Sleeping in the Trees

With the monsoon bearing down on us, we went for one last island visit.

First, a visit to the market at Marang before boarding the speedboat to the island. Still sore from my slip down the steps the previous week, I was very relieved to see that the ocean was doldrumy and  silky-smooth so that the boat-ride didn't add to my bruises.

 We stayed in one of the tree-houses at the 'Qimi' resort - somewhat more upmarket from the previous places we have stayed.

These cabins are built into the hillside, blending in with the trees, constructed out of mostly local timber and rocks off the beach - we watched as they started building a new one while we were there, grabbing stones directly out of the waves.

 Our spacious cabin came with a king-size bed, complete with comfortable (non-mouldy) mattress, as well as wardrobe, table, and chairs (unlike at some of the other resorts).

 There is a bathroom (without going down stairs!) complete with bath - though no hot water! - and a second 'outside' bathroom with a shower built around a tree-trunk.

 They not only provide towels, but they fold them into little swans!

And just down there is the dining room and lounge area.

 

They sent up a complimentary plate of delicious, fresh, colourful fruits (and a flower) - of course I had to polish off the beautiful mango before it got to Peter with his allergy!

 

 Then we went down to the lounge to mull through the bookshelf - people read a lot in these resorts, and a kind of book exchange has developed naturally. (Unfortunately almost all of them were in German.)

 Peter had a bit of a chat with one of the chaps, talking about islands and building materials - the man showed him where they had incorporated palm logs into the building structures.

 Then we settled down to read, and stare at the sea, and relax.

The resort has a nice section of beach, boasting some of the best coral around the island.

Maybe because of the approaching monsoon, the water was full of jellies - although most of them seemed to be tentacle-less and dying. We saw a couple of massive ones one the beach, about a metre across, but nothing like that in the water.

The coral was as beautiful as ever, with delightful little surprises that pop out here and there.

 And of course there were plenty of clown-fish going out and in and out ...

Peter made some new friends - a couple of little eels that he hadn't seen before.

In the evening they put tablecloths and candles on the tables under the trees on the beach.

We had a lovely meal of prawns and noodles served in a clay pot. And then we went up to our big bed in the trees to read and relax.

oh... there was the other little thing...

When we got up there I was a little startled to come face-to-face with a large, brown rat! He was kinda cute-looking, round-faced - not one of those disgusting evil-looking rats! He had come for the treats we had brought from the market on the mainland (and left unwrapped!) Well that was fine, except he didn't want to leave, and we wanted to go to bed. We spent a little time chasing him around under the bed, behind the wardrobe, behind the curtains ... and finally out the door!