PHUKET: A Chinese journalist and her mother found themselves going without dinner on the first night of their holiday on Phuket last night because their passports, cash and credit cards had disappeared.

Fortunately the good people of Phuket combined to restore the possessions of Li Muzi, 25, and her mother so that the writer for a Beijing travel and adventure magazine may find nice things to say about Phuket.

''We are so grateful,'' Li Muzi said today when she met Tourist Police and Somkiat Sriraksasin, manager of the orborjor Phuket City ''pinkie bus'' service. An honest bus employee found the bag yesterday evening and sounded the alert.

Li Muzi and her mother had arrived at Phuket International Airport on a flight from Beijing, caught a mini-van service to go shopping at Big C, the hopped on a pinkie bus to the apartment in Phuket City where they were holidaying for a few days.

''We were in total panic when we found ourselves with the shopping bags but no cash, credit cards or passport,'' the writer told Phuketwan today.

''The people at the apartment were so kind and bought us dinner. We retraced our movements and went to police.''

Today the bag was returned, with 11,420 baht in cash, the two passports and an array of credit cards.

''People on Phuket have been so kind,'' Li Muzi said. ''We can't thank everyone enough for doing the right thing.''

It's no longer a rare thing for tourists to have cash and possessions returned by honest Thais.

A Chinese couple who left a purse in a garage washroom also found their possessions in the hands of honest people and had the good returned.

A teacher who did the right thing even refused a reward.