On Day 1, We took a shuttle to the pier in Krabi for our boat to Koh Jum. We grabbed a coffee before boarding for our 11:30 departure. The boat was similar to the one we took from Phuket, but a bit smaller. We were soon on our way and about an hour later rendezvoused with the long tail boats from the accommodations on Koh Jum. We delicately transferred mid-ocean to the smaller boat and were on our way to Joy Bungalow. We were grateful that we left our large backpacks behind!

Joy Bungalow is an absolute dream. The closest thing to Robinson Caruso we'd ever experienced. We checked into bungalow 11. Talk about sparse accommodation - no electricity and basically mosquito netted beds and a toilet. But what was the real charmer was the sea view. Koh Jum isn't one of the more dramatic Thai islands from a visual standpoint - and that is part of the charm. Nothing to do but relax, eat, and forget all your troubles. Speaking of eating, we were starving so we had lunch. Delicious green chicken curry was on offer at the bungalow's charming and rustic restaurant. It tasted even better with the Chang beer. Before long, it started to rain. Actually, it poured like we'd never seen before. We decided to just wait it out at the restaurant and kept drinking ;).

Eventually the rain let up and we returned to the room for a cold shower. We then walked along the nearly deserted white sand beach. We were amused by the thousands of little crabs that scurried around our feet. The beach was nice, but unfortunately a good deal of trash, including glass, has washed up on the shore during the long rainy season which is now (sort of) coming to an end.

We then decided to take the path through the jungle to the "village" on the other side of the island. Not a great idea! The path was complete mud after the rain, and the walk was tough in flip flops. We left all our other shoes in Ao Nang. Even worse, mosquitos by the millions descended upon us, completely unfazed by the repellent containing close to 100% DEET we were wearing. In the end the village was underwhelming, and by the time we left it was starting to get dark. Nothing worse than trekking through the jungle in flip flops after dark! We made it back just as it got totally dark. Craig managed to get about 10 mosquito bites and got some pretty nasty cuts on his feet during the long. Efren of course came through unscathed.

We rewarded ourselves with a nice dinner at the bungalow. Fresh barracuda was on the menu, and it was deliciously prepared steamed with a tangy soy ginger sauce. Absolutely delicious. We ended the meal with some spicy ginger tea. We hung around at the outdoor restaurant for awhile chatting with other travelers who were eating, reading, or playing some of the many board games on hand. The staff was so nice and friendly as well. We met a fun couple from London - Talev and David - and their friend Jo. We chatted with them for a bit before heading back to the bungalow, with lantern and flashlights in hand, for some sleep. Craig diligently sprayed the room for bugs, lit the mosquito coil, and dropped the mosquito netting over the beds. After another quick shower, it was lights out.. Oh wait, they were never turned on to begin with!

On Day 2, we awoke to the sound of coconuts falling on the bungalow around 1:30am. At first we thought it was vivid dreams from the malaria medication we are taking! Slept for a few more hours and got up around 6 am. Definitely early to bed and early to rise here! We went for a long walk on the beach before it got too hot. On the way we passed several other bungalows, including the Woodland Lodge. The friendly waitress waved to us as we walked by and we made a note to visit later for a meal. Back at Joy we had a tasty breakfast of banana pancakes. The bananas here are wonderful - small, creamy and much tastier than the ones we get at home. The coffee and tea, however, are surprisingly disappointing and tend to be Nescafé or a Lipton tea bag.

After breakfast we went for a swim in the beautiful waters of the Andaman Sea. We swam for close to an hour and then decided to head down to Woodland Lodge for lunch and had wonderful chicken curry and Penang curry and REAL coffee. It was so delicious - probably the best meal we'd eaten so far on the trip. Hard to believe such amazing food can come from an outdoor kitchen on a neary deserted island without full-time electricity! We learned the meals today were being cooked by the owner, Soe. We also made friends with the waitress who waved at us earlier in the day, and her name is Add. We told he we'd come back later for dinner.

We spent the rest of the day relaxing and swimming before heading back to Woodland for dinner. Another great meal. This time we also spent some time chatting with other travelers. There was the older couple from Denmark who spent 6 months a year on the island. They really enjoyed the Chang beer! We met Amanda from the USA who had just started her 3 month trip around Asia. We are very jealous! We also met a couple from San Francisco, and ironically they live only a few blocks from Efren - small world. After socializing we headed back to Joy just as David, Talev and Jo showed up for dinner. We walked back in the dark and were planning to go to bed, but we're tempted by the beautiful freshly caught mackerel at Joy and decided to have a second dinner. Why not, we're on vacation after all!