Sabai, Sabai (In The Jungles of Thailand)

Now I can cross "sleeping in a hut in the Jungle" off my list, though admittedly, I never thought I'd find that one on the top of my "to do!" With one week left in the semester, I set off for Koh Samui, Thailand. I stayed at a place called "The Jungle Club," which came highly recommended to me by my friend, Tai, (ironically). So for something like $15 Sing a night, I stayed in a bug-infested hut. But what an experience, and one I will surely never forget! Since I didn't choose to upgrade to a Bungalow or a Villa, with my hut came cold water and a toilet that doesn't flush. Instead, there's a giant bucket of water next to the toilet, and a pail to scoop the water from the bucket to the toilet. All toilet paper gets thrown in the wastebasket.

I was picked up at the airport by "Adam," the driver who was hired by The Jungle Club. Adam asked me if I wanted to listen to "American Music" so he put on Bob Marley, and later commented that this was his only CD. (Interestingly, I continued to hear Bob Marley every where I went on the island.) But Adam could only take me so far, because The Jungle Club is at the top of a very tall, steep, windy, narrow and rocky mountain, and regular cars can't drive up that way. And I mean very rocky...if there is anything like turbulence in a car, this was it! So I was met at the bottom of this hill by Jake (who works at The Jungle Club) and his pick up truck. (Jake, interestingly, had Red Hot Chili Peppers playing in the car, I later burned him a few CDs to add to his collection.)

Jake took me to the restaurant/bar area of the Jungle Club, where I was greeted by the owner and the bartender, who mixed me a drink. Jungle Club has the feel immediately upon arrival that you've known these people you're whole life: it's a very fun and casual feel.

The next day, I woke up and had breakfast. It was very windy, but it did not rain. Now that it was daylight, I could see the incredible panoramic view. If anything, this place was worth coming to just to wake up to that: probably one of the most gorgeous spots in the world! I relaxed in an open hut that hangs over the edge of the cliff and got several hours of work done, before moving on to the pool side lounge chairs, which also hosted a beautiful view of the sea, where I got more work done. I'm writing a play (or attempting to, anyway) on the life of Robert Capa, the late Hungarian photojournalist, so that's what I was working on in Thailand.

One may wonder how I can bare to do work on my "holiday," but this wasn't really a "holiday" for me, it was more of an escape, so that I could get work done...and see some new terrain while I'm at it.

The guys who work at the Jungle Club were all amazed that I was there alone. I just smile and say, "I'm a free spirit...an adventurer!" but I do see their point. This is definitely not a place I would recommend going alone...oh, it's perfectly safe, but it's really a place for a romantic getaway...like where couples go in the heat of their passion to consummate their love....or where you'd spend your honeymoon (in that case, I would splurge on a villa!)...and I will admit, that after my first day of just writing, I thought I'd either be bored or lonely by the end of the trip, but boy was I wrong.

After getting my work done, I headed into town. I had three hours to explore, so I decided to go Christmas shopping. Somehow I managed to go through the budget I'd set aside for shopping in about an hour. (This is one of those places where you can barter, and you know how much I love to barter!) I wont tell you what I bought, that would just spoil the surprise(s)!

I must say, though, it got annoying after awhile being stopped on every street corner by men selling things: "Where you from?" They'd automatically ask. "This your first day here." "You alone?" "Where you staying?" (Don't worry Mom, I didn't give up that information...) It got really annoying. One guy chased me down the street after I told him I didn't want him to make me an Armani knockoff, saying, "You're so beautiful...! You come back tonight?" (No Mom, I didn't come back that night...or ever.) One guy kept insisting I was Scandinavian. "You're not Russian?" He said, seemingly surprised. Often people ask me if I'm Australian, but that's probably because Australia is so close and there are plenty of Aussie tourists around.

Anywho, after my shopping extravaganza, I stopped off at a Hawker-like place and had some dinner.

I spent my last hour getting a Thai Massage, for $200 Bat. (which, in USD is exactly $5.62...my cheapest massage yet, and possibly the best!) In a Thai massage, they hit every nook and cranny, and they don't just massage you, they stretch your muscles. I felt so relaxed afterwards!

