Pictures Not Included

Well, I'm back from Thailand and I had a blast. I wish I had more time, but four days and five nights was enough for now. The vacation consisted of mostly relaxing on the beach or by the pool and partying, with a little shopping thrown in for good measure. The next few posts will be about my various experiences there, ending finally with the pictures as soon as I get them. I used my friend's cameras and now I'm waiting for the pictures via email.

Today I wanted to talk a little about the hotel we stayed at: The Jungle Club. The Jungle Club is not like your usual hotel. Situated on the top of a small mountain near Chaweng Beach in Koh Samui, the Jungle seaks to emulate the feel of a real jungle. This is accomplished by placing your bungalow or villa in the middle of the real jungle surrounded by all the normal jungle comforts which frequently visit the inside of your room and scare the shit out of you in the shower. These comforts include ants, flies, mosquitoes, spiders, big spiders, salamanders, really big salamanders, bats, birds, the occasion chicken and some other assorted insects I can't readily identify. But, you can't complain, because as Doug says: it's the jungle experience.

The atmosphere is very quiet and relaxed and the pool must be seen to be believed. The main part of the resort features a beautiful partially covered outdoor bar and restaurant which had some of the best food I tried on the island. The green curry was especially good, as where the French fries! The owner, It, has a penchant for music and was constantly spinning good tunes. I spent almost two days sitting in the hammock and reading.

The only down side to this lovely experience was the fact that since the resort is on a mountain, you have to take a 4WD vehicle up to the top. Usually the staff is there to help you out, but occasionally when you are too drunk to call them you can climb it yourself, which I did, in the dark, while being chased by the local's dogs. Not recommended.

Wisdom of the Day: it's a jungle out there!