At St. John, we stayed at the eco-friendly Maho bay campgrounds. Despite the name, it wasn’t really camping. It was more like living in a community of tree houses connected by walkways and surrounded by lush landscape. Some cottages have ocean views, but no matter where your site was located, you were guaranteed to fall asleep to the sound of crashing waves from little Maho bay down below. Everything is built on stilts to not interfere with the delicate environment. The long walkways and numerous stairs looks like something out of the mind of MC Escher, and after a week here, you’ll have developed some decent calf muscle. For $130 per night, which is considered a bargain on these shores, you get to be surrounded by nature without having to really rough it. Maho, by comparison, offers a more luxurious accomodation than the other campground Cinnamon Bay which, by the way, also includes sand fleas.

The Maho Bay campgrounds has communal cold water showers, a general store, and loads of activities like night snorkelling, guided hikes, movies, visits to BVI, and stargazing. There’s also an interesting glassblowing demonstration that we wished we got to see. Apparently, all glass bottles used at the grounds are turned into lovely pieces of art. Very eco-friendly! The days and nights at Maho start and end early. Dinner for example ENDS at 7:30 while the strictly enforced quiet time is 10pm. It was quite an adjustment for us as we’re used to EATING at 8 and sleeping around midnight. And because the nights end so early here, don’t expect a lot of nightlife at Maho. Monday nights offer the most excitement when the local reggae cover band perform your standard American-friendly island tunes. Of course, Bob Marley is always on the set list.

Maho and St. John in general, is a pretty much, do nothing kind of place. And it felt great to do exactly just that. We spent our days going to the beach and taking siestas afterwards. Who knew laying on the beach under a hot sunny sky can be such work? Some afternoons were just spent sitting on the deck reading, eating ice pops, and watching the banana quits. It was the laziest and most relaxing five days we’ve had in quite some time. All this makes us even more sad to hear that in 2011, Maho Bay Campground will be closing its doors forever. No one really knows what will become of the land, however, the overwhelming consensus seemed to be for some development with a similar eco-concious vision, and not some gated condo community.

[Maho Bay Campground]

It’s only 2 months since we returned from the jaunt to Japan, and now we’re looking to head out again. This time around, we’re headed to St. John for some R&R and a retreat from the New York winter. We were able to cash in some miles for the free airfare, but the accomodations will still cost a bomb. I’d much rather be lodging at the Westin at Cruz Bay, but we’ll be eco-camping, albeit luxuriously, at Maho Bay. There won’t be any sightseeing, wandering around cities, figuring a subway system, or any language barriers. It’s nothing but a week of laying on the beach under the Virgin Island sun.
[photo by: st. john guide]

If you can afford to stay elsewhere, do so. While this hotel in Fukuoka City isn’t a complete dump, it comes really close to it. The cigarette-smelling rooms are completely worn out, the hallways are reminiscent of an old university dorm room, the reception area that doubles as the breakfast room is dingy and harshly lit by a set of flourescent lamps. The rooms were typically cramped like any budget hotel in Japan. The ominous buzzing flourescent lamp on our floor can be straight out of a movie that takes place in a haunted or crime-ridden hotel. The staircase also looks like it has seen a few visitors coming through. The ancient elevator also doesn’t offer much confidence at first glance, and certainly looks like it is ready to trap someone in any day.

The place, however, does have loads of potential. A fresh coat of paint, new mildew free shower curtains, a working coin laundry, and perhaps a new PC can make HaWeiDa a good alternative to the centrally located hotels in Tenjin. The location is only one stop from Tenjin, 20 minutes from the Hakata Station, and only a block from the Ohori Park. And for roughly USD$60 for a double, the price is comparable to most budget hotels in the country. If you do decide to stay at HaWeiDa and cannot read Kanji, note that the sign outside is not in English. The hotel is around the corner from exit 2 at the metro station. Look for a big blue sign hanging off the side of a building. You will enter through an automatic door. Either take the elevator or stairs to the second floor where the reception is located.

For about $70, we were able to score a room in the center of Osaka. The quasi-indoor mall in Shinsaibashi that leads to the insane neon of Dotonburi is a mere two blocks away. The hotel is located inside the JR circle line which is the ideal base if you want to be where to action is. While the room is cramped for 2 people, it would be somewhat of an upgrade from a hostel. The free basic Japanese/continental breakfast is also a nice touch. At around USD$71 a night, for Japan it is quite a bargain.

In another blow to smokers, the Marriott Hotel chain has banned smoking in all their rooms in the US and Canada. That’s great news for folks like me who can’t stand the smell of smoke. When I’m traveling, I can deal with sleeping on a lumpy bed, not having in a/c in the summer, sharing a toilet, sleeping in bunks, etc, but I draw the line at second hand, and lingering cigarette odor.

The Nature Resort Lodge, is right next to the Community Baboon Sanctuary. It is perfectly understandable if a visitor is inclined to assume they are the same. The folks all know each other, and many of them are family members. The separate institutions offer the exact same services at the exact same price. From what we can tell, and loosely confirmed by a local villager, there is a rivalry between the two places and the family members.

The Nature Resort Lodge features cabanas built on the land of Dr. Young’s family. To get to the cabana, you have to slosh through wet grass, some mud, and cross a line of cinder blocks known London Bridge. The room is more in line with the type of places we usually stay in. It’s basic, small, has a squeaky bed, small bathroom, no tv, but does have an ambiance-killing flourescent lighting. Thankfully, the room does have air conditioning. The previous occupants of the room, however, probably didn’t figure out the point of the a/c. Ubiquitous bug guts on the walls that seem to be the only decor. At $50 a night, it’s considered somewhat of a bargain. Meals are cooked on premises by a kind lady named Gloria. The food is as simple as the room. Hard bread, canned beans, a small portion of rice, and a little bit of chicken. Hey, it’s BZ$5 and fills us up.

There is a small refridgerator, a coffeemaker, and instant coffee in the room, but no drinking water. When we asked Gloria if they had any, she directed us to the local Chinese grocer down the road. We’re precious, she tells us. We have to drink purified water, while they are perfectly content drinking rain water. If that is all that makes me precious, then yes… we are very precious.

Besides the hiking, monkey viewings, and canoe trips, there is nothing to do. If it weren’t so humid outside, I would have loved just sitting on the deck chairs outside relaxing or reading. During the dinner, we asked Gloria what people did for fun in Bermudian Village. She responded with a laugh. Is there a bar? Another laugh. What do you do at night? More laughter. This is it she informs us. Armed with this information, I polished my arms and legs with Deet, and sat on the deck with Karen enjoying the sounds of raindrops hitting the roof of the deck.

The village is the complete opposite of the Ambergris Caye. Bermudian Village is Belize. Here, we are the only tourists. Even if we had the cash, there’s nowhere to spend it.