Of the three major locations we visited in Thailand, Koh Jum was our favorite. We loved it so much, in fact, that we ended up visiting twice: once at the beginning of the trip and then again at the tail end of the trip. Koh Jum is located on the Andaman Sea between Krabi and Koh Lanta. The southern end of Jum is relatively flat with palm trees and sandy beaches and heavier tourism (although, this is certainly a relative term; the tourism on Jum is nothing compared to places like Phuket or even Koh Lanta.) In contrast, the northern coast, where we stayed, is remote and wild. You get a definite castaway feeling when you stay there (we totally felt like characters in Lost!) It is rocky and mountainous with heavy jungle cover, which, in part, helps to keep the crowds away. Personally, I love that rugged, rocky beach look (it reminded me a lot of the Washington Coast, although with much, much hotter weather.) Plus, heavier jungle means more monkeys for me to spy on! We rented a scooter one day so we could see the rest of the island, but mostly we just stayed close to our beach and swam and read our books or hung out at the bar. I had been forewarned that food on the islands was pretty bad in comparison to what you get in Bangkok. That, combined with the fact that we were pretty much limited to eating at the three resorts on our beach, meant my hopes for eating well were pretty low. In the end, however, we managed to find some pretty good, though not necessarily traditional Thai, food on Koh Jum. Here are some notes:

Ting Rai Bay - On our first visit to Koh Jum, we stayed at Ting Rai Bay Resort. As with all of the bungalows on Jum, to call it a resort is a bit misleading. Patch of land with a grouping of bungalows is probably more appropriate. Everyone we met at Ting Rai Bay, staff and guests alike, was very friendly and super mellow. It was unbelievably easy to get a room there; we simply hopped off the ferry onto Ting Rai Bay’s longtail boat and, 10 minutes later, we were sitting in the restaurant enjoying a complimentary drink and being shown the available bungalows. We got a lovely bungalow for 500 Baht (about $18USD.) Ours was at the very top of a long set of steps which meant that we had a wonderful view of the sea (but also meant getting a real workout every time you needed to go back to the room.) Everything about our stay at Ting Rai Bay was great…except for the food. I had a pretty horrific green papaya salad my first day there. They somewhat redeemed themselves with a decent green curry later that night but, really, it’s pretty tough to make a bad curry. We quickly learned to eat elsewhere.

Old Lamp - Old Lamp is the next resort down from Ting Rai Bay. The owner, who is the sweetest man, took extra care to avoid disturbing the native vegetation when building his resort. As a result, you can barely see the bungalows from the beach. It is very private. The restaurant at Old Lamp is built right down on the beach. With its heavy use of driftwood and shells for décor, it blends very naturally into the surroundings. This became our regular breakfast spot, not only because they give you huge mugs full of piping hot, super-strong coffee (just like home) but also because Old Lamp has the only bread oven on Koh Jum. And, that means delicious, homemade toast! My standard breakfast consisted of two thick slices of wheat toast (which had little black sesame seeds interspersed throughout,) homemade peanut butter, and a mixed fruit lassi. Robert’s favorite item was the Big Breakfast Sandwich which was wheat toast topped with scrambled eggs, bacon and tomato with a side of fruit. Freshly baked bread and dark coffee on a beautiful morning by the sea - how can you beat that? Each morning, over breakfast, we would watch all the longtail boats from the various resorts go out to meet the morning ferry (which we came to refer to as rush hour Koh Jum-style.) Then, we would linger with our books over coffee. Mornings at Old Lamp are mellow and perfect!

Oonlee - Ah, Oonlee Bungalows. Lovely, lovely Oonlee Bungalows. We stayed here on our return trip to Koh Jum; in fact, Oonlee was part of the reason we decided to come back. It is such a wonderful place. The owners, Valerie, from France, and Oon, a local Thai, are the sweetest people in the world. Oon will try to get you to go out with him on one of his almost-daily fishing trips (and, if you don’t go, he’ll make sure to stop by your bungalow upon his return to proudly show off his catch.) And Valerie goes out of her way to make you feel right at home. Oonlee’s bungalows are slightly more modern than the other bungalows on the beach, but they are so beautifully crafted. They overlook pretty gardens and have lots of windows to let in light. Even the bathrooms are cute. Oonlee’s bar quickly became Robert’s favorite place on the island. Like Old Lamp’s restaurant, it is built on the rocks right down over the water. It is basically just a big wooden floor with a couple of low tables and a bunch of floor pillows scattered about. We enjoyed numerous Singhas (as well as a few delicious fresh coconut shakes) while sitting at the bar listening to Oon’s crazy fishing tales.

Oonlee Bungalows also has the best food on Ting Rai Bay Beach (if not the whole island.) The restaurant, which is way up at the top of the hill overlooking the gardens and the sea, offers a variety of Thai and European dishes. We sampled fewer of the traditional Thai dishes and tended more toward the nightly fish specials. On our first night, we had a fresh barracuda carpaccio with lemon and black pepper that was exquisite. Another interesting special was yellow tuna steamed with herbs, ginger, and Chinese apricots. The tuna was a bit dry, but the combination of flavors was very unusual. Other highlights included a tasty seafood glass noodle salad and a delicious yellow curry dish. For breakfast, I enjoyed the Khao Tom (pictured), a traditional Thai rice soup with prawns, vegetables and herbs topped with an egg. The extra touches, such as cloth napkins and yummy fried shallot garnishes on the steamed rice, put the food at Oonlee a step above that of the rest of the island (it is also a bit higher in price but well worth it in my opinion.) They are also very forthcoming with the complimentary snacks. Each night, at the bar, we were offered either freshly roasted nuts or homemade sesame chips. On our last day, as we were sipping coffee and waiting for the ferry to take us away, Valerie gave us little banana leaf packets filled with black sticky rice and coconut as a thank you. Paradise!