Jesse had booked her trip of a lifetime to Thailand. Her bags were packed now she was all ready to go. Excitedly she waited for her bus to the airport and when it arrived she kissed goodbye to her Mum and Dad. Arriving at Heathrow she made her way to the plane. She was nervous as she had never taken a long haul flight by herself, but cheerfully handed over her tickets and found a seat. The Thai Airways air hostesses wore beautiful clothes and had orchids in their hair. It was so exotic. She settled herself in her seat and put on the in flight entertainment. In several hours the dinner was served and when she had eaten she began to feel sleepy. She settled herself as comfortably as she could with a pillow and blanket and slept.

Back home she had organized herself an interview with a school called English First. It was in one of the business areas of Bangkok. She hoped to teach English and make a little money to support herself.

In the morning she was given breakfast and they soon began their decent into Don Muang Airport. The heat and humidity hit her as she walked off the plane. Feeling jet lagged and rather disorientated she decided to spend the night in the airport hotel and make her way to the backpacker centre of Kao Sarn Road the following day.

After a good night’s rest she took a bus to the tourist area and found a cheap, sweltering backpackers lodge where the nightclub music pounded the floor until the early hours of the morning.

At eight am she put on some smart clothes and made her way down the trendy Silom Road to the Koongboomra building. That was the location of the school which had shown interest in her. The place was well air conditioned and men and women walked about in suits and spoke in Thai. She sat down in the reception area and waited to be called in for her interview. The manager was English and about fifty. He said he knew London well and had a house in Mayfair. She showed him her TEFL certificate but he did not look impressed.

‘Do you have a degree?’