Indulge me a bit. Let me paint the picture….
I was returning from the swim-up bar, trying unsuccessfully not to rub-up against the many, many naked exuberant people, as I pushed through the pool water. Meeting new people at every chance ‘rubbing’, I tried not to spill over them the four drinks I was carrying. ‘No, these drinks are not for you…but I will come back to get you some!’.
The party is not out of control. I would call it an orderly debauchery. There is a beach-ball being batted around. There are a few sexual liaisons between friends. But mostly loud conversations and laughing. But as loud as the conversations and laughter are, they cannot be drowned out by Mark May’s party anthems and old school rock. Perfect.
It is one of those bright, hot, Jamaica nude pool afternoons. The so blue sky is made even more vivid in contrast to the looming storm clouds in the distance. Towels are lining the pool’s edge where once sitting naked wives have suddenly stood up to dance, and do a bit of EC encouraged twerking.
I return with the drinks. My still sitting wife at the pool’s edge, reprimands me for taking so long, grabs her drink, and jumps up to join the other naked dancing beauties. She has been trying to learn to twerk. ‘Trying’ is the word, but ‘A’ for effort. And it is fun to watch the other women try to teach her. I continue speaking with our new friend, Rick with Wicked Wildcats. He is a great guy and I enjoy his conversation, but feel bad interrupting him rudely when I am caught taking prolong glances of my dancing wife. He understands.
Somehow, the women dancing on the pool deck add a third dimension to the party that is happening in the pool. The bodies moving without the constraints of the water, make the day seem even brighter, giving a reason to take your eyes off the shenanigans in the pool, look up, and notice how green the palms are, how blue the sky is, how white the clouds are, how great the air smells…and how round her bottom is. Is it possible to be this relaxed? This…..happy?
I am off to the bar again. A lady wearing a Wicked Wildcats hat decides to join me. ‘Have we met?’ We just ‘bumped’ into each other on the way through the pool. No really…we just bumped. I push my way through the sea of bodies, and she follows in my wake. She bought me a shot of fireball as a thank you. Cannot remember her name, but will never forget her.
Returning with the drinks, Mark from Topless travel stops me. He is sporting a Mohawk and the most ridiculous sunglasses you have seen. He applies whipped cream to a lovely lady’s…to a lovely lady. I protest, explaining I am on a low-carb-diet-thing. After they finished their verbal abuse toward me, I declared a cheat-day. Off now to return with fresh drinks to my twerk-challenged wife.
Such is the life at the Hedo nude pool. No doubt people have differing memories of the nude pool. Maybe more explicit memories. We do also. But our typical afternoon in the pool, is just a simple, sexy, laugh.
We spent more time at the pool this trip. Away from the beach, we got more in the party. We saw more pool games. Carwash was played twice, and although we did not participate, it is a great spectator sport. Human iPod was less sexy, but more impressive. And several of the other typical contests for those willing to embarrass themselves…which we all should. If you do not embarrass yourself once, do something that is so completely outside yourself, I think you have somehow missed a Hedo opportunity.
This trip started a bit unusual for us; we booked three months in advance. Usually we book a week or two out. Three months allowed us to enjoy the preparations; shopping for clothes, conversations about the trip, the anticipation. But just as importantly, it allowed us to upgrade our flights and get confirmed right away. No economy flights this trip! What a relief!
Our trip began ten days prior to arriving Hedo. As some of you know, we live in Singapore. It is a long trip. On October 3rd we left home. For those that want our travel specifics; 4 hours Singapore to Hong Kong, 3 hour lay-over in Hong Kong, 15 hours Hong Kong to Dallas. We spend nine days in Dallas to see family and get over jetlag (as best we can). On October 12th we fly 3 hours Dallas to Miami, 2 hour lay-over, and one hour to Montego Bay. All flights ran on schedule except for Miami to Montego which was 30 minutes delayed. Pretty good.
We booked Club Mobay for the first time this trip. I am on record that we do not mind the crowds at the airport. We like the chaos. But since the rest of our travel was going to be more “premium”, I decided we should try Club Mobay. I did not think we would actually need Club Mobay. We were arriving on a Thursday, late morning, on a slow travel month. And I was right. The airport was empty. People not using Club Mobay certainly made just as good time through immigration. But that was not my point of Club Mobay for this trip. For me, it was more of an insurance policy. Maybe the airport was going to be busy, maybe not. But I did not have to worry about it for the three months before. We could just talk about how great and easy the travel would be. And it was.
We arrive in Montego, and Club Mobay meets us at the gate, walks us through health check and immigration, assists us with luggage, and gets us to the lounge. They hold our hand the entire way. Once in the lounge, my wife orders a drink, and I go with the Club hostess to Sun Holiday to get our transfer. Sun Holiday tells us we are just in time, and if we can hurry we can get on the bus that is about to depart. I rush back to the Club lounge, grab my quite confused wife, and walk with purpose to the bus. Did not experience the Club Mobay lounge at all. I did not even step foot in it. But totally worth it.
