Floating football field keeps Thai tourism blues at bay

Koh Panyee, Thailand

WITH its stunning limestone cliffs towering over stilt houses surrounded by azure waters, the island of Panyee is a typical Thai paradise. But it's not mother nature drawing tourists here - it's a floating football pitch.

Thailand's tourism industry has taken a battering this year following months of protests, the May military coup, the subsequent imposition of martial law and the brutal slaying of two young Britons on the holiday isle of Koh Tao in September.