The Electric Pitchfork

SOUTHEAST ASIA Where to find the unspoilt Thailand of The Beach You can still enjoy an old school Thai holiday: head to sleepy Ko Phayam and Ko Chang Paradise found: Ko Phayam, near the Burmese border There’s a problem at Thailand’s most brilliant beach hangout, Hippy Bar. The G string has broken on the acoustic guitar, making it tricky for the owner, Jim, to play his favourite Thai pop songs. He sits cross-legged in a bamboo chair opposite me, gamely plucking the five remaining strings. Whatever I’d hoped for from Ko Phayam, an island 20 miles shy of the Burmese border — quiet stretches of sand, the bath-warm Andaman Sea, tracks winding through glossy jungle — a driftwood bar cobbled together by a Thai Hendrix lookalike hadn’t featured. The bar, which stands behind Ao Khao Kwai Beach, incorporates a makeshift collection of scrappy treehouses and a homemade galleon. It’s part Robinson Crusoe, part Pirates of the Caribbean. Jim gives up on the two songs he knows and swigs a ...

THE BIG TRIP The  Ultimate Guide to Iceland It has ancient glaciers, explosive geysers, hot springs and, with a bit of luck, the northern lights. We plot the perfect action-packed week Sarah Marshall December 10 2017, 12:01am,  The Sunday Times Awesome aurora: the northern lights shine over Vatnajokull National Park GETTY Share Save Iceland is where nature lets loose and has a party. Glaciers spill down from icecaps, lava fields belch sulphuric spirals of steam, volcanoes growl deep beneath the earth’s crust and the northern lights dance over the mayhem. The human population has had to be just as rugged: this is a land of heroic Viking sagas and mischievous trolls. And — handily for travellers — you can experience the best of the country in just a week. The kooky capital, Reykjavik, is a great base for exploring the main sights in the southwest, such as the geological wonders of the Golden Circle, ice caves and hot springs. But ...

Folk superstar and truth-seeking artist: The real Rory McEwen 8 December 2017 You may not have heard of  Rory McEwen , but millions watched the folk musician perform on TV in the 1960s, and John Lennon, Ravi Shankar and Allan Ginsberg were guests at his home in Chelsea. He then sought truth in beautiful botanical paintings before his untimely death aged 50. Rory McEwen An Eton-educated aristo, Rory McEwen's love of Blues would take him and his brother Alex to the US in the late 1950s where he met the widow of his hero, Huddie 'Leadbelly' Ledbetter. He also spent time with folk singer Pete Seeger, as well as appearing on consecutive nights on the prestigious  Ed Sullivan Show . McEwen inspired young hopefuls such as Van Morrison and Billy Connolly with his 12-string guitar playing Unusually for folkies, in New York the brothers stayed with one of the  Astors . Their time in the States would launch a fascinating...