There are few more beautiful places in the world than Phi Phi Island about 50kms off the coast of Phuket. With its golden beaches, huge limestone cliffs and dense jungle, it is the stuff of picture postcards. And there's no better place to celebrate the New Year than at one of the island's great beach bars and restaurants.
No so for an American tourist, whose New Year festivities came to a tragic end this year. As he was wending his way back to his bungalow after partying at a bar, the man stopped to relieve himself on the edge of a rocky outcrop. Unfortunately, he lost his balance and fell to his death on the rocks below. He had suffered five broken ribs, one of which punctured a lung. 
The body of Michael Schwartz, 64, was found at 6am by police. It was wedged between two rocks under a Bodhi tree. The bluff from which he fell is known by the Thais as hin lek fai (stone, iron and fire) because of the large boulders at its base. Phi Phi residents are superstitious at the best of times, so the untimely death of another tourist will only add to the number of spirits they believe roam the island. In fact, the name Phi Phi means "Island of Ghosts".I have been to Phi Phi many times (and had my fair share of drinks there), but in the future I will think twice before I empty my bladder just anywhere. A ghost could be watching.
