The night of four rooms...

This is a long story, so bear with me...

So I arrived in Khao Sok without reservations. There is a road, about 2 km long, leading to the park from the highway, and it is lined with places to stay. I had spoken with a couple of travelers, and they assured me that I would be met by a tout or two at the highway, and no reservations were necessary. To the uninitiated, a tout is one who comes up to you when disembarking a mode of transport, be it rail, bus, or even airport, and offers a service. Sometimes it's transport, sometimes it's a room, sometimes a tour. You need to be wary, as these people receive a kickback from the place they take you. So it's something in their interest, not yours. With that said, they are not all bad, as they can find you a room, and sometimes it's what you're looking for.

I was met by a tout who offered to take me to Jungle Huts. I figure that it's an easy way to get at least part of the 2 km down the road, so I say that I'll look. I'm shown a couple of places, and choose one that seems ok.

The room is a place on stilts, with stairs leading up to the room. The place has a mosquito net, and a Western style flush toilet. It's at or above what you expect for this area. The area is a bit rustic, and air conditioning can not be had at any price. I sign in, and book a tour to the nearby lake for the next day.

I return to my room, and wash my hands, and notice that the seat is not on the toilet. I go to pick up the towel placed on the bed, and as I do so, dead bugs come out of the blanket. I go to reception, and request new linens, and a toilet fix. She will take care of the linens at once, but the seat will be fixed at 6 PM, as she has a "man coming then."

I return to reception at 6 PM, and enquire about the status of my toilet fixer. Then she tells me that the toilet works, it's just the seat. I explain that the seat is a key part of the experience.

They move me to room number two of the evening. It's a bit nicer, with a brighter light and toilet with seat intact. I shake the towels, and that seems to be in order. I move my stuff in, and notice that the bathroom floor isn't clean. I take the shower head to spray down the floor. (In this type of room, there is no separate shower stall, it's just a shower hose attached to the wall. It's quite common.) It's then that I notice that the water from the shower is brown. I repeat the process with the sink, with the same results. I'm guessing that it's pulled directly from the adjacent river.

Anyone who knows me knows that my biggest fear is of very small things. I am clearly not going to shower here. I just don't think that I would end up any cleaner.

I walk out to the main road to look for a new place. I stop two people on the road, and ask about their accommodations. They indicate clear water is to be had at Nula House, so I'm all about that. I take the walk there, and explain my situation to the proprietor. This is a familiar story. I select room number three of the evening.

He drives me back to the original place to get my main pack. He also secures my safety box belongings, and also arranges for me to not have to pay for the room at the original establishment.

The new proprietor drives me back to my room, and helps me unload my belongings. I go to lock the door, and have difficulty actually swinging the bolt and having it match up with the lock mechanism. I move to room number four of the evening, where I finally sleep.

And yes, the next night, I switched rooms yet again, to upgrade to one with hot water.