bedtime stories

Jennifer wrote this really terrific post recently about the beds she'd slept in. I liked it so much that I had to do a version of it myself.

1. Puerto Nuevo, Mexico. A hammock on a roof of a little house under the stars when I was 20 and fearless. I remember that night with such sweetness because it came unexpectedly after several years of really bad things.

2. Khao San Road in Bangkok. It's 3am and we'd just arrived in Asia. We are weary and stumble onto a little guesthouse made of teak and swaying colored lights. The vibe is beyond cool, hushed voices and smoke. Chill out music. We get the last room the size of a closet with a pad on the floor and we fall asleep immediately..

3. The Smoking Lounge (and I use the word lounge loosely here) in the Taipei airport. I think the title is sufficient enough.

4. Belize in two parts: A cinderblock cabana on a deserted island. There was nothing to do and no way to leave and we sat there for three days. Divine. And a treehouse in the jungle. I've never seen spiders as big as I did that night and they were in our bed at the time. Under the sheet. Dude.

5. A really nice hotel in Phnom Penh. I had my heart set on staying in the same hotel as the last of the journalists did before PP fell. I had read vivid descriptions of the courtyard and how it looked in the 70's and I knew I had to stay there and sit among the ghosts. Problem was it was one the most expensive hotels in the city. We stayed one night and after a few weeks on the road it was comfort (and hot water) beyond measure. We had a little balcony that opened onto the said courtyard and I was in heaven.

6. A really bad hotel in Phnom Penh. Bedbugs. Dirty sheets. Towels cost extra. Penance for the earlier decadence.

7. A log cabin on the Russian River. J and I stayed in this delectable little A-frame with the softest bed and the whitest sheets. We made good use of that room on that trip.

8. A writer's quarters in Suchitoto. The room was maybe 7'X9' and bright blue with a bright pink bathroom. The owner brought me cafe con leche in the morning and it was sweet and hot and delicious.

9. Tikal, Guatemala. We slept in a little room with howler monkeys in the trees overhead and they screamed all night long and we had too many beers. If you've never heard a howler monkey then you are missing out. Especially at 3am. Drunk.

10. Florence, Oregon. A side of the road motel on our way to meet friends for Xmas in 2003. We made M that night but didn't know it for another three or four weeks. Florence stands for Fertility!

Now it's your turn. Tell me a sleeping place that still lurks around in your memory.