You don't have to be a student to experience gap-year fun FULL-MOON parties, beach bungalows for a tenner a night, paradise islands, hair braids and tattoos… No wonder Thailand is one of the top destinations of the gapyear traveller seeking adventure and a spiritual experience at a reasonable price.

Among all the students waiting for a boat to the party island of Koh Phangan, I was two decades older but seeking adventure just the same.

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Or at least something to make me feel more cheerful about having just turned 40.

Most people of my age - some might call it middle age, I prefer middle youth - opt for a package to Thailand. All-inclusive with the family, that sort of thing...

But I wanted to be an independent traveller. So I'd packed my rucksack and boarded a Thai Airways night flight direct from Heathrow to Bangkok.

Green curry as the in-flight meal set the culinary tone for my South-East Asian adventure and, by the time we touched down in the 33-degree heat, I was feeling like Julia Roberts in Eat Pray Love.

I caught an overnight train to Surat Thani, the departure point for the Gulf of Thailand islands, and joined the mass of 18-year-olds on the ferry to Koh Phangan.

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I was exhausted by the time I arrived but when I reached Thong Nai Pan Yai beach and saw the clear blue sea and stretch of golden sand backed by cafes and bars, I revived.

My friend Elisa, who had already been doing the backpacker thing for a couple of weeks, had booked a bungalow with windows facing the beach.

Those £10-a-night huts were available - perfectly adequate, with cold showers and overhead fans - but, at £35 a night, our room was a bargain. And it had air con!

We sat on our balcony drinking the local brew Singha and watched fishing boats bobbing in the bay as the sun set.

"All the days roll into one here," Elisa said.

Too true. Breakfast, swim, siesta and stroll, beer in the pool bar at nearby Dreamlands, Thai red curry, Mai Tai on the sand, then a drink in the Yai bar.

One day we hired a kayak for a couple of quid and paddled to the nearby beach Thong Nai Pan Noi, the lights of which we saw sparkling from our balcony every night.

If you want to do upmarket, the Rasananda Resort, which charges around £150 a night for a room, is the place to go, with sharp lines and lots of glass.

We spent a couple of hours there, sipping on £7 Siam Sunrays, a mixture invented by the hotel barman that won the prize last year for Thailand's best new cocktail.

Then we kayaked home in a hurry, realising dusk was falling and we'd be all at sea in the dark.

Island-hopping is big with independent traveller types so, after a week, we moved to Koh Tao, an island loved by divers. It also has mini-golf.

After an hour-long catamaran trip, we were met by friends who had gone on ahead.

They had hired motorbikes for £3 a day which sped us straight to the Freedom Beach Resort at Chalok Baan Kao, home to the beautiful people in their itsy-bitsy bikinis.

Our room, at only £8 a night, was on stilts in the sea, with the most magnificent views.

I made myself at home on one of the hammocks strung beneath the mango trees on the beach while Elisa went snorkelling at the rather alarmingly-named Shark Bay.

Later we ate traditional Thai food in the island's main town of Mae Haad, paying a fiver for a beer and a chicken massaman.

Then it was time for my return journey alone, via boat and overnight train to Bangkok, where I had 24 hours before my plane departed.

I booked into the Budget Hotel off the backpacker haven of Khao San Road.

It was basic, with just a double bed, overhead fan and shared shower but, at £6 a night, I wasn't complaining.

The Wat Pho temple is a must-see, as is tasting a banana pancake from one of the stalls on the Khao San.

After a £2, ten-minute tuk tuk ride, I drew up outside the temple and went straight for the main attraction - the Reclining Buddha. Gold-plated, with feet and eyes adorned with mother-of-pearl, it is 46 metres long and 15 metres high.

Afterwards, I wandered around the temple's vast grounds.

Cats lolled at temple doors and stone elephants were garlanded with strings of flowers as relaxing music filtered through the walkways.

Back on the Khao San, the sun was setting and the place was like Glastonbury, with music pumping, bohemian types having their hair dreadlocked and hands henna-ed - and street stalls selling fake ID, including a card that claimed the holder was an FBI agent!

I bought food from a street stall - chicken with ginger and rice for 60p - then visited one of the many Khao San beauty parlours, where I had a foot massage, pedicure and facial for £7. And while I didn't return home tattooed, braided or spiritually enlightened, I was relaxed, refreshed and proud I had done it on my own.

FactFile

THAI Airways flies twice daily to Bangkok. Its first retro-fitted Boeing 747-400 flies the route from December, with individual entertainment screens in all classes. See thaiairways.co.uk ¦ Rooms at Central Cottage in Koh Phangan cost from £10. Visit centralcottage.net for details.

At the Rasananda resort, right, rooms cost from £150. See rasananda.com Freedom Beach resort has rooms from £8. Visit freedombeachresort.info/