With the bus departing so quickly, we felt like we got back the 30 minutes from the delayed flight. The Sun Holiday bus left as soon as the door shut behind us. 60 minutes later we were standing on the side of the road changing a flat tire. When I say ‘we’, I was not really involved. I was more offering encouragement in the form of staying out of the way. 30 minutes later, we were 30 minutes from the resort. Not too bad.
I have mentioned in the past that our check-in at Hedo never goes smooth. This trip I cannot complain. The check-in delay was on us. It was about 3pm, we had traveled from the other side of the planet, four flights, 10 days, jetlag, security lines, immigrations, flat tires, after three months of dreaming, planning, waiting, one week of travel, we had made it. We sat on the sofa in reception for about 30 minutes before we checked-in. Not the white sofa in the middle of reception, the sofa just to the right of the reception desk. We just sat there, talked about the journey, took a moment to reflect on how lucky we are, and how much work some things take. We were just…still. We were so content just to be there.
At some point my wife greeted Lisa, the tour desk lady. Qian loves Lisa. My wife had kept an old Hedo restaurant reservation slip as a bookmark, and showed it to Lisa. Which lead to some reminiscing. Lisa wrote a note on the slip and dated it for Qian to have and keep.
Eventually, Michael the bellman came with our bags and made us leave the sofa. He told us we had to slow down because we were in Jamaica. I had to point out to him that he had made us get up. I teased him on the way to the room, that he was walking too fast. ‘You have to slow down Michael…Jamaica’. We laughed about that with him as we saw him throughout our stay.
This was our fourth trip, and although not a lot by some guest’s standards, we very much felt at ‘home’. We knew the way to our room, the texture and slope of the pavement, the plants, the furniture, the sound walking up the stairs. Incredibly comfortable feeling. We had a short walk to our nude side ocean view premium room. Room 2226.
On our last trip we were upgraded to a premium room with a balcony, and we liked it. A lot. But although we did not see much reason to spend the money for the premium room, we did see the value in having the balcony. We use the balcony. We like the balcony.
So, we get to the room and take the time to unpack. A proper unpacking so we are organized for the next 13 days. Room is as expected. Nice. Clean. Air conditioning works. Nothing to complain about. Time to get naked and get to the pool.
When you arrive to the nude pool for the first time on a Thursday late afternoon, you have to understand the environment you are entering. Late afternoon any day of the week, you are entering the nude pool when the people there are at their most excited, craziest, horniest, most inebriated state. On a Thursday, most people have been at the resort for several days. Some are beginning to count down the final days, some the hours. Friendships have been made. By this day and time, the social scene has coalesced.
That can make it hard for a newly arriving couple to fit in. And it did. But if you are tired from a long journey, still fighting jetlag a bit, and needing a bit of room and time to begin to get into the Hedo spirit, Thursday afternoon is about right.
The wife and I make our way across the pool deck, walk up to the new bar, and order our first two drinks. Tequila shots. That’s how we roll. We immediately notice the new nude pool grill. It is really one of those additions that looking at it now, is hard to remember when it was not there. Very nice addition.
The first afternoon goes as expected; we wade into the pool, meet a few people, but mostly just relax. It was an early night for us as well. We know our limitations, and we needed some rest.
Our days did fall into a routine; a routine we had been looking forward too. Up in the morning about 7am. No alarm, we just get up early. Coffee on the balcony. Up to the gym for a workout. Breakfast in the dining room. Back to the room for shower, and sunblock. Beach in the morning and early afternoon. Nude pool after a late lunch at the nude grill. Afternoons are spent at the nude pool. Move to the hot tub after the sun goes down. Back to the room to dress for dinner. Dinner is early for us; most nights about 7pm. Watch some of the entertainment. Walk between the courtyard, main pool deck, and piano bar, looking for action.
Most nights we tried to get to either the playroom or the hot tub, which were well attended, but never busy. On the way to the hot tub (or back to the room) we would always stop by the disco. It was never busy. Not sure what it will take to make the disco relevant. From our time in China, we would say it has bad fengshui. And it does. I think the disco just needs to be moved. Start over somewhere else.
Several nights we crashed early, say 11pm, but most nights we were 1am people. A few 2am nights. On this trip, we spoke to more and more people who were not pulling late late nights. Seemed most people we spoke with were 1am people. We thought this was a change from our previous trips when we heard all the stories from 4am. Earlier mornings, breakfast, and partying through the day seemed more the norm.
Highlights of the trip? One had to be the Tuesday catamaran cruise. The trip out was as expected; stop for snorkeling, swim to caves, go down the slide, dancing, drinking. What made this cruise special was the trip back. Stone, the captain, took us back along the shoreline, barely outside the swim ropes of the other resorts. In addition to giving us a good tour and view of the shore, bars, and resorts, we were able to properly advertise the benefits of staying at Hedo to the guests of the other resorts. When the catamaran came to Sandals, Stone brought the boat in bow first, right in front of Sandal’s outdoor bar and dining hall. I bet we were not more than 15 feet from the shore. We were close. Everyone on the boat danced and posed to the watching Sandals guests. So unexpected and fun!
