
42:30There's something here for everyone, whatever your version of paradise is.
42:35Thailand represents a land of opportunity and the ability to start afresh.
42:41But the sense of freedom can be a double-edged sword and you have to keep your wits about you.
42:47One wrong move could change the course of your life forever.
42:52So, although it is complex, it's an incredible adventure.
43:00Yeah.
43:02I'm glad I was lucky.
43:04I guess I got the other way.
43:07But it's a great privilege.
43:09People are happy to put them on the outside.
43:11Right in the distance.
43:13I've got the other side in front of me.
43:15Right in the distance.
43:17I'm glad I'm here.
43:19I've got the other side in front of me.
43:21For a little distance from my heart, I'm standing up in front of my heart.
43:24Now I'm down to see you on the side of my heart.
43:27I'm ready.
43:28Se inscreva no canal.
43:58Se inscreva no canal.
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