Phuket, Thailand: a place where dreams, along with thousands of dalliances and relationships are made every single night.

But what happens when those walks on the beach, afternoon cocktails and delicious lie-ins give way to that drive to the airport, that last cup of coffee and hurried exchange of email addresses?

What happens when you have to wake up from your Phuket dream? At what point did the longing for something intangible turn from something that seemed so real in that first moment you caught her eye?

Work undertaken by ?Mark?, the owner of Thailand Private Investigations (TPI), hinges on the fear, confusion and pain of that exact moment.

TPI is the second oldest P.I agency in Thailand and has been operational since 1997. They undertake cases throughout Thailand, with the majority based in the Bangkok, Pattaya and Phuket areas.

As with other aspects of fraudulent conduct, the private investigations into relationships and affairs of the hearts and groins has had to evolve since its inception, ?The business is now much more into internet dating and abusive uses of social media. These sites are the modern day equivalent of a bar. Bar girls now don?t even necessarily work in bars anymore, they can do it all on the Internet,? revealed Mark.

Other than the nuances of technological advancement, however, Mark believes that little has changed in the types of requests he gets: ?We have two kinds of cases: The most common is following a girl that a guy has met whilst on holiday. When he goes back home to his own country, he wants to find out what she?s doing and if she is who she says she is.?

Services provided in such a case involve ?tailing? her from her residence to her workplace. ?Ordinary looking? Thai people are often used for surveillance and ?befriending?, while foreign staff will sometimes be deployed, depending on the scenario.

?A foreign guy for example can blend much less conspicuously in the bar environment, I often handle a lot of these cases myself,? Mark explains.

In other P.I companies, often the extent of the investigation merely involves a P.I going to a bar and paying money to see if the girl will sleep with him.

This Mark believes is unfair and not particularly useful, ?Often the girls are in a very desperate and poverty-stricken situation and which of them is not going to sleep with someone who offers her a few thousand baht??

A large part of the service TPI offers is an actual written assessment and entrapment, Mark argues, is not an accurate way to observe the Thai girl in her natural state.

?We prefer to go into their environment, to see whether she is the predator or not.?

Interestingly, although Mark vehemently disproves of entrapping by offering ?larger? sums of money, he does regularly perform ?short-time? (employing the services of a prostitute for a short time) entrapment.

?I do a lot of that,? said Mark, ?I go and meet said girl and start negotiations low. If she agrees then we go to wherever the short time location is and we have people with cameras nearby. After a few minutes I receive an emergency ?get-away? phone call.?

The second most common request that Mark receives is from foreign women, who are curious about their husband?s movements or constant trips to Thailand.

He explained that although he prefers not to get people in ?trouble?, often if it appears a man is neglecting his family and children, he takes the case with gusto.

?It?s bad for everyone, so we go and take plenty of photos to force him to face up to the matter. Sometimes this is the only way to get him to stop or think about his actions,? explained Mark.

He also revealed that quite often he will even talk to the philanderer to try to make him realise the error of his ways, ?Many men will continue to do it unless they meet somebody who can make them see sense. They?re often looking at things through rose-tinted glasses. I just make him realise that it?s basically the mating instinct that they are experiencing; it?s lust that they are experiencing, it?s not love.?

Foreign men who are investigated tend to fall into two categories: Firstly there?s the man who starts an affair with a Thai girl and then there?s the man who is addicted to having multiple sexual partners.

In the former Mark believes there is still hope for a possible reconciliation - if the wife so wished - as he believes falling for another lady shows that the man is at least relationship-orientated.

In these cases, he sometimes acts as a mediator/counsellor for the families, often to positive effect, ?I have talked many wives back from the brink of dumping their husband, and saved some families in the long run. The wife can usually handle the husband with my suggestions,? Mark said.

Mark does not see as much potential for reform or reconciliation in the latter cases however, and as such prefers not to get involved, ?This kind of man is just addicted to having multiple ladies and often drinks alcohol every night. He tends to have an addictive personality and that I do not deal with. Only systematic professional help can deal with addictions.?

TPI also doesn?t provide specific information that could theoretically inflame an already volatile situation.

?Often clients ask for names of who he/she has been cheating with and places where they meet, so that they may go and confront them themselves. We never give out such information. It?s too dangerous.?

Evidence is presented only after a particular dalliance, to avoid such crimes of passion, but also to prepare the video footage and photos and write up the log, report and analysis.

What happens next is down to the people involved, ?Either the customer gets peace of mind, or else the customer confronts their partner, or they just walk away. Occasionally the customer asks us to continue on an extended mission after they confront their partner. Often the investigated then asks us to investigate the girlfriend/wife in return.?

Mark?s world is often a dark and disturbing one; he sees drug use and ?questionably under-aged girls? regularly, and receives often hostile and derogatory comments, but although he admits he is not out to save the world, he does believe that he and other private investigation companies in Thailand are doing a valuable and necessary job.

?Relationships are very important for people. Families with children are on the line. Some men are investing a whole lot of their time, emotion, and hard-earned savings into a lady, and often considering making major changes in their lives, sometimes even affecting their job or career.

These men need to know the ground truth when they are away. We are trying to help guys from being scammed. Scamming men by relationships is a big business here, and many of the ladies are very professional about it.?

Mark is happily married?