Two other highlights were provided curtesy Tom’s Trips. A private Sybian ride, which my wife had never tried, was….successful. And a pub crawl to three local Negril bars. The pub crawl was great fun, and if you have not seen any of the local Negril bar scene, do yourself the treat.
We indulge in the watersports on every trip. We went on the snorkeling boat twice, the catamaran cruise twice, we did the paddle boards, and sailed the Hobie cat.
Free internet…it is great. I was a bit concerned internet access in the room would impede my holiday, but it was actually better because I was able to go through emails in the room. On past trips, we would check email in the morning at breakfast, and again in the afternoon. You always had to carry the computer up to the courtyard, and in the afternoon you would have to get dressed. Not anymore. I checked email for five minutes in the morning, and in the early evening. Done. I think the free internet saved me at least 40 minutes a day, and made me more relaxed.
I guess we were without hot water for three days, but we did not notice. Because of the heat and humidity in Singapore (which makes Jamaica feel dry), we take cold showers often. This is common for us. On our third evening of cold showers, someone at dinner mentioned there was no hot water, and my wife and I looked at each other and laughed. We did not think twice about it. But others were not as happy.
Restaurants were all good, and theme night dress participation was respectable. If you wanted to participate, there were plenty of others. And if you did not want to participate, you never looked out of place. I am going to say school-girl, rock-star, and glow-party had the most participation.
We booked this trip with DennyP, so I want to make sure I give a shout-out to him. Denny has been my go-to for our four trips, and he always takes care of us.
Denny will book us through Tom’s Trips, so we were loosely associated with Tom’s Trips’ group on this trip. I say loosely, because that is how we started but truth is, Scott and Cathy adopted us like we had traveled with them forever.
Qian and I are not big “group” people. We like our own time and space and if you have met us at Hedo, you kind of know that about us. And I think this makes us horrible “group” people, because we never fully engaged in the group, and I can imagine how hard that can sometimes be on the hosts. I say this because the hosts work hard. Really hard. And when you are working hard to keep the party going and, well, you have a couple that will not quite respond, I suspect that can be frustrating.
But Scott and Cathy with Tom’s Trips were great. They let Qian and I know what was happening and when, and they let us be, to have our vacation, with all the benefits of their group. Pub crawl, Sybian rides, introductions to other guests, conversations about life and love and sex and Jamaica and Hedo…Scott and Cathy are truly special. Naturally enjoyable people. And isn’t that about perfect for group leaders? We felt at the end of this trip, we can call Tom’s our group.
Except we also have two other groups. Topless Travel and Wicked Wildcats were also in attendance, and I need to address them. As stated above, we are not group people. Groups have never influenced our Hedo holiday one way or the other. Except this trip.
Mark with Topless Travel, who I thought was a bit of a clown the first time I saw him, works his ass-off to keep the party going. He was leading a substantial group, but did he ever exclude Qian and I in their games or activities? Did he ever exclude anyone? Never. Honestly, there were times I thought we were with Mark’s group. He has my respect, appreciation, and thanks.
Suzie and Rick with Wicked Wildcats, lead a group of people I can honestly say I have eaten more whipped cream off of, than any other group. Suzie and Rick are genuinely good people, always happy to make an introduction and share a story or a thought. And they lead a group of some of the nicest, most welcoming people we have encountered.
Here is the thing I want to say to these three groups; you are all great but together at Hedo, you were awesome. These groups played, partied, laughed together like I have not seen at Hedo before. The energy. The easy feeling of inclusiveness. Hosts from all three groups crossed over, as did the guests.
Yes, the guests. Wow, the best guests! If you were there while we were, we owe you thanks. We made so many special friends, I cannot list them here. But you know who you are. And please know, we cherish our time. In total, the guests were just one big group. Only who was presiding over the party seemed to change. I am not being dramatic here. It was that special.
I cannot comment on other groups, but if you are considering joining Wicked Wildcats, Topless Travel, or Tom’s Trip, trust me on this; yes, do it.
We left Hedo on a Wednesday, 13 days after arriving. The days following the group change-over are just as strange as arriving on a Thursday. We still mingled with the newly arriving guests, but we were less engaged. We were getting tired of being away and were starting to think about the travel home.
The bus picked us up at 9am, for our 2pm flight to Miami connecting to Dallas. We would be in Dallas for three days before a 16 hour 27 minute (flying time; and yes, that is as bad as it sounds) flight to Hong Kong, 4 hour layover, and 4 hour flight home. All flights were on-time. Stepped off the plane and onto the jet bridge in Singapore, and was hit with the humidity. We are two weeks home as I write this, and just now over jetlag.
I was concerned about going to Hedo in the middle of October. I thought it would be quiet, maybe a bit boring. It was none of those things. But without a doubt, the enduring impression from this trip was Wicked Wildcats, Topless Travel, and Tom’s Trips; the hosts and guests, and the fun they brought to the resort….together. As it should be at Hedo. Thank you all.
David & Qian
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