Surin Beach: Whilst we were on Phuket island we stayed in a backpackers hotel in Phuket town. By coincidence many of the backpackers recruited as extras for the movie were also staying there. In one of the local streetside restaurants where we went for breakfast we caught up with a few of them for a chat.

None of the production team were allowed to tell us anything about the schedule and locations. However, they seemed to have forgotten to tell that to the backpackers! We already had a list of most of the locations and rough dates which we had found in the Thai tabloids back in January. Obviously, since then some dates have changed though the backpackers were able to fill us in with what is happening over the following few days. They told us that a hotel around the corner from where we were eating will be used soon for an exterior shot for Khao San Road (the first location in the book).

Following a tip-off from one of the backpackers (can't say who as they will get in trouble) we decided to head back to Surin beach where we were the day before. When we arrived, there was a lot of activity going on. It was obvious that the main film unit were there in force. This was confirmed when they brought out the directors chair followed by chairs for the three main leads. The names on the chairs were their character's rather than their real names.

The three stand-ins for Guillaume, Virginie and Leonardo. Whilst the three stars rested in comfort these people helped the film crew rehearse camera movements and lighting. After practising for maybe upwards of an hour the stand-ins would stand down and the stars then emerged. (photograph by thaistudents.com)

We watched the rehearsals for a while, standing with other interested on-lookers. The scene involved Richard and the French couple getting out of the bus and walking towards the beach bungalows. We took some pictures of all of the activity. Three stand-ins were being used during the camera rehearsals and so far there was no sign of the stars.

Then one of my students spotted Virginie chatting with a friend. No-one seemed to mind him taking her photo and other shots around the beach huts. However, things soon changed when Leonardo suddenly appeared out of no-where with two bodyguards to shoot his scene. One of the guards spoke to the small crowd telling them that they couldn't take a picture of Leonardo. However, he didn't seem to realise that none of the Europeans there spoke English. But his stance was scarey enough to know that you shouldn't argue that point with him. I wanted to get a couple of shots of the French couple and the director at work (we have enough photos of Leonardo don't we?!). I sneaked in a couple of shots, but I was spotted by one of the bodyguards who came charging over to me. I thought he was going to hit me. My students were really scared. But I don't really blame the bodyguards for getting angry as they were just doing there job. However, my students didn't really understand that. They were happy to have seen Leonardo after working on this project for so long but they were too scared to stay any longer.

The photographs on this page were taken by students and teachers at Sriwittayapaknam School in Thailand on location in Phuket. The pictures are of cast and crew members of "The Beach". These photographs are not for sale and cannot be published in magazines or newspapers. If webmasters wish to use these photographs on their web sites then please e-mail us first.

One of Leonardo's bodyguards watches over the small crowd of on-lookers. This bodyguard always kept close to Leonardo whilst the other patrolled the ground near the crowd. (photograph by thaistudents.com)

The pictures taken on location on this page were photographed by students and teachers at Sriwittayapaknam School, Samut Prakarn, Thailand. The copyright belongs to the school. The pictures cannot be used without permission from the webmaster. The trip to Phuket, Koh Phi Phi and Krabi was financed by the school owners.