It was a simple strategy: take out the big ones in a surprise attack, leaving the little ones ripe for a hostile takeover. I did not count on the agility, cunning and cheekiness of the children of Khok Chang School, Hua Hin.

On a trip to highlight Thailand’s luxury MICE destinations (imagine travelling Kate and Wills style), we were treated to a different kind of luxury as we stepped from our swish coaches into the smiling welcome of the kindergarteners of Khok Chang School – who sent us straight to work on building them a clay mud schoolhouse.

I ‘volunteered’ our team to mix the clay, water and rice husks with our feet…and eventually our hands.

The children gently scolded those of us who got it wrong, shy at first but slowly warming to the fact that they held all the power. Liberties were taken and the adults were soon covered in mud.

What else could we do but attack?

Suddenly the air was still. Then thud. I got one on his leg. Thud. Thud. Two down. But then they caught on and rather than the small balls of mud I was using, they had mounds of clay in their arsenal.

I was surrounded. I called for back up, but nothing. My team smiled (possibly still upset about the ‘volunteering’), the photographers just took pictures…

In a feigned ceasefire, I posed with some of the kids. As I went to wipe a muddy finger on the chief mud slinger’s face, his mud-filled hand made contact with my mouth.

Later, in the luxury of Asara Villas and Suites, Hua Hin, I soak in my private pool, noticing how soft my skin is, how silky my hair feels. I realise that of all the spa treatments available in Thailand, a pool of mud with a pack of kids, is the best.

Click here to see more pictures.