After spending a day of researching hotels/bungalows in the Phuket Province and finding prices on the internet more than we wanted to pay, the guidebook led us to Baan Krating Jungle Resort. It only mentioned how to get there, and said nothing more than it is set in an idyllic spot on a beach that had some tsunami damage but the shops on the beach were rebuilding. Okay, well, we'll see if there's a reason it's cheaper than the guidebook price quotes.

It ends up that we lucked out. The resort is on a beautiful hillside, lots of cicadas chirping, but the buildings, beach and privacy are just what we want.

The bungalows are private and beautiful inside with teak wood traditional thai bathrooms with all the modern amenities and wood floors. There are only 30 or so bungalows, so it's a very laid back environment. Oh, and there's no evidence of any effects of the tsunami.

The Thai taxi driver we hired looked around and said, "Wow - I bring my girlfriend here!"

The view follows a little path to a deck by the private beach with decent reefs to snorkel over.

There's also a nice pool and restaurant where we've met several good folks over the last few days. We are loving this place.