Cheap, simple and secluded is the theme at Jungle Huts, a go-to inland option for travellers on tight budgets.

Halfway along the forested trail from Panka Yai Bay to Mango Bay, the huts are a great bargain so long as you don’t mind the 20-minute walk to School Beach. Facing one another in two rows with a lot of greenery in between, the bamboo bungalows with tin roofs have attached porches with a plastic chair or two. All bungalows come with attached bathrooms built out of bricks with bucket-flush Western toilets, tiny sinks and cold showers.

Inside you’ll find firm mattresses and mosquito nets draped over the linoleum-covered floors, but little else apart from a window and more of those oddly placed winter-scene tables that also found their ways into Chao Lae Homestay. Fans may not be available in all bungalows, but a tiny solar panel now means that electricity stays on until later than it used to. On our most recent visit a guest was dancing solo to Katy Perry on his porch—yes, you can let it all hang out here.

A tiny restaurant has a very limited menu (fried rice or fried noodles?) and the islander owner speaks minimal English—you may have to ask around in the nearby village to track her down. Otherwise you could pop over to neighbouring Mango Bar, which rents out a few cheap bungalows and tents of its own.

On the trail to Mango Bay, Ko Bulon Lae