Kindness of strangers: Lost in the Thai rainforest, a fellow backpacker picked me up and carried me home

For hours we hobbled back, until we were close enough for him to place me down and run for help Read more in the kindness of strangers series We had heard there was an incredible waterfall somewhere deep in the Thai rainforest. Seeking it out almost killed me. In 2003 I was travelling solo through south-east Asia when I met Paul, an American with an easygoing, natural warmth. We were the only two people bunking at a youth hostel somewhere in southern Thailand and got chatting one morning. W...

By Ankit Rao as told to Katie Cunningham