NOW the fuss has died down about the young people who landed themselves in a Malaysian jail after stripping off for a selfie on a sacred mountain, are there lessons to be learned?

Aside from posting ill-conceived Facebook pictures, young British backpacker Eleanor Hawkins and friends will hopefully have absorbed the top travel law — know the country you’re in and observe its customs.

They may not have realised that Mount Kinabalu was sacred, but some common sense should have kicked in about publicising any nude pictures.

As thousands of us prepare for holidays in increasingly out of the way places, it’s worth discovering more about where you’re visiting. And I don’t mean where the best restaurants are or the siting of the nearest British Embassy.

It’s a sign of respect to understand what is, and what isn’t, acceptable in your destination and to observe even the most basic indigenous rules.