article: Channel 4's Indian Summers star Olivia Grant headed to Phuket in Thailand before the start of filming the second series . I’ve always had a love affair with Thailand. At the end of filming Channel 4’s Indian Summers last year, I headed to Koh Phangan, an island off Ko Samui, and did a week-long meditation and yoga course. I came away convinced I was going to carry on doing a minimum of 30 minutes of meditation every morning in London – a resolve that was slowly eroded by the stresses of relying on London Underground and from Sunday hangovers. So I jumped at the chance of heading out to Thailand again before the start of filming series two. Despite an 18-hour journey on the flawless Singapore Airlines, I arrived in Phuket still excited about recapturing my zen. Phuket, however, is very different from Koh Phangan. First of all it is much greener, and secondly it is definitely an island with party in its bones. I was staying at the luxurious Sri Panwa resort, which comprises a series of minimalist villas complete with surround-sound systems pumping out Enya, and each with their own saltwater private infinity pool facing out on to the shimmering Andaman Sea. Villa co-ordinator Pim immediately apologised for the increased security around the resort (a Thai princess and Liam from One Direction were there). I’m sure you can just sit and chill in the hotel’s beautiful restaurants or sunbathe on your private terrace, but when Pim dropped me off at my villa, she revealed that another famous Sri Panwa guest – DJ Norman Cook (aka Fatboy Slim) – was performing at a nightclub called Seduction that evening. I decided zen could wait. Seduction turned out to be off Bangla Road, the heart of Phuket’s red-light district. Having grabbed a tuk-tuk from outside the hotel (complete with strings of fluorescent lights and speakers blaring out Taylor Swift’s Blank Space), I arrived at Patong Beach itself. This is the strip is where zen goes to die. Olivia did yoga at Sri Panwa’s Cool Spa, on a breathtaking platform called Baba Nest, which offers 360 degree views of Cape Panwa (pictured) Bangla Road in Phuket comes to life when the sun goes down. The road is shut to cars and becomes 1,312ft of neon lights, loud music and cheap beer . There are Thai versions of cabaret clubs such as Crazy Horse and Moulin Rouge, while street hawkers sold tickets to ‘ping-pong shows’, which I later discovered were not as innocent as they sounded. Pim ushered me up an escalator to Seduction’s rooftop party venue. Norman had just started his set and was whipping up a good-looking Thai crowd, all of whom seemed as if they were probably doing an MA at Central Saint Martins in London, into a frenzy. The odd British tourist was in there too, looking appropriately smug that they had stumbled into this stylish haven and escaped the booming sex trade below. The wife of one of the owners of Sri Panwa turned to me and whispered that everyone inside the club was ‘VVIP’. Content in this knowledge, I continued my very English head-bob to Norman’s hit song Praise You. The next morning, breakfast at Baba, Sri Panwa’s poolside restaurant, was a glorious affair. I faced my greatest challenge so far… selecting from the breakfast buffet. Room with a view! The luxurious Sri Panwa resort in Phuket features an infinity pool overlooking the Andaman Sea . I always get a bit nervous at buffets. It has to be a carefully managed procedure, and with only a certain amount of space and a plethora of choice, I did an almost ridiculous amount of hovering before settling on a rather ad hoc selection of banana pancakes followed by a Thai fish curry. Curious but excellent is the only way I can describe this combination. It is also testimony to the hotel that all the staff seemed so happy there. I caught a couple of them making faces while squirting the pancake mixture on to the griddle and giggling with a joyousness that I can’t really imagine at a breakfast buffet in London. I whiled away the afternoon reading by my infinity pool, slathering on the factor 50 at every opportunity, as my skin needs to be eased into even the most minimal sun exposure unless I want that a tantalising combination of prickly heat and sunburn. The James Bond Island is a popular feature in Phang Nga Bay, Phuket . I then headed up to Sri Panwa’s Cool Spa, where you can practise yoga on a breathtaking platform called Baba Nest, which offers 360 degree views of Cape Panwa. Our Thai yoga instructor, who coincidentally had a body which looked as if it had been carved out of mahogany, performed the chaturanga at sunset with a sinuousness that reminded me of that scene featuring the yoga instructor from Couples Retreat, for anyone who knows that film. He didn’t quite slap me on the bottom and say ‘Encouragement’, but it was a close-run thing. Then, after a fabulous dinner at Sri Panwa’s beautifully appointed Thai restaurant Soul Food, where the ‘squid on hot plate’ sizzled satisfactorily and the green curry with prawns was to die for, I submitted to the jet-lag and crashed out on pillows on which the maids had placed a shell and an orchid. Returning to my quest for zen the next morning, I headed north of Phuket and took a 30-minute boat ride to a quiet island in Phang Nga Bay, which I had been advised was much less touristy than the Phi Phi islands made famous by the film adaptation of Alex Garland’s The Beach. I was picked up by the staff of the Six Senses Yao Noi hotel and spa who had lined the bamboo pier, and was driven to the complex by a tuk-tuk, which bore no resemblance whatsoever to the ones in Phuket. DJ Hardwell also known as Fat Boy Slim,  performs a set. The DJ also stayed at the Sri Panwa and performed at a nightclub called seduction . The hotel is much more of a retreat than Sri Panwa and puts a lot of emphasis on being an eco-friendly, sustainable resort. The landscaped gardens are supposedly ‘edible’, there’s a space for some of the happiest free-range chickens I’ve ever seen, and a mushroom hut, where the chef harvests fresh oyster mushrooms. But this resort is also beautiful. Each of the villas contains a double bed with white mosquito nets hanging from interwoven horns, the bathrooms have beautiful copper standalone basins, and from the sunken bath there are exquisite views of the strange islets of Phang Nga Bay. The wooden decking leads to a private pool, but you can also pad down to the private sandy beach which stretches below and go for a swim. Fruit and drinks by the pool at Evason Six Senses Hideaway on Koh Yao Noi island . I ate poached rock lobster in coconut milk, lemongrass, galangal and kaffir lime, and a beef curry on jasmine rice, at Six Senses’ beautiful Hilltop restaurant before heading to the beach again where the hotel was screening the Hollywood classic Breakfast At Tiffany’s under the stars. As I listened to Audrey Hepburn describe Tiffany, I thought that this hotel also was a great place to head to when you had the ‘mean reds’ – nothing very bad could happen to you here. Back at Sri Panwa and there was just enough time to indulge in one more Asian-style breakfast curry before take-off. I also spotted Norman lounging by his pool, so I wandered over to congratulate him on his set a few nights before. Norman merely shrugged, as if the crazed hero-worship in the club was just a run-of-the-mill Tuesday, so I duly toned down my enthusiasm and sauntered off with the look of ‘Yeah, totally, I feel you. It’s a normal Tuesday night in Phuket for me too.’ And then it was back to London. I may have mislaid my zen in Phuket but I sure had partied. Indian Summers is out now on DVD. Singapore Airlines (singaporeair.com) offers return flights from Heathrow and Manchester to Phuket via Singapore from £760pp. Rates at Sri Panwa start at £336 per pool suite per night. Visit sripanwa.com . .
highlights: The luxurious Sri Panwa resort comprises a series of minimalist villas .
  While she was there Olivia was among guests who included Liam from One Direction and a Thai princess .
  Bangla Road is a lively night spot with numerous clubs and bars .
prediction: Channel 4' s Indian Summers star Olivia Grant headed to Phuket in Thailand before the start of filming the second series . 
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