I then headed back to the Jungle Club, this time on the back of the pickup truck...which was exhilarating (if you could properly balance yourself so that you don't fly off and tumble into the jungle)!

I hung out at the restaurant/bar for the rest of the evening, talking to the other guests. One of the guests, Mel, had been in Koh SamuiNikoli and Angela, who are living in Bangkok and were holidaying in Koh Samui. Angela teaches English in Bangkok, and Nikoli is a chef, hoping to open up his own bar.
Finally, there was James, who wasn't a guest per se, but he frequents the Jungle Club for the cocktails and the view. James is originally from New Zealand, spent most of his life in London, and for the past two years has made Koh Samui his home. He runs a Travel Agency. I ended up drinking for free for most of the weekend. (Again, they don't get many single ladies there, so they were especially nice to me.)

On my third day in Thailand, I woke up to the sounds of rain pouring down upon my thatched roof, (it is Monsoon season, after all!) so I stayed in bed, hoping the roof wouldn't collapse. I wasn't sure how the rain wasn't seeping through the walls of my hut yet, especially since the bathroom roof was partially open-air. I took a quick shower and emerged out of my hut when it had stopped raining. I had the "American Breakfast" and joined Nikoli and Angela for their breakfast.

I then went into town (riding on the back of the pickup truck again) and ended up spending the day with a British couple, Dan and Laura. (The funny thing is, we all realized by the end of the day, that we never formally introduced ourselves, so they didn't know my name, and I didn't know theirs! Dan told me later that he commented to his girlfriend, "Did we just buy a drink for someone who's name we don't know?!" Hah.) Anywho, we went into Chaweng, one of the main towns in Koh Samui, and the three of us headed to the beach. We walked along the entirety of the beach (for the most part), and stopped along the way to have a drink at a beach-side cafe. We then parted ways for a few hours, and I went to another beach-side cafe to get some more writing done, which was surprisingly successful on my part.

After about an hour or so, I decided to explore some more of the town, and prevented myself from doing any more shopping (after all, I had practically gotten what I could out of the marketplace already)! I went back to my favorite Thai Massage place, had another massage, and got a pedicure/foot scrub on top of that. Delightful.

I soon realized I was running late to meet back up with Dan/Laura (or "the British couple, as they were to me at that point) at a previously designated hot-spot. I haul-tailed it to Awkwa, a trendy coffee shop in town, where we were to meet for a drink and then meet our ride back to the Jungle Club.

The story of how Dan and Laura met was quite amazing. Dan's a police officer in London in the Murder Unit. Apparently, someone in Laura's family was unfortunately murdered, "and then I slept with the guy who was investigating the case," quips Laura. I don't know, this could be a movie...oh wait, it sounds a little bit like "Sea of Love," doesn't it? Either way, it's a great story...of sorts.

That evening, the three of us went to a Thai Boxing Match, thanks to Jake, who drove us there. Obviously, a new experience for me, it was exciting to watch. There were about seven or eight matches in the night, mostly young guys--like 10 or 11 to about 19 or 20, I'd guess. Dan, Jake, and I placed bets with each other on each match, mostly 20bat bets. I came out $160 Bat on top!

The next, and last, day at Jungle Club, I took pretty easy. I had breakfast, rested in the hammock, talked with some guests and pretty much chilled out. I played cards with Dan and Laura (Trumps, a new one for me) and it was fun. I bid farewell and at about 2:30 (Thai Time, as they say, which is always later than they say it will be) I left for the airport.

The Koh Samui airport is really nice. Small, with a thatched roof, but it has a stretch of outdoor shopping that sort of resembles the Promenade Shops in Saucan Valley (or maybe I'm just delirious and long for home again). At the gate, they have tables and chairs set up and a complimentary food/drink station, where you can get hot chocolate, juice, or coffee/tea, etc and danishes. It was quite nice! I watched the end of the Manchester United match before boarding my flight back to Singapore.

One week left. Time to finish up my scripts and start packing! See you in (less than) a week!